Strawberry glaze recipe for ice cream, cheesecake, yogurt, etc.

I hope you all had a good Passover or a happy Easter.  If you are participating in Monday, Mmm ... Dessert, then be sure to leave your post's link below.

Strawberry season is just starting and will be at its peak all through the month of May and into June depending on your climate and the strawberry varieties.  It's time to enjoy them, every which way we can.  This is a great recipe to use over sundaes or any kind of ice cream.  You can decorate cakes and cheesecakes.  It's delicious poured over yogurt, or it can be mixed into some sour cream for a very sweet and fast dessert.  I know you will enjoy this strawberry glaze recipe.  Enjoy!

Flickr/Piccolina Photography
Sweet Stella Steals Strawberries.

Strawberry Glaze Recipe
2 cups strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons liqueur of choice (optional)

Wash and hull strawberries.  Dice 1 cup of the strawberries and pulse the other cup of strawberries in food processor to a thick puree.  Do not liquify or over-process.  Pour all strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch into a saucepan and stir over medium heat until thickened.  Remove from heat, add optional liqueur, cover and let stand until cool.



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Go post your desserts at A Well-Seasoned Life too.  Kim has just started a brand new dessert party, just like me.  Also invited to share this recipe at Carolyn's Strawberry Linky which continues through May 1st., and at Eating in Winnipeg.


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Giveaway

The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti and Lisa Weiss

Click to go to giveaway post

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Betty Crocker proposes four royal wedding cakes fit for Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29th

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What if Prince William and Kate Middleton called Betty Crocker for help with the Royal Wedding Cake?  These four very different cakes are their proposals based on the theme Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue.

If it were my royal wedding, I would pick all four because the theme itself is so great, and each cake has its own strengths and beauty. My favorite cake may be named Something Old because it looks timeless and elegant, but it shows so much new creativity and flair. It is not only suspended from the ceiling, but it incorporates romantic lighting right into the cake too.

Which of these royal wedding cakes is your favorite?

If you are also participating in Wordless Wednesday, by sure to promote your own post by using the linky at the bottom of this post.

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Old
Classic, timeless, and elegant. This wedding cake takes its inspiration from
a vintage chandelier – but with a modern twist. The majestic tiers, soft
white color palette, gilded accents and romantic use of light make this cake
gorgeous and traditional. The modern twist? With a flair for drama, this
cake floats above us, suspended from the ceiling!

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something New
The wedding dessert buffet meets the traditional British topiary. This
cone-shaped tower of delightful desserts is an elegant white mosaic of our
favorite sweets, from frosted sugar cookies to dainty petit fours to
elegant-but-simple palmiers.

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Borrowed
Reinvention is all about combining elements in a clever new way, and that’s
just what we did. This cake borrows from a dessert trend on the rise – pie.
Here, piecrust is a decorative and delicious fondant on the cake. It is also
used to create accents such as birds, a traditional English wedding cake
icon. The cake’s design even borrows from the royal china pattern!

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Blue
Royal by nature, blue is the perfect color for this wedding. This design takes
inspiration from the heirloom sapphire ring, as well as peacock feathers
(traditionally associated with both courtship and royalty) and the feather
“fascinator” hats favored by the future Royal. Inside, this “peek-a-blue”
cake features layers of Royal Blue Velvet Cake, a new spin on popular
Red Velvet Cake!

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Old Design Sketch

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Old Base Detail

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Borrowed Topper Detail

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Borrowed
Doves and Roses Detail

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Borrowed
Lattice and Sugared Fruits Detail

Flickr/Betty Crocker Recipes
Something Blue Detail

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Giveaway

The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti and Lisa Weiss

Click to go to giveaway post

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Royal wedding cake to be decorated in Joseph Lambeth style

Click for more information on the Royal Weddings Cakes -- Cairns and McVitie's to create 2 royal wedding cakes.
Happy Wordless Wednesday to all.  Be sure to link your own Wordless Wednesday post below.
Don't miss out on my latest giveaway either -- The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti.

Flickr/amy.newcomer
Joseph Lambeth method uses the simplest of decorating tubes to create
ornate decorations. The cushion lattice is Lambeth's signature design.

Flickr/The British Monarchy
A decorative rose to be used for the Royal wedding cake.

Flickr/The British Monarchy
Cake Designer Fiona Cairns looking at a Victorian recipe book.

Flickr/The British Monarchy
 Cairns with a tray of roses, leaves and other decorations.

Joseph Lambeth wrote the book on cake decoration.

Cover of the 1934 edition of Lambeth's book.

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Giveaway

The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti and Lisa Weiss

Click to go to giveaway post

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Cairns and McVitie's to create 2 royal wedding cakes

Prince William and Catherine Middleton, who are each known for their sweet tooth, have chosen to have two cakes for their wedding reception.

