Tag: strawberry


Aug
2013

Strawberry Fool & DIY Chocolate Cups

categories: Desserts, Ice-creams, Quick Fix

I hope to write a small post! Is that even possible? Humph.. Let’s try and see..

I’m writing about this easiest dessert ever today… It is an English classic! I’m talking about Strawberry Fool.. The name says it all! It is so simple that any fool should be able to make it! No kidding šŸ˜€

Strawberry Fool1

The fool ~ this dessert is nothing but sweetened fruit folded into stiffly peaked and slightly sweetened whipped cream. THAT IS IT! Berries work perfectly for this dessert, especially strawberries. Kiwi and rhubarb would be a nice twist too.

For serving my fool, I made heart-shaped chocolate cups! Do you remember my post “Brownie Bombs“? I had mentioned in that post that even after coating all the cake pops generously I still had some left-over melted chocolate. I had to think on my feet… How to turn this left-over melted chocolate into something amazing and this impromptu idea came to my mind. Very easy to make. All you need is silicone cupcake liners.

Chocolate cups are so easy to make that once you’ve started, it is difficult to stop. You’ll find yourself stuffing them with all sorta yumminess out there! Imagine your favorite peanut butter, ice-creams, mousse and cheesecake served in these edible chocolate cups. Now no need to lick the plate!

Strawberry Fool & DIY Chocolate Cups1
DIY chocolate cup seated on my DIY cupcake stand!

Don’t overfill the cups with fool like I did! šŸ˜›

Chocolate and strawberries are match made in heaven. So serving strawberry fool in a chocolate cup makes for a perfect and elegant party-dessert. Chocolate cups can be made ahead and stored in refrigerator for months and strawberry fool is a no-cook, no-nonsense dessert. Perfect for last-minute dessert-fix or midnight-cravings!

P.S. I’m sorry but I do not have step-by-step photos for chocolate cups. As you can imagine my kitchen and hands were covered in chocolate. šŸ˜› But do not worry. These are easy-peesy to make and you will not require my horrible photographic skills to show you that.

DIY Chocolate Cups:

Yields: 4 cups

Ingredients:

  • 50 gm dark chocolate*, melted
  • 4 silicone cupcake liners, frozen for 5 minutes
  • small sheet of grease-proof baking paper

Directions:

For detailed information on how to melt chocolate: Refer to this post

Method-1:

Dip the outer surface of the silicone liner into the melted chocolate. Remove the excess chocolate by giving the liner a slight shake. Ensure that the chocolate coats the liner evenly. Upturn the liner and place it on grease-proof baking paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Dip the liner again in the melted chocolate to get a thicker layer of chocolate and refrigerate again. Repeat these steps to make 3 more cups.
Once cool, separate the chocolate cups from silicone liners slowly and carefully. Refrigerate till the time of use.
Method-2: For this method a small paint brush will be required.

Paint a thin layer of chocolate onto the inside of each cupcake liner. Refrigerate them for 10 minutes.
Paint a second thin layer of chocolate on top of the first layer and refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
Carefully pop the chocolate cups out of the liners. Refrigerate till the time of use.

* Feel free to use white chocolate or mix of dark and white chocolate.

Strawberry Fool:

Yields: 4 servings | Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 6 large frozen strawberries, hulled and thawed
  • 3 Tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 cup fresh cream (medium fat 40%), chilled
  • For garnish: 2-3 strawberries, sliced or any cookie of your choice, crumbled

Directions:

  1. Chill mixing bowl and beater in freezer for 5 minutes.
  2. In a food processor, blend strawberries to a smooth puree. Mix 2 Tbsp sugar in the puree and set aside.
  3. Remove mixing bowl and beater from freezer. Add fresh cream to the mixing bowl and whisk. Gradually add 1 Tbsp sugar to the cream and whip till you get stiff peaks.
  4. Fold the strawberry puree in to a whipped cream until nearly incorporated, leaving a few streaks of whipped cream and strawberry puree. Divide the mixture among 4-chocolate cups. Serve immediately garnished with strawberry slices/cookie crumble or refrigerate for up to 2-3 hours.

P.S. Writing a short post requires a skill I don’t seem to possess! Have a happy weekend! šŸ™‚

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Jul
2013

Vanilla Buttermilk Eggless Sponge Cake

categories: Baking, Breakfast, Cake, Cakes, Summer

Vanilla Buttermilk Eggless Sponge-2

After the last post of SugarPlum Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake, many people wanted an eggless sponge cake. I knew I had to bake one immediately… hence this post.

This recipe is from my initial baking days… very simple and easy to make even for beginners… so naturally it never got posted on the blog. Not bragging but I thought it to be too simple to be posted here. But trust me, it is every bit delicious! This is my go-to recipe while baking for non egg-eaters and it has turned out perfect every single time so it is tried, tested and tasted recipe in a true sense!

