Rich Vanilla Génoise with Lemon Curd & Strawberries ~TheCakeSliceBakers

This Vanilla Génoise is a timeless classic and the perfect blank canvas for you to adapt to your personal taste.  Mine has lemon curd, strawberries, and a vanilla bean whipped cream, but there is no limit to the fruit and cream fillings you could use.

Dacquoise Fraisier - #TheCakeSliceBakers

"There's nothing better than cake but more cake."

Neapolitan Zebra Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

If you can't choose between vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate make 

a bundt that combines all three flavors!

Victoria Sponge - #CakeSliceBakers

The #CakeSliceBakers are back with their next cake from World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey. There were some great choices again this month and I am looking forward to seeing which cake my fellow bakers chose to make.

Lava Flow Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

Ah, the tropical vacation.  Toes in the sand, beautiful aqua-blue water, tiki drink in hand - perfection. I am extremely lucky to call Hawaii home, so I guess in some ways I am always on a tropical vacation.

Tropical White Sangria

Sangria is a fruit-based wine punch predominately from Spain and Portugal, and it is just the thing on a hot summer's day.  Not only is it very refreshing but there are so many different ways to make it.  Both white and red versions are very popular.

We decided to go with a white version, or sangria blanca, for our July 4th celebration.  We love sangria because it is not too heavy and you can adapt it to any fruit you may have on hand. You can also add as much, or as little alcohol as you want, and you can vary the soda to make a completely different taste.  We used seltzer water but you could also try club soda, lemon-lime soda, ginger ale, a flavored mineral water, or even an orange-based soda.  Like I said, the possibilities are endless.

After mixing up the basics we placed it in the refrigerator overnight.  You can serve it straight away over ice, but I prefer to let the flavors muddle a little.  Once we were ready to serve we added the additional fruit and the soda.

Tropical White Sangria

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 x 1.5 liter bottle of white wine - I used a moscato 
• ½ cup white sugar, dissolved in a little hot water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup pineapple
• 3 oranges, sliced  
• 2 lemons, sliced into wedges
• 2 limes, sliced into wedges
• 10 strawberries, cut in half
• 6 lychee, peeled, seeded, and cut in half
• 3 x 355 ml cans club soda or spritzer water

Preparation

1. Pour wine in the pitcher.
2. Lightly squeeze the juice from the lemon and lime wedges by hand into the pitcher.
3. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and orange slices and add sugar.
4. Add the orange juice and pineapple juice - stir.
5. Chill overnight.
6. Add strawberries and lychee.
7. Add club soda or seltzer just before serving. 
8. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled white wine and serve over lots of ice.  
9. Addition ideas - peaches, handful of fresh blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, a shot of cointreau, brandy or rum, a cup of citrus-flavored soda.

Recipe adapted from a sangria recipe on About.com

To Try Tuesday - Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Growing up I had a choice of vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate ice cream. My favorite back then was always chocolate. Sometimes we had Neapolitan but the strawberry always seemed to be the last lonely flavor in the container. Times have certainly changed because I now love strawberry ice cream, especially home-made strawberry ice cream that tastes like cheesecake.
 

When I first saw this recipe over at Diethood I knew I just had to make it. Not only did the ice cream sound to-die-for, but Kate's photos are stunning. I know that the ice cream will be the first of many things I want to try from her blog - they all look so good!
 

It is hard to believe that this is not a custard-based ice cream because it is so creamy. It is also a snap to make because all of the ingredients, except for the strawberries, go into a blender or food processor. The mix then cools for about two hours in the refrigerator before heading into the ice cream maker.

This ice cream really is like eating a strawberry cheesecake. I loved it in a waffle cone because this kind of mimicked the base of a cheesecake. It might not look like there is much ice cream in the photo above but I made sure I pushed lots of it down into the base of the cone. I think this batch may have lasted just over 24 hours in our household, with lots of sad faces when it was gone. I know that I will be making it again very soon.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup of half-and-half (I used heavy whipping cream)
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of chopped strawberries (if you like more berries, add another 1/2 cup - I did)

Preparation

1. Cut the cream cheese into pieces.
2. Put all ingredients, excluding the strawberries, into a food processor or blender.
3. Mix until smooth.
4. Put the mixture into the refrigerator to chill for about 2 hours.
5. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
6. 3 minutes before the ice cream is done, pour the chopped strawberries into the mixture through the ingredient spout on the ice cream maker.

Recipe by Diethood via David Lebovitz (The Perfect Scoop)