Strawberry And Crème Fraîche Gratin Recipes

STRAWBERRIES WITH CREME FRAICHE AND SUGAR

Steps:

• Rinse however many strawberries you have (they should be ripe and fragrant) and pat them dry, but leave the hulls on to use as little handles. To eat, swirl a berry in creme fraiche, then dust it with confectioner's sugar.

STRAWBERRY AND CRèME FRAîCHE GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• In 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, melt butter. Add panko and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cinnamon, pepper, and sugar, and toss to combine. Transfer to medium bowl and set aside.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons crème fraîche onto center of each ovenproof plate. Arrange 1/2 cup strawberries on top of each circle of crème fraîche. Drizzle each plate with 1 1/2 teaspoons honey and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon panko mixture. Working in batches, place plates on large rimmed baking sheet and broil until the crème fraîche starts to bubble and turn light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Keep warm while broiling other batches and serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY AND CREAM LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Fill a small saucepan with about 1 inch of water and set over medium heat until the water steams.
• Meanwhile, coarsely chop about a quarter of the strawberries and combine in a medium heatproof bowl with the sugar. Cover the bowl tightly and set it over the saucepan. Reduce the heat if necessary to keep the water just below a simmer and allow the berries to sit, swirling the bowl once or twice to dissolve any stubborn sugar clumps, until they've released all their juices, are mushy, and swim in a translucent red liquid, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat, uncover and strain through a fine-mesh strainer. (You should have 1/2 to 3/4 cup of strawberry syrup.) The mushy berries will have given off their color and flavor, and even though you won't use them in the cake, they're still tasty. Reserve the berries for spooning over pancakes or yogurt.
• In a separate medium bowl, combine the heavy cream, crème fraîche and salt. Whisk the mixture vigorously by hand, or beat with a hand mixer on medium-high, until thick, light and holding a medium peak. Chill the bowl of whipped cream. Thinly slice the remaining raw strawberries lengthwise.
• Invert the sponge cake on a flat serving plate or cake stand. Holding a long serrated knife horizontally and parallel to the work surface, use it to lightly score all around the side of the cake at the midway point. Then, using long, even strokes and still holding the knife parallel to the surface, slice clean through the cake, using the score marks as a guide, to cut it into two even layers. Set the top layer aside.
• Use a pastry brush to dab several tablespoons of the strawberry syrup across the bottom layer, lightly soaking the entire surface. Pull the bowl of cream from the refrigerator and dollop about half of it across the soaked layer, then spread in an even layer all the way to the edges. Arrange half of the sliced strawberries on top of the cream, then place the second cake layer on top of the first, cut side up. Lightly soak the top layer of cake with the strawberry syrup, reserving any remaining syrup for serving. Spread the remaining cream on top of the cake, then pile the remaining sliced strawberries over top. (If not serving immediately, cover loosely and refrigerate until ready to serve.)
• Slice the cake with a serrated knife and serve. Drizzle the slices with any remaining strawberry syrup. The cake is best served the day it's made, but will keep, covered and chilled, for up to 3 days.

STRAWBERRY CRèME FRAîCHE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Remove the tops from the strawberries and put in a food processor with the sugar. Blitz to make a rough purée - a few chunky bits add texture to the ice cream.
• Tip the crème fraîche into a bowl and stir in the strawberry purée. Put in an ice-cream maker to churn or put the bowl into the freezer until the ice cream is firm 3cm in from the edge - about 1-2 hrs. Remove from the freezer and whisk to break down the ice crystals, return to the freezer for 1 hr longer, then whisk again. Transfer the ice cream to a freezerproof container with a lid and freeze until firm.
• To serve, transfer the ice cream to the fridge for about 20 mins until it is soft enough to scoop.