It's Strawberry Season in Florida

Florida is famous for sunshine, beaches, alligators, oranges and among many other things, strawberries.

Everyone loves a sweet, juicy strawberry and the dozens upon dozens of recipes using strawberries certainly prove that. Strawberries are used in soups, salads, main courses and of course, desserts.

We’re all familiar with the simplicity of the strawberry shortcake and its various incarnations. But if you want to impress your family and guests, try this strawberry torte. It looks much harder to make than it really is, so give it a try.

Spectacular Strawberry Torte
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
Grated zest of 1 orange*
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
10 oz. mascarpone cheese (may substitute cream cheese)
4 tablespoons whipping or heavy cream
8 oz. strawberries, cleaned and halved
1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
confectioner's sugar, for dusting*

Pre-heat oven to 375°

Grease a 12-inch by 8-inch jelly roll pan or sheet pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit and place in the greased pan with just a bit of overlap.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with 1/3 cup sugar and ½ of the orange zest with an electric mixer until the mixture thickens.

Gently fold in the flour, being careful not to deflate the air you’ve created in the egg mixture. Pour this into your prepared pan. Bake it for 15 to 20 minutes. The sponge cake should spring back when lightly pressed. Cool on wire rack and remove parchment paper.

While cake cools, take a medium bowl and mix the mascarpone cheese with the 2 tablespoons sugar, remaining orange zest and the 4 tablespoons of cream.

When mixed, divide this equally into two bowls. Chop half of the strawberries and add it to one of these bowls with the cheese mixture.

Cut the sponge cake into three layers. Start at the 8-inch end and slide your knife through to the opposite end. Then do this once again, ending up with three thin layers of 12-inch by 8-inch sponge cake. Spread the cheese and strawberries mixture on the bottom and middle layers and then stack them on each other.  On the top layer, spread the cheese mixture without the strawberries and also spread this mixture around the sides of the entire three layer cake.

Press the toasted almonds into the icing all around the sides of the cake. Now arrange the remaining strawberry halves on top of the cake and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve.

*Chef’s Tips: To zest an orange, finely grate the orange outer skin with a rasp or on a box grater. You want to just get the orange skin. Don’t use the white which is just below the orange, as the white is extremely bitter.

To toast almonds, put them in a 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes. Watch them closely as they can burn quickly. Toss and cook another 5 minutes or until they are golden.

For fresh strawberries, check out Roger and Pat's Farm-Fresh Produce Market at 3410 S. Kings Ave., Brandon. Roger and Pat have freshly picked Florida strawberries you can eat right out of the box or use for baking lucious desserts.

Or, consider picking your own strawberries.  The fourth annual Spring Strawberry U-Pick will be held  Saturday, March 19 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Fancy Farms in Plant City, on the corner of Rice Road and County Line Road.

The Hillsborough County Extension invites residents to pick their own strawberries while helping a good cause. The Strawberry U-Pick at Fancy Farms in Plant City is an annual fundraising event to benefit 4-H clubs and local food banks.
 
Join 4-H members, volunteers and their families in picking strawberries right from the fields. The 4-H Foundation will sell pre-picked strawberries for $1 per quart, or take home u-pick strawberries for 50 cents a quart.
 
Attendees can also pick a few extra quarts at no expense, and donate them back to area food banks.  Last year, more than 500 pounds of fresh strawberries were distributed to area food banks.
 
A new touch in this year’s event will feature 4-H Ambassador Volunteers who can assist pickers who may need assistance, especially the elderly and disabled. Strawberry recipes and preserving instructions will be available courtesy of Hillsborough County’ Extension.
 
The Strawberry U-Pick event is sponsored by the Hillsborough County 4-H Foundation and is hosted by Fancy Farm owners, Carl and DeeDee Grooms.  The Florida Strawberry Festival and the Florida Strawberry Growers Association are sponsoring the Ambassador program. One hundred percent of all the proceeds go to fund 4-H programs. Those wishing more information are invited to call the 4-H Office at 813-744-5519.