Hot, sweet and yummy second meeting!

Valentine's weekend passed with the usual cards and kisses but for the members of Hot, sweet and yummy baking group we had bigger things on our minds like what to bake for the second meeting! The theme was Valentine's and whatever cakey thing we associated with that most romantic of days! The venue was at Harry's house and we all arrived clutching our various tins and tupperware dying to show off our latest culinary creation! Harry's heating was also on the blink so he had left his oven on low and convened the meeting in the kitchen! Harry has a fabulous kitchen and it was the perfect size for our group even although we were two down from last month. Harry opened proceedings and welcomed us all along. Apologies were received from Jane (she was off celebrating some fabulous job news!) and Heather was at home in Devon so we knew she wouldn't be there. There was however an exciting envelope waiting to be opened. It was addressed to 'The Baking Club' and when we opened it there was a lovely card wishing us good luck with our meeting and a fabulous Valentine's Day recipe for us to try! Thank you so much Heather; what a lovely idea. The recipe is for Lover's Carrot Cake and I will post it here soon but first...bring on the cakes!!!!!!!!

First up was David's strawberry shortcake with cream and malibu coulis! Wow - I probably don't need to even post a picture to have you dribbling at the thought of this creation, but I will. The shortcakes had real pieces of strawberry in them and the smell wafting up from the plate was too much for most. We all grabbed a loveheart and started dipping and slurping. We all agreed another triumph for David and as usual he modestly told us he had made the recipe up in his head. I loved the way the strawberry pieces had gone all chewy and the malibu tasted lovely in the coulis. Well done David! Here's the recipe...




Shortbread
4oz butter
2oz caster sugar
7oz plain flour
6 fresh strawberries


Preheat oven to 160C/325F or gas mark 3 * Cream sugar and butter 'til light and fluffy * chop strawberries to the size of raisins and mix into the butter mix * sift the flour into this and mix until combined * knead the dough and add a tiny bit more flour if the mixture is too sticky * roll onto a floured surface to appox 1/2" thickness * cut with a heart shaped cookie cutter and place on a greased baking tray * bake for 30-40 mins until golden * remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.


Coulis
Chop up 10 strawberries and place in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water and a tablespoon of sugar * bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins 'til strawberries are mushy * place in a sieve and allow the coulis to drip through * then press the remaining strawberry pieces through the sieve * add a dash of malibu


Cream
whip 100ml double cream with 2 tsp oft brown sugar until soft peaks form * add a few drops of strawberry essence * add one drop of red food colouring


Arrange your shortbread on a plate with the coulis and cream in a messy pile in the middle. Enjoy!