Strawberry Syrup

I made this a few weeks ago and I have been craving it ever since. I don't have a picture because it was in the morning when I made it and I was just hungry and wanted to dig in. I made homemade waffles and put this over it! I wish I would have made more. If you like breakfast or strawberries, you will love this recipe!


Strawberry Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 Tb. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups thinly sliced and then roughly chopped fresh strawberries

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in saucepan; stir in strawberries.  (The strawberry juices will dissolve the sugar and make a wet mixture.)  Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.

This makes approximately 2 cups of syrup.

(I got this recipe from Sisterscafe.com)

Tres Leches Cake

On special occasions, Adam and I like to go to places like Cafe Rio or Bajios and get their Mexican dessert, Tres Leches. In my All You magazine last month there was a recipe for it, so I made it! And it tasted exactly the same as the one we buy at the restaurants. It called for things that I already have in my cupboards and my fridge which are my favorite recipes. It was very yummy. I think I will make it again soon. You can actually see the moistness running on the plate at the bottom of the cake in the picture. So Good!

Tres Leches Cake

CAKE:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

6 large eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

SOAK:

1 cup whole milk

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 12-oz. can evaporated milk

TOPPING:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Mist a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Add yolks, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three parts to form a stiff batter.

3. Using clean beaters and bowl, beat egg whites until peaks form. Stir 1/3 of whites into batter; fold in remaining whites. Spread batter in pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Use a fork to poke holes on top of cake. Cool to room temperature on a rack.

4. Whisk together whole, condensed and evaporated milks. Pour over cake, cover and chill for at least 4 hours.

5. To serve, whip cream with sugar and vanilla until firm peaks form. Spread over cake and chill 30 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with fruit, if desired.

Birthday Strawberry Shortcake with Almond Glaze

It was my sister Amber's birthday last week and I wanted to make her a cake. This one looked just really pretty, so my brother, Avram, and I whipped it up for her at his BYU apartment. It was really yummy and rich. It had a great almond flavor through out the cake. It's a great cake to make for special people.

Strawberry Shortcake with Almond Glaze

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

1 small vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

2 tsp almond extract

Mix all the above ingredients together for a few minutes until well combined.  Pour the batter into 2 round cake pans.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes and then gently remove from pans and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Almond Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tb butter, melted

2 tsp almond extract

1-2 Tb milk, if needed

Mix the glaze ingredients together while the cake cools.  Once semi cooled, prick the cake with a large fork or the back of a wooden spoon.  Spoon the glaze over the two round cakes letting it sink in.  Save about 1/3 or so of the glaze and set aside.

1 pint whipping cream

powdered sugar to sweeten

1-2 pounds of fresh strawberries, sliced

Whip cream with 2 Tb powdered sugar, using a mixer.  Wash dry and slice the starwberries and set aside.

Assembly:

Place one of the glazed cake rounds on a cake stand or large plate.  Top with freshly whipped cream and a layer of strawberry slices.  Follow with the second cake, more whipped cream and arrange more fresh sliced strawberries on top in a pretty pattern.  Next drizzle the more of the almond glaze over the top and down the sides.  Store in fridge until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

I got this recipe from Sisterscafe.com

Strawberry Blossoms

Mine aren't that pretty, but they were really yummy and I nice little decoration for a dinner plate or a great finger food. You could also just make the filling and use it as a dip to dip the strawberries in. There are some beautiful strawberries out there right now.


Strawberry Blossoms

12 large, fresh strawberries, washed

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon sour cream

fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Remove stems from strawberries to form a flat base. Place berries on cutting surface, pointed end facing up. With a sharp knife, carefully slice each berry in half vertically to within a 1/4 inch of base. Cut each half into three wedges to form 6 petals. (Don\'t slice through the base.) Pull petals apart slightly.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and sour cream; beat until light and fluffy. With a pastry bag and star tip or small spoon, fill strawberries with cream cheese mixture.

Notes & Options:

A plastic zipper sandwich bag can be used instead of a pastry bag by filling with cream cheese mixture and squeezing out excess air before sealing. Carefully cut one corner off of the bottom of the bag and squeeze mixture out through the cut.

For added sweetness, you can use strawberry flavored cream cheese instead of plain.

Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri

This was a yummy, quick, fun drink that is perfect for summer. And strawberries are cheaper right now too which is a plus! In the summer, I always have fresh strawberries in my fridge.

Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri
Servings: 2 drinks

2 oz fresh lime juice (to taste)
8-10 strawberries (to taste)
2-3 tsp sugar
Ice

Put ice in a blender and blend up until it's like a snow cone. Just kind of figure out how much shaved ice will make about two drinks. Then add the lime juice, strawberries, and sugar to the ice and blend together. Take a taste of it and figure out if it needs more sweetness or more tartness and either add more lime juice, strawberries, or sugar. It's really what you like. Save out a strawberry and lime if you would like and decorate the side of your glass with it. Serve with a straw.

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Adam and I went to Utah last weekend and stayed with my Grandma Johnson. She made something like this and it was way yummy. She didn't give me an exact recipe, but I think it was like the one below. 

Fruit Salsa

10 servings

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 apples - peeled, cored

and diced

raspberries

strawberries, sliced

grapes, cut in half

(And any other fruit you may want in it)

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Cinnamon Chips

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas

butter

2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, and brown sugar. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Spread butter on each side of each flour tortilla. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. I would spray the cookie sheet with baking spray just in case.

Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This was kind of our dessert for last night and it seemed like a romantic little snack that we could enjoy. I just found a simple, basic recipe for it and it really was yummy. But you can never go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
About 20 strawberries with stems

Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

(I put the strawberries in the fridge)

I got this recipe from the Food Network