Strawberry Sorbet

I know what you’re thinking: strawberry sorbet, so what? But wait, this is an exciting strawberry sorbet. There’s a whole lemon in it. And, I don’t mean the juice of a whole lemon, I mean a whole lemon plus more juice. When I read that in the recipe, I knew I had to try it. But before I get into specifics about the sorbet, I have to tell you about the book where the recipe is found. It’s from River Cafe London: Thirty Years of Recipes and the Story of a Much-Loved Restaurant: A Cookbook, and I received a review copy. I love the story of River Cafe, and congratulations to them on their 30th anniversary. This new book offers a fresh look at their classic recipes and how they’ve been refined over the years along with several new dishes. Regarding the look of the book itself, I fell for it immediately with the pretty, bright pink pages, page edges, and interior jacket color. Artists were asked to draw or paint on a menu, and those works are included in the book. As a fan of Ruth Rogers’ architect husband Richard, I was fascinated to read about the original restaurant space which fit all of nine tables but had large windows that overlooked the Thames and outdoor space for a garden. Richard Rogers created the plans for the space, and Rose Gray’s husband, David MacIlwaine, designed the restaurant logo. They’ve gone through lots of changes over the years and expanded the space, but they still operate as a family business. From the beginning, the intention was to create the “kind of food you eat in Italian homes,’ although neither Rogers nor Gray began as trained cooks. They offered what they knew and liked based on seasonal availability of ingredients. The chapters of the book include Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, Contori, and Dolci with lots of interspersed photos of the food, the restaurant, and menu art. Every dish looks like a plate of comfort welcoming you to stay a while. I could spend a long lunch enjoying the Zucchini Soup, the Pappa al Pomodoro, or the Summer Minestrone with some wine. The Spaghetti with Lemon and Basil sounds perfect for summer as does the Linguine with Fresh and Dried Oregano with lots of chopped cherry tomatoes. There are risotto, polenta, fish, and meat dishes and simply delicious vegetable recipes like Tuscan Roasted Potatoes with Artichokes. But, I got completely distracted by the desserts. There are very short but interesting ingredient lists. The famous Chocolate Nemesis Cake has exactly four ingredients in the cake itself. The Lemon Sorbet is made with bananas which is intriguing, and the Campari Sorbet with lemon and orange is another one I want to try. Up first, though, was the Strawberry Sorbet while I could get lovely, ripe, local strawberries. 

The recipe as written makes a lot of sorbet. I cut the quantities in half, and it completely filled my ice cream maker. (The recipe below is as it is written in the book.) So, as mentioned, I stared with one whole lemon, and I decided to use a Meyer lemon. It was cut into small pieces, and the seeds were removed. The chopped lemon went into the food processor with sugar and was chopped until combined well with the sugar. Hulled strawberries were added next and pureed followed by the addition of lemon juice. Next time, I would opt to use a blender rather than a food processor because the mixture becomes very thin and seeps out of the food processor. The mixture was chilled and then churned in an ice cream maker. After churning, the sorbet was left to firm up in the freezer for several hours. 

I love lemon desserts and strawberry desserts, and having the two flavors together was ideal. After tasting this sorbet, I wanted to flip back to the start of the sweets chapter and try everything in it. This, like all the recipes here, was a perfect example of how simple can be spectacular. 

Strawberry  Sorbet 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from River Cafe London: Thirty Years of Recipes and the Story of a Much-Loved Restaurant. 

Serves 10 
2 unwaxed lemons, roughly chopped 
2 pounds (900g) granulated sugar 
4 pounds (1.8kg) strawberries, hulled 
juice of 2 lemons 

Put the lemon pieces into a food processor with the sugar and pulse-chop until the lemon and sugar are combined. Add the strawberries and purée. Add about half of the lemon juice and stir to mix. Taste and add more lemon juice, if necessary—the flavor of the lemon should be intense but should not overpower the strawberries. 

