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

Heat the oven up to 190C. Cover a baking sheet with some baking paper.
Cut 3-cm circles out of the French pastry. Put one circle onto the baking paper. Put six circles around it, making a flower. Spread it with some milk and sprinkle with brown sugar. Put a ball of aluminium foil in the middle of the flowers. Repeat this activity with the remaining four flowers. Put the flowers onto the baking paper and bake for 17-20 minutes. Remove the aluminium foil balls. Whisk the mascarpone cheese with the caster sugar, lemon peel and lemon juice. Put the mascarpone cheese into the hollows left after the aluminium balls. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Put the strawberries on top.

Enjoy your meal!

Try also:
Cheese cookies with apples
Strawberry mess
Mini cheesecakes with strawberries