Easy strawberry jam, and vanilla-strawberry swirl ice cream

I finally got to put one of my wreck jars to its intended use by filling it with a small-batch of homemade jam!  It is easy to make, beautiful to look at, and delicious to eat.

I've had easy strawberry jam, or "refrigerator jam", on my to-try list for a long time but it was Tricia's beautiful post on her blog, Saving Room for Dessert, that motivated me to finally do it.  Take a look at her gorgeous photos and I challenge you not to want to go straight out to buy some strawberries and make this jam.  

Tricia, I hope you agree that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery because I tried very hard to imitate you and your results in this case.  Since this was as easy to make and as tasty as you said it would be, I think I did pretty well!

I followed Tricia's sage advice to use Grand Marnier (instead of lemon juice) in the jam.  Maybe you can't exactly pinpoint the liqueur but I know it does something magical in there.  This was definitely a worthwhile use of 2 cups of strawberries.  In a matter of 10-15 minutes, I had a thick, vibrant-red, sweet jam - ready to be enjoyed for breakfast.  My husband, who loves strawberry jam, was very impressed and we are both enjoying the fruits of my minimal labor.  I only made one cup so it's going went fast!

There are many ways to enjoy this homemade jam - from simply spreading it on top of toast or biscuits, to serving it with pancakes or crepes.  I took a few spoonfuls and stirred it into a batch of homemade Philadelphia-style vanilla bean ice cream!  

My husband loved this ice cream.  The eggless vanilla ice cream really showcases the vanilla flavor while the strawberry jam adds a level of sweetness and fruitiness.  Both have strong flavors but stand on its own as well as combined nicely together.  

Strawberry buttermilk cake

In a real embarrassment of riches, my refrigerator has been loaded down with strawberries this week!  Of course, we can get strawberries any time of year but in the last week or so, I'm seeing an abundance of them and some great sales that I just can't resist.  So I keep loading up boxes and bringing them home...

Usually, I gobble up the berries so fast, there's none left to do anything with them! This time, I actually had more than enough to bake a cake with.  I've always got this simple buttermilk cake in the back of my mind.  I've made it with raspberries and have always wanted to try it with strawberries.  Well, now I can tell you it's really good with strawberries!

The cake base is perfectly easy and delicious - moist and a little tangy from buttermilk, not too heavy, and fragrant with fresh lemon zest (I particularly love the lemon zest so don't skip it!).  It has a sweetness that blends well with the fruit.  It's just a great everyday cake to whip up for no particular reason, or for a gathering.

I feel like this is a shortcut to strawberry shortcake since it's what it tastes like, only faster to make.  This simple cake is a great one to have in your repertoire for all those delicious summer berries to come!  

Easy mille-feuille with strawberries and cream

For a girl who grew up with no appreciation for berries whatsoever, I'm amazed by the amount of strawberries I'm consuming and absolutely loving these days.  Strawberries are at their seasonal peak between mid-May and mid-June in New Jersey and I've been taking advantage of this.  How many pounds do you think you've eaten in the last few weeks?  I can't count...

The fresh strawberries are so good, they quickly vanish as I simply eat them.  As much inspiration as I've encountered, despite all the beautiful berry-filled desserts I've admired, I can't seem to muster the motivation to make a fruit tart or even whip up a cake with them.  I'm just gorging on them straight-up while my husband likes a little chocolate or Nutella with it.  

I could only manage to assemble this simple strawberry dessert, and all it takes is assembly.  It's a loose interpretation of a mille-feuille or Napoleon dessert.  I adapted the "recipe" from Gavottes, the original maker of crispy crepe dentelle - amazing wafer cookies that I simply love to eat as is or break up to mimic feuilletine in chocolate crunch bars.  Very sadly, my local World Market stores seem to have stopped carrying Gavottes biscuits so I settled for similar ones available at Whole Foods.  They are good but if you can get the Gavottes brand of crepe wafers, I highly recommend it because they are even better.

The last time I made mille-feuille or Napoleon was back in May 2011 when I followed a somewhat more traditional route using puff pastry to form the crispy layers.  This easy dessert takes that similar idea but instead of puff pastry, the crispy, buttery crepe wafers act as the flaky layers.  To make it, simply lay down a few of these wafers (I used ones coated in dark chocolate but you can find plain or ones coated in milk chocolate), top with some lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream, strawberries, and repeat.  It takes very little time to put together.

I'll be honest with you; this is a messy thing to eat!  Your best bet is to take a fork/spoon and whack it to break the wafers down. It's going to disintegrate and look a mess on your plate but just scoop it up and you're rewarded with mouthfuls of strawberries and cream together with crispy caramelized shards of wafers coated with chocolate. 

For the most part, I'm going to continue just snacking on these seasonal fresh strawberries while they're available but it was fun to do a little something different with my hoard!