We can buy strawberries all year ’round, but it’s always special when your local strawberries are in season. Here are a few “berry good” ways to enjoy the strawberry bounty.
Strawberry Sauce
In a saucepan, combine
3 cups hulled and sliced or chopped strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon (or more to taste) lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
Heat until simmering, stirring occasionally. (Be aware that your mixture will rise as it cooks.) Cook and stir as needed for an additional 15 minutes or so, until the mixture starts to thicken. Take off the heat, and if you’re like me and don’t want a chunky sauce, use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and stir. Once cooled, store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
And there are so many ways to use it. Pour it over pancakes or top strawberry & pastry creme-filled crepes. Use it to garnish a crepe cake (like above) or homemade pound cake. And homemade strawberry sauce makes the perfect strawberry sundae.
Macerated Berries
You might think, what the heck is that? Your grandma knew, even if she didn’t know the fancy term. To macerate berries is to simply add some sugar to them so they are sweetened and juices are formed. How much sugar you add is up to your preference and how sweet your berries are. Start with a couple of tablespoons for a quart of sliced berries and go up as desired. You can also add a splash of orange juice, or if you want “boozy berries”, try 2 tablespoons of your favorite liquor, like Grand Marnier. Let the berries sit for 15 minutes at least. You can strain the berries out of the juice that forms, especially if you’re folding them into whipped cream. You can include the juice if you’re serving them over a slice of pound cake, so all that yumminess soaks into the cake.
Crepe Cake
This isn’t a hard recipe to do but it does take some time. Make as many crepes as you’d like. I did mine 12 high, but you can certainly go higher. As you lay down a crepe on your serving plate, spread on alternating layers of strawberry jam (not too much or it may seep out), sweetened whipped cream, and pastry cream. You could also try Nutella, chocolate ganache, and even peanut butter.
As your cake gets higher, you’ll find it gets more ‘wiggly”. I found it helpful to gently move it back in place with my hand as I added the next crepe. Once complete, garnish with strawberry sauce, macerated berries, whipped cream, whole berries, etc. Best if eaten right away. But you can make all your components the day before. I separate my crepes with a little waxed paper and chill them until ready to use. You can find a crepe recipe here.
Thought for the day: Life is like a ripe strawberry. There are special moments with the people you love, ripe for the picking. But if you wait too long, that moment can pass you by. And then it’s too late. So don’t get “jammed” over the small stuff and find the joy in what really matters. Here’s to more “sweet” memories!
