#MEwx Hotter, no clouds and Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

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Good morning Augusta.

I’ve put up a new Ambient WS 5000 weather station and you can view it’s real time readings online by clicking  here.

This morning we have mostly sunny skies with highs in the lower 80s. Winds are light and variable.

Tonight we’ll have partly cloudy conditions during evening hours, then clearing. Lows in the upper 50s with light and variable winds.

The wind direction is West northwest between 1.8 MPH and 2.7 MPH.

We didn’t receive any  rain here over the past 24 hours.

The Relative pressure is 29.70, the Absolute pressure is 29.50 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The outdoor temperature is 69.4°F, the dew point is 59.6°F, the heat index is 69.4°F and the humidity is 72%.

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 Kilometers with mostly sunny skies.

The current Solar Radiation reading is 463.9W/m2, the UV Index is 4  placing the average person at moderate risk, the moon is 1.6% illuminated, the moon is  waning crescent, sunrise is 5:21 AM, sunset is 8:12 PM, moonrise is 3:42 AM, Moonset is 8:06 PM and we’ll have 14 hours 49 minutes of daylight today.

Today is a NEW MOON with the next full moon being August 11.

 

How about some chocolate and strawberries with shortcake?

 

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

By Judith Olney (Find this lady online, she has some fantastic recipes)

INGREDIENTS

5 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 cups sifted all-purpose

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ cup granulated sugar

1 stick butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon light brown sugar for topping

3 pints strawberries, rinsed

Granulated sugar as needed

2 oz bittersweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate

Hot Fudge Sauce, pouring consistency (optional)

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter 2 round 10-inch cake pans.
  2. Sift together the cocoa, flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and sugar into a bowl.   Add the chilled butter and cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingertips.  When the mixture resembles oatmeal, sprinkle on the buttermilk and milk and lightly pack the dough into a ball.  Divide dough in half. 
  3. Roll out each portion of dough on a floured surface, then pack and press it gently into the baking tins.  Sprinkle the top of one cake with the mixed granulated and brown sugar and dash a few drops of cold water over the sugar.
  4. Bake cakes for 15 minutes in the hot oven. Remove cakes, cool them briefly, then turn out onto racks and let cool completely
  5. Select 10 of the largest strawberries and set them aside whole and unhulled.  Hull and coarsely chop the remaining berries and sugar them to taste.  Refrigerate strawberry sauce until needed.
  6. Melt chocolate over hot water.  Set aside.
  7. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
  8. Dip or brush the bottom half of each whole berry in the chocolate.  Place berries on a tray and refrigerate until needed.
  9. Fit a pastry bag with a large, plain nozzle.

 

FILLING

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 ½ tablespoons cold water

1 ½ cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, or to taste

  1. To prepare the cream filling, place gelatin and cold water in a Pyrex measuring cup.  Place cup in a saucepan containing an inch of water and heat gently until the gelatin melts.
  2. Place cream and vanilla in a bowl and beat until the cream has thickened slightly. Stir 2 tablespoons of the cream into the warm gelatin and quickly add mixture to the cream. Resume beating immediately. Sprinkle on the confectioners' sugar and continue beating until the cream is thick.
  3. Spoon ¼ of the cream into the pastry bag; set aside. Spread a lot of the remaining cream on top of the bottom cake layer and top with some chopped strawberries. Put other cake layer on top. Place on serving dish.
  4. Place more chopped strawberries on top, then pipe 5 large swirls of cream around the top edge. Pipe 5 more swirls around the bottom edge. The cake can be refrigerated at this point for an hour or so.
  5. Top each dollop of cream with a chocolate-dipped strawberry and drizzle with fudge sauce, if desired.  Serve the strawberry sauce on the side.

 

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