Strawberry buttermilk cake

 

Strawberries are sensational at the moment. We have been getting our hands on Heavenly strawberries, grown locally and available until November. If you have not tried Heavenlys yet, may I suggest you do.

 

We have this gorgeously light buttermilk cake recipe for you. The lightest centre topped with strawberries, smells divine fresh from the oven. It could quite possibly be THE EASIEST cake ever. Seriously.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarb of soda

½ tsp salt

100g unsalted butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

200ml buttermilk

1 punnet strawberries, hulled and halved

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 9” cake tin.

Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt together.

In another bowl cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla bean and buttermilk. Mix well.

Gradually add flour to butter mixture until well combined.

Transfer mixture into greased tin. Arrange strawberries on top, sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cake is well risen, light golden colour and firm to touch. Allow to cool in tin. Once cool turn cake out, cut and serve as is or with a dollop of fresh cream. And devour!

No bake strawberry cheesecake

When good strawberries have been hard to come by for awhile we get a little bit excited when we stumble across delicious berries like these. They smell absolutely sensational, and taste as sweet as can be. Eaten fresh, they require nothing else to compliment their beautiful flavour. Added to a cheesecake however, they are equally as delicious, and the sweet smell of strawberries only compliments the mild flavour of cheesecake.

These beauties are locally grown in Wanneroo, and if you like strawberries we suggest you get your hands on some.

Ingredients
Base:
250g Granita biscuits, blend to crumbs

100g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
300ml whipping cream

500g light cream cheese, softened

100g caster sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 punnet strawberries, hulled and pureed

10g unflavoured gelatine (1 sachet - or 2 sachets if you prefer your cheesecake more on the firm side)

Topping:
1 punnet strawberries, hulled

Grease round springform cake tin. ** Tip: turn removable base of tin upside down so the cheesecake base won’t stick into the groove that forms at the join.

Mix biscuit crumbs and butter well and press firmly into base of tin. Place into the fridge while making the filling. 

Whip cream to medium stiffness (mousse-like texture) and chill. In another bowl mix cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy.

Heat lemon juice and pureed strawberries in saucepan. Take pan off heat and sprinkle in gelatine, stirring until dissolved. Set aside to cool – gelatine and cream cheese mixtures must be at the same temperature before combining. Add ¾ of the cooled puree mixture to cream cheese and sugar mixture (the remaining ¼ kept for the top of the cheesecake), stir until combined. Fold in whipped cream until well combined. Pour into base and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Remove cheesecake from fridge after 1 hour and pour remainder of puree mixture on top. Return to fridge overnight or until fully set.

Once set, gently run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it before unlocking the spring form pan. Garnish with strawberries and serve!

We are joining in the Berry nice to meet you! blog hop. Check out some of the other lovely recipes below.

Quality produce is our passion!

You may have heard about the recent price reduction by some supermarkets of their fresh produce. We can't vouch for the supermarkets however we can guarantee that none of the produce you order from The Lettuce Shop sits in a coolroom for days or weeks before reaching you. We select the fruit and vegetables to your order and buy all your produce the morning of your delivery. So when you are biting into a deliciously fresh piece of fruit be assured it has come to you straight from the market, not from a shelf in a coolroom. We take the quality of our fruit and veg very seriously, it's our passion!

New season Nashi are very impressive, take a look for yourself.

They are super crisp and as fresh as can be, perfect for school lunchboxes or healthy snack times. Order some today and try them for yourself.

We hope you had a deliciously fresh weekend!

The Lettuce Shop Team

Great food ideas

We have noticed a lot of interest lately surrounding meal plans. The idea of drafting up a list of weekly meals is a good one. There is no need to race home after work and try to concoct a meal at short notice, the key is preparation and knowing what will be cooking days ahead. Imagine having your week’s meals written out and an order in for your fresh produce, eggs and milk to be delivered at the start of the week. Talk about being prepared! (Watch this space.)

One great way to keep the sugar cravings at bay for kids is to cut up a whole heap of fruit and lay it out on a plate within easy reach. Kids won’t always think to pick up a piece of fruit and peel and/or cut it, but if it is all laid out strategically in their view chances are they will grab a bit on their way past. Do this on weekends to combat the afternoon sugar craving. Or at night after dinner to stop the night time fridge dwelling. And let’s face it, a colourful display of fresh, sweet fruit does look very enticing.

Well we can officially say The Lettuce Shop is back in full swing after the festive season break. New season Nashi are in and they are looking sensational! Fancy some delicious pears for kids’ lunchboxes? Order some here.

Have a fantastic week! 

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is only days away! If you have not bought something amazing for your beloved we have the perfect gift. We deliver in the Perth metro area and delivery is free. A bunch of red roses will impress on Valentine's Day but this will truly delight your Valentine! Go to our website to order, or call Cassandra on 9479 5633.

Check out that delicious fruit!

Banana date loaf

There is nothing quite like the smell of banana loaf fresh out the oven, and with a recipe this easy who can resist trying it out! This recipe is from taste.com.au and has been tried and tested. And tasted.

Ingredients:

2 cups self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarb soda

1 tsp ground nutmeg

125g pitted dates, chopped

½ cup caster sugar

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)

Preheat oven to 180^oC. Grease a large loaf pan (24 x 13cm). Mix flour, bicarb soda and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix through the chopped dates and sugar.

Combine milk, eggs and mashed banana in a separate bowl. Fold the date mixture through until well combined and pour combined mixture into the loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, turn out onto a wire rack to completely cool.

Slice and serve! Goes down well with a good cup of coffee.

Blueberries

Did you know that blueberries are one of the highest sources of antioxidants of any fruit? For such a small berry they pack a healthy punch! They are also low in calories, high in fibre and a good source of vitamin C and potassium. At The Lettuce Shop we have recently noticed a rise in the popularity of blueberries, they have become quite the little favourite.

Blueberries are their best when they are plump, smooth skinned and dark in colour with a whitish haze covering the skin called 'bloom'. If stored correctly they can be kept for up to two weeks. They store best in the fridge and spoil quickly if left at room temperature. Do not wash them prior to storing them, they are best kept with the bloom coating and washed right before you eat them. Remove any crushed blueberries before storing them and store in a sealed plastic or glass container. Blueberries also freeze well.

Blueberries are so versatile, they make a delicious filling for cakes and tarts, can be added to drinks and can be eaten fresh in fruit salad or on your favourite breakfast cereal.

Blueberry season in WA is November through to March so if you want to enjoy the deliciousness that is this little fruit, now is the time to get your hands on them. Order yours now!

We have peaches!

Peaches were originally grown in China around 3000 years ago and are now grown in at least 64 countries. Peaches are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, fibre and are full of antioxidants. They can be cooked, dried, roasted, grilled, made into jam and of course eaten fresh. 

Recently we mentioned on our Facebook page that we believe peaches taste their best when picked ripe. If picked too early the peach does not produce its optimal flavour. For this reason, we don’t stock peaches until we think they are at their prime. And now, we are glad to say we have peaches!

Order yours from our website today.

We are passionate about quality fruit and only want to provide the best on offer to our customers.

We love what we do, and it shows!