Strawberries Already?

It’s been a funny few months for weather, so it’s not surprising that the crops don’t know whether they’re coming or going. One benefit is that we don’t have to wait until Wimbledon is on the telly to enjoy strawberries, with the first of the season already here to munch on.

The only question is how will you enjoy the tasty fruit?

An early strawberry season calls for a light and fluffy cake with the delicious berries used as a tempting filling. If you’re a bit daunted by the prospect of baking, then dig out your Cake Factory, for a failsafe route to a delicious moist sponge. This recipe from Passion For Baking is a good place to start.

Strawberries really are the star of the show in this no bake cheesecake recipe from Vibrant Plate. It’s a great dessert for prepping in advance and pulling out if you have guests for dinner on the patio or visitors who stop in unexpectedly. When it says one cup of yoghurt, use 227 grams.

There’s no hard and fast rule that says strawberries have to only go into desserts and they actually pair really well with balsamic vinegar. They’re an effective way to pep up a salad, especially if you’ve looked in the fridge and realised you’ve got no tomatoes. The Daily Gourmet likes them with spinach, bacon, blue cheese and walnuts.

A pavlova is always a triumph when you bring it to the table and topping it with fresh strawberries is guaranteed to be a winner. Once you’ve nailed a basic pavlova recipe, making sure you get that marshmallowy centre on your meringue, you can adapt it to suit loads of different fruit. Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary has gone even more decadent and topped her pavlova with chocolate-dipped strawberries.

If you’ve got a glut of new season strawberries then turning them into ice cream is an absolute no brainer. You’ll have last-minute midweek desserts sorted for weeks to come right there in the freezer. Make your life even easier with Sandhya’s Kitchen and her recipe for strawberry ice cream with just three ingredients in it – perfect!

Another great go to midweek dessert is strawberry mousse and the one outlined in My Big Fat Halal Blog is extra zingy with the addition of lemon juice. It’s easy to make and is likely to become a family favourite, so make the most of those extra early strawberries and get an extra portion of their five-a-day into the kids.

One thing you have to do this strawberry season is nail an awesome sauce. Keep the bits in for a compote or sieve it to make a coulis, but either way you’ll have a fresh tangy concoction that you can heap onto all sorts of dishes. We’re thinking pancakes, waffles, ice cream or even a simple bowl of plain yoghurt. Lin’s Food will teach you that super versatile sauce.