Tasty to the berry end
Strawberry season will be over before we know it, so best scoff as many of these beauties as you can while the going’s still good, says NZ House & Garden’s Sally Butters.
Vanilla & maple syrup dressing
Drizzle this simple, delicious sweet dressing over fresh strawberries and grilled pineapple that has been sprinkled with a little flaky sea salt. It’s also perfect to toss gently through a fresh fruit salad. The pepper gives it a nice little zing.
3 tbsp maple syrup
1⁄2 vanilla bean
2 limes, juiced
1⁄2 orange
Pinch of cracked black pepper
In a bowl whisk together maple syrup, the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean, the lime juice, orange juice to taste and the cracked pepper.
Makes about 1⁄3 cup, serves 4
Grilled strawberries with barbecued ginger cake & brie
Here’s something a bit different and rather classy, yet dead easy, to round off a great barbecue meal. Quantities are entirely flexible.
Strawberries
Neutral-tasting oil for basting
Ginger cake (bought or homemade)
Brie
Honey
Balsamic vinegar
Thread strawberries onto skewers (pre-soaked if wooden), brush with a little oil and cook over a high heat until starting to char – this will only take a minute or two – then turn and repeat.
Grill slices of ginger cake until toasted.
Serve the strawberries and cake while still warm with brie that has been softened in a pan on the barbecue, and a drizzle of honey and balsamic vinegar.
Strawberry shortcake in a glass
Cake, berries and cream – this dessert is an American summer tradition well worth adopting. Assembling the shortcakes in jars is cute as well as practical for ease of serving. They can be made a day or two ahead.
For the strawberries
1kg strawberries
1 tsp vanilla bean powder or paste
2 tbsp icing sugar
Freeze-dried strawberries for garnish (optional)
For the cake
2 cups flour
4 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
180g butter, softened
11⁄2 cups sugar
1 large lemon, finely grated zest
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
Cream topping
500ml cream
200g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla bean powder or paste
Strawberries: Dice strawberries, toss with vanilla and icing sugar and set aside to macerate. This can be done the day before and left overnight in the fridge if desired. Cake: Heat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 30cm x 22cm baking tin.
Sift flour, cornflour and baking soda into a bowl. In another bowl, cream butter with sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at at time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
Fold in half the dry ingredients then half the yoghurt until combined, then repeat.
Spread mixture in tin and bake 20-25 minutes until golden and firm. Topping: Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat to soft peak stage.
To assemble the shortcakes, cut the cooled cake into 10-12 rounds the same size as your serving glasses or jars then split each round through the centre to make 20-24 rounds. Place a round in each glass/jar. Add a spoonful of strawberries to each one, then some cream mixture and repeat. Decorate with freeze-dried strawberry pieces and crumbled leftover cake, plus some edible flowers if desired.
Makes 10-12 250ml jars