Strawberries |

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Kaitlin

I’m so ready for spring. I’m sick of the cold and wind, although we didn’t have any snow this year. So I am going to force spring upon you in the hope of it pushing the warmer months up a little bit. When I think of spring, I always think of Strawberries. And what better way to show off strawberries than in Strawberry Shortcake? I decided to make them in cupcake form because, well, I like cupcakes. I used a Martha Stewart recipe for angel food cake to make the cupcake, filled the inside of the cupcake with a strawberry-sugar mixture, and topped it off with a strawberry whipped cream icing. These are pretty delicious if I do say so myself! Ingredients: Angel Food Cake Cupcakes: 1 cup cake flour (spooned and leveled) 1/4 teaspoon salt 12 large egg whites, room temperature 4 teaspoons lemon juice and zest from 1 lemon, divided 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Strawberry filling: 3/4 container of strawberries, hulled and chopped 2 tablespoons sugar Strawberry whipped cream: 1 8-oz container cream cheese 3/4 cup white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract lemon zest from lemon used in angel food cake 2 … Continue reading →

Christmas Trifle

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Kaitlin

Each year, my mom makes a beautiful trifle for Christmas. I’m pretty sure at one point, she was only making one, but as the popularity of her trifle grew, she is now up to making 6+ for different holiday events, friends, and family. My sister and I grew up begrudgingly helping my mom make these trifles but we both have grown to love them and look forward to a bite of trifle every December. A trifle is just a layered dessert that is usually made with cake pieces, cream, pudding, and fruit. My mom tops her with a beautiful design of fruit: kiwi, peaches and raspberries. I wanted to make some trifle to share with this blog but a normal trifle can serve a whole family, so I made a mini version! To prepare a regular trifle, the process is just the same. I highlighted Driscoll’s Berries in my trifle. I absolutely love their raspberries and blackberries so I wanted to have a higher ratio of berries in my trifle than may normally be used. Driscoll’s also sells really beautiful Strawberries and Blueberries that I have used in many many of my previous posts. Berries always add such … Continue reading →

Strawberry-Mint Sparkling Limeade

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Kaitlin

I have a confession. I honestly don’t get the brunch obsession with mimosas. Every time I order one, I end up drinking maybe half of it. It just doesn’t do it for me. I love the general idea of them though: sparkling wine with fruit juice. So I was really excited to find this drink recipe in Cooking Light. It sounds right up my alley! Ingredients (makes 6 servings): 1 container of strawberries, sliced 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves the juice of 4 limes 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup agave nectar 1 (750-milliliter) bottle sparkling wine, chilled To make, place the strawberries, mint leaves, limes, water, and agave nectar in a blender. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour enough of the mixture into a glass to fill the glass half way. Carefully fill with the sparkling wine and gently mix to combine. Serve garnished with mint leaves and a whole strawberry, if desired. So as you can see from my ingredients photo, you do not need to buy an expensive sparkling wine for this. I used a rose to give it a little extra flavor, but a normal white sparkling wine will do just fine. This … Continue reading →

Berries and Cream in Vanilla Dessert Cups

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Kaitlin

This is the perfect quick dessert for guests, or just to fulfill a sweet tooth in a pinch. I found the vanilla dessert cups in Whole Foods and immediately knew I was going to fill them with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream. This recipe is easily adaptable to account for what is on sale or what looks freshest, any berry or fruit will do. Ingredients: 4 vanilla dessert cups 1/2 pint blackberries 1/2 pint raspberries 2 strawberries, halved 1/2 cup whipping cream/heavy cream The juice and zest of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon sugar To make, add the cream to a bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix the cream on medium/high until frothy. Add the juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon sugar. Beat on medium/high until stiff peaks form, and the mixture resembles whipped cream. Scoop the whipped cream into a plastic bag. Close the bag and snip off one of the lower corners. Squeeze a few tablespoons of the mixture into each of the dessert cups. Top with blackberries and raspberries. Add a little more whipped cream and top with one half of a strawberry. If desired, top with additional zest. Easy and beautiful right? The … Continue reading →

Strawberry-Banana Stuffed French Toast

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Kaitlin

It’s spring! And spring means (among other things) that strawberries are back in season. So what better way to use them than for a delicious weekend brunch? This stuffed French toast uses strawberries three ways: fresh, in a strawberry sauce, and for an extra touch of strawberry goodness, in a strawberry jam. And because I love bananas, I threw in a couple slices of that as well. I found the strawberry sauce recipe here and my French toast recipe is based off of this post. Ingredients: 4 challah rolls 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (unsweeted) 2 tablespoons sugar 1 1/4 cup sliced strawberries, divided 3 tablespoons honey the juice and zest of one lemon 4 ounces low fat cream cheese 1 tablespoon strawberry jam 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 banana, sliced 1 tablespoon butter Begin by slicing the challah rolls in half. In a large bowl, add the eggs, almond milk and 2 tablespoons sugar. Add the roll halves and mix to coat. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. one hour later Add 1 cup sliced strawberries, 3 tablespoons honey, and the lemon juice and zest to a bowl and mix to combine. Allow to stand for … Continue reading →

Strawberries with Chocolate Cream

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Kaitlin

Valentines Day has come early to I Can Cook That! Ok, not really. I made them for a party recently, but they would be perfect for a Valentines Day dessert, or with your coffee in the morning! I found this recipe on Taste of Home. After reading the reviews, a few people suggested adding some powdered sugar to sweeten up the chocolate cream. I love anything sweet, so I took their suggestion! Ingredients: 1-1/2 ounces dark chocolate, grated, divided 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup powdered sugar 1 cup whipped topping 2 containers of fresh strawberries, halved I used dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s. They come in 1.75 oz little bars so I used two of those 1.75 oz bars. Take the first bar and melt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. In a small bowl, add the cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and whipped topping. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat until combined. Add the mixture to a plastic zip lock bag. Cut off the lower corner and pipe onto the strawberries, with the cut side up. … Continue reading →

Lemon Pound Cake with Mint Berries and Cream

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Kaitlin

I thought I’d step away from cookies and cupcakes for the moment to make… pound cake. I don’t know why I am on such a baking kick, but at least I have the chance to try a bunch of different new recipes! I found this recipe through MyRecipes.com, originally from Southern Living. The recipe sounded absolutely fantastic so I stuck to it for the most part, but I added blueberries because, well, I like blueberries! Ingredients: 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves 3/4 cup butter, softened 3 cups powdered sugar, divided 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 (12-ounce) jar lemon curd 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced 1 pint fresh blueberries Add the granulated sugar and mint leaves to a food processor. Blend until combined. (It ends up looking like green sugar). You will use this mixture a couple times so it will be divided. Add the butter to a large bowl and beat with a mixer for 2 minutes or until creamy. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mint mixture and 2 1/2 cups powered sugar to the … Continue reading →