Saturday, 4 July 2015

Strawberries with Coconut Whipped Cream + Brown Butter Biscuit Crumble.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

In July, we eat strawberries and cream.

I mean, how could you not?
The sweetest strawberries are in season and what with this hot weather, layered with softly whipped cream, they make the perfect no-bake dessert for Ramadan.
Two years ago (!), I posted the traditional way that we eat this classic combination. We whip double cream and sweeten it up with a little icing sugar and vanilla, ready to dip the strawberries in.
This year? A slight twist but still not straying too far from the original. The strawberries are still strawberries but in place of the cream? A coconut whipped cream using only one ingredient: coconut milk! Guys, something magical happens when you leave a tin of the stuff in the fridge overnight, invert it, pour out the liquid and then whip the cream left at the bottom. The creamiest, smoothest cream ever! Seriously, if I hadn't made it myself, I would have sworn we were eating whipped cream.
And, to finish, an ode to my parents love of crumble. A crumble reminiscent of the best bit of a cheesecake: the biscuit base. Today, we are making our own (a double batch!) with, among other things, wholemeal flour, brown butter and spices. It bakes in 12 minutes and you can sprinkle as much of it as you like over the strawberries and cream.
But if you find it making it's way onto other things (grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream, anyone?), well, let's just say there'll be no judgement from me. 

Strawberries and Cream, previously: the classicin cake formthe giant scone version.

A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Butter
2. Plain Flour
3. Dark Brown Sugar
4. Wholemeal Flour
5. Ground Cloves
6. Ground Cinnamon
7. Salt
8. Baking Powder
9. Honey
10. Coconut Milk
11. Vanilla Essence
12. Icing Sugar
13. Strawberries

Bismillah, let's begin!

First, we're going to make the biscuit crumble. Grease and line a large baking tray and get the oven pre-heated to 180C / Gas Mark 4.

 This is a brown butter biscuit crumble so obviously we're going to need to brown some buttah! So, in a pan over a low heat, place 113 grams Unsalted Butter.
If you can't be bothered to brown the butter, just melt it and skip the browning part.

 Once the butter has melted ......

 ... turn the heat up and let the butter bubble and foam until it turns brown.

Pour the butter straight into a separate bowl - this'll stop the butter from burning. Remember, we want brown butter not burnt butter.

So, take your brown butter.

And, a bowl and spatula.

Pour the butter into the bowl.

And, be sure to scrape all those brown bits into the bowl. That is where all the nutty, beautiful flavour is.

Good things happen when we begin with brown butter.

Next, a little sweetness.

Measure out 50 grams Soft Dark Brown Sugar.

Throw it into the bowl. Those little white bits in the sugar? Yeah, it's because I measured the flour in the same cup. That's life, my friends.

Next, honey! Use whatever you have in the cupboard - in my case, this Brazilian eucalyptus one. 

Measure out 2 tablespoons Honey.

Drizzle it on in.

Yum, it looks delicious already.

Next, salt and baking powder.

Take 1 teaspoon Baking Powder.

Throw it in!

Along with 1/2 teaspoon Salt. The salt will uplift all the sweet flavours.

Now, a little bit of spice. These are the stars of this dish, in my opinion. They're in the background but make a big difference.

First, 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon.

Then, a small pinch of Ground Cloves.

Time to stir!

Grab your spatula ....

... and give everything a good stir.

Finally, we cannot have a crumble without flour. First, wholemeal flour. This gives everything a flavour of the wonderful things that are digestive biscuits.

Add in 70 grams Wholemeal Flour.

Stir in the flour.

The last thing, 145 grams Plain Flour.

Start adding in the flour.

Add in the flour, bit by bit, and stir as you go.

The best thing to do is use your fingers to crumble up the mixture until all the flour has been used up and the crumble has big and small lumps.
The rule with crumble is the more flour you add, the crumblier it'll be, with smaller lumps.
The less flour you add, the stickier it'll be, with bigger lumps.

Once the crumble is done, pop it onto the baking tray.

