Step into the world of sweet gestures with our delightful Strawberry Jam Love Letters. Crafted with care and filled with luscious strawberry jam, these pastry treats are an edible expression of affection that will captivate your taste buds. Let’s embark on this easy and heartwarming baking adventure together!

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of shortcrust pastry
• Plain flour, for dusting
• 165g strawberry jam
• Egg wash
• 50g caster sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions:

Step 1: Preparing the Pastry

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C (170ºC fan) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the shortcrust pastry. Cut out diamond shapes, each side measuring about 10cm. Transfer the diamonds to the prepared baking tray. If needed, reroll the pastry to create more diamonds, aiming for about 6 in total.

Step 2: Filling and Folding

1. In the center of each diamond, add a small dollop of strawberry jam.
2. Fold three of the corners into the center, creating an open envelope shape. Gently press down to seal the edges.
3. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut hearts out of the remaining pastry, placing one in the center of each envelope.

Step 3: Brushing and Baking

1. Brush the envelopes with an egg wash for a golden finish.
2. Sprinkle caster sugar over the top for a sweet touch.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the envelopes turn golden.

Step 4: Cooling and Enjoying

1. Allow the Strawberry Jam Love Letters to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes.
2. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before indulging in these delightful pastry creations.

Transform ordinary moments into sweet memories with our Strawberry Jam Love Letters. These enchanting pastries are not just a treat for the taste buds but a charming gesture that says, “I care.” Enjoy the process of creating and sharing these edible love letters with those you hold dear.

Here’s what you need to make it:

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 ¼ lbs strawberries remove stems and quarter them

⅔ cup whole milk

½ cup vegetable or canola oil 

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened 

1 ¾ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups cake flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 large egg whites² room temperature preferred

Food coloring optional

Filling:

⅓ cup granulated sugar 

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Frosting:

2 cups cold heavy cream 

1 ½ cups powdered sugar, divided 

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

8 oz cream cheese softened 

Preparation:

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare two 8” round cake pans by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place quartered strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth. Run through a fine mesh sieve over a measuring cup until you have 1 – 1 ¼ cups of juice. Keep the berry pulp and set this along with any remaining pureed berries for the jam filling.

Pour strawberry juice into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to ⅓ cup. This usually takes about 10 minutes.

Once reduced, add ⅔ cup milk to the strawberry reduction and whisk together. If using food coloring, whisk that in here as well. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a stand mixer, beat together oil, butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until completely combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually alternate adding the flour mixture and strawberry/milk mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until just combined after each addition. (I start and end with the flour and add the flour mixture in 4 parts and the milk mixture in 3 parts.)

Place egg whites in a separate clean, dry bowl, and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

Using a spatula, gently fold egg whites into cake batter until completely combined (don’t use your electric mixer at this point or you will over-beat the batter). Divide cake batter evenly into prepared pans and bake on 350°F for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edges to loosen cakes from pan and invert onto cooling rack to cool completely. While cooling, prepare the jam filling.

Jam Filling

Combine remaining strawberry pulp, ⅓ cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt in a small saucepan and whisk to combine.

Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and the whisk leaves a trail through the jam (this takes about 5-10 minutes).

Remove from heat, transfer to a heat-proof bowl, and place in the refrigerator to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare your frosting.

Frosting:
Combine cream cheese, ½ cup (65g) powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat together until creamy and smooth.

In a separate bowl (preferably a chilled metal bowl), combine remaining (1 cup, 125g) powdered sugar and cold heavy cream. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

With the mixer on low speed, stir together the cream cheese and whipped cream until completely combined.

Assembly:
Once cake and jam are completely cooled, place one layer of cake on a serving tray. Use a piping bag fitted with a round tip (I use an Ateco 808) to pipe a dam around the layer. Fill with your jam filling.

Top with a second layer of cake. Cover the entire cake with frosting.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

This cake is fluffy, airy and tastes as beautiful as it looks. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day!

As it’s baked instead of fried (which means no deep fryer or dangerous pot of oil required), this recipe is super easy to prepare and will have you munching on a classic donut in no time. The possibilities are endless!

Wanna try? Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

Donut:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten 
• 1 ¼ cup whole milk 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

Donuts:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly spray or grease 2 donut pans.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until just combined.
• With a spoon, fill just over three quarters of each cavity of your donut pans. Make sure to not overfill. 
• Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer the donuts to a cooling rack by putting the pan upside down and tapping lightly. If your pan was well greased, they should come out easily.
• Allow your donuts to cool before glazing them.

Donuts are always best eaten the same day, but don’t hesitate to store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Now the best donut shop is in your kitchen! If you make this recipe and want to share it with us, tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring 

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream cheese frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, softened

4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour three 9 by 1 1/2-inch round cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.

Frost the cake. Place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife or offset spatula spread some of the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. (Spread enough frosting to make a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer.) Carefully set another layer on top, rounded-side down, and repeat. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting.

Frosting:

Use your  stand  mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy. Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. You can use this as a topping for anything, cakes, pancakes, cookies and other baked goods!

This is a classic red velvet cake recipe, but especially perfect for Canada Day if you want to add any special designs or decorations! We hope you enjoy this recipe!

Anca, our Director of Human Resources, brought this fabulous chocolate version to the office and we just had to get the recipe from her!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

120 g dark (70%) chocolate (4.2oz)

¾ cup egg whites (approximately 6 large eggs), room temp

1 ½ cups caster sugar (300g / 10.5oz) 

3 teaspoons cornstarch

1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar 

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups mixed fresh fruit 

Preparation:

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring well between each, until only just melted. Set aside to cool a little.

Preheat the oven to 245°F.  Trace the outline of a cake pan with a pencil onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place another sheet on top and set aside.

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld beater), beat the egg whites on low-medium to soft peak stage, about 5 minutes.

Sift the cornstarch and cream of tartar into the egg whites and whisk for a few seconds, just long enough to incorporate them.

Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, within 20-second intervals. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to medium-high and continue to whisk until the egg whites are thick and glossy and  you have stiff peaks.

Test the mixture by rubbing a little between your finger and thumb. It should be smooth. If it’s still grainy, keep beating until smooth.

Pour the cooled, melted chocolate evenly over the mixture and fold through carefully only once. The chocolate will swirl more as you shape the pavlova.

Take the sheet of baking paper with the circle on it and dot little bits of meringue under the corners before pressing it down onto a baking tray. Do the same with the second sheet and place it on top.

Use a spatula to spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking tray and gently form it into the shape of a circle using the drawn line as a guide. Then, make small sweeps from the bottom to the top all the way around before leveling the top.

Place in the oven and bake for 1 ½ hours. Then, turn the heat off and leave the pavlova in the oven, undisturbed, for at least 2 hours. Take out of the oven and let cool before topping with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Serve slices like you would a regular cake and enjoy! Have never made meringue? No sweat! This recipe is easier than you may think and will make you a stiff peak master in no time. Happy Mother’s Day! If you make this recipe and want to share it with us, tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.