I’m definitely awash in strawberries this summer – but I’m not going to complain about that any time soon. I love eating strawberries when they’re at their peak, and I also love the opportunity to incorporate them into all kinds of different recipes. With more strawberries than I knew what to do with in my kitchen then other day, I decided to give a Homemade Strawberry Julius a try.
Orange Julius is a light, frothy orange drink that tastes a lot like a creamsicle – only better. They were a favorite of mine as a kid, when I used to come across Orange Julius store locations all over the place. These days, I don’t see them as often, but I’ve been making Homemade Orange Julius‘s at home for a while now, using freshly squeezed orange juice. A Strawberry Julius is the same concept, only the drink uses fresh strawberries instead of orange juice.
The recipe is very simple: strawberries, water, sugar, egg white, vanilla and ice. It sounds like it might be watery based on the ingredient list, but it is very flavorful and very refreshing, with a great creamy/fluffy consistency. The egg white is really the key to the drink, so don’t leave it out. Use pasteurized egg whites (this is what I use) or even a pasteurized egg white product (the whites-only variety, not anything yellow) in this recipe to substitute for the egg white when you’re mixing it up. It has a fantastic berry flavor and is one of my favorite summertime drinks.
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Shortcakes are typically made with a buttery biscuit or scone that is laden with fruit , ice cream, whipped cream or other fillings to create a fun summertime dessert that really showcases the best and ripest fruit of the season. Strawberry shortcakes are the most classic iteration of a shortcake, but there are all kinds of different variations out there to try. You can dress up strawberry shortcakes using different flavors of biscuit or cream filling, and you can change the flavor of a shortcake completely by using different fruits! You really can’t go wrong with a shortcake, but here are a few great ideas to get you started.
- Blackberry shortcakes are definitely a departure from most traditional shortcakes. These Blackberry Shortcakes with Yogurt Whipped Cream have a dramatic look thanks to the deep purple berries inside, and they have a lighter feel to them because the whipped cream inside is cut with greek-style yogurt (I use low fat or nonfat), making them much lower in fat.
- Tropical Guava Strawberry Shortcakes are a twist on classic strawberry shortcake. The strawberry filling is spiked with some guava jelly, which makes it sweeter and even more fragrant. The shortcakes have shredded coconut in them, too! It’s almost like taking a little vacation in your own back yard.
- Olive Oil Strawberry Shortcake is a bit different from these other shortcakes because it uses a moist layer cake instead of a biscuit for the base. The olive oil cake is tender and fruity, and is a wonderful background for any fruit. The advantage to making a layered strawberry shortcake is that you get points for drama, as well as flavor, when serving it to friends and family!
- Shortcakes don’t have to be limited to berries, either. Grilled Peach Shortcakes with Candied Ginger are made with ripe peaches that are grilled for just a few minutes until they are incredibly tender and sweet before being piled onto a shortcake. The shortcakes themselves have bits of candied ginger in them that go nicely with the sweet peaches. Many other fruits can be grilled, and just about all of them can be stuffed into a shortcake.
- Finally, a simple Buttermilk Strawberry Shortcake is always worth making. It is a classic and undeniably a good way to eat fresh summer strawberries. If you only make one shortcake recipe, it should probably be this. And even if you try every variation out there, this is the type of recipe that you’ll always come back to.
Butterscotch may conjure up images of hard, toffee-like candies, but the building blocks of butterscotch are just brown sugar, butter and vanilla and it is easy to infuse a butterscotch flavor into many different recipes by using these elements. These Butterscotch and Walnut Blondies are a perfect example. The blondies use a generous amount of brown sugar that melds well with the flavor of the butter in the blondie batter and delivers a rich and not-too-sweet butterscotch flavor to these satisfyingly chewy bar cookies.
The blondies are easy to make and only require a few ingredients, all of which you probably have in your pantry if you bake on a regular basis. The most important element of these brownies is the brown sugar, which is what really gives them their butterscotch flavor. Light brown or golden brown sugar is the best choice for this recipe, as dark brown sugar will give the brownies a stronger molasses note that will dominate the butterscotch. Like my basic brownie recipe, these don’t use any leavening. This ensures that they keep a chewy texture, a very tight crumb and don’t become cakey or dry when they’re in the oven.
My favorite part of these blondies is the contrast between the chewiness of the blondies themselves and the crispness of the walnuts. I use untoasted walnuts, which still have a nice crunch but seem to have a more pronounced buttery flavor to them than toasted walnuts. You could use other nuts in these, though the walnuts work so well that they’re bound to win you over even if you’re not a big walnut fan.
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Ganache is a word that gets tossed around a lot in cookbooks and on dessert menus, and while it is easy to figure out that it has something to do with chocolate, what makes this particular kind of chocolate a ganache is often a little less clear. Ganache is a mixture of melted chocolate and cream that can be used as a glaze for pastries and desserts, a filling for cakes and for making chocolate truffles. The basic ratio used when making ganache is two parts chocolate (usually a semisweet/bittersweet chocolate) to one part cream. The mixture is heated just until the chocolate melts, then it can be poured directly on to the dessert you want to glaze with it. It creates a very smooth, glossy glaze with a luxurious mouthfeel, as the cream makes the chocolate much smoother than it would be on its own.
The ganache is used as a glaze while it is still warm to make it pourable, as it thickens up when cooled to room temperature. Cooled ganache is firm enough to handle, but it can be shaped and still melts on the tongue very easily. Cooled ganache is used to make classic chocolate truffles and can be used as the filling for other chocolate confections. Cooled ganache can also be whipped to a mousse-like consistency by beating it with a mixer for a few minutes until it becomes light and fluffy. This mousse-like ganache is great for filling cakes and other pastries.
Ganache recipes can vary slightly in the ratio of chocolate to cream, depending on the intended use of the ganache and the preference of the author of a particular recipe. Some recipes will even use butter in place of the cream, for a different texture to the ganache (although this is typically something I use to coat candies, not to fill chocolates). While a classic ganache is made with a bittersweet chocolate, ganache can be made with other types of chocolate, such as white chocolate and milk chocolate. Ganache is delicious on its own, but it can also be flavored to make different flavored truffle fillings.
