Rosewater Strawberry Shortcake with Pistachios

Bae Rating: 4/5. I mean there's rosewater in it. Don't be ridiculous. 

Vibes: You just fed someone a delicious steak dinner and need to keep dessert light...lightish.  

Ingredients 

• 1 pint of strawberries, halved
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 TBSP of rosewater
• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 1/4 TSP of cardamom
• 2 TBSP of powdered sugar 
• Pistachios, chopped and lightly toasted
• Flaky Biscuits or spongecake rounds 

For the Strawberries:

1. In a large bowl, mix the halved strawberries, sugar and rosewater until the strawberries are evenly coated. Cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

For the Cardamom Whipped Cream:

1. In a stand mixer, or a bowl with a hand mixer (or a whisk if you’ve been in the gym), whip the heavy cream, cardamom and powdered sugar until it forms soft peaks. This takes about a minute or two. 
   1. Soft peaks: if you take the whisk attachment out and turn it upside down, the little peak will stand and then collapse. 

For the Toasted Pistachios:

1. In a pan, toast the chopped pistachios for about 1 -2 minutes until they're fragrant. Watch them carefully; burnt nuts are gross. 

Assembly:

1. Bake your biscuits as per their instructions (we cheated and used Pillsbury Flaky Grands), or get your spongecakes ready. 
2. Top each biscuit or spongecake with a healthy dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of strawberries and syrup, and another scoop of whipped cream. 
3. Sprinkle with toasted pistachios, and serve. 

Back to Basics: Banana Bread

Adapted from All Recipes http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20144/banana-banana-bread/

Ingredients

4 VERY ripe bananas (~2.5/3 cups of mashed banana) mashed
2 cups of AP flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of sea salt
3/4 cup of light brown sugar

1/4 cup of white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup of softened butter, plus 1 tbs
1/4 tbs of vanilla extract
1/2 tbs of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp of cardamom

Banana Bread

1. Preheat your oven to 350
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside
3. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, and continue to mix until everything is blended and smooth.
4. Stir in the mashed banana, and the spices.
5. Fold the banana mixture into the flour until it's just moistened. DO NOT OVERMIX IT! It's going to be ugly. That's okay. It will be beautiful soon.
6. Spoon the batter into a greased loaf pan, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. I tend to cut the oven off after 45 minutes, and crack the oven door and leave the bread in for the final 15 minutes.
7. Take the bread out, and cool it on a wire rack for 30 minutes. This tastes way better the next day, so be patient! It's a virtue or whatever.

Creaming together the butter and sugar. 

Right before I folded the wet and dry ingredients together. 

Banana Bread French Toast

Bae Ratings: I mean...if you're making breakfast then you're already in there. More than likely this is said bae so no rating necessary. 

Vibes: Hello, Good Morning. 

Ingredients

Cardamom Whipped Cream
1/2 tsp of cardamom
1.5 cups of heavy cream
3 tbs of powdered sugar

Bourbon Maple Syrup
1.5cups of maple syrup
1/4 cup of butter
2 tbs of bourbon

Toasted Walnuts
1.5 cup Walnuts, chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Splash of vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

French Toast
2 cups of buttermilk
2 cups of whole milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 of brown sugar
1/2 tbs of vanilla extract
1 tbs of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 a tsp of sea salt
1 stick of Butter

Banana Bread:  recipe here

 

Instructions

For the French Toast

1. Slice your banana bread into 1 inch thick pieces, and set aside
2. In a shallow dish, mix all of the wet ingredients and the seasoning together.
3. In a large pan (I used nonstick this time), heat about 1-2 tbs of butter on medium heat.
4. Dip the sliced banana bread into the milk and egg mixture, pressing down to make sure the bread absorbs the liquid. Don't soak them though, you don't want mushy French toast.
5. Cook the banana bread for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until you have a pretty, caramel brown color on each side. Be patient, we know it smells delicious. Don't rush!
6. Top the finished French toast with toasted walnuts, bourbon maple syrup, and a dollop of whipped cream. Serve piping hot and watch your friends and loved ones sing your praises for all of eternity. Or at least until brunch is over.

For the Walnuts

1. In a small pan turned to medium-low heat, add the walnuts, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until you can smell them.
2. Add the cinnamon, vanilla extract and sea salt, and stir to combine.
3. Continue cooking for another 30 seconds, then place them in a small bowl to cool.

For the Maple Syrup

1. Add the maple syrup and the bourbon to a small pot, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat back down to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter, and keep warm on very low heat until the French toast is served

NOTE: This is usually the LAST thing I make as the last few pieces of French toast are cooking. I like warm, buttery maple syrup. Who doesn't?

For the Whipped Cream

1. Using a hand mixer, stand mixer, or a whisk (if you have crazy upper body strength), whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar and cardamom until it's fluffy and delicious. Trust me, this is infinitely better than the stuff in the can, or cool whip. Ew.

NOTE: I usually freeze the beaters and the bowl before I make the whipped cream. I don't know why, I just know that my dad always did it.