Pour into an ice-cream machine and churn until frozen. 

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Strawberry Ice Cream Shortcakes with Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

During strawberry season, I always think of shortcakes. And while I had some of the very freshest, best milk and cream on hand, strawberry shortcakes with vanilla ice cream quickly became a fantastic idea. I volunteer with Slow Food Austin, and we recently hosted a tour at Richardson Farms where they’re operating a newly-opened dairy. This is a small, family-run farm that sits about an hour’s drive outside of Austin. To give you a sense of the scale of this dairy, the milking operation is set up for four cows at a time. 

We visited the pretty bovine gals as they waited their turn outside, and then we watched as they came in and the milking began. Richardson’s guarantees that all their cows are of the A2 genetic variety, and as they breed the next generation, they are also guaranteed to be A2. That designation refers to a type of beta-casein protein, and cows in the US can be A1 or A2. Larger farms could have some cows of both types and don’t typically check which is which. The A2 beta-casein is thought to be more easily-digestible and to lead to fewer adverse health issues than A1. It was fascinating to learn that the farm has taken the steps to ensure that all their milk is A2. During the tour, we also visited the hungry, little calves and fed them from bottles before touring the milk tank room and seeing the pasteurizing machine. Here in Texas, raw milk can only be purchased at a farm. It can’t be sold at farmers’ markets or in stores. So, while Richardson’s offers raw milk to customers who visit the farm, everything they sell elsewhere is low-heat pasteurized. While there, I was able to purchase raw milk that had just entered the tank from the cows I saw being milked, and I also brought home some raw cream. I couldn’t wait to put it to good use. 

I should mention, the farm also produces meat including beef, pork, and chicken. They sell eggs, and they mill their own whole wheat flour and cornmeal from non-GMO plants. When I read A New Way to Bake, the Cornmeal Drop Biscuits caught my eye, and I knew they’d be great platforms for strawberry shortcake. I made them with whole wheat pastry flour, Richardson’s cornmeal and raw milk, and some grass-fed butter. The batter was scooped onto baking sheets, and they baked until golden. For the ice cream, as usual I followed the recipe for Vanilla Gelato from Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts . I used more of that fabulous milk that was heated gently and added to egg yolks. The custard was then poured through a sieve into a measuring pitcher, and the beautiful raw cream was added with some salt. I chilled the base overnight before churning the ice cream. For the strawberries, I just stemmed and halved them, tossed them with a little sugar, and waited for the juices to run. 

After visiting the farm, seeing what they’re doing, and hearing the trouble they’ve gone to to make the best product they can, I wanted to tell everyone I know to go buy their milk. I hope they’re able to sell raw milk as an option at our farmers’ markets soon. And, I hope more people take an interest in this incredible milk made right here in central Texas. I can report the milk and cream were sublime in all the ways I used them: in a spring chowder, splashed into some cold-brew coffee, and in these biscuits and ice cream for strawberry shortcakes. 

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Strawberry Coconut Cake

I’m a believer in cakes for birthdays. A candle in the middle of a brownie or a set into a scoop of ice cream doesn’t work for me. I appreciate all sorts of sweets on other days or for other occasions, but on my birthday, there needs to be cake. Even if I bake it myself as I usually do. And, luckily, I had just read a review copy of Grandbaby Cakes by Jocelyn Delk Adams right before my birthday. I had several new cakes to consider making. Both the book and Jocelyn’s food blog of the same name came about from memories of her grandmother’s made-from-scratch cakes and kitchen lessons. The cakes in the book include options for every level of baker from beginner to experienced, and each one comes with a story about the recipe’s origin. There are basic layer cakes, pound cakes, sheet cakes, baby or mini-size cakes, celebration cakes, and seasonal cakes for holidays. In the Pound Cake chapter, the Apricot Nectar Cake is a recreation of a recipe from the author’s aunt and sounds delicious with the nectar in both the cake and the glaze on top. The Peach-Raspberry Cake has a pretty ombre effect in frosting that changes hue as it moves down the layers. Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is reinterpreted as cupcakes, and they’re decorated with dried pineapple slices that look like flowers. The Mango Swirl Carrot Cake with mango puree added to cream cheese that’s baked into the top of the cake is a carrot cake variation I need to try. A serious contender for my birthday cake was the Strawberry Sundae Cake with the alternating layers of vanilla cake and strawberry ice cream. But, in the end, I chose the Strawberry Coconut Cake with strawberry puree mixed into the vanilla cake layers and shredded coconut covering the cream cheese frosting. 

