June 25, 2011

Strawberry Parfait

Posted by HI Cookery under 06 June | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Strawberry Parfait

 Strawberry Parfait

June 25: National Strawberry Parfait Day 

Summer is strawberry season! On a hot Texas day, we like to cool off with a light and fruity treat. Strawberry parfaits hit our sweet spot for a super simple snack or an easy after-dinner dessert. It is refreshing for the summer and “berry” nice, especially on National Strawberry Parfait Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from Kraft Foods)

Ingredients

  • ½ cup fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 4 tablespoons cream cheese (we used fat-free)
  • 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
  • ¼ cup whipped cream, cold (we used fat-free Cool Whip brand) 

Directions

Wash the strawberries and pat dry with paper towels before slicing. In clear parfait glasses or dessert bowls, layer the bottom of each with the strawberry slices. In a mixing bowl, cream the cheese with the strawberry jam until smooth.

Strawberry Parfait

Fold the whipped cream into the cheese-strawberry jam mixture. Divide the topping over the fruits. Garnish each serving with whipped cream and strawberries. Serve chilled.

Strawberry Parfait

Notes

  • Thanks to our kumare Cherlyn B. for the homemade jam featuring wild Maine strawberries from her in-laws’ yard.
  • For a festive Fourth of July patriotic parfait, layer red strawberries and the cream cheese mixture in a clear glass or dessert bowl, then add white whipped cream and top with blueberries. Garnish with a flag pick or more berries and cream.
  • Search our blog for more recipes containing strawberries.

 

May 20, 2011

Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

Posted by HI Cookery under 05 May | Tags: , , , , , |
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Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

May 20—Pick Strawberries Day

We tagged along with our goddaughter, Keira B., and her big sisters when they went to pick wild strawberries in their Nana’s big backyard in Central Maine a few years ago. Strewn about were tiny bright red berries peeking out of vibrant green clusters of leaves. Like they were on an Easter egg hunt, the little girls delighted in their discoveries and put their precious finds in a bowl. Sometimes their family would be able to pick bucketloads of wild strawberries, can them and send us jars of preserves.

We don’t live near a strawberry farm or field so we “pick” strawberries at our local grocery store. And we picked a recipe for strawberry daiquiri cupcakes with strawberry buttercream to blog about on Pick Strawberries Day (and National Strawberry Month).

Recipe

(Adapted from Kitchen Goddess)

For the cupcakes

  • 1 (18 ounce) box of strawberry cake mix (we used Duncan Hines brand)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 limes, divided
  • ¼ cup rum
  • water

Directions

Grate the peel of one line. Squeeze the juice from the grated lime and from another lime in a liquid measuring cup. Mix in the rum. Add enough water to equal 1 1/3 cups of liquid. Combine the liquid with the cake mix, eggs and oil.

Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

Mix until the ingredients are blended into a smooth batter. Scoop into muffin tins lined with cupcake papers. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Prepare the frosting.

Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

For the frosting

(Adapted from Sprinkles)

  • ½ cup frozen whole strawberries, thawed
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
  • pinch of coarse salt
  • 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • red food coloring

Directions

In a blender, puree the strawberries. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with a pinch of salt. Gradually blend in the powdered sugar until well combined and fluffy. Mix in 3 tablespoons of strawberry puree (reserve the rest for another recipe).

Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

Stir in the vanilla. Add a few drops of red food coloring to get a light shade of pink. Mix well until it is a smooth consistency. Frost the cupcakes. We used Wilton tip 1M for a decorative swirl on top of the cupcakes. Refrigerate to set the frosting. Allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature before serving.

Strawberry Daiquiri Cupcakes

Notes

 

February 27, 2011

Strawberry Macarons

Posted by HI Cookery under 02 February | Tags: , , , , |
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Strawberry Macarons

Strawberry Macarons

February 27: National Strawberry Day

The pride of Poteet is the annual Strawberry Festival. The tiny town has a Texas-sized celebration of the luscious red fruit. We have a “berry” good time sampling the shortcakes, breads, pies, cheesecakes, ice cream, shaved ice, jams/jellies/preserves and many other strawberry delicacies. But we have not seen strawberry macarons anywhere on the menu yet! In the meantime, we can make them at home with a farm-fresh filling from pureed strawberries organically grown in Texas. And even though the Poteet Strawberry Festival and strawberry season are still a few months away, we can still enjoy strawberry macarons on National Strawberry Day and throughout the year.

Poteet Strawberry Festival

Recipe

(Adapted from I Love Macarons by Hisako Ogita)

For the stawberry macarons

  • 1 cup almond flour/meal
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 egg whites (aged overnight at room temperature)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ teaspoon strawberry flavoring/extract
  • pink food coloring (we used Wilton brand)

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage).

Strawberry Macarons

Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Pour the simple syrup into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy. Stir in the almond flour/meal-sugar mix until the consistency “flows like magma.” Stir in the strawberry flavoring.

Strawberry Macarons

Tint the macaronage with pink food coloring. Make the desired shade slightly darker as the macarons will bake a lighter color. Fill a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons.

Strawberry Macarons

Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs. Make the filling.

For the strawberry buttercream filling

(Adapted from Sprinkles)

  • ¼ cup whole strawberries
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a blender, puree the strawberries. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with a pinch of salt. Gradually blend in the powdered sugar until well combined and fluffy. Mix in 1 ½ tablespoons of strawberry puree (reserve the rest for another recipe). Stir in the vanilla. Fill a piping bag with a large round tip. Pipe in the filling and sandwich the macarons together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the filling set. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Strawberry Macarons

Notes

  • Click on our Mac Attack page to see more macarons.

 

 

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