Strawberry Ice Blended 草莓冰沙

Christmas is around the corner and one of my best friends suggested if having a Christmas Party at my place this year. (We used to have random makan sessions at my (old) place.)



It wouldnt be a party, just a get-together with a few of my very good friends. Incidentally, they were also my bridesmaids too, all three of them. ;) Its going to be my 13th Wedding Anniversary soon. Hence, you might have guessed that our friendship must be longer than that. The longest being 26 years? I dont know them all at the same time but during some time of my life. However, its great that they somehow became friends themselves too. :)

Oh! Theres a torn among the roses (other than my husband) too. He is my husbands ex-co-worker, who also become all the gals friend somewhere in time. He was also one of my husbands best-man too. In case, he reads this and I didnt mention him, he will think he is not invited to the get-together. Actually, I bet he is secretly hoping that I will forget about him. LOL

Anyway, being a kiasu, Im already thinking what to cook and trying them out to reduce blunders on that day. No more BBQ & Steamboat this time. One of the dishes will be an Oven Roasted Maltose Ribs (more on that next time). Ill be making this very easy Strawberry Ice Blended for after meals. I can make this a day before and blend it on the day itself so there is lesser things to do and lesser clean up. I love the colours! Very Christmassy. :)


Im looking forward to the Xmas Makan Session, that is after our makan session next week! LOL. And like what my husband said earlier today, hopefully my food wont be burned. :P

Ingredients:(serves 2-3)

• 1 punnet of strawberries (abt 450g), hauled


• 1 tablespoon Golden Granulated Sugar or regular sugar or to taste


• 2 glasses of Ice Cubes

How to do it:

1. Blend strawberries till smooth.


2. Blend in sugar with the strawberries paste.


3. Add in the ice cubes and blend till ice cubes are crushed and smooth.Serve immediately.

Note:

• Im using very small ice cubes; abt the size 15mm x 15mm. It makes blending easier.


• The amount of sugar depends on how sweet/sour your strawberries are, so adjust the sugar contain on your own.


• I prefer Golden Granulated Sugar but regular sugar works fine too.


• If you intend to make it a day before, you can use water instead of ice cubes. After blending, put the mixture into ice cube tray and freeze it. You can blend the strawberries ice cubes the next day.


• Please use a blender that is able to cut ice to do it in order not to damage the blade.

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A Humbling Strawberry Rhubarb Reminder

I was checking Twitter mentions last week, and saw that a viewer by the name of

nguyen4 had posted a strawberry rhubarb pie photo on Instagram (left), and credited me for the recipe. At first, I thought they were mistaken, as I didn’t recognize the pie as one of my creations, but then I realized that was because they’d made it so much better looking than mine. I hate/love when that happens. 

Anyway, once I got over this blow to my ego, I decided to repost this in case you missed it the first time, or just needed a little reminder as to what a fantastic spring pie this really is. Enjoy!

To read the original post and get the ingredient amounts, click here.

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Estonian Strawberry Roulade Berry Swiss Roll

Im not claiming that Swiss Roll or Strawberry Roulade is by any means unique to Estonia. But I guess our most popular version of the roll - filled with a mixture of curd cheese and whipped cream, as well as berries, is rather typical and perhaps less common outside the country. Heres how I make it.

* If you live in the UK, try the Polish shops for tvorog. In the US, some of the farmers cheese look and taste very similar to our curd cheese (or buy tvorog from Russian shops). In Finland, use rahka and in Sweden kesella. Alternatively, try ricotta, but add a spoonful or two of sour cream and a squeeze of lemon juice to make it more similar to curd cheese.

Strawberry Roulade
(Rullbiskviit maasikate ja kohupiimakreemiga)
Makes about 10 slices



Sponge:
4 large eggs
100 g caster sugar
55 g plain/all-purpose flour
50 g potato starch/potato flour
1 tsp baking powder

Filling:
200 ml whipping cream (35%)
1 Tbsp caster sugar (or vanilla sugar, if you prefer)
250 curd cheese
300-400 g fresh strawberries

Garnish:
icing sugar
fresh mint or lemon balm (optional)

Make the sponge: whisk eggs and sugar until very thick, pale and foamy (this would take about 8-10 minutes or slightly less, when using a KitchenAid). Mix flour, potato starch and baking powder in a measuring jug, then pour through a sieve onto the egg foam. Using a wide spatula or metal spoon, gently stir until just combined.
Spread the batter onto a oven sheet covered with baking paper.
Bake in a preheated 225 C / 437 F oven for about 7-8 minutes, until the sponge is light golden brown on top. IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO OVERCOOK THE SPONGE, AS IT WONT ROLL NEATLY WHEN YOU BAKE IT FOR TOO LONG!
Take the sponge out of the oven.
Place a clean sheet of baking paper onto your work surface and sprinkle with some caster sugar. Carefully flip the cooked sponge onto the baking paper, upside down. Now peel off the "baked" baking paper, then replace on top, cover with a kitchen towel and leave to cool.
To make the cream, whip the cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Then fold in the curd cheese, whisking again lightly to combine.
Wash and dry the strawberries, then hull and cut into slices.
Remove the kitchen towel and the "baked" baking paper from the sponge cake.
Spread the curd cheese cream onto the cooled sponge cake, leaving about 2 inches/5 cm of one of the long edges clean. Scatter strawberries on top.
With the help of the baking paper, roll tightly into a roulade, starting from the long edge covered with cream.
(You can put the undecorated roulade into the fridge for up to 24 hours, wrapped in clingfilm or parchment paper. It will be easier to cut into neat slices, when allowed to rest in the fridge for a while).
Decorate with fresh strawberries and some mint or lemon balm leaves, dust with icing sugar and serve.

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Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

   My hubby and I had our 7th wedding anniversary on July 1st. Since it landed on a Monday, we celebrated on Sunday, and because it was the only day we could get a babysitter. Before our date, I whipped us up this amazing Strawberry Cake!

   I admit, it does start off with a box cake mix. Some of you may gasp, but if youre like me, you are proud of those box cake mixes because they make pretty darn good cakes. I doctored mine up a bit, by adding sour cream (which makes it super moist) and fresh chopped strawberries.

  Cream cheese frosting is what I topped it off with and the results were the most delicious strawberry cake I have ever had in my life. Kale said the same. We all loved it. This one is a keeper, fo sho.



Strawberry Cake
with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (18.25 ounce) box Strawberry Cake mix ( I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme)
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh, chopped strawberries


Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 ( 8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the cake mix, water, oil, eggs and sour cream. Using a hand mixer, beat on low speed until combined, and then on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Dump in the cup of strawberries and mix by hand, until just combined.

Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cake cool completely before frosting.

For frosting: In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until combined and creamy. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until combined. Add the milk and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until frosting is smooth and free of any lumps. Frost cake and serve! ♥

Store cake covered in the refrigerator, if you have any leftovers :) 

I love the pink color of the batter. Especially, once the strawberries are mixed in.

I forgot to take pictures of the batter in the pan, and then baked, so this is all I have...

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