Warm Strawberry Puff

And last but certainly not least, on this last day of Strawberry Week at Thirty Seconds on High, we have the Warm Strawberry Puff.  This is a great way to have your strawberries and eat them too! Perfect for a lovely breakfast or brunch with loved ones (or for yourself), this dish is sure to impress and satisfy!

 

 

Warm Strawberry Puff
from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

Ingredients for the Puff
3 large eggs, separated
2 T sugar
1/2 c light cream
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
1 T butter, melted
1/3 c unbleached all-purpose flour

Ingredients for the Filling
1 T butter
1 T corn syrup
1/4 c sugar
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t cinnamon

1 – 2 T creme fraiche or sour cream, for topping

What To Do
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Puff: Place the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl and whip them until frothy.  Add the sugar and whip until soft peaks form.  Set this mixture aside.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and cream, then add the salt, vanilla, melted butter and flour.  Whisk until smooth.  Heat a 10-inch pan with a heatproof handle over medium-low heat.  Spray the pan with nonstick vegetable oil or rub it with a bit of vegetable oil.  Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.  Pour it into the heated pan and swirl the pan gently.  Continue to cook for 3 – 5 minutes, until the bottom is brown.  Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until puffy and set.

Filling: Melt the butter in a small skillet.  Add the corn syrup and sugar, then bring to a boil.  Add the strawberries, lemon juice and cinnamon.  Stir to coat the strawberries with the sauce, then remove the mixture from the heat.

Remove the puff from the oven and slip it onto a serving platter.  Spread the strawberries over half the puff, then fold it over to cover the filling (kind of like an omelet).  Dust the edges with powdered sugar.  Garnish with a dollup of creme fresh or sour cream and serve immediately.

My Comments
I don’t have a 10-inch pan that can go on the stove and in the oven but I do have a 12-inch pan that can, so that’s what I use and it turns out fine.

I whipped up some cream this time around for topping.  I’m not sure I would enjoy sour cream on top.  That just seems weird.

 

I have really enjoyed sharing with you some of my favorite recipes that require fresh strawberries this week.  As strawberry season soon approaches (for some of you, it has already arrived), I hope you get out there and get some fresh berries and enjoy them to the max while you can.  Don’t forget to freeze some to enjoy throughout the year.  You can freeze them whole, sliced or mashed.  I freeze some each way.

Have a berry good weekend! 🙂

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans

After almost a whole week of sweets, I thought I should throw something savory into the Strawberry Week mix! There are tons of variations of this salad so feel free to experiment with additional fruit and/or vegetables, different kinds of cheese, nuts or dressing.  This is how I like it best.  It’s so delicious!

 

 

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans

Ingredients for Candied Pecans
from cdkitchen.com
2 T butter
1 1/2 c pecan halves
1 c sugar

Ingredients for Salad (however much you like)
baby spinach
feta cheese
candied pecans
strawberries, hulled and cut in half (or fourths, if they’re big and you don’t like giant chunks in your salad)

balsamic vinaigrette dressing

What To Do
Candied Pecans: Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and sugar; stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar melts around pecans and is caramel-colored. Remove pecans with a slotted spoon and spread in a single layer on a sheet of lightly greased aluminum foil (or parchment paper). Cool completely and break up pieces as needed.

Salad: combine all ingredients to your liking.  Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

My Comments
It’s even better if you toss it all with dressing and let it sit for a while to soak it all in.  For example, if you put together a salad in the morning to take for lunch, go ahead and put the dressing on and toss.  By lunchtime, the dressing has “marinated” the salad and IT IS DELICIOUS.

I think you can buy candied pecans but it was really fun to make them.

 

Have a Fabulous Friday!

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies

Oh my goodness! Strawberry Week here at Thirty Seconds on High is more than half over already! I hope you are enjoying this week of strawberry goodness as much as I am!

Here’s a great twist on the traditional brownie: a blondie! With fresh strawberries!

 

 

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies
from Love and Olive Oil

Ingredients
5 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/3 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 c granulated sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 t vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 c strawberries, hulled and halved

What To Do
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang (this will help the blondies come out of the pan later). Butter parchment.

In a double boiler or a bowl set over (but not touching) a pot of gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. At this point your batter should have cooled slightly to just above room temperature; it may appear to separate, that’s ok.

Whisk in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just incorporated and no dry flour remains. Fold in strawberries. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan, then cut into 2-inch squares. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

My Comments
I lined my pan with foil and sprayed it…works great!

