Strawberry

It's the final week for both work and school before the summer break - this year has certainly sped by! We will be back at the beginning of January but I will leave you with a lovely recipe for a strawberry tart that I tried this weekend for a family gathering. It is a wonderful easy entertaining dessert with summer strawberries, chocolate ganache and whipped vanilla coconut cream.

For the base recipe I used Nigel Slaters pastry tart recipe -  I did make a few substitutions by using natural ground almonds, spelt flour and unrefined sugar. These can be made well in advance and stored in the freezer till you need them. They are beautifully fragile so you have to be rather careful!

To fill the tarts I made a ganache - 50% dark chocolate and 50% coconut cream - and piled a little in the middle of each base.

I then filled the tarts with whipped coconut cream. The tins are chilled overnight and then only the solid coconut cream is whipped and spiked with vanilla paste and a little icing sugar. We avoided using straight cream because dairy intolerance in the extended family means a little butter in the pastry is ok, but a lot of cream would not be! I quite like the clean taste the coconut cream has over standard cream.

Then all you have to do is assemble the strawberries on top and find a lovely plate to present them on - I am especially fond of Rachel Carley plates for desserts (another Architecture expert who loves baking and creating!)

Many thanks to all of our amazing clients, it has been wonderful working with you in 2014, and also to those who follow the journal or have been part of the encouraging community on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook over the year, we look forward to sharing more of the alchemy of architecture and daily life in the new year! 

Have a wonderful Christmas!

xxx

Lisa & Scott.

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