My maternal grandmother was a wonderful homemaker. In addition to running a business full-time
with my grandfather, she did the grocery shopping and cooked the meals and
cleaned house. I seem to recall that
they had a lady in to do the ironing once a week. And, of course, we pitched in when we
visited. Especially my mother.
The store was in the front of their property on one of the
main streets going through New Iberia, LA and their house was in the back so
they were never really off-duty if someone had a major appliance
emergency. Their home number must have been given out
when an appliance sold because hardly a weekend or holiday went by without a
call from someone who needed help with a recalcitrant machine. Back in the day, Maytag appliances were only
sold in smaller shops, by authorized sellers who also provided service when
needed.
My grandparents only sold Maytag washers and dryers (and other brands of refrigerator and freezers and stoves) but my grandfather would service anything so he was never lonely like the repairman on the television ads. Some of my best childhood memories are riding around with him in his old truck, meeting the farmers’ wives out in the country and, trying to be an able assistant, handing him the tools he needed to make repairs.
My grandparents only sold Maytag washers and dryers (and other brands of refrigerator and freezers and stoves) but my grandfather would service anything so he was never lonely like the repairman on the television ads. Some of my best childhood memories are riding around with him in his old truck, meeting the farmers’ wives out in the country and, trying to be an able assistant, handing him the tools he needed to make repairs.
While my grandmother was a good cook, time did not allow for
fussiness or time-consuming dishes. She
had a number of solid recipes that took advantage of seasonal fruits and
vegetables and which were simple to make and always well-received. One of her most popular was strawberry
shortcake. She would buy the little
round sponge cakes at the grocery store and macerate (although I am sure she
never called it that) her freshly sliced strawberries with a generous amount of
sugar. After the strawberries created
their own syrup, she would whip cream and serve a good helping of strawberries
on each of the little cakes and then top with whipped cream. What could be more simple or more
delicious?
I give you these:
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins. My
grandmother’s strawberry shortcake kicked up a notch or two because 1) freshly
baked at home and 2) rich cream IN the muffin AND on top and 3) strawberries IN
the muffn AND on top.
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins Kicked into Dessert
This is part of Muffin Monday and the muffin recipe comes
from Seasons and Suppers, a great website if you are trying to eat more seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Ingredients
For the muffin batter:
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup or 170g granulated sugar
1/2 cup or 115g butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg
1 cup or 240ml heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
9 oz or 250g (after hulling and dicing) strawberries
For the strawberry sauce:
9 oz or 250g strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the whipped cream:
2 cups or 480ml heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
(Photo disclaimer: I
discovered as I started this project that my dear husband had my camera in his
backpack. And I had just put him on a
plane back to Cairo. I had to use an old
tiny Canon until younger daughter’s lovely Canon SLR could charge. I apologize in advance for the dark and
blurry method photos.)
Method
Preheat oven to 350° F or 180°C. Grease or line 12 muffin cups with paper
liners.
Hull and dice your muffin strawberries.
In large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and
sugar. Cut in cold butter with a pastry
blender (or two knives) until it is in small pea-size pieces. (Mine was more like soft sand.)
In small bowl mix the egg, vanilla and cream.
Add all at once to flour mixture. Stir with spoon or rubber spatula until just blended. Gently fold in the diced strawberries.
Spoon into muffin cups, making sure each muffin has some
strawberries and bake for about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, hull and slice your sauce strawberries.
Pop them in a small pot with the sugar, water, lemon juice and
cornstarch.
Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens slightly and the cornstarch cooks clear instead of milky looking. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens slightly and the cornstarch cooks clear instead of milky looking. Remove from heat and set aside.
 |
| No food coloring, I swear! Doesn't it turn a gorgeous red?! |
When the muffins are baked, remove them from the oven and cool
completely before removing from the pan.
When you are ready to serve, add in the vanilla and whip
your cream with a whisk or electric beaters until soft peaks form.
Cut the muffin into two (removing the muffin liner if used)
and spoon over some of the strawberry sauce.
Add a spoon or two of whipped cream.
Enjoy!
(End note: I should say that these muffins are divine just on their own as well!)
(End note: I should say that these muffins are divine just on their own as well!)
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