I’m not sure when it happened but at some point in the last 20 years or so, the standard for layer cakes seems to have become three layers rather than two. For a household of two people, that’s a lot of cake. I almost always reduce the quantities of ingredients and only bake two layers, and that’s what I did here. The cake batter is made with sugar, butter, pureed fresh strawberries, eggs, flour, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Strawberry extract was suggested, but I didn’t locate any at the grocery store and left it out. Red food coloring is also an option, but I skipped that as well. The result was just barely pink cake layers, but the flavor from the fresh berries was the most important part. The frosting was made with cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. I added extra confectioners’ sugar to firm it up a bit. For the coconut flakes, my favorite is the unsweetened kind. The flakes are smaller, but the flavor is all coconut without any extra sweetness. 

This was a rich and tender cake with the butter, oil, and sour cream, and it didn’t stand a chance of being dry even the next day. The strawberry puree gave it great flavor too. Cream cheese frosting is always a winner, and the coconut flakes dressed it up a bit. This was everything I wanted in a birthday cake. And now I want to bake all those other cakes for other occasions too. 

Strawberry Coconut Cake 
Recipe reprinted with permission from Grandbaby Cakes by Jocelyn Delk Adams, Agate Surrey, 2015. 

SERVES 18-22 

Big Mama's Coconut Cake is famous. You may think this is a tall tale, but people would literally line up in front of her home just to get one for the holidays. Her cake’s highlight is a heavenly meringue frosting, which she whips by hand. I adore her classic, just like its legions of fans do, but I had a bit of fun updating it. The cake now has an exciting strawberry flavor; the pink layers burst against a bright white frosting with a tangy cream cheese accent. It is such a fantastic way to liven up a coconut cake recipe that has not only been around the block but looks mighty fine for her age, too. 

CAKE 
2 cups granulated sugar 
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled 
3 large eggs, room temperature 
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour 
3 teaspoons baking powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature 
1/3 cup vegetable oil 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon strawberry extract 
3–4 drops red food coloring (optional) 

COCONUT FROSTING 
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature 
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar 
1 cup heavy cream, cold 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional) 
Pinch salt 
3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes, for garnish 

FOR THE CAKE 
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Liberally prepare 3 9-inch round pans with the nonstick method of your choice. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together the granulated sugar and butter on medium-high speed until nice and fluffy, about 6 minutes. 

Meanwhile, place the strawberries in your food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside. 

With your stand mixer running, add the eggs 1 at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Change your mixer speed to medium-low and add the strawberry puree slowly into the batter. Continue mixing while you tend to the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add 1/2 of the flour mixture to your stand mixer bowl. Continue to mix on low speed to combine. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and oil and add to your stand mixer bowl. Pour in the remaining flour mixture and continue to mix on low until well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, strawberry extract, and food coloring, if using. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix the batter until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. 

Evenly pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 23 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a layer comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks. Let cool to room temperature. Lightly cover the layers with foil or plastic wrap so they do not dry out. 

FOR THE COCONUT FROSTING 
Clean your stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment. Beat the cream cheese on high speed until it begins to thicken and become fluffy. 

Turn your mixer down to low speed and carefully add the confectioners’ sugar. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, turn your mixer speed back to high and continue whipping. 

