When you notice that strawberries are more abundant at your local farmer’s market or grocery store, you know that summer is on its way. Strawberries taste great by themselves, make a delicious topping for pancakes and waffles, and are a flavorful addition to fruit salads. However, if you want to do something a little more creative with these red berries, here are a few recipes to help you bring in strawberry season.
Strawberry Snacking Cake
If you’re looking for something delicious to add to your brunch menu or simply want a sweet strawberry treat in the middle of the day, try this strawberry snacking cake recipe. You can use your favorite pound cake or biscuits for this recipe. Slice the strawberries and season them with sugar and lemon zest, or you can use honey to bring out the taste of the berries. Slice your cake or biscuits into cubes and create layers of cake, strawberries, and cream to make your snack complete. If you prefer a cookie with your strawberry snack, you can crumble your favorite chocolate or shortbread to use as a layer instead of biscuits or cake. To add even more flavor to this tasty dish, add lemon zest or vanilla to the cream and serve the dessert with fresh mint or chocolate shavings; both of these flavors go great with strawberries.
Strawberry Eton Mess
This decadent strawberry dessert features the red berries soaked in sugar to bring out their flavor. Place the sugar strawberries in a heat-safe bowl and place them over a pot of boiling water to warm them. While the berries are cooling, prepare your cream. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. You should also have some meringues on hand to add to the layers of the Eton Mess. In a small glass or bowl, layer the strawberries, cream, and crumbled meringues to create a delicious dessert that is rich in flavor. You can make this dessert even more indulgent by using lemon sponge cake in addition to or in place of the meringues. If you enjoy the light taste of macarons, these cookies are a tasty addition to your Eton Mess as well.
Cucumber Strawberry Popsicles
These fruity popsicles are a refreshing treat in the summer heat, and they’re perfect for outdoor parties and picnics. Combine frozen strawberries with cucumber, sugar, and lime zest in a blender. Place the mixture in popsicle molds and allow the ice pops to freeze for a few hours. Once the popsicles are solid, you can dip them in a lime and sugar mixture to add toppings like sprinkles, shredded coconut, or shredded chocolate. However, these ice pops are incredibly delicious on their own as well.
In addition to these tasty recipes, there are a few things you can do to prepare the strawberries in a way that makes them a welcomed addition to your homemade recipes. For instance, you can place sliced strawberries in a foil pack and place them on the grill for a few minutes before marinating them in sugar, olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. This is a great topping for salads. You can also freeze fresh strawberries to use them for smoothies later. If you want to give your muffins, cakes, and donuts more berry flavor, you can chop fresh strawberries up to add them to the batter. Strawberries also make great preserves and jellies. It may take a while for the strawberries to achieve the consistency you prefer, but while the berries rest in mason jars, you can take advantage of these indulgent suggestions for making the most of strawberry season.
