Strawberry decorations

 

Have you ever wonder why many of my cakes using strawberries are alway the same size?

 

Well, you probably think that I must be lucky enough to buy them in a box the same size.

No, not always the case and I have bought strawberries that came in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

 

I have come up the a method I use all the time to cut strawberries into the same size and I will share it with you.

 

Pick out a Strawberry that is what size you want for your cake.

Cut in half.

Grab another one thats slightly bigger than the first one.

Cut the second one into an angle so that it is close to the first one.

Again cut the otherside, so that both ends matches up with the first piece,

You will have the excess from the middle part which you can use as filling for the cake.

 

When you lay them out you can see that they are the same thickness and equal lenght.

 

Here's a quick video that demonstrate how it's done.

Click here

 

Chocolate Brownies

Simply delicious. 

Simply Chocolate Brownies. 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

150g semi sweet chocolate 

120g unsalted butter

180g light brown sugar

2 eggs

5ml vanilla extract 

65g self raising flour 

4. Tbsp cocoa powder

40g milk chocolate chips 

40g chopped walnuts 

This is my favourite cocoa powder, I find it makes the bakes deeper in colour than other brands I've tried. It's also very chocolatey in flavour. 

 

 

 

Method: 

Preheat the oven for 180c. 

 

Melt butter & chocolate in a separate bowl over a double boiler. 

 

Then add the melted butter into the melted chocolate mixing carefully until combined.

 

 

Now you have the ingredients all ready. You can start mixing. 

 

Mille Feuille

Mille Feuille, in French its means thousand leaves. A dessert I wanted to make for a long time.

 

 

I have created a simple version so there's not a lot of work into it and it can be eaten straight away, not like my other desserts where I have to wait over night.

This dessert isn't heavy and a fantastic treat after a meal.
If you want a even lighter version use creme fraiche instead of cream.

 

 

This recipe makes 7 Mille Feuille and I worked it out to around 90p for each portion.
All round, a quick and inexpensive dessert to make and most importantly tastes and looks great.

Here's my version and I hope you like it.

Ingredients:

One packet of ready rolled puff pastry
300ml of whipping cream
1. Tbsp icing sugar
Box of fresh strawberries or other fruits you like
Icing sugar for dusting.

So, that's all the ingredients. Lets make some.

 

Method:

 

Roll out the puff pastry on your Worktop. 

 

Cut out puff pastry to 8 x 5cm. And lay them on a flat baking tray with baking paper over it.

 

Prick holes with a fork lightly on the surface, don't prick it all the way through. This would help release the steam during baking and making it rise evenly. Only prick the centre and not the sides. 

 

 

Brush with egg wash.

 

 

Bake in a preheated  oven at 220c, after 5 minutes it would puff up like the picture above, this is when you use a flat utensil to flatten it down by pressing firmly to stop it rising.
Then leave to bake for another 5 minutes and again flatten it down and bake for another 2 minutes.
You want to get the pastry as flat as possible but still flaky.

Another method you can use is to place a heavy baking tin with baking paper over the pastry after the first 5 minutes once it has puffed up. This would make the pastry nice and flat. Then bake a further 5 minutes and take off the baking tin and baking paper to bake until golden brown.
I didn't have a baking tin that would fit over it so I flattened it down twice during baking.

 

Leave the puff pastry to cool on a wire rack, you can dust lightly with icing sugar if you like it sweeter. I think this dessert have to be nice and sweet. 

 

Whip the cream and add 1. Tbsp of icing to it. Don't over whip the cream, you want it at soft peak so the texture is like thick custard but still holds its shape. 

 

Fill a piping bag with a large round nozzle and prepare some fruits. 

Pipe cream in a swirly line and lay sliced strawberries across.

Pipe a little more cream on top of the strawberries so the next layer of pastry will stick together.

 

Press gently but firmly to sandwich the fillings. 

Pipe more cream on the second layer and lay strawberries across it, repeat the same as above.  

 

 

Add the last layer on top and press carefully so the cream sticks to the pastry and dust lightly with icing sugar.

 

Time to tuck in..... yum yum....