The Lurve log…..

Every now and then I get the urge to do something nice for the ladies in my life (no, don’t worry, I usually get over it quite quickly…) but this poses a problem. If I bring Sinéad chocolates she just isn’t a big chocolate fan and it can be a migraine trigger. If I bring her flowers she wonders why and what I’ve been up to….

So over the years I’ve found cake is a good all round winner for both Sinéad and Alice. And what is better than strawberries – the food of love?

For a fast, quick and incredibly effective cake I recommend the Lurve Log (patent pending..). As for the other ladies in my life, well, that’s another recipe…

Ingredients

3 Eggs

80g Caster Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

80g Plain Flour

1 Tbls Warm Water

250g Strawberries

2 Tbls Granulated Sugar

250ml Cream

1 Tbls Sugar (preferably Vanilla)

Heat the oven to 190oc

Line a swiss roll tin (lipped baking sheet) with greased parchment paper. Sprinkle the parchment liberally with caster sugar.

Whip the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract together for 5 minutes at high speed.

Slide the flour down the sides of the bowl and fold in, in three stages. During stage 3 add a tablespoon of warm water. Try to preserve as much of the air in the whipped mixture as possible.

Pour into the swiss roll tin and spread gently into all the corners.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until just golden.

Whilst the cake is in the oven reserve one third of the strawberries. From this third, select one or two large ones to cut slices straight down from top to bottom leaving 4 to 5 heart shape pieces for decoration.

Take any remaining pieces and the rest of the third and chop roughly. Set aside.

Place the two thirds of the strawberries into a blender along with the 2 tbls of granulated sugar and pulse until smooth. A tablespoon of sherry or marsala may be added if desired. Mix in the chopped strawberries.

Whip the cream with the tbls sugar until stiff peaks form.

Take the cake from the oven and turn out onto a new sheet of parchment which has been sprinkled with caster sugar. Let cool for ten minutes then gently remove the backing parchment.

Working quickly, spread the strawberry mixture evenly on the cake. Spread a layer of cream over the strawberries stopping about 2 inches from one side. Turn the parchment so the edge with no cream is furthest away from you. Start to roll the cake using the parchment to support the cake. Roll gently but not too loosely until you get to the end. The cream will have pushed out ahead of the roll hence the gap at the end edge.

Dust with caster sugar and decorate with strawberries. Slice up and feel the lurve….