Add the heavy cream; vanilla extract; coconut extract, if using; and salt and continue to mix until a smooth, light, and fluffy frosting is achieved. 

TO ASSEMBLE 
Once the layers are completely cooled, place 1 layer on a serving plate. Spread just the top of the layer with 1/3 of the frosting. Add the second layer and spread with another ⅓ of the frosting. Add the final layer, bottom-side up, and spread with the remaining frosting. Frost the top and the side of the cake. Gently pat the side and the top of the cake with coconut flakes. Serve at room temperature. 

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Bittersweet Chocolate and Strawberry Tart

After attending culinary school in Brittany, Greg Marchand worked in London with David Nicholls at the Mandarin Oriental before being transferred to the location in Hong Kong to work at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Vong. He returned to London, then moved on to a restaurant in Andalusia, then another, and eventually returned to London where he become head chef at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. From there, he was off to New York where he worked at Gramercy Tavern with Michael Anthony. All of this led up to returning to France and creating his own “place that was the sum of all (his) best experiences.” That place is Frenchie on the rue du Nil in Paris. I seem to keep hearing great things about this chef and this bistro, and I couldn’t wait to read the new English version of his book. The book is Frenchie: New Bistro Cooking, and I received a review copy. The dishes are seasonal and made special with added touches. The Wild Garlic Broth with Fresh Crabmeat is a soup garnished with sourdough croutons, olives, thinly sliced spring onions, herbs, and lemon. For the Watermelon, Ricotta Salata, Mint, and Pine Nut Salad, in the restaurant, the watermelon is compressed sous vide to make the texture more dense resulting in a deeper shade of red. Of course, at home, fresh, cubed watermelon can be used instead. I want to attempt the Brined Chicken with Roasted Zucchini and Tapenade and the Fresh Tagliatelle with Chanterelles and Lemon Zest. But while our local strawberries are in season, I had to try the Bittersweet Chocolate and Strawberry Tart first. The other day, Kurt asked me if we’ve been eating a lot of strawberries lately. I might have gone a little crazy with how many I’ve brought home in a few short weeks, but I can’t get enough of them when they’re in season. 

In the book, fraises des bois are suggested for the berries, but sadly, they don’t grow here so far as I know. Our local strawberries are smaller than the grocery store variety, and far more flavorful. I brought home the smallest, reddest, local strawberries I could find. Making the tarts requires a few separate steps which can be spaced out as needed. First, the pastry dough was made with all-purpose flour, cake flour, and almond flour whisked with confectioners’ sugar and some salt. Cold butter was worked into the dough by hand, and then an egg was stirred in before the dough was flattened, wrapped, and chilled for a couple of hours. The dough was then rolled out and gently pressed into a tart pan, and it was chilled in the pan while the oven pre-heated. The tart shell was blind baked with pie weights in parchment, then with the pie weights and parchment removed, and last with a brushing of egg wash. As the tart shell cooled, the filling was made with warmed cream, milk, and sugar that was poured over dark chocolate pieces. The mixture was whisked until smooth and cooled, and an egg was added and mixed into the chocolate. The filling was poured into the tart shell, and the tart baked again until just set. Once at room temperature, the tart was topped with strawberries, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. 

This was a dreamy chocolate-covered strawberry in the form of a tart. The creamy, dark, bittersweet chocolate filling with the sweet crunchy crust and juicy, berries was a perfect combination. The olive oil and salt nicely pointed up all the flavors. The only caveat with this tart is that it’s best on the day it’s made. The filling is best at room temperature, and if left to sit too long, the strawberries would begin to give up their juices. If you need to store it overnight, you could try refrigerating the chocolate tart with no toppings. Then, bring it to room temperature, and add the strawberries, olive oil, and salt to each piece before serving. It does make for a delicious way to celebrate strawberry season, and I can’t wait to celebrate with more things from the book. 

