I always loved strawberries. I remember my mom bottling
strawberries once. I watched her packing the precious fruit into the bottles and
wondered about the futility of four small jars. She said it would be nice to
have a taste of spring in winter. Those strawberries never made it to winter;
all of it was gone in a week. But I understood.
Mami
I never would have thought that one day I will have the luxury of year around strawberries. Most of it comes from California . They are very nice before Christmas,
Valentines Day and Easter. But the very best strawberries are locally grown.
STRAWBERRY BARS
200 g fresh strawberries, chopped
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup soft butter
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
5 even sized fresh strawberries cut in half for decoration
- Wash, hull and chop 200 g of strawberries and set them aside.
- Quarter the rest of the strawberries and set them aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Fully line a square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Beat the egg yolks with sugar and butter and vanilla extract until frothy.
- Lower the speed and gradually add the flour.
- In a clean bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form
- Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.
- Transfer the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Level the top with an offset spatula.
- Drop the chopped strawberries onto the cake batter. They will sink to the bottom.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
- The cake will be ready when the center springs back when gently pressed.
- Meanwhile prepare the 5 strawberries for decoration.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
- Lightly score the top into nine squares.
- Sprinkle the top with icing sugar.
- Place 9 strawberry halves in the center of each square.
