Strawberries and Chocolate

Chocolate and strawberries have a natural affinity for one another...chocolate dipped strawberries are after all treasured.  I suppose that is more of a romantic Valentine's Day thing than a spring thing, but since strawberries are becomming more abundant in the stores lately, and will soon be in season I decided to give the chocolate strawberry combo a go.  Being that I am allergic to dark chocolate, I opted for the white chocolate variation...kind of a take off of strawberries and cream, or strawberry shortcake...which is what they smelled like while they were baking.  I decided that they must contain extra vanilla as well hence the tablespoon of vanilla extract and ground vanilla beans.  While I was making the white chocolate strawberry scones for myself, I thought I would make some dark chocolate ones to share with those of my friends who love chocolate, and see how they turned out.  Both variations turned out marvelously!  The white chocolate were simply divine, and I ate way too many...and the dark, well, my taste testers loved them!  So I have included the two variations of the scones here...both worth your time! 

Strawberry White Chocolate Vanilla Scones


2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup maple sugar, or granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground vanilla beans*
1 stick cold organic vegan butter, cut into chunks
1 cup chilled full fat coconut milk
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
8 oz vegan white chocolate, chopped into large chunks
16 oz fresh organic strawberries, quartered
milk
turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 with the rack set at the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture starts to clump into pea sized pieces. In a small bowl, stir the vanilla into the cream. Add the coconut milk to the dough, and stir a few times, but do not overmix. The dough should hold together when squeezed, but still be clumpy. fold in chocolate chunks and berries until evenly distributed. place dough on a floured work surface, and shape into a 4 inch wide log. Use a bench scraper to cut into trianges. There should be about 8. Place scones on the prepared baking sheet, reshaping slightly if necessary. Brush the tops with the milk, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 8

*to make ground vanilla beans, grind the leftover seed pod in a spice grinder until finely ground. A wonderful use for left over beans that you have scraped the seeds out of for other recipes.
 
Strawberry Double Chocolate Scones


1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup maple sugar, or granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cold organic butter, cut into chunks
1 cup cold organic heavy whipping cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped into large chunks
16 oz fresh organic strawberries, hulled and quartered
milk
turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 with the rack set at the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture starts to clump into pea sized pieces. In a small bowl, stir the vanilla into the cream. Add the cream to the dough, and stir a few times, but do not overmix. The dough should hold together when squeezed, but still be clumpy. fold in chocolate chunks and berries until evenly distributed. place dough on a floured work surface, and shape into a 4 inch wide log. Use a bench scraper to cut into trianges. There should be about 8. Place scones on the prepared baking sheet, reshaping slightly if necessary. Brush the tops with the milk, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 8

Champagne Mangoes and Strawberries

Champagne mangoes...where do I start, so wonderfully tart and yet sweet at the same time and in perfect balance...smaller than their sister the regular mango, but equally as delicious!  So, when I discovered that champagne mangoes were the only mangos available at the store, I didn't mind.  I had planned on making a strawberry mango crisp this weekend, because there were beautiful strawberries on sale at the store I work at and I had been eyeing them all week, dreaming up the possibilities for desserts I could make with them.  Since rhubarb isn't in season yet (strawberry rhubarb is the epitomy of spring desserts in my opinion), I thought I might go in another direction and make something with a touch of the tropics, hence the mango.  But I didn't stop there with the tropical theme, I decided to add coconut to the topping as well to make it all the more delicious.  Normally when I make a crisp, I add lemon juice to the filling, but as I was cutting up the champagne mangoes, and tasting a few pieces as I went along, I realized that this crisp wouldn't need any lemon, since the mangoes would provide the tartness.  I also decided that the amount of sugar in my classic crisp recipe would need to be reduced as well, since the berries were perfectly ripe and plenty sweet.  The way in which I bake my crisp is a little different than the traditional way, as I bake the filling first until it is bubbling, then add the topping only for the last 10-15 minutes so it doesn't get overcooked or soggy with the filling.  This was especially important this time, considering the topping contained coconut which tends to burn very quickly.  I couldn't be happier with the end result of this crisp!  The flavor combination worked out perfectly, and the tartness of the champagne mangoes with the sweetness of the berries reminded me of strawberry rhubarb!  So if you love strawberry rhubarb stuff and don't want to wait a few weeks until the rhubarb starts growing in your yard, you should make this in the mean time to satisfy the craving.  I also made some toasted coconut ice cream to go along with this crisp, and the recipe is in my previous blog post if you are interested.  Happy spring! 

Strawberry and Champagne Mango Toasted Coconut Crisp

Serves 2 generously

4 organic champagne mangoes, diced
1 lb fresh organic strawberries, hulled, halved, or quartered if large
3 Tbsp maple or brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
6 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
3 Tbsp maple or brown sugar
4 Tbsp cold organic vegan butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup large flake coconut

Two 5 or 6 inch wide ovenproof bowls or pie plates
Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack at the center position. Place a baking sheet lined with foil on the rack. Spray two 5 or 6 inch wide pie plates or bowls with cooking spray. In a large bowl, toss together the mangoes, berries, 3 Tbsp sugar, vanilla, and 2 Tbsp flour. Spoon into prepared bowls or pie plates, and cover with foil. Place plates on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until fruit is cooked through and bubbling. Meanwhile, to make the topping, combine the flour, sugar, butter and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender, or 2 knives, cut butter into the flour until it is in pea sized chunks and clumping together. Add oats and coconut, and with hands, squeeze the mixture together forming larger chunks as well as incorporating the oats and coconut until it is evenly distributed as you go. Place in the fridge until the crisps are ready to top. When the fruit has baked for 30 minutes, and is bubbling, remove from the oven and top with the crisp mixture. Place back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown and toasted (keep a close eye on it as coconut burns very quickly). Remove from oven and let cool until warm...enjoy! Best served warm with a scoop of toasted coconut or classic vanilla ice cream!

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

I love coconut in many forms, but my favorite is just simply toasted!  I have been wanting to experiment using coconut in ice cream for a while, but since it has been cool, I have held off.  But since it has been warm lately I felt like it was about time!  I was wondering if coconut milk would behave in ice cream as well as heavy cream, which is what I normally use.  It ended up with a little more icy texure, somewhat like sorbet, but more creamy!  This was double coconut ice cream since it contained the milk as well as toasted coconut stirred in at the end...and ended up being simply heavenly!  Instead of the sugar overload that most people add to ice cream, I decided to go for agave nectar, a more blood sugar friendly alternative, as well as a tropical sweetener!  I am very pleased with the result of this ice cream experiment, and if you have an ice cream maker, I would urge you to try it!  It is going to go perfect with the strawberry mango toasted coconut crisp I also made today (recipe to come soon). 

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

1 15 oz can organic full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup organic whole milk
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 vanilla bean
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 cups finely shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

Whisk together coconut milk, milk, and agave nectar in a bowl. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and reserve the pod for another use (such as placing in a jar of sugar to give it a lovely flavor). Add seeds to to the bowl along with the extract, and salt whisk well to blend. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to package directions (mine takes about an hour, and is still a little soupy like the consistency of a malt, but firms up in the freezer). When ice cream is done freezing, stir in toasted coconut, and pour into a tupperware container, and place in the freezer for at least a few hours, or preferrably overnight to ripen for best results. Makes about 4+ cups of delicious ice cream! Once you make this you will never want store bought again!