Deconstructed Strawberry & Cream Pie

The sun has found it's way around the clouds and we are finally getting some sunny days here in Britain! 

Which means right now is a great time to enjoy some of Britain’s best produce.

Like tomatoes, asparagus, new potatoes, rhubarb, and everyone’s favorite strawberries!

When the weather starts to get warmer I do bake less. It’s just uncomfortable to be in front of an oven when it’s hot outside.

Which is why deconstructing some desserts makes a perfect summer pudding! 

I’m not really a fan of deconstructing things, it seems a bit silly to me at, but I didn't know how else to describe this dessert.

So, deconstructed it is. 

It’s strawberries soaked in strawberry puree with fresh mint leaves and sugar. Topped with whipped cream served with lemon curd and shortbread. Sounds like a strawberry pie to me.

It’s super easy and perfect to make ahead of time, especially if you are having a BBQ or something.

So, here is how I made this refreshing and light summer pudding!

Strawberry Pie {deconstructed}:

400g strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 tsp of cider vinegar or lemon juice

3-5 mint leaves

75 ml British whipping cream

MacKay’s Lemon curd

Sainsbury’s All Butter Shortbread Petticoat Tails

Puree 150g of the strawberries with the icing sugar, vinegar, and mint leaves. Add more sugar or mint to taste. Pour over the remaining strawberries and leave in the fridge for about an hour or until ready to serve.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and swirl about a tablespoon of lemon curd into the whipped cream. I didn't do this because my husband is allergic to all things citrus, so I placed a tsp of lemon curd on the side when serving so he could have some too!

To serve place two heaped tablespoons of the strawberries on a plate, place a heaped tablespoon of whipped cream next to it with a tsp of lemon curd and a couple petticoat tails. Enjoy!

The recipe could always be doubled to serve more people. The quantities above would serve about 4. Another way to serve it would be to crumble the shortbread at the bottom of a bowl and spoon the strawberries over them, top with whipped cream and garnish with a mint leaf. I always think of these things when I’m writing out the blog post.

Stay tuned! I have another recipe using British Strawberries to share with you soon! 

notes: In association with Sainsbury’s The Best of British campaign. Recipe is adapted from Sainsbury’s Magazine’s June 2011 issue. Mackay’s had sent me a few jars of jams and curds last summer for their #bakingwithmackays campaign and this was leftover so I thought I’d mention it. This post was written for day 19 of Blog Every Day in May, #BEDM. 

Jeans, T-shirts, and Shoes oh my!

Fashion is something that has always fascinated me, but has seemed like something out of my reach.

Being a family of four clothes for myself is one of the last priorities.

I read a lot of fashion and beauty blogs and envy the ability to just go out a buy a new outfit whenever I’d like and have it stylish.

I try to stay away from trends because if I spend the money on new clothes I need them to be “in” for longer then one season.

That is why I will usually be seen in Gap jeans and a novelty tee.

I am a lover of novelty tees.

My favorite novelty tees come from Johnny’s Cupcakes. It mixes my love of novelty tees and cupcakes!

I also recently came across this Shoe Bakery and I would love every pair, but these Mint Ice Cream Flats are my favorite!

With my birthday on Friday it's probably too late to add them to my wish list! Maybe for Christmas then? 

I have a very low-key beauty routine, I wash my face with soap and apply Clinique’s Redness Solutions Daily Protective Base before lightly dusting a bronzer on. I use Urban Decay eye shadow of various shades depending on my mood or what I’m wearing! Then I use Clinique mascara to finish off my "natural" look!

For now I will continue to ready fashion and beauty blogs and learn as much as I can so that when the day comes I can buy a new wardrobe with years of learned fashion know-how.

notes: This blog post was written for Blog Every Day in May day 13, Fashion, Beauty, Grooming was the topic. It was a little awkward for me to write, but I guess that’s the point of this challenge. It was not sponsored by any of the brands I mentioned above. The picture of the shoes is from the Shoe Bakery website; the other picture is an awkward photo of me wearing an in-store exclusive Johnny Cupcake tee. All opinions and views are my own please see my contact/policy page for any further information. 

2 dozen Vegan Cupcakes & a dozen Gluten-Free!

School is almost out for summer! Finally. You know how when you’re young you can’t wait to finish school. Well, what no one tells you is that when you have kids and they are in school it’s like being in school again.

I get up early every morning for “the school run” and stress about everything I don’t have ready or forgot to do the night before. Then I do “the school run” again in the afternoon just to be overwhelmed by the homework and other stuff the school requires of me.

