Strawberry Tart

Hello friends! It is Friday! finally! The weekend is here and it's going to be a long weekend for most people in the USA! So... enjoy! But please, please If you drink (you don't need to though) but if you do... please, don't drive! I beg you!

Anyway... lighter topic instead of the drinking one because I get rather passionate about that one... So, first of all... did you enter my giveaway? It's almost over but you still have time so to enter just click here. Now... to our topic! ... Just the day before yesterday hubby told me he needed a CAKE for Friday for a meeting in his job! (I mean... he told me this like at 9 p.m. on Wednesday), and the cake he wanted me to make was my famous "Chocoflan Cake" which is delicious and not really that hard to make but it just involves some ingredients I didn't have at hand and TIME for baking (it bakes in a water bath  for two hours) but I thought I would just go to the store on Thursday, get the ingredients and then make and bake it at night when hubby came from work so it would cool completely and then be refrigerated... But then... the sun came out and it was a beautiful day! It was windy and really warm outside! It just felt like the perfect day to hit the pool! We had been wanting to enjoy a day of swimming but for one thing or another (girls being sick and stuff like that) we hadn't been able to, so yesterday I just took my girls to the pool and even had a friend and her son join us! It was a lot of fun! We splashed and enjoyed the water for almost 3 straight hours! I didn't even realize I was getting sunburned! But it was just sooo great, after that, my girls (and I) were hungry so we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner....

We had a great time and my baby girl was ready to go to bed pretty early at night (awesome!) but I still had to make a "cake" for hubby's work... Good thing the pool and sunny day inspired me to make something different (and much faster to prepare) .... I knew it HAD TO HAVE strawberries... then I found the perfect recipe...

Strawberry Tart
Slightly Adapted from Martha Stewart Recipes

Ingredients

• For the Crust

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for handling dough
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

• For the Filling

  • 1 bar and 1/2 (12 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. sugar
  •  2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved
  • 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jelly

Directions

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan.
4. Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan).
5. Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, on cream cheese.
6. In a small saucepan, heat jelly on medium-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving. (You can use a pizza cutter to slice) 

Hubby wasn't sure about this "Strawberry Tart" he is not fond of cheesecakes (so he was afraid it would be like that) plus he doesn't really care for "fruity desserts" but... I actually had to share this recipe because he JUST called me from work saying this was absolutely amazing! I was very happy everyone enjoyed it! It was easy to make and delicious! I hope you try it too! (Please let me know if you do!)

 I only had 1 pound of Strawberries, that's why there is space between each strawberry but if you do have the 2 pounds just go ahead and place them all right next to each other and it will also look even prettier!  Enjoy your weekend!

 © Paloma K.

Delicious and very fresh dessert - The Cake Slice

Hello friends! Thank you all for choosing "The Coffee Shop"! I have been going back to my old posts, re-reading the comments and checking my Subscriptions to try to get in touch again with my old friends who used to make this place such a vibrant, happy spot to gather! "The Coffee Shop" is a place where we can talk about anything! Enjoy good food! but mostly enjoy one another! I am hoping I can soon gain new friendships and re-connect with the old faces that I miss so much! It's been all my fault because I wasn't here consistently due to just the "daily life" but I hope I am here for good now! we'll see, right? We all have "seasons" like that!  Just as a way to say "Thanks for being patient with me" I am hosting a giveaway! I am giving a $25.00 Starbucks Gift Card! I hope you enter! Please check my previous post! Entering is SOOO EASY! You basically just need to follow me here or like me on FB to enter! you can get more entries by blogging about the giveaway... just check it out here . I really appreciate your support!

Today... it is May 20th! And if you  remember I am a member of a wonderful group of ladies who LOVE BAKING as much as I do... check their blogs here: The Cake Slice Bakers

This year we are baking cakes from:  "The Cake Book by Tish Boyle"  I've loved that book and I've really enjoyed everything we've baked so far. This month was the turn for:

Delicious and beautiful!

Individual Meringue Cups with Lime Cream and Fresh Berries

This delicious dessert was just heavenly! So light! So fresh! You basically have to make some meringue cups, then lime cream (like a curd) and then you fill your cups and top it all with fresh berries (I only used strawberries and blackberries) ... I loved this! I am definitely going to make it again!

