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Strawberry champagne jam and 3 wonderful years

Last week, Jeff and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary on May 1st. I said it last year around this time and I’ll say it again – it feels like we’ve been together much, much longer than that, but I mean that in the sweetest way possible. My memories of the time before “us” are hazy and dull. The happiness I’ve experienced since we met has been bewildering. I didn’t think this kind of love existed for ordinary people like us, and it just keeps growing and getting better and better.

Strawberry Champagne Jam

Enough with the mush.

We’ve had 2 bottles of champagne left over from our wedding that have been taking up space in our fridge for 3 frickin’ years now, and though we would love to have the space back, we just can’t ever find a good enough reason to pop such a special bottle. If we’re splitting hairs, then I should mention that they’re actually cava, a Spanish wine made in the style of champagne (it’s not technically champagne unless it’s made in the Champagne region of France.) I’m not a wine person, so I have no problem erroneously referring to them as champagne. Tastes like champagne to me.

Strawberry Champagne Jam

I had the idea for this recipe a few weeks ago and asked Jeff over dinner one night if he would be comfortable with letting me use one of our special bottles to make it. I could just see him debating it heavily in his head, and it was actually several days before I was given the blessing to use it. I figured there would be a lot of it left that we could sample later that night and reminisce together over, but somehow I ended up using the whole dang bottle! Whoops.

Strawberry Champagne Jam

It turned out fantastic though. It’s not really boozy at all, but there’s a heavy white grape flavor with a bit of tingly something there, kind of like the enzyme-y tingle you get from honey. It’s a bit on the thin side too but I thought it was fine that way, good for dipping a croissant in. It would be absolutely incredible as a topping for vanilla bean ice cream or paired with some really nice cheese.

Strawberry champagne jam

The classic marriage of strawberries and champagne in a luscious jam.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 6 cups strawberries (leaves removed and cut in half)
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • zest of 3 lemons
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 750mL bottle of champagne (about 3 and 1/2 cups)

Cooking Directions

  1. In a large bowl, stir together strawberries, sugar, zest, and juice then allow to sit for 1 hour covered with a kitchen towel.
  2. Transfer contents to a large, heavy-bottomed stainless steel pot and pour over the champagne. Stir until foaming has stopped.
  3. Turn on the heat to just above medium and allow to come up to a low boil. Stir frequently with a spatula and reduce heat if you feel anything starting to stick to the bottom or it could burn.
  4. After 1 hour, test doneness by adding a small dime-sized dollop onto a frozen plate. Wait 20 seconds, then tilt the plate. If it runs freely, it needs more time; if it barely runs, it's done. Continue boiling jam until it passes the run test.
  5. Finished jam can be canned or the majority frozen while a small amount is kept in the refrigerator for immediate use.

Obviously, a jam recipe that uses an entire bottle of champagne is not made inexpensively. This is certainly not something you’re going to make on a whim unless you’re just rolling in cash. It would, however, make for a very thoughtful and personal anniversary gift to give to a special couple in your life. I know Jeff and I will get much more enjoyment out of this jam than we were getting from that bottle taking up room in our fridge that we never had the heart to open.

Strawberry Champagne Jam

Just don’t wait 3 years like we did.

Do you have a sentimental food item you can’t bring yourself to indulge in?

 

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Strawberry almond bark

I’m about to have a real problem on my hands…

I still have leftover matcha bars in my kitchen and I have two more desserts planned for testing next week. Crossing my fingers and hoping that every piece of this strawberry almond bark gets eaten this Easter weekend so that I don’t end up with 4 desserts in my house, because I will eat them all if there’s no one there to stop me. It’s a mathematical certainty.

Strawberry almond bark

I LOVE sweets. I try my best to answer my cravings with fruit, but oftentimes I’ll finish my apple or grapefruit or what-have-you and be left thinking, “Well that was good, but it sure wasn’t cake. I wish it would have been cake.” If it’s not a cookie or worse, my body just does not consider it sugar. Does anyone else have this problem?

