Michelle Darmody: Some berry nice recipes to celebrate strawberry season
It is Irish strawberry season. You do not have to do anything to a perfectly ripe strawberry, simply wash it and eat it. Once sun ripened and sweet I think they are almost perfect, but here are three dessert recipes to dress them up a little, if you wish.
The first recipe for tartlets is a no-bake recipe. You can make one larger tart rather than smaller ones, a case about 9 inches in dimeter would work. The last recipe uses the very traditional pairing of vanilla shortcake, whipped cream and strawberries. The berries that sit on the shortcake are dressed in honey and orange juice, but this is optional. Feel free to taste your strawberries to see how much honey or juice is needed, another option is a dash of orange blossom water which adds a more exotic, floral note.
The fact that strawberries have their seeds on the outside makes them very unusual and actually it means that they are not really a berry at all. They are a member of the rose family and share their blossom-like scent with their cousins. Their sweet smell can in fact be an indicator of quality when purchasing or picking strawberries. When choosing them it is good to lookout for shiny fruit that are deep red in colour with their bright green caps still attached.
Vanilla strawberry shortcake
Ingredients
250g of butter
100g of golden caster sugar
360g of plain flour
2 tsp of vanilla extract
To decorate:
450g of strawberries
½ tbs of orange juice or 2 tsp of orange blossom water for a more floral taste
½ tbs of honey 300mls of cream, whipped to stiff peaks
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Method:
Beat the butter and sugar until they are well combined. Stir in the flour until it too is combined, then add in the vanilla. Knead gently for about thirty seconds until a smooth dough is formed and then wrap the dough in baking parchment and place it into the fridge for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line three baking trays with parchment.
Sprinkle flour onto a work surface. Roll the dough to about a centimetre in thickness and using a side plate cut out a disc. Gently place it onto the prepared baking tray. Repeat this to create two more discs. Score the discs with a fork or knife.
Bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool on the tray until you can easily handle the discs then transfer onto a wire rack.
Cut the tops off the strawberries and cut them into even size chunks. Toss the chunks in the orange juice and honey. Stir the vanilla into the whipped cream.
Once the discs are completely cold place the whipped cream on the first disc, add strawberries and repeat this to pile the discs up and serve straight away.
Strawberry Tarlets
Ingredients
200g of ginger biscuits, completely crushed
100g of butter, melted
½ tbs of honey
To decorate:
300g of mascarpone cheese
1 tbs of icing sugar, sieved
the zest of 2 oranges and ½ tbs of orange juice
1 tsp of vanilla
400g of strawberries, green tops removed and halved
Melt the butter and honey together and stir in the crushed biscuits until they are completely coated. Press into the base of six small tart cases. Place into the fridge to cool completely.
Whisk the mascarpone, icing sugar, orange zest and juice as well as the vanilla until light. Scoop into the cooled tart cases and smooth out the topping. Dot the strawberries on top.
Sunken strawberry cake
Ingredients
200g of soft butter
180g of light brown sugar and 1 extra dessert spoon
150g of spelt flour
2 tsp of baking powder
100g of ground almonds
4 eggs, lightly whisked
500g of strawberries, green tops removed and halved or quartered
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a 9-inch square tin with parchment.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Sieve the baking powder into the flour and stir in the ground almonds. Mix them all together and set aside.
Slowly add the eggs to the butter and sugar mix, then slowly add the dry ingredients until a smooth batter is formed.
Scoop the batter into your prepared tin and dot the strawberries on top. Sprinkle with the extra spoon of sugar.
Bake for 45 minutes until golden. Allow to cool in the tin.
