The Farm Chicks: Holiday: Easter

Strawberry Fool

Greetings from the countryside of Dayton, Washington!

Colin and I just enjoyed one of the most memorable dinners ever. (I'll be writing about it next week).

And good news! We enjoyed "Strawberry Fool" for dessert. In honor of Strawberry Week, I thought I'd share the concept of the dessert with you here, and how you can re-create it at home.

Please don't roll your eyes when I tell you this...

This is a very simple dish!

And elegant? YES!

To create, quarter fresh strawberries and gently stir in granulated sugar (add sugar to taste). Let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes, until the strawberries begin to release their juices. Combine strawberry mixture with heavy whipping cream and taste to ensure the mixture is suitably sweetened for a dessert. Beat until cream is stiff.

Scoop beaten strawberry cream mixture onto a chilled platter, top with chocolate cookie wafers and fresh raspberries. Drizzle with sweetened, unwhipped, heavy cream and embellish with thinly sliced fresh mint. Serve immediately.

If you want to get really fancy (and create more work for yourself), drizzle with Creme Anglaise, instead of the sweetened, unwhipped, heavy cream.

And how many times in your life have you gotten to announce that you're serving "Strawberry Fool" for dessert? Yeah, me too.

xo, from Dayton

P.S. Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers are readily area where I live, however, if they're not in your area, the next best substitute (but a pain in the neck) would be Oreo cookies with the filling removed.

Posted at 05:00 AM in Holiday: Easter, Recipes: Dessert, Tips | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)

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Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

One of my favorite spring flavor combinations is strawberry and rhubarb and every year, I love experimenting with recipes that include them. My Strawberry Cake is sweet and aromatic while the Rhubarb Topping is a bit tart, really buttery, and delicious. Desserts really don't get any homier than this.

Rhubarb Topping:

3/4 cups butter (1 1/2 cubes)

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (not packed)

3 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2" - 3/4" chunks

Add butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and cook over medium high heat until butter is melted and sugar has dissolved. Pour into a 13"x9" baking pan. Top with the rhubarb chunks and set aside while you prepare the Strawberry Cake batter.

Strawberry Cake:

2 heaping cups fresh strawberries, blended to produce 1 1/2 cups

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and hull strawberries and quarter. Blend strawberries and measure out 1 1/2 cups of the mixture. Set aside.

Add flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and stir together. Add butter, milk, and the strawberry mixture and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl as needed, for one minute. Add eggs and beat on high for two minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Pour batter atop the Rhubarb Topping in the baking pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the cake is set in the center, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for five minutes. After five minutes, loosen cake from edges of the pan with a spatula and invert onto a cooling rack or platter.