Strawberry Peach Tart

With it having been almost a year since I was in my hometown in Central Oregon, I’ve forgotten how hot it can be here in the summer. I had such high hopes for 4th of July desserts this year, but with temperatures teetering dangerously close to triple digits, I was banned from all oven use preceding the big day. Alas, I have no patriotic desserts to share. But with temperatures dipping down to a comfortable 80-90 degrees (note a bit of sarcasm here), my oven use was reinstated in a limited fashion. So what can you bake when it’s really too hot to bake? A fresh fruit tart!

Strawberry Peach Tart
Yields one 9″ tart

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, cold
2-3 tbsp. ice cold water

For the pastry cream filling:
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 tbsp. granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 tbsp. butter

For the fruit topping:
1 medium size peach
4-5 strawberries
1-2 tsp. honey

Strawberry Cloud Pancakes

It’s not often that I posted stuff on my blog that could even remotely enter the realm of healthy. In fact, my friends have, for the most part, stopped asking what I put in my baked goods and instead opted for responses like “Oh this is sooooo good! I don’t even want to know what you made this frosting out of.” While I wouldn’t say this recipe is healthy, per say, it’s certainly not the most unhealthy breakfast option you could choose. With almost a full serving of fruit (and your daily dose of vitamin C), no extra refined sugar, and approximately 400 calories a serving, this is a delicious guilt-free way to start your morning!

Strawberry Cloud Pancake
Makes one large pancake (approximately 2 servings per pancake)

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. honey
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tbsp. butter
6-7 large strawberries, washed and quartered

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

As may be obvious from the previous post, I  recently discovered that, by some miracle, the local stores are stocking fresh strawberries in the middle of February. For those of you that have never lived in a small town in the heart of Norway, the reason for my excessive giddiness may not be overly apparent. You see, when I lived in the US I was used to simply strolling into any old grocery store and finding just about anything I could think of. Unlike here, things like ice cream cones and marshmallows were not seasonal. Fresh cilantro and mint extract were easy to come by. When I asked about meringue powder I wasn’t laughed at and told that meringue comes from egg whites, not powder. And most importantly, I never walked into a grocery store that was out of any of the following items (natural disasters not included): chicken breasts, 2% milk, eggs, all varieties of ground meat, and/or baking soda. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to complain. It’s been an adjustment, but I love it here and, if anything, it’s just made me more creative. But after all of that, to walk into a grocery store in the middle of February and find fresh strawberries… I was surprised, to say the least. So what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a delicious, if not unexpected, treat?

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Yields 12-15 chocolate strawberries

Ingredients:

12-15 strawberries
1 bar (100 grams) dark chocolate
1 bar (100 grams) white chocolate

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

With another friend’s birthday looming on the horizon, I was sitting at home trying to come up with the perfect cupcake flavor for the event. However, finding the perfect flavor isn’t always easy. I usually try to work from my knowledge of that person’s favorite candy, cake, or even beverage is. But some people, unfortunately, don’t seem to have favorites when it comes to those types of things. And this guy was one of those people. Seriously, I can’t remember ever seeing this guy eat a candy bar, and aside from going out for drinks, I’d only ever seen him drink water. Okay, water cupcakes it is! But I digress. My troubles were further confirmed when I finally asked him what kind of goodies he liked to eat and he said he didn’t really have any. After much poking and prodding, he finally fessed up that he liked to eat apples and strawberries. Finally, some flavors I could work with! And with a little luck finding some strawberries at the local grocer, I was able to set about making some strawberry cupcakes.

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
4 tbsp. (57 grams) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. sour cream

For the filling:
Strawberry jam

For the frosting:
2 1/2 sticks (300 grams) butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
3-5 tbsp. milk
1-2 tsp. red food coloring

Garnish:
3-4 whole strawberries, sliced