Bittersweet Chocolate and Wild Strawberry Tart 
Excerpted with publisher's permission from Frenchie: New Bistro Cooking by Greg Marchand (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Djamel Dine Zitout. 

8 servings / Wine pairing: Red Pineau des Charentes; Domaine Château de Beaulon, or a good sherry 

Wild strawberries, fraises des bois, are a rare delicacy that form a magical alliance with the intensity of bittersweet chocolate. If you cannot find them, choose the smallest, most fragrant strawberries at your farmers’ market. 

Equipment 
A 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom 
Dried beans or pie weights 

For the Sweet Tart Dough 
8 tablespoons (1 stick/113 grams) cold unsalted butter 
1 1/4 cups plus 5 tablespoons (175 grams) all-purpose flour 
1/2 cup (66 grams) pastry or cake flour 
2 1/2 tablespoons (25 grams) almond flour (finely ground almonds) 
3/4 cup (72 grams) confectioners’ sugar 
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt 
1 large egg, at room temperature 
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash 

For the Chocolate Filling 
6 ounces (170 grams) 70% bittersweet chocolate 
1 cup (237 ml.) heavy cream 
1/2 cup (118 ml.) whole milk 
2 tablespoons granulated sugar 
1 small egg 

For the Garnish 
8 ounces (225 grams) wild strawberries (see the headnote) 
Fleur de sel 
Olive oil 

The Dough 
Cut the butter into small pieces. Whisk the flours, almond flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. With your fingertips, work in the butter until the texture is sandy. Quickly beat the egg with a fork in a small bowl, then add to the butter mixture and mix with your hands until the dough just comes together. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 2 hours. 

Put the dough on a large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper, cover it with another sheet, and roll it into a 12-inch circle. Lift off the top sheet of plastic wrap and carefully invert the dough into the tart pan. Lift off the second sheet and gently press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, then cut off the excess by running the rolling pin over the edge. (The dough is fragile, but any tears can be patched easily.) Chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

The Tart Shell 
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Cut out a parchment paper circle (see the photos on page 74) and line the tart shell with the parchment. Fill with dried beans or pie weights and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for 5 more minutes. 

Brush the tart shell all over with the egg wash. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes longer, until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F. 

The Chocolate Filling 
Finely chop the chocolate and put it in a bowl. Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the boiling liquid over the chopped chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds, then mix with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth. Let cool to lukewarm, then mix in the egg. 

Pour the filling into the baked tart shell and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The tart is done when the filling is just set. If you shake the pan gently, the chocolate mass should move in one block. Let the tart cool to room temperature on a rack. Do not put it in the refrigerator! This tart should be served at room temperature on the day it is made. 

Finishing Touches 
Unmold the tart. Arrange the strawberries on top of the tart (if using bigger strawberries, cut them into halves or quarters). Sprinkle with fleur de sel and add a dash of olive oil. 

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Brown Sugar Angel Food Cake

Can we talk birthday cakes? Choosing what cakes to bake for Kurt’s birthday and my birthday is a lot of fun, and this year, the two cakes kind of worked together. I went with classics this year. For Kurt’s birthday in February, I made a Boston Cream Pie from the Baked Explorations book. It was filled with both vanilla and chocolate pastry cream and required seven egg yolks. At that point, I already started planning ahead for my birthday which was last week. I saved the seven egg whites, whisked them together in a small container, and stashed them in the freezer. I knew they’d come in handy for making my angel food cake. As my birthday approached, I just had to decide exactly which kind of angel food cake to make. There’s a Black and White Angel Food Cake in Barefoot Contessa at Home that’s made with chocolate chips and topped with a chocolate ganache. I want to try that one someday, but it wasn’t what I wanted for my birthday. In the book Flour by Joanne Chang, there’s a Toasted Coconut Angel Food Cake that became a serious contender. In Ruhlman’s Twenty, he shows a classic angel food cake covered in whipped cream and topped with chopped homemade toffee and shards of chocolate. I always veer toward toffee, so that one had my attention. But, I had visions of fresh, local strawberries on the plate with each piece of cake. For a moment, I thought maybe I should stick to a lemony angel food which is one of my favorite cakes. No, wait, hold everything, I thought I remembered from years ago on an early version of the Martha Stewart show, she made a Brown Sugar Angel Food Cake. I’d never made one or tasted one before. That needed to be my birthday cake this year. The recipe I used is found in The Martha Stewart Cookbook, and that version is cut and layered with whipped cream and blackberries. The same recipe for the cake itself is also online where it’s served with candied citrus. I did neither of those things because strawberries simply had to be involved. 

