Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Strawberry Shortcakes, Franco American Style ~ Baking Chez Moi











Per Nana ~
This week's recipe for strawberry shortcakes could not have come at a better time. 
We were celebrating Jim's 84th birthday and this seemed perfect. 
The recipe for the ladyfinger batter was extremely easy to prepare. I started 
to pipe the batter onto the penciled circle design but it turned into a big mess 
so I used a spoon instead. I have to work on that piping technique a bit more.  
I made the roasted strawberries for the filling but I am not sure what went 
wrong so I omitted them and used fresh berries instead. The flavors of 
balsamic vinegar and lemon did not work for me. 
The little cakes were delicious with the homemade whipped cream 
and fresh strawberries - a definite repeat. 
Per Tricia ~
Having enjoyed these a bit early at my Dad's birthday,
 I knew the recipe was a winner and they would be delicious. 
Like Nana, I went with the fresh berries though I have heard amazing things about 
grilled and roasted strawberries so need to play around with those myself. The 
piping Gods had pity on me as I prepared this one morning early before work
 (5:30 am is not a time to fill a piping bag.....) and I lucked out on that front. We have 
been having a heat wave and I could not bear to turn on the oven in the evening. 
I have to admit that I loved being able to prepare Ladyfinger batter from
 scratch (never thought I would tackle this) but since I enjoy biscuit type
 shortcakes I was not prepared to like this one so much. I was wrong. The prep 
was not as bad as I anticipated and the cakes were so lovely it was well worth it. 

Another winner from this amazing cookbook. 

This marks another Tuesday recipe testing as we cook along with the "Tuesdays with Dorie" online group.  Please note that we do not post the recipes, per the group rules, but we do encourage others to RUN out and buy their own copy of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi".  Better yet, buy the book and JOIN THE GROUP ! www.TuesdaysWithDorie.wordpress.com 

13 comments:

  1. This one was really amazing, right? You both did so well and I love that this was Jim's birthday cake :)

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  2. Both your shortcakes look beautiful! This recipe was definitely a winner.

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  3. Your shortcakes look great. I also used a spoon for the cream and need more practice with piping. The whole family loved this dessert.

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  4. Fabulous photos! I love the tip that you used to pipe the cream!

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  5. Gorgeous shortcakes ladies! I did the roasted strawberries because I was curious, but fresh would have been amazing too.

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  6. Happy Birthday to Jim. We loved these too. You both should try the roasted strawberries again. They do cook down quite a bit. I think serving both kinds of strawberries is a good thing. Hope you survive the heatwave.

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  7. A perfect birthday treat!!! Glad you both enjoyed---I think my gang prefer their shortcakes with fresh berries, but I was glad to try the roasted for a change of pace. Have a terrific weekend! xo

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  8. Happy Birthday to Jim!! A lovely birthday treat…I’m sure he loved them! These were much easier than I thought they would be! A great job ladies…they both look gorgeous!

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  9. You ladies both did an amazing job! Nana, I thought about spooning out the batter since the ziploc bag was putting up a fight. I may have to do that next time. Tricia, you have got some serious piping skills!

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  10. So glad to hear the prep wasn't as bad as anticipated. I'm nervous about this one. Nana, I'm also really glad to hear that the spoon worked too. I'm terrible at piping.

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  11. What a wonderful birthday treat! I was a little intimidated by the idea of ladyfingers as well, but I was pleasantly surprised at how simple and delicious it ended up being!

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  12. Happy Belated Birthday to Mr. Nana :-)
    I knew the piping bag would be an epic fail, so I pulled my muffin scooper out. No, even when I am baking I can't follow directions.
    Your desserts are gorgeous and I hope you both had a lovely fourth.
    P.S. I miss "seeing" you both on Fridays!

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  13. Happy belated birthday to Jim! These are beautiful and I am looking forward to trying them some time. My family has gone off desserts, so I'm short on taste testers for Baking Chez Moi recipes. I hope to join in occasionally, though - I'm going to have to restart my habit of bringing treats to meetings, I think.

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