Strawberry Layer Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Coarse salt
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling

• 2 pounds strawberries, sliced 1/3 inch thick
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Coarse salt
• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 cups store-bought or homemade Rhubarb Jam or strawberry jam

Directions

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center position. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans (2 inches deep); line with parchment cut to fit. Butter parchment; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt.
   
2. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat in vanilla.
   
3. Divide batter between pans. Bake, rotating halfway through, until tops spring back when gently touched and a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool in pans for 20 minutes.
   
4. Run a knife around edge of cakes, and invert onto racks; remove parchment, and let cool completely.
   
5. Make the filling: Combine strawberries with granulated sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let stand, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving syrup.
   
6. Whisk cream with confectioners' sugar until medium peaks form.
   
7. Trim cake tops. Slice cakes in half horizontally. Generously brush 1 cake layer with some reserved syrup, and spread on one-third of the jam. Top with one-third of the filling, then one-third of the whipped cream. Repeat with 2 more cake layers. Top with remaining cake layer, bottom side up. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Mini Eclairs with Strawberries and Cream

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• Vanilla Cream
• Macerated Berries
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Bring milk, water, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and stir in flour. Return to heat, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan, about 4 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed to cool slightly, about 1 minute. With machine running, add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip.
   
2. Pipe twenty 2 1/2-inch-long eclairs onto each sheet. Bake until eclairs rise and are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
   
3. Split eclairs in half lengthwise using a serrated knife. Pipe vanilla cream onto eclair bottoms. Spoon macerated berries on top of cream, and sandwich with eclair tops. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.
   
4. Bake the mini eclairs the day you plan on serving them.

Strawberry icecream

Ingredients

• 8 large egg yolks
• 1 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 cups skim milk
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• 2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until blended. Gradually whisk in milk.
   
2. Cook over medium, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard thickens slightly and evenly coats back of spoon (it should hold a line drawn by your finger), 10 to 12 minutes.
   
3. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl set over ice. Stir in cream. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chilled.
   
4. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Mash 4 cups sliced strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar and let stand 10 minutes. Add to ice cream as it churns in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to a resealable plastic container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours (or up to 3 months).

Strawberry cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper and sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
   
2. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan.
   
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.
   
    
4. Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes. Place saucepan over very low heat, and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool.
   
5. Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form. Continue to beat, and gradually add gelatin mixture; beat until soft peaks form.
   
6. Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.
   

  Note

Nothing says summer quite like this easy but remarkably grand strawberry dessert. Even better, it can wait patiently in the refrigerator for up to a day.

Madeira Cake

100 g butter or margarine
125 g caster sugar
200 g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
30 ml milk
a little grated lemon rind
thin strip of citron peel (optional)

Grease and line a 15 cm round cake tin.
Prepare by creaming or one stage method.

Place the mixture into the tin, smooth level and lay the strip of citron peel on top.
Bake at 180C till golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Shortbread

150g (6 oz) plain flour, 135+15g plain anf rice flour

pinch of salt

50g (2 oz) caster sugar

100g (4 oz) butter

1. Mix the flour, salt and sugar, rub in the butter (I used half part salted and half part unsalted).

Work the mixture to a smooth pliable dough.

2. Divide the dough into two and roll each piece to a 15 cm round and place on a baking sheet. (I used a pizza/pastry roller and directly rolled them out on the baking sheet).

3. Prick all over with a fork.

4. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 160C, 325F.

5. Sprinkle with some extra caster sugar and cut into pieces while still warm.

Wholemeal Digestive Biscuits

 Ingredients:
100g oats
100g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g light soft brown sugar
Pinch salt
50g unsalted butter, 50g salted butter, softened & cubed
1-2 tbsp milk
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Blitz the oats to a fine powder in a blender then mix in a large bowl with the wholemeal flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt.
Add the butter and mix until crumbly. Add the milk and mix to form a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and pop in fridge to firm up for about 15 minutes.
Remove your dough from the fridge and roll out to around 3mm thickness. It will be very crumbly so you’ll need to be very careful when rolling. Cut out circles of about 6cm diameter – I used a water glass to stamp out the shapes. Decorate with a pattern of your choice then bake in the middle of your oven for about 15 minutes.
When lightly golden but not too brown, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.