Strawberries & Peaches with Einkorn Shortcake

Enjoying the fruits of spring with sweet strawberries and fragrant peaches, served on warm einkorn shortcake. 

Einkorn is an ancient grain.  It's a unique, tasty four.  I whipped it into a buttery shortcake using a modified version of the biscuit ratio: 3:1:2 (flour:fat:liquid).  I used all-purpose and fresh-ground einkorn (300g) and mixed it with a vegan buttery spread (80g).  I used a "lite" version of the product which contained more water than fat, so it clumped when I cut them together.  Then I added in the almond milk (200ml) and mixed thoroughly.  Einkorn has less gluten than wheat, so it doesn't tend to get tough when it's mixed. 

I piped the thick batter with a large star tip into a few small springform pans, and baked it for ~20min at 400˚F.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

While it's baking, I hacked up some strawberries and fragrant peaches.  Saving a few for garnish, I smashed up the rest with some agave syrup, vanilla and a whisper of ultra gel for thickness. 

When the shortcakes were golden brown, I removed and let them cool for a minute before cutting them in half. 

Spoon on the fruit and enjoy!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Strawberry Carpaccio

With the warmer weather and the arrival of fresh local fruit, carpaccioed strawberries are the perfect, light treat. Yes, I know a carpaccio is really made from meat and this is some hippy-vegan arrangement.  I'm ok with that :-)

First, thinly slice a few strawberries.  I used about five berries - the largest slices, not the edge slices.  Consistent size it fairly important.  Then, arrange, in a radiating pattern, the strawberry slices.

To create a bright flavour, I added mint and sweet basil.  Remove the leaves from the stem and add a bit of agave syrup.  Then, muddle the leaves and syrup to release the fragrant oils.

Drizzle the syrup on the berries and arrange the bruised leaves.  Garnish with sprigs of whole basil and mint.  Enjoy!

Brioche French Toast

It's rare for brioche to last long enough to get stale, but if it does, french toast is the perfect thing.

First whip up the batter: eggs, splash of almond milk, pinch of salt and a slash of vanilla.  Dip slices of brioche in the batter and fry in olive oil.  You can use butter to fry, but I like the heartyness olive oil adds.

Serve hot, dusted with powdered sugar and garnished with fresh fruit.

French bread made into french toast.  #winning

Happy Pancake Day, 2014! Gluten Free Edition

Celebrating Pancake day with gluten free buckwheat pancakes!

Easy to make with: buckwheat flour, egg whites, soy milk, olive oil, vanilla, salt and baking powder.

They're not mile-high fluffy, but they are hearty and rich.  Swimming in pure maple syrup, they're a classic delight.

Gold and Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

Yes, this is an over-the-top dessert.  But it's a fun splurge for Valentine's Day.

These are actually fairly easy to make.  You just need chocolate and fresh strawberries.  To make it awesome, you'll need GOLD!  You can find it on the Amazon: Just make sure that it's genuine edible gold.  An imitation product may not be edible or may be harmful.

First, you'll need a double boiler.  Or, if you haven't got one, use a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Choose any chocolate you like, but keep in mind, there are differences.  I chose a vegan and gluten free dark chocolate.  If you use candy-melts, you needn't worry about tempering the chocolate.  Also, if you want a softer paste-like chocolate, you can skip tempering as well. ***

Wash and dry the strawberries and dip them in that magnificent cocoa puddle.  Be sure to place them on a nonstick surface to cool: parchment paper or a silicon mat.

When you're done with the strawberries, take the remaining chocolate and stir in a bit of almond/soy milk.  This will make the ganache.  Place the ganache in a piping bag and pipe any desired decorations or patterns.

Then, the magic.  While the ganache is still soft, delicately add the the gold.

Let them cool and enjoy!  Admit it, if your sweetheart served you with gold-adorned, chocolate-covered strawberries it'd be a winning endeavour.

*** What is tempering?  That's a medium-long story.  For details, check out the "How To Cook That" video on chocolate tempering: While you're there, Subscribe!

Chèvre Cheesecake

Goat's cheese cake!  I did reference a recipe for this one... but I ditched it in favour of the order of ingredients: chèvre, 2 egg whites, Greek youghurt, sugar, flour, vanilla, lemon and salt.  The crust is coconut oil, graham cracker crumbs and a whisper of lemon extract.

Baked at 175C for 30 minutes and slowly cooled.

Served with a blueberry compote, strawberries and a sprig of mint.

It's also crazy good with a searing chocolate ganache.

Mascarpone and Strawberries [+1 fail, +1 win!]

This was the end result, but it took a while to get here:

I thought I'd make a cannoli filling but serve it in puff pastry cups with fruit.  Everything was fine except I chose a skim milk ricotta... which is tastes and feels, to me, like ground rubber.

I tried my best to doctor it up.  Adding extra mascarpone and whipping it up.  Nothing worked.

It looks nice, but the texture is unfit.  The overall texture is "rubbery."

So, I whipped mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla to make a sublime filling for the strawberries:

Then, serving it on thin slices of mango, the the textures and flavours were perfect.  It's simple, it's subtly rich, it's sublime.

Berries in a Basket

Strawberries in a chocolate basket!

Cream, sugar, a couple of grates of nutmeg, and vanilla bean.  Whipped by hand to perfection:

A few tiny berries:

Chocolate basket: instructions here

Pipe in the whip and top with berries:

Garnished with apple mint.  Outrageously decadent.

Brownie tarte with Strawberries and Mascarpone

A flavourful treat.  As usual, chocolate takes centre stage.

First, bake and cool a pack mix brownie mix.  A tarte pan works well and adds a nice aesthetic.

A ganache can be easily prepared with a bit of (soy) milk and chocolate.  Unless you routinely need a double boiler, skip the purchase and use a bowl over a saucepan.

Chocolate: it's a beautiful thing.

Add to a piping bag for easy working.

An added treat - a velvety, sweet cheese: mascarpone.

Top with strawberries, pecans, the ganache and mascarpone.

Fresh Fruit Skewers with Lavender-Vanilla Youghurt

The perfect summer treat!

Garden fresh cantaloupe with strawberries and blueberries.  Served with a Vanilla Greek youghurt, flavoured with fresh lavender flowers.