Strawberry almond bark

Strawberry almond bark

I like to think that eating a little sliver of this strawberry almond bark, with it’s creamy white chocolate base and tart little berry bits, is better than downing two slices of birthday cake (which I totally did this weekend.) It has fruit on it, so it’s healthy right? Haha. My brain can talk me into anything.

Strawberry almond bark

A pink and pretty strawberry almond candy that's quick and easy to whip up.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 (11oz.) bag of white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries

Cooking Directions

  1. Pour white chocolate chips into a heat-safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 20 second intervals until white chocolate is fully melted.
  2. Crush half of the freeze dried strawberries into the white chocolate and mix through, then pour the mixture onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and spread evenly with a spatula.
  3. Sprinkle over the sliced almonds and remaining strawberries and gently pat into the chocolate.
  4. Refrigerate or freeze until hardened, then slice into irregular pieces. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Strawberry almond bark

I’m taking the last of this bark to Easter lunch with family to try to unload it. There will be more birthday cake there, wish me luck.

Do you have an unbridled lust for sugar that cannot be tamed?

 

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Matcha bars with strawberry jam filling

Somehow it’s always the simplest recipes that manage to throw me for a loop.

Remember this line from my recent post on the photo shoot where I first made these supposedly simple matcha bars?..

“The bars were based on a similar recipe that I’ve made countless times, so I knew they’d turn out. The only thing I was really trying to figure out with this test was how much matcha to use and how long to bake them.”

Yeah, well, I ended up needing to make these 4 times to get them right. It cannot be said that I don’t care about you guys. I guess tasting 4 different versions of matcha bars wasn’t too bad though. 😉

Matcha bars

When I made them for Jimi at the photo shoot, they really did taste incredible. But it was clear that I’d over-baked them and I wondered if maybe omitting the almond meal would help the green tea flavor to stand out more. On my second attempt I replaced the almond meal with more flour and was pretty pleased with how the dough looked before baking. But then…I over-baked them again.

Matcha bars

Matcha bars

No matter! I’ll try again! And so I did with the same all-flour recipe and this time I managed to bake them correctly. Hooray!

But wait…this all-flour version is so dry. And the crumbles are the texture of sand, and the whole thing crumbles into a sandy mess when you try to take a forkful of it. On top of that, I hated the photos I had taken of it. The bars looked brown and drab, not bright and green and springy.

Matcha bars

And here we are, come round full circle to the original recipe, just not over-baked. Finally. I swear they really are easy to make, I totally made it hard on myself for no reason.

I hope you try them. The subtle grassy tea note is mellowed perfectly by the sweet jam. I love to eat them warm while the jam is still all molten and melty. They would be excellent as an Easter dessert or brunch pastry.

Matcha bars

Matcha bars

Matcha bars with strawberry jam filling

The springy green flavor of fine matcha tea contrasts with the sweetness of strawberries in this simple but stunning dessert.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup ground almond meal
  • 2 tbsp. matcha powder
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup strawberry jam

Cooking Directions

  1. In a stand mixer, cream together room temperature butter with brown and white sugars.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
  3. Add half of the dry mixture to the wet and mix thoroughly. Add the egg and mix through.
  4. Pour in the last of the dry mix and mix until just combined.
  5. Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape all excess dough off the sides and bottom with a spatula. Use your hands to finish mixing the dough.
  6. Add half of the dough to a buttered and floured 9-inch round or square baking dish and pat down with your hands until it covers the bottom. Add jam and spread across the surface with the back of a spoon. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the jam in small pieces.
  7. Bake at 350F degrees for 40 minutes or until just starting to brown around the edges. Serve warm or cooled and store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days.

I’ve had a hard time finding matcha in regular grocery stores that isn’t either of terrible quality or terribly expensive. I saw a single ounce being sold at Whole foods for $28. I don’t care how organic or artisan or made of magic it was, that’s a sucker price. I’ve been buying the 4oz. bag of this matcha from Amazon(full disclosure: this is an affiliate link) for less than $10 and have been really pleased with it. It may not be high quality enough for drinking, but it’s plenty nice for baking. I store it in the freezer between uses to keep it fresh and it’s been just as good as the day I bought it for several months now.

Matcha bars

Mmmmm….jammy.

Have you ever baked with matcha (green tea powder) before?