Strawberry Tart With Lemon Mascarpone

Ah, strawberry season has finally arrived. It's no secret that strawberries are my favourite fruit and every year I look forward to April, when local stands with irresistible red berries and their intoxicating aroma begin to reopen. Without any doubt, one of my favourite strawberry recipes is this delicious and easy Strawberry Tart with Lemon Mascarpone.

This amazing Strawberry Tart with Lemon Mascarpone is without a doubt, perfect spring dessert. With buttery crust, whipped mascarpone filling and fresh strawberries is a luscious and winning spring dessert and you will definitely ask for seconds.

I love the look of this tart in it's rectangular shape. It was hard to capture the thing in a photo.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 155g butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1½ cup plain flour

For the filling:

• 250g mascarpone
• ½ cup icing sugar
• 1/3 cup double cream
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 450g strawberries
• 2tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp of apricot jam with 1 tbsp water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven.

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well blended with a large wooden spoon. Beat in the yolk and salt.

Add the flour to the butter and mix until the dough comes together.

Press the dough into a mould. Transfer the dough to a 13 by 4 inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom.

Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pan. Remove any access dough from the rim of the pan. Using a fork, poke holes al over the dough to prevent it from puffing up.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake on a lower rack for about 10-12 minutes. Cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the mascarpone, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps. Add in the double cream and mix until spreadable consistency.

Spread the cheese mixture into the cooled tart. Layer the strawberry slices on top of the mascarpone cream. 

Warm the apricot jam with the water in a microwave until warm. Mix until smooth. Let it cool down before brushing it over the strawberries.  You can omit this process if you wish. If you glaze the strawberries with the apricot jam, it will give the berries a nice shine. Chill until ready to serve. 

Enjoy!

 

Chicken Orzo Soup

 This chicken orzo soup recipe is light, healthy and cozy. It uses wholesome everyday ingredients and is sure to become a family favourite!. It's just so comforting without being heavy, and people adore this bright lemony broth. This orzo soup is simple to make.

If you are not familiar with it, orzo is that tiny rice-shaped pasta. It looks like rice but cooks really fast, so you get the rice effect in less time. This chicken orzo soup recipe is like chicken noodle soup but elevated!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g  butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 leek, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 kg chicken breast
• 250g orzo
• ½ bunch dill, chopped plus extra to garnish
• 250g frozen peas
• 2 lemons, 1½ zested and juiced, ½ sliced for serving

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large casserole dish then add in the onion, leek and carrots along with a pinch of salt. Stir, then cook with a lid on for 10 minutes over a low heat until soft.

Add the garlic and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and cook for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock and the chicken breast. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 25 minutes.

Remove the chicken and transfer to a plate. Add the orzo and chopped dill to the pan, stir and cook for 10 minutes or until the orzo is cooked through. 

Add the peas to the pan, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Meanwhile use two forks to shred the chicken.

Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices. Stir through the lemon zest and juice and taste for seasoning-add a little more lemon juice if you prefer. Serve with extra dill, black pepper and slice of lemon.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

THREE LAYERS OF CHOCOLATE!! You can never goes wrong with chocolate. This cake starts with a homemade moist chocolate cake. Then a layer of whipped chocolate mousse and if that's was not enough, another layer of fudgy chocolate ganache on the top. It is finished off with fresh strawberries for a pop of colour and fruity flavour.  I made this decadent cake for my son & his girlfriend  join birthday celebration! So...if you have someone in your life that loves chocolate I HIGHLY recommend making this cake!

Ingredients:

For chocolate cake:

• 115g plain flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 50g granulated sugar
• 50g brown sugar
• 110g vegetable oil
• 200g milk

For Chocolate Mousse:

• 400g double cream, divided into 200g +200g
• 200g dark chocolate, finely chopped

For Chocolate Ganache Topping:

• 180g double cream
• 170g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Filling & Topping

• 10-12 fresh strawberries, halved plus more for topping

Method:

For the Chocolate Cake: Preheat the oven to 175ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Set aside a 9" springform pan. It is not necessary to line the pan with baking paper but you can if you want to.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another large mixing bowl, add the egg, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Whisk together until well combined. Add the oil and whisk again until smooth and combined.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix until barely combined. Add half of the milk and mix again until barely combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk and mix until just combined into a thick but fluid batter.

Pour the batter into your springform pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Once cooled, if your cake has domed, run an offset spatula around the edges of the cake. Release the cake from the pan. Use a serrated knife and a horizontal sawing motion to cut off the excess cake until you have a flat cake layer. Return the cake to the pan and reassemble the springform pan.

For the Chocolate Mousse: Place the chopped chocolate in a small heat-safe bowl. Set aside.

In a small pan, heat 200g of the double cream on medium heat until tiny bubbles start coming to the surface and it is beginning to simmer. You can also do this in a microwave. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir the chocolate mixture until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. If there are any still unmelted chocolate chunks, gently warm the mixture in the microwave with 10-15 second intervals or on a warming element on your stove. Set aside to cool while you whisk the cream.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the remaining 200g double cream. Use an electric hand mixer or whisk to whip the cream until it has becomes just barely soft peaks. Do not whip it further past this point or the mousse will become stiff and dry.

Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the bowl of chocolate ganache. Fold together with a spatula until combined. Transfer this mixture to the rest of the whipped cream. Fold together until combined and no streaks remain.

Arrange halved strawberries around the sides of the pan on top of the cake layer, pressing the cut edges to the pan. Transfer the mousse mixture to the pan on top of the cake layer. Use a spatula to spread the mousse into an even layer, making sure to get in between each strawberry. Finish by smoothing the top of the mousse as best as you can.

Cover and chill the entire cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow the mousse to set.

Chocolate Ganache Topping: Place the chopped chocolate in a small heat-safe bowl. Set aside. 

In a small pan, heat the double cream on a medium heat until tiny bubbles start coming to the surface and it is beginning to simmer. You can also do this in a microwave. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir the chocolate mixture until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. If there are any still unmelted chocolate chunks, gently warm the mixture in the microwave with 10-15 second intervals or on a warming element on your stove.  Let the ganache cool slightly and thicken.

Pour the ganache on top of the cake. Use a spatula to spread it to the edges and smooth the top. Chill the cake in the fridge for another 30 minutes to allow the ganache to set before releasing the cake from the pan.

Decorate the top of the cake with strawberries before slicing. Run your knife under hot water and wipe dry before and in between each slice for clean cuts.