I use white chocolate chips and it turns out fine.  I know it’s not the same as “real” white chocolate, but it works.

I do not use a double boiler for melting the butter and white chocolate chips together.  I melt the butter first (in a pot on the stove) and then add the chips and stir until smooth.  This time, I started out stirring with a rubber spatula and then traded it for a whisk to get it really smooth.

I love that these can be made in one pot.  Instead of a one pot supper, you’ve got a one pot dessert.

Okay…when I made this for this post, it took “forever” to bake! I started out with 25 minutes on the timer.  I lost count of how many times I added 5 more minutes.  I know it was more than 3 times but I seriously lost track.  So…just know that this might take longer than 25 – 30 minutes.  I have made these before and I don’t remember it taking so long…Anyway, if it does take longer and you’re afraid the top will get too golden brown, just tent some foil on top to protect it.

Strawberry Nutella Muffins

If you didn’t know, it’s Strawberry Week here at Thirty Seconds on High.  Today’s recipe features fresh strawberries combined with one of Matt’s favorite things: Nutella.  Did you know there’s actually a World Nutella Day? Anyway, these muffins are sure to bring a smile to your face and if you make them, why not share with a friend and spread the love?

 

 

Strawberry Nutella Muffins
from Two Peas & Their Pod
makes 9 muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla extract
1 c chopped fresh strawberries
1/3 c Nutella
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of muffins

What To Do
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

In a small bowl, combine canola oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together. Use a fork or whisk and mix until well combined.

Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir, you don’t want to over mix. The batter will be thick. Carefully fold in the strawberries.

Fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Next, add a small spoonful of Nutella to each muffin cup. Cover the Nutella filling with the remaining batter. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar.

Bake muffins for 17-20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

My Comments
I don’t have canola oil so I use regular vegetable oil.

I don’t buy buttermilk, but it’s pretty easy to make some: put 1 T of lemon juice in a 1-cup liquid measuring cup.  Fill it up with milk to the 1-cup line.  Let it sit for 5 minutes and presto – you’ve got yourself some buttermilk!

I sift my dry ingredients together instead of whisking them.  This incorporates more air for a lighter, fluffier muffin.

I’m not sure what turbinado sugar is, but I had some red, pink, and white sugar sprinkles so put those on top.  Everything’s better when sprinkles are involved!

I should have waited a little longer so the tops could be golden brown…I got impatient!

Chocolate Strawberry Oasis Pie

Welcome to Day 3 of Strawberry Week here at Thirty Seconds on High!

 

Warning: this pie will make you groan with pleasure bite after delectable bite.

 

 

Chocolate Strawberry Oasis Pie
from Love and Olive Oil

Ingredients for the Crust
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
6 T unsalted butter
1 oz bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
7 oz chocolate wafer cookies (about 30 cookies)
1 pint strawberries, trimmed and halved

Ingredients for the Filling
2/3 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 t ground ginger
1/8 t ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
2 1/2 c whole milk
6 oz bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 T bourbon
1 t vanilla extract

What To Do
Lightly spray a 9-inch pie dish with nonstick spray. Place the butter and chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, heat on high for 30 seconds or until just melted. Stir until smooth. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add chocolate mixture and process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture into prepared pie dish. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Arrange strawberry halves in a single layer in the bottom of the crust.  Here’s mine:

 

 

For filling, whisk sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, spices, and salt in heavy medium saucepan to combine. Whisk in egg yolks to form thick paste. Gradually whisk in milk, then whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and boils 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in bourbon and vanilla. Cool 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Pour filling over strawberries until level with the top edge of the crust (you may not use all the filling). Chill until set, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Top with fresh whipped cream and more strawberries, if desired.

My Comments
For the chocolate, I use chocolate chips.  Sometime I use semi-sweet, sometimes I use milk chocolate – just depends on what I have handy.  Turns out great with either kind.

For the eggs, I do set them out to reach room temperature and then separate the yolks out.  Don’t throw your egg whites out – you can use them to make egg white omelets or something (i.e., a pie that has meringue on top!).

For melting the chocolate and butter for the crust, I find it easiest and best to use one pot on the stove.  Melt the butter first and then remove it from the heat and dump the chocolate chips in.  Stir until smooth.  The chocolate won’t burn and there’s no need for a double boiler and there’s no mess in the microwave from hot butter pretending it’s in a fireworks show.

I always have leftover filling, but that’s okay!

 

Mmmm…is your mouth watering too? Who said you can’t have pie for breakfast? Have a wonderful day!