strawberries – Bea's cookbook

I freaking love live!With all its ups and downs.With all its perfect imperfections.I really do!(Even when it rains for days in the summer!).I believe that we have bad days so that we can appreciate the good ones,to get to know ourselves,to learn,and to grow.And so I celebrate every single moment-bigger and smaller,because I feel somewhere deep down I might not have a chance to experience it again.Celebration comes in all shapes and sizes.Sitting in pijamas on the patio with a cinnamon latte sounds like the best party ever to me just lately.(Is this what most almost-30-girls do?).Of course great food has to be involve too.OF COURSE!Sweet and not-so-guilty treats-even better 🙂 Just like these coconut cups(And here I would like to pay a tribute to the inventor of muffin tin!) They cups don’t need much attention,they are pretty easy and quick to make(Yuppie!More time on the patio!) and taste insanely amazing!

So let’s just celebrate life!Eat great food!And make every moment count xxx

RECIPE:

for 8

INGREDIENTS:

for the base

100g wholegrain spelt flour
100g desiccated coconut
100g unsalted butter,melted
60g coconut sugar or 40g unrefined cane sugar

for the filling

100 strawberries,mashed with fork
310g natural yogurt
1 vanilla pod
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup

for decoration

strawberries,sliced
blueberries
pistachios,chopped

PREPARATION:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix the ingredients for the base and line the bottom and sides of muffin moulds.The layer shouldn’t be too thick as it will ‘swell’ a little bit in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes.It you notice they ‘swell’ to much,take them out the oven after 10 minutes and press the sides with a teaspoon.(Tried & tested :))

Take them out the oven and let them cool down still in moulds for few minutes,then remove and cool on the rack.

In the meantime,remove vanilla beans from the pod,add them to natural yogurt and mix in the maple syrup.

It’s best to prepare them before serving,as the yogurt will soften the cups.To finish them off:fill the cup with 3/4 of yogurt mixture,mix in 1-2 teaspoons of mashed strawberries.Decorate with strawberry slices,blueberries and chopped pistachios.

Enjoy xxx

2 years.

It feels totally crazy and makes my head spin around.After 24 months of blogging I think I’m not a new girl in town any more.I’ve been here for a little while now but with every passing day I discover more passion and joy for this space and for what I do.It just feels right.It feels like home.

Time flies.No doubt.I’m not discovering anything new here,I know.It will never stop amazing me though,how the things change,and how the way we look at things changes too.

I look at my reflection and see things I’ve never noticed before.I’ve got my dad’s wise eyes,my nan’s freckles,I walk like one of my brothers and laugh like the other one,I sound like my mum with every word I say.I’m a combination of everything around me.I change every day.I get to know myself every day.I choose what kind of person I want to become by looking around and absorbing what surrounds me.I steal from people and things,situations and places and let them make me a better version of myself.I learn.Every single day.

This blog is like me.It changes.Evolves.It reflects the things I am influenced by.The things I want to influence me.It echoes all the long conversations with people close to my heart,a place where I grew up,where I live now and places I can’t wait to see.It mirrors the joyful time spend behind the camera,long days of cooking,days of dancing around the kitchen and singing to the wooden spatula between flipping the pancakes,hours of hard work,frustration and failures,tons of experiments and learning to be patient.

It is an amazing journey.And THANK YOU for being it’s part.I often wonder if anyone visits this world of mine(except for my husband of course 🙂 Hello darling!)…..If anyone reads the words I put together…….If anyone comes here to have a look at the pictures…..If anyone wants to “steal” a little something from me……
So if you are here,I’m smiling and waving to you.
Grab a piece of cake and relax,I hope you’ll stay with me for a longer while.

This cake!!!It is as GOOD as it looks.I wanted to make it for a very long time,I was just waiting for a perfect moment.And this is a perfect moment 🙂

RECIPE:

For the cake:
300g self raising extra fine flour /or plain flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder
200g caster sugar
300g unsalted butter
4 eggs

For the cream:
600ml double cream
100g caster sugar
50g natural Greek style yogurt

Additionally:

900g strawberries
1-2 tablespoons caster sugar or honey or maple syrup
30g meringues,broken into pieces

I used flowers only for decoration 🙂

PREPARATION:

1.Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter a 20cm cake tin.In a large bowl, cream the butter with sugar until pale and fluffy.Add the eggs,one at a time,and beat until you get light and fluffy mixture. Beat well to get lots of air into the mixture.Add the flour and mix it in with a spoon until combine but don’t over-mix it.

2.Place the mixture in a tin and bake for around 50 minutes,even to one hour.Check it with a wooden skewer.If it comes out clean,it’s ready!

3.Leave it to cool completely and cut the cake into three layers.Draw the line around the cake with a smaller knife and then use a bigger one to slice it.Hold the top of the cake with your one hand and slice with the other.

4.To make the filling, beat the cream with sugar until smooth and creamy.Fold in the yogurt.

5.Place 500g strawberries into a blender and pulse it until you get a nice thick strawberry mixture with some visible strawberry pieces.Add sugar,honey or maple syrup if necessary.Some strawberries are sweet enough and don’t need a sweetener.

6.FUN TIME:Place the first layer of the cake on a plate or tray,spread 1/3 of the cream on top,cover it with 1/3 of blended strawberries,repeat two more times.

7.Before serving:sprinkle broken meringues on the top and decorate with the whole or halved strawberries.

Note:You could also use more broken meringues and place then between the layers but to do that it’s best to assemble the cake just before the serving because the meringue will dissolve in cream if left for longer.

Enjoy xxx

Tag: strawberries

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