Strawberry Bread!
From my previous posts you may have gathered that I used to hate baking, but now I am on a constant baking spree and take every opportunity to try something new out! In the past five days, I have baked four delights! I stumbled upon this strawberry bread recipe while I was browsing through another blog and then got redirected to another blog, then another… the final destination: mybakingaddiction, the perfect source for my baking craves.
When I came across this mouth-watering recipe, I instantly knew it would this recipe (instead of cupcakes) that I would be baking for my new work colleagues, a great balanced treat with morning coffee or tea! I absolutely love bread and strawberries; what a great combination they made! Also worth mentioning again that strawberries are in season so you will find great tasting ones from your local grocer (not from your supermarket). To get really nice, sweet strawberries, I diverted from my usual route home to get these from a local stall and this time tried hard not to eat them before I began the recipe (as I had failed for my mango cupcakes) and I succeeded!
This was my first baking experience where I used buttermilk. I was curious as to why buttermilk was essential to this recipe and did not opt for the usual route of substituting for whatever I have at home. I since discovered that buttermilk is used to combat discolouring that is often caused by the chemical reaction of fruits and other foods. It also promotes browning of baked goods and improves texture by making it a light/tender baked good. Despite its fat-sounding name, buttermilk is low in calories: it has the same amount of protein and vitamins as the milk it is made from and is an excellent source of calcium.
My minor alterations to the recipe/handling:
1. I used 3/4 cup sugar, instead of 1 cup as knew I was buying sweet fresh strawberries. As always there was health aspects to this but also I wanted to keep it light and not too sweet. In addition, I used low-fat cheese.
2. I added a 1/4 more cup of chopped strawberries, as I really wanted the strawberry flavour to come out in each bite! Basically, I put an entire (UK) tub of strawberries in my cake mix.
3. I divided the mixture into two bread loaf tins. It just made it easier for me to handle and cut into small bites. (As my husband will testify, I am really terrible at cutting bread!)
I highly, highly recommend this recipe as it was a great hit at work and I absolutely love it! It is also a great way to get your kids to eat more fruit!
Bite-size Desserts!
Soon after I announced my launch of my blog, I received a phone call from Sunil’s Uncle to create dessert delights for his daughter’s wedding party of 200 guests! I was awe-struck!!! With the bride on board, I was thrilled to have this opportunity and couldn’t believe she was trusting me to provide treats on her special day! It was the first time that I would be baking on such a big scale in my teeny-tiny kitchen…..I was up for the challenge! 🙂
As they were already bringing in the main wedding cake and other fruit desserts, I decided to complement the selection by creating mainly chocolate items! I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to make one item, two, or many! After brainstorming, a discussion with my husband and much contemplation (as we wanted to do it all!!), we opted for five different varieties; each with its own distinct flavour, texture, and wow factor! At first, I thought it was not possible to do it all on my own, but with the support of my husband, no mission is ‘mission impossible’ 🙂
Planning Stage:
To keep myself organized and to be sure I had accounted for everything I needed on the day of baking, I created a spreadsheet! Surprise, Surprise…those who know me really me, know how much I love my spreadsheets and for everything I do, I have a spreadsheet! I can’t help it!! 🙂 I cannot say enough how organized they keep you and they are a great medium to get ALL your thoughts down together: including ingredients to buy, any advance preparation, timings, storage and transport considerations. It was the one single thing that cleverly restricted me from being lost at any point during this process!
Execution:
So you are probably still wondering what the five selections were: chocolate-mocha hazelnut macaroons, chocolate brownie bites, lemon-ginger meringue mini cupcakes, chocolate-oreo truffles, and chocolate tuxedo strawberries.
Our biggest limitation was the size of our oven, come micro come grill! With only small oven shelf, we had to make sure there was not any idle time. Thus, I started with the items that required the oven and in between each oven change, I prepared the mix and made sure the next batch was ready to go. I would be lying if I said everything went smoothly: there was a batch of italian meringue that flopped, a reject batch of macaroons and brownie bite crumbling from over-handling! In the end, we made close to 400 pieces of intense pleasure. Overall it was a great learning curve for me across all aspects of this gastronomic project!
At the event:
When it was time for the desserts to come out, we displayed them all on a perfectly decorated table. It was the moment of truth…did it live up to the expectations in terms of presentation and taste? After speaking with many, many of the guests, the hard work had paid off!! It was rewarding to see all those great smiles and people really enjoying the sweet delights! I couldn’t have asked for more!! I was glad to see those empty trays 🙂 It was my first big event and I hope to spread more smiles with more opportunities!
Chocolate-Oreo Truffles
Chocolate-covered Tuxedo Strawberries
These are the same lemon meringue cupcakes made using a recipe by Eric Lanlard, whom I met at the “Taste of London”. The bit that we changed was that we used stem ginger instead of candied lemon.
The beautiful batch of hazelnut macaroons….mmmmm! You can find this delicious here. In the ganache filling, I added cinnamon powder (one of my favourite spice) to give it another dimention.
Strawberry & Goat Cheese Salad
This is one of my favourite salads because I love strawberries and goats cheese. It truly is a great combination and plus its a good way to get your daily serving of fruit in. I first made it when I invited friends over for dinner in the States. I had no idea that the friend did not like goat’s cheese (what a bad friend I am!), but after having it, she loved it. When summer comes around, you can whip up this vibrant amazingness in minutes. Below are my approximate measurements and so there is no need to measure it out exactly.
Serves 4:
a bag of your favourite mixed salad leaves, 1/2 cup of crumbled goats cheese, 1.5 cup of sliced strawberries, 1/4 roughly chopped glazed walnuts (pecan nuts would be great too), 1-2 tbsp balsamic, 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
Here is what you do:
It’s not rocket science (pardon the pun!). Combine all of it in a bowl and devour. I guarantee you, it will be all gone. If there is any left, I’ll have it please 🙂
Tip: You do not have to buy glazed nuts, simply roast them on low heat in a frying pan until golden, then just add a bit of maple syrup or honey, cool and voila you have aromatic, glazed pecans!
VegDelights 