How to make perfect Chocolate Coated Strawberries

I started February with a chocolate recipe, and in the month of love I thought I might as well continue the theme! It does seem a bit cheeky to call this a recipe, think of it as more of a "how to" for making gorgeous chocolate dipped strawberries for your someone special (or yourself). This Valentine's Day I have you covered!

Back to Basics - Shortcrust Pastry

If the thought of making pastry from scratch sounds like a lengthy and difficult task then read on! Today I'm going to show you how to make a very easy and versatile pastry, and I promise you don't need any Michelin stars to get this one right. 

As part of the "Back to Basics" feature, this is all about how to make shortcrust pastry. Just be sure to follow the quantities and method below carefully and you'll be on your way to heavenly pastry in no time.  

You will only need a few simple ingredients for the pastry. If you do a bit of research you'll see that shortcrust pastry recipes can vary quite a bit - most should have twice as much flour as butter, but some use eggs or milk instead of water (this makes a richer pastry), and others include sugar for a sweet shortcrust recipe. I've kept this recipe simple and it can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes. 

This recipe will make enough pastry to line a 20cm pie dish, with a little leftover. Use your shortcrust pastry to make a home made steak or chicken pie. Or impress everyone with your "made from scratch" quiche, lemon meringue or fruit pie... watch the blog for a scrumptious apple pie recipe coming soon! The dough can also be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, or it can be frozen for 3 months. 

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SHORTCRUST PASTRY

250g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
125g butter, cubed (room temperature)
5-6 tablespoons cold water

Step 1.) Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and mix.

Step 2.) Add the butter. Use a knife to cut the cubes into the flour until most of the butter has been blended in. 

Step 3.) Use your fingertips to finish rubbing the butter into the flour. Work quickly and gently, and lift your fingertips out of the bowl as you rub to help incorporate air into the flour. Do this until the mixture is crumbly but don't worry if there is the odd lump as you want to avoid over-rubbing.

Step 4.) Add most but not all of the water, then use a knife to cut the liquid in. Continue until the dough starts coming together, then use your fingertips to finish forming the dough, adding extra water as needed. The dough should be soft but not sticky. 

Step 5.) Shape the dough into a disc, this will make rolling it out much easier later on. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap or pop it in a freezer bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. Resting the dough will make it more elastic which also makes rolling it out easy as pie!

Back to Basics - Cranberry Tea Scones

There was a lot of excitement in our household this weekend - having had a temporary kitchen since we moved into the house three years ago, and after months of planning, preparation and a few weeks of renovation chaos, yesterday saw the completion of this huge project. The last box was unpacked on Sunday morning, just hours before we were hosting a family lunch, and that afternoon I couldn't wait to put the new oven through its paces with a batch of tea scones. 

This recipe is a favourite of mine that I've had for many years - when I bake a batch of scones, this is the way I do it. If you aren't a confident baker this is an easy recipe to start with, which is why I've added it to the "Back to Basics" section, but seasoned bakers will love it too. These scones are light and fluffy, and I love the addition of the cranberries which add a touch of sweetness. 

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CRANBERRY TEA SCONES 

Makes 8 scones

2 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons castor sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

50g chilled butter

60g whole, dried cranberries

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk

Step 1.) Preheat your oven to 200°C.  Sift the flour, baking powder, castor sugar and salt into a bowl.

Step 2.) Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour mix using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cranberries.

Step 3.) Beat the egg with a fork, then stir into the mixture.

Step 4.) Gradually add the milk until you have a thick dough, you may not need to add it all. Be careful not to overwork the dough as this could toughen the scones.

Step 5.) Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat to thickness of 2-3 cm. Use a floured cookie cutter to cut out rounds, a cutter with a 5 - 6 cm diameter is a good size to use.

Step 6.) Place the rounds on a greased baking tray and brush the tops with a little milk. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the tops are golden and the scones have risen. 

Serve fresh from the oven with butter, your favourite jam and a dollop of whipped cream.

Back to Basics - White Sauce

I think this may have been the first recipe we covered in our school Home Economics class ... or was that scones? Either way, once you've mastered this easy sauce you can use it for a multitude of things! Handy, right? White sauce (also known as béchamel sauce) can be used in pasta and veggie dishes, soups, gravies and as a base for other sauces.

I've given you a basic recipe below, as well as some ideas for variations. 

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WHITE SAUCE

Makes about 280ml

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons plain flour

salt

250ml milk 

Step 1.) Melt the butter in a saucepan, then whisk in the flour to form a smooth paste. Allow the mixture to cook for a minute or two - this is known as a roux.

Step 2.) Remove the pan from the heat, add a pinch of salt then gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth mixture. Return the pan to the heat and continue to whisk until the sauce has thickened, this should only take a couple of minutes. 

And you're done - easy peasy! This recipe is for a medium white sauce, for a thinner sauce use just 1 tablespoon of butter and flour to 250ml milk.

Choices, choices! Here are some variations to the basic recipe:

Cheese sauce - once the sauce has thickened take it off the heat and stir in 50g grated cheese. A sharp cheddar works brilliantly. Keep stirring until the cheese has melted and you have a smooth sauce.

Use to make make macaroni cheese or cauliflower bake, or spoon over baked potatoes.

Mushroom sauce - Heat a dash of olive oil in your saucepan and add 1 finely chopped clove of garlic and 2 cups of thinly sliced button mushrooms (about 160g). Cook until the mushrooms are soft then take off the heat and set aside. Make your white sauce as normal and once thickened stir in the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Stir in a teaspoon of chopped parsley and season to taste.

Delicious on steak, burgers or chicken schnitzel.

Parsley sauce - stir 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley into your thickened white sauce and season to taste. 

Perfect for fish!