We ate our first strawberries of the year at the beginning of May in Spain. It is hard to believe that they were the same Spanish strawberries which in Poland are fit only for decoration because they taste nothing like strawberries. In Spain they were beautiful, sweet and juicy, but it is not surprising that strawberries ripening on bushes in glorious sunshine are so delicious. Those which ripen during transport don't have a chance.

We already have beautiful, juicy and sweet strawberries in Poland. Even though the price is far from ideal, I couldn't resist. We will gladly eat the first strawberries fresh. When there are a lot of them and the price is much lower, we will put them into desserts, jellies and cakes. Today I have a recipe for a simple dessert in which strawberries are merely an attractive addition.

Ingredients (5 flowers)
1 pack of French pastry
2 tablespoons of milk
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
150g of mascarpone cheese
2 teaspoons of caster sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of lemon peel
5 strawberries
3 tablespoons of chopped pistachios

The sour pink-green stems of rhubarb are one of the symbols of spring. You should pick rhubarb at the turn of May and June, because the amount of calcium oxalate is low in young spears. In the course of time this amount is higher and the rhubarb can be impaired.

Today I used rhubarb to make a cake with budino and a crunchy crumble topping. It was yummy, moist, refreshing and excellent for a summer tea party. I will make it more often, because as well as its excellent flavour it has a couple of other assets: you don't need any sophisticated ingredients, you can prepare it easily and fast, and you can use any seasonal fruit.

Ingredients (20x20 cm cake tin):
200g of flour
1 tablespoon of potato flour
1 big tablespoon of peanut butter
100g of brown sugar
150g of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 teaspoon of baking powder
a pinch of salt
vanilla budino
350ml of milk
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 long stems of rhubarb
200g of raspberries
caster sugar

Today I would like to share with you the recipe for nut and chocolate flowers with French pastry. I made them because we immediately wanted something sweet. It is good to have a pack of chilled French pastry in the fridge. Then you need some chocolate, jam or some fresh fruit to conjure up a swift dessert. On the internet you can find a lot of instructions on how to artfully roll French pastry to make great cookies. Try it; it is easy! These freshly-baked French pastry flowers with melted chocolate inside are excellent with fragrant coffee and an interesting book.

Ingredients (8 cookies)
1 pack of chilled French pastry
8 teaspoons of peanut butter
150g chopped milk chocolate
1 tablespoon of milk
caster sugar

One of the awful dishes served for afternoon tea in my nursery school was kissel. It had a flavour that was difficult to define and grated apples. I don't know if there was even one child in my playgroup who ate this dessert with pleasure. From then on I have avoided this kissel-and-apple combination like the plague. Recently I decided to change it. I prepared apple kissel. It was smooth and yummy, and I served it with natural yoghurt and fresh fruit. This dish looked nice and tasted excellent.

Ingredients:
3 big apples
3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup
a piece of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of potato flour
150g of natural yoghurt
fruit

When I was preparing some very quick, easy cookies, my son followed me around asking what I was making. Miraculously, I saved the baked sweet crisps, because they were so excellent they could have disappeared in a heartbeat. In fact I didn't need to do anything else. However, I also prepared very easy and refreshing lemon cream with mascarpone cheese. Some fruit, a bit of chocolate and the swift dessert is ready. My son called it "sweet burrito". We liked this name. For sure we will prepare these cookies once again. The season for the most beautiful fruit is coming.

Ingredients (18 cookies)
3 tortillas
100g of butter
150g of brown sugar
250g of mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
grated rind of half a lemon
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
any fruit
50g of chocolate