This strangely named dish was published in a national newspaper and sounded good. I was always on the lookout for new recipes that contained strawberries because the royal family ate them so often when in season. I tweaked the recipe and listed it in the Menu Book, forgetting to put the recipe in alongside for Her Majesty to peruse. I shouldn’t have been surprised when I received the note below in the Menu Book when it returned to the kitchen.
6 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons Demerara sugar
2 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons vanilla sugar (see page 76), divided
2 pounds ripe strawberries, raspberries, or a combination of both
1 orange, zest and juice
2 tablespoons Curaçao
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the bread in a food processor until fine crumbs form, and mix with the cinnamon and Demerara sugar. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the bread becomes crisp and golden. Remove from the oven, and stir the crumbs, leaving them on the baking sheet until cool.
2. Whip the heavy cream with 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar. Hull and halve the strawberries into a bowl, and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar and the orange zest and juice. Drizzle with the Curaçao.
3. In a large glass serving bowl, place a layer of the fruit followed by a layer of the whipped cream and sprinkle on some of the sugared crumbs. Repeat the process and build the layers, finishing with the cream and a heavy sprinkling of the crumbs.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS