Author: Lauren

Fresh Strawberries and Cream Cake

May 22, 2012 Filled under Cake and Pastry, Desserts, Fruit, Indulge, Summer
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It’s spring, the weather is gorgeous, and strawberries have started to make an appearance at the farmer’s market … what more can you ask for?

The first week that strawberries are really good might be the happiest that I am all year. In season strawberries can’t even compare to the pale, bitter berries that are available the rest of the year. Just follow your nose – if they’re ready, you’ll be able to smell them even before you see where they are in the store or at the market. Their scent is so intoxicating that it makes me giddy, and I buy them by the basket full. I just can’t help myself!

Once I’ve eaten way more than my fill, I make this cake. I’ve been making it for a few years now, an it’s absolutely delightful. It’s light and fluffy and had the perfect strawberry milkshake-like flavor. Go ahead and add plenty of colorful sprinkles – a cake this good is worthy of a celebration.

(Also worthy of a celebration? Winning $100! You still have a week to enter my contest – see the details here.)

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Fresh Strawberries and Cream Cake

Serves 16
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours (includes cooling time)

It’s really hard to get homemade strawberry cake right, but good berries do the trick. Unfortunately, that means there’s only about a month-long window where this recipe really works. I’ve made it in the winter with frozen berries, but it’s just not the same. What are you waiting for? 

I use store bought icing. I know a lot of people think it’s terrible, but I love it and my homemade icing is never as good (except for my peanut butter oreo buttercream, but that just doesn’t go with this cake). If you have a great recipe for frosting, go ahead and use it. But if you don’t, by all means, go ahead and use the stuff from the store.

Ingredients

    • 3 cups All Purpose Flour
    • 2 cups Sugar
    • 3 Tablespoons Baking Powder
    • 1/4  teaspoon salt
    • 2 sticks unsalted Butter, softened
    • 2 cups fresh Strawberry Puree
    • 1/2 cup Buttermilk
    • 5 Egg Whites
    • 2 cups of your favorite cream cheese or buttercream frosting
    • 1 cup chopped fresh Strawberries
    • Rainbow Sprinkles

Preparation

  1. Heat oven to 350*F. Grease the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch cake pans.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and strawberry puree and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Mix together the milk and egg whites in a second bowl, then gradually incorporate into the batter. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
  3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake coms out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely, about 1 hour, then invert and remove them from the pans.
  4. Mix together 1/2 cup frosting and chopped strawberries. Place one cake layer on a platter. Spread the top with strawberry frosting. Top with the second cake layer. Spread the top of the cake with a thin layer of frosting, then frost the sides. Decorate with rainbow sprinkles.

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Chicken and Spinach Shells with Feta Sauce

May 13, 2012 Filled under Chicken and Poultry, Pasta and Noodles
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Roasting chicken has become my latest Sunday tradition. Ever since I made one with lemon and za’atar a few weeks ago, I’ve been hooked! Unfortunatly, while I love the whole chicken/starch/vegetable meal the first night I don’t really love it as leftovers. Salads get boring, so I’ve been trying to come up with new ways to use leftover roast chicken. (Although it is tempting to just make flautas every. single. time.)

I’ve been meaning to make stuffed shells with cream sauce for a while now… I think I saw a picture when I was flipping through an issue of Everyday Food back in February, and I haven’t been able to get the idea out of my head. Well, I finally got around to making them and all I can say is oh my God, these are delicious!

The flavor is light and fresh, and although the feta cream sauce seems indulgent, it isn’t a heavy meal at all. I love, love, love the flavor of the roast chicken combined with cream – it’s so luxurious!

This dish ia little more time-intensive than most thing’s I make on weeknights (not only do you have to wait for pasta to boil, but you also need to bake it) but it’s worth every second. You can also make a big batch but throw half of it into the freezer to bake another time… I have some in my freezer now.

 

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Chicken and Spinach Shells with Feta Sauce

Yields 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

These stuffed shells are a great way to use up leftover roast chicken. I found that one breast from a six-pound bird yielded about 2 cups of shredded chicken, which was the perfect amount for this recipe. If you don’t have leftovers, a store-bough rotisserie chicken works too. 

I garnished my shells with pea shoots that I bought at the farmer’s market – the tender shoots has a subtle spring-pea flavor and a slight crunch that was a perfect compliment to the soft shells.

Ingredients

    • 20 pieces Jumbo Shells Pasta (about 1/2 a box)
    • 1 Tablespoon Butter
    • 3 Tablespoons Flour
    • 1/2 cup Fat Free Half and Half
    • 1-1/2 cups Skim Milk
    • 4 ounces Reduced Fat Feta, crumbled
    • 1/4 cup Water
    • 2 cups Chopped Spinach
    • 2 cups Shredded Chicken Breast, leftover or from a store-bought rotisserie chicken
    • 1 teaspoon Oregano
    • 1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
    • Salt and Pepper, to taste
    • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Parsley

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 450*F. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain.
  2. While the pasta boils, prepare the sauce and filling: Melt the butter in a large saucepan set over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Cook for minutes, or until the mixture turns a light golden color like butterscotch. Whisk in the half and half and milk, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the feta. Transfer half the sauce to a measuring cup or bowl. Stir the water into this portion of the sauce. Add the spinach to the sauce that’s still in the pan, and cook until it’s wilted. Stir in the chicken, oregano, and red pepper. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Pour about 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 7×11 baking dish. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling into each shell and arrange, open side up, in the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Approx 400 calories, 9 grams fat, 42 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 27 grams protein

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