Use this as your basic cake recipe and add any other ingredients you like to it. Cinnamon, chocolate, lemonā€¦ anything! Sky is truly a limit. Use any other fruit you like or even better, make it tropical (pineapple and coconut, anyone?) style! Getting ideas?!Ā ?

This eggless sponge is moist, has tight crumb and relatively flat top which makes it perfect for a multi-layer cake for birthdays or for any other occasion. In past, I have successfully doubled and tripled this eggless sponge recipe to make a 2 or 3-layer celebratory cake. For frosting ideas and recipes, read the recipe notes at the end of this post.

Vanilla Buttermilk Eggless Sponge Cake-1

Previously I have always used fresh strawberries for this eggless sponge as seen in the picture above. This time I had Kiwi fruit on hand so I decided it was time for a change. I am not a fan of baked Kiwi fruit so I refrained from adding fruit pieces to the batter which I sometimes do with strawberries but if you have no such qualms then go ahead.

It is perfect for eating any time of the day!

Yup, even for breakfast!

It has yogurt and fruit! Totally acceptable, right?! šŸ˜‰

Kiwi Buttermilk Cake - Eggless1

 

Recipe adapted from here

Print Recipe
 Vanilla Buttermilk Sponge Cake ~ Eggless
Course Breakfast, Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Topping
Course Breakfast, Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Topping
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180Ā°C/350Ā°F. Spray a 6 or 8-inch baking dish with vegetable oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar with electric mixer or hand whisk. Whisk in vanilla extract.
  4. Using rubber spatula, gently stir in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2-parts alternating with yogurt/buttermilk, ending with dry ingredients. Do not over-mix the batter.
  5. Spoon the batter in a baking dish and smooth out the surface with the back of spoon. Top with Kiwi/strawberry slices and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Recipe Notes

*Stays fresh for 3-4 daysĀ if refrigerated in an airtight container.
*Want to add fruit within the cake batter instead on top? Mix together about 1/2 generous cup of chopped fruit and 1 Tbsp flour, fold into the cake batter.
*You may double/triple/quadruple the recipe to make layers for a multi-layered cake. UseĀ vanilla bean buttercream, fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting, lemon cream cheese frosting or coconut buttercreamĀ frosting recipe to decorate.

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Jun
2013

Skinny Strawberry And Banana Frozen Whip

categories: Breakfast, Ice-creams, Summer

Skinny ice-cream??!! Not joking guys!

A delicious, skinny, dairy-free, sugar-free, 2-ingredient breakfast treat!

Is that an oxymoron?! šŸ˜‰ Not anymore!

Skinny Strawberry & Banana Ice-cream1

It’s a Wednesday… Middle of the week… So I thought of giving my creamy ice-cream posts a break and present this totally guilt-free fruity treat!

Still can not believe your eyes?

Trust me guys… This ice-cream is magical! Totally melt-in-your-mouth kind!

Tastes totally rich (even if it’s not!) and decadent!

Make it either post-workout and gobble it up immediately (which is just what I did!) or make it pre-workout, chuck it in a freezer and polish it off once you’re back from sweating out!

Totally acceptable as a dessert too!

So how did I accomplish this? If you remember myĀ Mango & Banana Oatmeal Smoothie with a hint of BasilĀ andĀ Peach, Apricot & Banana Minty Milk SmoothieĀ recipe, then you know how I had used frozen banana chunks to get a silky smooth consistency for my smoothies. Ā Frozen banana chunks get a total make-over when they are whipped in a blender. If you don’t like bananas then this is even better becauseĀ they don’t even taste like bananas anymore after freezing and whipping! Super-ripe bananas give the best of results!Ā I always have frozen bananas sitting in my freezer waiting to be used! If you don’t then freeze the fruit for at least 2 hours prior to making this.

To whipped frozen banana goodness, I added frozen strawberries and the resultĀ is in front of you! Put on your thinking caps and start thinking of all the different flavors you can eat this way and that too guilt-free! Add cocoa powder or peanut butter or Nutella or frozen mango cubes or frozen peach cubes… Let me know what you would like to experiment with!

Skinny Strawberry & Banana Ice-cream2

Skinny Strawberry & Banana Ice-cream

Yields: 4 scoops

Ingredients:

  • 1 large overripe banana, cut in to chunks and frozen
  • 4 large strawberries, frozen
  • chocolate-chips for topping (optional)

Directions:

Add the frozen fruit in a blender or food processor bowl and whip for 30 seconds. Scrap down the sides and whip it again till you get a smooth, soft-serve kinda consistency.

Serve immediately topped with chocolate-chips (if using) or re-freeze any left-overs and let soften slightly before enjoying!

*This recipe is my entry forĀ Event by Archana’s Kitchen – Summer Fiesta

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