I know I just posted a post on strawberry shortcake BUT let me explain. Remember when I did the devil's food cake with crunchy cream cheese-peanut butter filling & chocolate ganache? And then did a 'white' version or as I like to call his evil twin? Well I did the same thing here. After doing a decadent strawberry shortcake with chocolate ganache and fresh whipped cream I just had to make one with white chocolate ganache. Ok, and the other reason is I love strawberry shortcake a little too much and wanted to mix it up a notch by using a puff pastry this time. Puff pastry goes really well as a base for strawberry shortcake? You knew this right? Good. Because to honest I hadn't used puff pastry for strawberry shortcake.... yet. Why did I this time? Well, it was 90 degrees outside with 5000% humidity, and the last thing I wanted to do was roll dough out, sweat off 10 pounds, wait for it to bake (and bake while the oven was on) and then have dishes to wash. So I used those little frozen puff pastry cups, baked them for 15 minutes and voila we have fancy schmancy shortcakes.
The whipped cream looks like crap because it was 5000% humidity and the whipping cream wasn't cooperating. Well, OK I forgot to chill the bowl and beaters before whipping the cream, I know BAD girl bad. So please excuse my crappy whipped cream in the photo.
No money shot this time as I had hungry people waiting impatiently to devour this.
I really really really want to say THANK YOU so very much to those of you that bought my first cookbook. It was just so thrilling to get an email each and every time someone bought my book. I don't know who you are, but thank you ever so much--it truly means the world to me. And did you know I actually have TWO chapters in the cookbook.
All the recipes are tried and true; I even tried out a couple and they were wonderful. But what I love most about this cookbook are the personal stories that go along with the recipes.

To make this strawberry shortcake:

for the strawberries:
½ pound strawberries, washed, hulled & chopped
2 TB white sugar
1 TB fresh lemon juice
a splash or two of pure vanilla extract (champagne is good too)
It’s best to get the strawberries done first as you want them to sit for a while at room temp before serving. I like to let mine sit for at least an hour or two before serving (room temp).

white chocolate ganache:
by dawn
a small saucepan or double boiler
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 TB butter

(you can halve this recipe as this makes a lot). Melt white chocolate, heavy cream, and extract over a double boiler. Do not boil. You need to stir this A LOT. It will take a long time before it gets to a thick consistency. Now if you want a little bit of shine to your Ganache add some butter into it just after you take it off the heat. When it’s melted then add butter and take off heat immediately. Stir to combine butter completely. Keep stirring. And stirring. I like to let my Ganache sit a bit before using; the longer it sits the thicker it gets.

whipped cream:
place your whipping bowl and the beaters in the freezer at least ½ hour before using. This is good for keeping the whipped cream nice and cold.
I use about ½ cup of whipping cream, beat till almost whipped, then add in a couple splashes of pure vanilla extract, then resume whipping till done.

to assemble:
take a baked puff pastry cup, fill with marinated strawberries, then top with the warm chocolate ganache, then top with the freshly whipped cream, then devour! The puff pastry cups do not keep well overnight, so it's best to eat them right up, but I think you have no problems with that.

Strawberry Summer
Dark chocolate ganache with scented strawberry tea and English Breakfast tea.
Now this is much more up my street. As light and subtle as the China Rose chocolate, but with a beautifully soft and refreshing strawberry flavour. Again, the tea flavour is very subtle, but I think this is my favourite of the box.

Liquid Jade
Dark chocolate ganache with green tea liqueur and Uji Matcha tea in a white chocolate dome.
I much prefer this one to Sencha (the other white chocolate), as the dark chocolate ganache helps to counteract the sweetness of the white chocolate shell. The tea flavour is quite noticeable here too, and is really quite pleasant, with a gentle fruity & flowery taste. There is a tiny hint of alcohol, but in general I think the tea liqueur simply helps concentrate the flavour.

Overall, a very nice box of chocolates. The Sencha wasn’t my thing, but others may like its sweet and creamy texture. But I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the box, and wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to anyone.

I actually prefer Katie’s approach to tea chocolates to Paul A. Young’s. Tea is always going to be a subtle flavour that’s difficult to get right with chocolate, and while I found Paul’s White Sliver Tip Tea ganache very pleasant, I didn’t pick up any tea flavour at all.

Many of these Matcha chocolates have additional summery flavours, yet more often than not, the tea still comes though, and I actually feel like I’m eating something a little unusual.

Definitely my cup of tea.