Sweet • Sour • Savory

Food blog on scandinavian style food done right.

strawberry

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

DessertsTove Balle-PedersenComment
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble 

Crumbles was new to me when I moved to the US, I have no idea, why we never made this before. Crumbles is perfect when you need to make a quick dessert. And you can make it with fresh or frozen fruit. This time I made it with the classic combination: strawberries and rhubarb. 

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

Berry filling:

  • 225 g strawberries
  • 190 g rhubarb
  • 20 g sugar
  • 2½ tablespoons cornstarch 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Crumble:

  • 125 g brown sugar
  • 55 g all-purpose flour
  • 60 g rolled oats
  • 75 g slivered almonds
  • 75 g butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425℉ (220℃). 

Wash and slice strawberries and rhubarbs and mix them with sugar, cornstarch and vanilla paste. Set aside while making the crumble. 

Mix brown sugar, flour and oats in large bowl. Add chilled butter, using your fingers, blend butter into mixture until coarse crumbs form, then mix in the almonds. 

Divide strawberry/rhubarb mixture among 3-4 ramekins. Divide oat mixture among dishes, sprinkling it evenly.

Place ramekins on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350℉ (175℃), and continue baking until the crisp topping is golden brown and rhubarb filling is bubbling at edges, about 15-20 minutes longer. Let the crumbles cool for a while before serving.

Serve crumbles with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some cream fraiche.

Enjoy!

Homemade Strawberry Syrup

Drinks, PreserveTove Balle-PedersenComment
Homemade Strawberry Syrup

Homemade Strawberry Syrup

You can buy strawberry syrup in a lot of stores, but you really don't know what's in it. So why not make it yourself? It is super easy to make, and not labour intensive at all. Right now   strawberries are in season, which means you’ll find fairly cheap berries at the market. I find the best, freshest and cheapest strawberries at the farmers market, but some places you can go pick your own at strawberry fields. Beside the taste, the best thing about homemade syrup is you knowing what goes into your syrup, in this case just three ingredients, all natural, nothing artificial.  I keep my syrup in the refrigerator, and it will keep for weeks. Well, in my house it will be gone long before it would have expired.

This strawberry syrup is great for adding to a cocktails, mocktails, on waffles or ice cream. You can use it for almost everything that calls for a little sweet strawberry.

In Denmark you can buy so many different syrups in almost every store. Growing up we had my moms homemade syrups. We would get a tall glass of water with a sprinkle of syrup in, instead of getting soda or juices. I don't know if it was intended, but the syrups were a good way to control the amount of sugar we got during the day.  

makes about 1 liter

Ingredients:

  • 1000 g strawberries
  • 500 ml water
  • 500 g sugar

Directions:

Rinse the berries clean and remove the stems. Slice large strawberries into smaller pieces. Place the strawberry, sugar and water in a  saucepan.Slowly bring it to a boil. Reduce to a  simmer and let the strawberries cook for about 20 minutes. Skim the stiff foam off the top, while the strawberries are simmering.

Now the strawberries will have lost their vibrant color and the syrup has a deep pink/red color.  Remove from heat, and strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids.

Scald the bottle with boiling water. While the syrup and bottle are still hot, pour syrup into the it, seal and refrigerate.for up to 2 weeks. 

Enjoy!

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Dinner, SaladTove Balle-Pedersen1 Comment
Spinach / Strawberry Salad

Spinach / Strawberry Salad

This salad is so easy and simple, but the taste is to die for. I love this salad with any kind of grilled meat.

Ingredients:

  • ½ pound baby spinach

  • 1 cup strawberries, thinly sliced

  • ⅓ cup sliced almonds, chopped

  • ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese (optional)

Dressing:

  • ¼ cup blood orange extra virgin olive oil

  • ¼ cup dark espresso balsamic vinegar

  • salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix spinach, strawberries and chopped almonds in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing together, and add it to the salad just before serving. Sprinkle with cheese (optional).

Enjoy!

 

Strawberry Tart

CakeTove Balle-PedersenComment
Strawberry Tart

Strawberry Tart

For me Strawberries is the epitome of summer. Normally the first strawberries would ripen in time for my birthday in the end of june, making my strawberry filled birthday cake a perfect start on summer.

This Strawberry Tart has all the goodness you could imagine. A flaky crust, a sweet marzipan filling, a rich vanilla custard, dark chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream. Paired with a good cup of coffee and good friends, it's a perfect Sunday. 

Making 1 x 9-inch tart.

Ingredients:

Crust: 

  • 150 g butter (salted and cold) 
  • 75 g almonds (blanched and finely chopped in a food processor) 
  • 190 g all-purpose flour
  • 1½  tablespoons sugar
  • 1½ egg yolks
  • 1 - 1½ tablespoons water

Marzipan filling: 

  • 50 g butter (salted)
  • 50 g marzipan (almond paste) 
  • 50 g sugar
  • 2 eggs

Custard: 

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 250 ml milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Miscellaneous: 

  • dark chocolate
  • chopped pistachios or almond slivers
  • whipped cream (homemade) 
  • strawberries

Directions: 

Marzipan filling:

Mix all the ingredients and set aside.

Crust: 

Cut the cold butter in small pieces and rub it in the sugar, flour and almond flour, until the mixture resembles dry crumbs/shredded cheese.  

Make a hollow in the middle and add the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of the water. Gather the dough with a knife or a dough scraper. Ad more water if it's necessary. When the dough is a slightly sticky, form a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for minimum  30 minutes. Don't kneed the dough, it will make it shrink in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Flour your work surface generally place the cold dough un top and flour the dough. 

Press the dough lightly with a rolling pin from the center and out. Roll it a few times in one direction, lift it up and rotate it a quarter-turn. Every time make sure to re-flour the surface. Continue to do so until it will cover the whole pie pan. You are looking for a 12 inch in diameter. 

Transfer the dough to the pie pan cut of the overhanging dough for the crust to fit perfect in the pan. 

If the dough sticks, use at bench scraper or a spatula to get it of your work surface. 

If the dough get to soft, put it into the freezer for a few minutes. 

Add the marzipan filling and bake the pie for 20-30 minutes at 400°F/200℃. Let cool on a rack.

Custard: 

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the cornstarch and vanilla paste.

Heat the milk to a slow boil, set aside. 

While whisking vigorously drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about 1/4 of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and reheat it over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat an chill the custard in a bowl in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with sugar or press a film of plastic wrap against each custard in the fridge so it doesn’t form a pudding skin.

When the custard is cold, whip the heavy whipping cream. Fold the whipped cream in the custard a little at a time till you get the desired taste and texture. 

Assembling the pie: 

Chop the chocolate roughly. Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in a double boiler. Take the chocolate of the heat, and ad the rest of the chocolate. Stir until melted. Spread a thin layer of chocolate on the inside of the pie crust. 

Clean the strawberries and cut them in half.When the chocolate has set, add a good amount of custard. Put on the strawberries in a decorative manner. Decorate with whipped cream and nuts.

Enjoy!