Spread it out into a single layer and place in the oven (180C / Gas Mark 4) for 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes, give it a stir. Then, bake again for 5 minutes.

Stir again and then bake for a final 2 minutes until golden brown.


Once baked, leave to cool completely whilst you make the coconut whipped cream.

So. Coconut whipped cream. I've seen this around the internets for a while now and always been intrigued by it. 
First job, place 1 tin (400 grams) Coconut Milk into the fridge overnight.
I know there are two in the picture but I only ended up using one.

The next day, take the tin out of the fridge and turn upside down. This will let the cream go to the bottom and the liquid come to the top. It's magic, I tell you.

Whilst upside down, grab a tin opener. By the way guys, this tin opener has been in our family forever. The mother hasn't found another one as good.

Once opened ....

... pull up the lid. Do you see the liquid at the top and the white cream at the bottom?

Take a jug and pour out the liquid. I believe, this is coconut water but I'm not sure.

If anyone knows what the liquid is, let me know. Anyhoo, we don't need the liquid so you can blitz it into your morning smoothie.

The treasure that we want is the cream at the bottom.

Grab a spoon ...

.... and place the cream into a bowl.

Grab an electric mixer or stand mixer.

Get whisking ....

... until the cream thickens and you get soft peaks.

And, that's it. Coconut whipped cream made with one simple ingredient.

You can keep it as it is or sweeten it like we did.

Throw in Icing Sugar, to taste.

Along with 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence.

A quick stir and the cream is done!

Place the cream into a bowl.

I'm still surprised by how similar this tasted to whipped cream.

Once the biscuit crumble has cooled, pop it into a bowl, ready to serve.

Oh my gosh, I just had a brainwave. You could make a pie with this crumble by pressing it into a pie dish (maybe with a little more melted butter or coconut oil), pile on the coconut cream and fresh strawberries.

Brainwave over! This is how I actually served this dessert.

Take a few handfuls Fresh Strawberries, quartered.

Divide the strawberries between small bowls.

Spoon on the coconut whipped cream.

And, finish with a good sprinkle of the biscuit crumble.

We served these adorable desserts as pudding after these kebabs in burger buns. The perfect summer Iftar after a long day of fasting!

Full Written Recipe:


Strawberries and Coconut Whipped Cream + Brown Butter Biscuit Crumble.

Prep Time: About 15 minutes.
Bake Time: About 12 minutes.
Serves: About 4 people with extra crumble.

Ingredients

For the Brown Butter Cinnamon Crumble
113 grams Unsalted Butter
50 grams Soft Dark Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Honey
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Pinch of Ground Cloves
½ teaspoon Salt
70 grams Wholemeal Flour
145 grams Plain Flour

For the Coconut Whipped Cream
1 tin (400g) Coconut Milk, chilled in the fridge overnight
Icing Sugar, to taste
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

To Serve
Few handfuls Strawberries, quartered

Method

First, make the crumble. Pre-heat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a baking tray.

Brown the butter by placing it into a saucepan over a low heat and letting it melt. Turn the heat up and let it bubble and slowly brown for a few more minutes.

Pour the brown butter into a mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar, honey, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt. Stir well.
Add the wholemeal flour and stir in.

Add the plain flour and stir in. It’s best to use your fingers to get a crumbly texture, forming small and large crumbles.

Place the crumble onto the baking tray and spread out.
Bake for 5 minutes at 180C / Gas Mark 4. Then, give it a stir. Bake for another 5 minutes and stir. Another bake for 2 minutes and then leave to cool.

Once completely cool, the crumble can be stored in an airtight container for a week.

To make the coconut whipped cream, make sure the coconut milk has been chilled in the fridge overnight.

Turn the tin upside down and open. Pour out the liquid and spoon the cream into a bowl.
Beat with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Stir in the icing sugar and vanilla.

To serve, place the strawberries into a bowl, add the cream and sprinkle over the crumble. Done!

{Adapted from Smitten Kitchen + How Sweet Eats}


This Time One Year Ago:

This Time Two Years Ago:

Keep me in your duas, please, and enjoy your strawberries and cream,

Wasalaam!


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