To say the least I am as much ready for summer vacation (summer holiday’s) as my daughter is! Every time something ends it’s a little bittersweet isn't it? I’m thrilled at how much my girls have grown and also a little sad as they will never again be how they are right now.

Baby Baker is going to nursery in the fall and last week was her last day at the toddler group I have taken her to for the past year. It was party day and her good friend is a vegetarian but his mom is vegan. So, to ensure that she could join in the party food I made vegan cupcakes from the infamous Ms. Cupcake’s book The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town!

I was just going to make a batch of the Mint Chocolate Chip ones at my friend’s request. However, a few nights before party day at toddlers, my friend texts to say it’s her boss’s birthday and he can’t have dairy and is a celiac. I was like how convenient. So, I decided to make the Bakewell Tart Cupcakes as well and then divide them each so each party had a variety.

However I didn't fully understand that celiac meant no gluten. So, the night before I had 2 dozen cupcakes baked and ready to be frosted when we concluded my friend’s boss wouldn't be able to have the cupcakes, as I didn't use gluten-free flour.

I wasn't going to let that stop me. So, I made a 3^rd batch of cupcakes that were dairy (vegan) and gluten-free! And it all worked out in the end!

I received very positive reactions to these cupcakes! Here's what they had to say... 

“Possibly one of the nicest cupcakes I have ever had! And I've eaten a lot of cake! Thank you so much for sharing with me!” ~ Lauren {Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcake}

“Ummm, so good!” ~ Bex {Bakewell Tart Cupcake – took one home for her husband}

“Best cupcakes I have ever had!” ~ Rebecca {my vegan friend who took all the leftovers home!} Her husband said, “Mm, they’re pretty good actually” which according to her is high praise indeed! ;0)

“Best cupcake I have ever had! I wouldn't have know they were vegan.” ~ Molly’s Mum {Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcake}

“A huge huge thank you to @unitedcakedom fantastic gluten free cakes amazballs as my boss says. Star baker for def” ~ Louise via twitter {friend who requested gluten and dairy free cupcakes for her boss’s birthday}

Who knew vegan cupcakes would be so popular? Well, Ms Cupcake obviously did! I will definitely be making a trip there next time I am in London. The book isn't all cupcakes there are many other type of bakes that are all dairy free and she does tell you how to make them gluten free if need be!! 

notes: Ms Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cupcakes in Town byMelissa Morgan; visit Ms Cupcake in Brixton 

Candy Cane Brownies!!

taken from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

14 tbsp (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, about 200g
½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips

3 large eggs or medium if your in the UK

1 cup granulated sugar

½ tsp peppermint extract

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup unbleached flour or plain flour

pinch of salt

½  cup white chocolate chips

Grease your baking pan; I’m using a 9x9inch silicone one, with butter. Dust with flour and tap out excess. Preheat your oven to 350*F

Melt the butter and chocolate chips together. There are a couple of different ways. Microwave safe bowl 30secs to 1 minute stirring in-between and over a pan of water either way just watch it! Set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs, sugar, peppermint and vanilla extract together until smooth. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended.

Sift the flour and salt into the batter. Mix gently until well combined and no trace of dry ingredients are left. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Pour into you prepared pan and bake for 27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs but no batter!!

Let cool for 30-60 minutes.

straight out of the oven

for the icing:

¾ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar

1-2 candy canes crushed- depends on size but about enough to fill 1/3-1/4 cup

Melt the white chocolate chips, using your preferred method, and sift in confectioners’ sugar, whisking until smooth.

Poor over cooled brownies and sprinkle on candy canes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Cut just before serving!

what I ended up doing: for the icing I tried melting my white chocolate, but once again my icing has gone wrong. I might have to resort to Betty Crocker's Icing, although have you seen the ingredients list? It's got all sorts of random things in it! I had my glass bowl sitting on a simmering pot of water and as I was stirring it started seizing up. It just went hard and wouldn't turn into a nice smooth melted chocolate. So, I added the icing sugar/confectioners' sugar in hopes that it would help. It didn't. So, I melted a handful of chocolate chips and spread over the brownies then sprinkled the bread like crumbs, of white chocolate and icing sugar over the chocolate spread. Finishing it off by sprinkling the crushed candy canes! Might be a little more messy, but still tastes good. On a last note I used UK large eggs in this and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

picture of the book, showing the smooth white chocolate frosting

These are good, not as good as the Chocolate Orange Brownies, but good in it's own way! The mint flavor is good. Again I think I should have just melted some mint chocolate and make the other recipe! ;0) They are very cool! Pun intended! I think I'll be done with brownies for a while! I have a few other things I'll be making this week!! Then I have a very excessive Christmas dessert list!!