Here is the recipe: (Makes 6 Individual Meringues)
Ingredients:

Meringue Cups:
4 Large egg whites at room temp.
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup (7 oz) superfine sugar


Lime Cream:
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
4 tbsp. unsalted butter (cut into tablespoons)
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
3/4 cup heavy cream

Fruit Topping
2 cups mixed fresh berries (raspberries, sliced strawberries, red currants, blueberries)

Confectioner's sugar for dusting.

Elaboration:

Make the Meringues:

1. Preheat oven at 225F. Trace six 3 1/2" circles onto a sheet of parchment paper. Turn parchment paper upside down and place it on the baking sheet.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at med. speed until foamy Add salt and cream of tartar and beat at med.-high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add the sugar, about 1 tbsp. at a time, then increase speed to high and beat the whites until stiff peaks form.
3. Scrape meringue into a large (18") pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip. Starting in the center of each circle, pipe a spiral of meringue in toward the edge, filling the circle completely. Pipe a ring of meringue around the edge of each circle. Pipe another ring of meringue on top of the first to form cups.
4. Bake meringues for 2 hours or until they are very lightly colored and dry to the touch. Let them cool completely (I think I baked them for about 1 hour only). 

 Make the Lime Cream

1. Set a fine mesh over a medium bowl and set aside. In a medium heavy saucepan (making sure it's perfectly clean, stainless steel and has no traces of grease in it) whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended. Stir in the lime juice and butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture turns opaque and thickens enough to leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately strain the custard through the sieve pressing it through with a rubber spatula. Stir in the lime zest. Set the mixture aside while you whip the cream or if you are not ready to serve the meringues, refrigerate the mixture, covered until ready to use.
2. Shortly before serving, in the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream at high speed until medium-firm peaks form. Place the bowl of whipped cream in refrigerator.
3. If the lime mixture has not been refrigerated, set the bowl containing the lime mixture in a large bowl filled about one third of the way with ice water (be careful that the water doesn't splash into lime mixture). Stir mixture frequently until is slightly cooler than room temp. (about 10 minutes)
4. Fold a large spoonful of the whipped cream into the lime base to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining cream.
5. Spoon the lime cream into the meringue cups, dividing it evenly. Top each meringue with mixed berries, then dust lightly with confectioners' sugar and serve.

STORE the unfilled meringue shells in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 5 days, once filled they should be served immediately.

I hope you try this recipe! I think it would be perfect for a 4th of July celebration! If you try it let me know how you liked it! and please don't forget to enter the giveaway.

Enjoy!


© Paloma K.

A "lick the bowl good" dessert

Hello everybody! I just wanted to stop by and share an amazing and impressive looking recipe I found yesterday when looking for something to make with the fresh strawberries I had... I felt like doing something "different and unique" with them so I did. I was surprised (and happy) to see how EASY to make this dessert is... it looks complicated and fancy but it is something a mom (like me) with a 3 yr. old and a 1 yr. old can make in between laundry loads, baby feeding, etc! So... I will let the cake speak for itself now:

Strawberry Chantilly
Slightly adapted from Lick The Bowl Good

For the Crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter
• ½ cup crushed "Marias" or "Graham" crackers (you should try the original recipe, it calls for pecans or almonds, I just had none)

For the Filling:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon lime (or lemon) juice
• 2 drops red food coloring, optional - I didn't use any -

For the crust: Cut the cold butter into the flour and sugar until crumbly, then stir in the chopped pecans. Press mixture into the bottom and halfway -a little less- up the sides of a springform pan and bake at 325 for 22 minutes (until it looks golden brown) -you could also use a 9x13-inch baking dish and bake at 300 for 20 minutes but I guess you'd have to serve it directly from the dish. I put mine in the refrigerator to cool faster while I made the filling. 

For the Filling: Pulse the strawberries in a food processor until is mostly pureed but still a little lumpy. Place the pureed strawberries, egg whites, sugar and lime juice in a bowl of your electric stand mixer. Beat on high for ten minutes. Add food coloring, if using, and mix for a few more seconds till the color is fully incorporated.
In a different bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until you get stiff peaks. Gently fold, by hand, the whipped cream into the strawberry meringue mixture.
Pour the filling into the baked and cooled crust and cover well. Freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Slice and serve frozen chantilly with additional strawberries (or chocolate covered strawberries), if desired.

 

Hubby just LOVED this dessert! He said he had nothing like this before! And he was "shocked" when he saw it ... so you also get that "fall in love at first sight" factor on your side! Trust me... it is delicious... and all you do is put it all in the electric mixer, then in the pan and freeze! It is sooo good! Let me know if you try it.


Paloma K.