Fiona Cairns Ltd.
Samples of Cairns' wedding cakes.

Their official royal wedding website announced that cake designer Fiona Cairns would create their wedding cake, but that Prince William had also requested McVitie's Cake Company to create a chocolate biscuit cake made from a Royal family recipe for the reception at Buckingham Palace on April 29.

McVitie's, part of the United Biscuits Group, has made wedding and christening cakes for the royal family since the marriage of His Majesty King George V to HM Queen Mary in 1893.

Fiona Cairns is the author of recently
released Bake & Decorate.

The royal couple chose Cairns for her use of traditional British ingredients and creative style. The royal cake will be a multi-tiered traditional fruit cake with cream and white icing and a strong British floral theme using the Joseph Lambeth Method, which includes intricate piping to create 3-D scrollwork and decorations for ornate wedding cakes.

Their website states, "A cake decorated in the Lambeth Method and accented with fresh fruit or flowers is the wedding cake of choice for anyone who wants a traditional looking, elegant wedding cake."

Prince Charles' godson and Camilla's son Tom Parker Bowles, who is a food writer, editor and author, says, "Fiona Cairns makes cakes that taste superb and look amazing. They’re handmade and elegantly decorated."

United Biscuit Group
McVitie's is launching a limited edition biscuit tin to celebrate
the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

McVitie’s will also be launching a limited edition biscuit tin in celebration of the marriage. For every tin sold, McVitie’s will donate 5p to The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.

Brie En Croute with a Michigan Cherry Jam Filling

Sometimes the best desserts are some of the easiest and least complicated ones.  Simplicity is heavenly.

I just made some Brie En Croute with a Michigan Cherry Jam Filling at a friend's house, and of course, it reminded me of the Brie En Croute with Apple Compote Filling Recipe I had posted for you.

Flickr/Like_the_Grand_Canyon
Brie En Croute can be served as
a dessert or as an appetizer too.

In just a couple of minutes I laid out the store-bought puff pastry sheet, placed the small French brie wheel on top, poured out a small jar of organic Michigan cherry jam and tossed in a handful of chopped nuts.

Then I folded the pastry sheet corners over the top in a decorative flower-like fashion and popped it in the oven at 375F.  About 15 minutes later it was a beautiful golden brown and smelled heavenly.

Instant presto dessert.  Super fast and super tasty.  We all dug in and the mmmmms ... yum ... mmm ... sounds started.  And the compliments.  There were only 5 of us, but there were no leftovers because everyone went for seconds.

But as you can see it's not so much what I did.  There were only four ingredients and all were store-bought.  I didn't even slave all day over a stove.  I let the oven do all the work and for a mere 15 minutes.

Simplicity.  Works every time.

Easy how-to tip for frosting a cake

One way to keep a cake plate clean while frosting, is to place strips of aluminum foil or waxed paper under the cake around the edge.  When all done, just pull out the strips.  The plate rim will be all clean.

Flickr/abbsmcnabbs
Use strips around edges of cake to keep board or plate clean

Butter cake and peach filling recipes

Like Julia Child or Joan Gussow, I prefer to bake with butter.  In my Searchlight Recipe Book, this butter cake calls for a peach filling (recipe below), but feel free to substitute with another filling such as a lemon filling, chocolate nut filling, almond filling or a pastry cream or creme patissiere.

If you have a vintage recipe of your own which you would like to share, leave the link to your post in the comments and I will also add it below.

Flickr/Atypical Type A

Butter Cake Recipe
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream sugar and butter.  Add egg yolks and beat thoroughly.  Sift flour, measure, and sift with baking powder and salt.  Add alternately with milk to creamed sugar and butter.  Beat thoroughly.  Add flavoring.  Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.  Pour into well-oiled layer cake pans.  Bake in moderate oven (375 F.) about 25 minutes.  When cool, put layers together with peach filling.


Peach Filling Recipe
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup crushed peaches
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
Pink food coloring*
Few grains of salt

Combine sugar, salt, and cornstarch.  Add boiling water, stirring constantly, until smooth.  Cook over hot water until thick.  Add butter, lemon juice, and grated lemon rind.  Mix thoroughly.  Cool.  Add peaches.  Add coloring.*

*Joy's Note:  Look for organic food coloring if you are concerned about the possible negative effects of artificial chemicals.


More Vintage Recipes:
If you have a vintage recipe of your own which you would like to share, leave the link to your post in the comments and I will also add it to today's Vintage Recipe Thursday post.

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Vintage Recipe Thursday is meant to preserve your own original vintage family recipes, or out-of-print, copyright-free recipes from old cookbooks, magazines, newspapers or postcards.

You're invited! Get the details by clicking to the Vintage Recipe Thursday Homepage.

I post recipes from the Household Searchlight Recipe Book, first published in 1931. My 16th printing is from 1943.  What will you post?