The most difficult thing about this cake is sifting the brown sugar. I don’t know if my sifter is too fine or if my brown sugar was particularly coarse, but it took a bit of work to get it all sifted. The cake flour needs to be sifted as well, but that was much simpler. Half of the sifted brown sugar was then combined with the cake flour, and that mixture was sifted together twice. Next, fourteen egg whites were needed, and I was glad to have seven ready and waiting that I had pulled from the freezer and thawed. To bring the egg whites to room temperature, I set the mixing bowl into a larger bowl of hot water and stirred the egg whites around until they warmed up some. The room temperature egg whites were whisked using a stand mixer until foamy, and then cream of tartar was added. The mixer speed was increased, and the egg whites were whisked until very thick. Half of the sugar was added, and the whisking continued. The remaining sugar was added and whisked until the egg whites were stiff. The flour and sugar mixture was folded in in three additions. Lemon zest was to be added with the last addition of the flour mixture, and I worked the zest into the flour to be sure there were no clumps before adding. The batter was spooned into a tube pan and baked for about 45 minutes. I hulled and chopped strawberries and sprinkled them with vanilla sugar to get the juices running. The cake was served with whipped cream and those sweet, juicy berries. 

The light, airy texture of this cake is the same as any other angel food, but the crumb has a delightfully honey-like color. The lemon flavor is subtle here, and the brown sugar gives the cake just the slightest hint of butterscotch. It’s like a sweet angel food cake with a little something extra. It was exactly what I wanted for my birthday cake. And now, I want to try all those other versions too. 

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Champagne Sabayon with Strawberries and Cherry Tomatoes

I should stop complaining about my kitchen being too cramped. In The Little Paris Kitchen, Rachel Khoo explains how she turns out all kinds of French classic dishes from her apartment kitchen with a mini oven and a stove top with only two burners. I recently received a review copy of the book, and it’s full of all the sorts of things you’d expect to find in a cookbook of classic French dishes. But here, the recipes have been given some updates and a little streamlining in places making them simple enough to tackle in a tiny Paris kitchen or anywhere else. There’s Soupe au Pistou, Gratin Dauphinois, and Quiche Lorraine of course. And, there’s also Croque Madame Muffins which are cute, individual servings and Salade Nicoise reinterpreted as lettuce wraps. The Bouillabaisse, Poisson Meuniere, and Poulet au Citron et Lavande are a few dishes that look perfect for company, and the desserts are all dinner-party worthy too. The Chocolate Mousse is made with cocoa nibs and the classic Creme Brulee recipe includes several suggestions for mixing up the flavors with using things like saffron or cinnamon and ginger. Then, I noticed the Champagne Sabayone with Strawberries and Cherry Tomatoes. I mentioned some of the classic recipes have a twist, right? Rachel points out that, scientifically speaking, strawberries and tomatoes have the same flavor components and therefore should go together. I decided to give it a try.

The sabayon was made in the typical way in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water. Four egg yolks and two tablespoons of sugar were whisked while being gently heated in the double-boiler. When the yolks became pale and thick, six and half tablespoons of Champagne was added. In this kind of situation, I go for convenience. Since I was making the sabayon in advance and planned to chill it for a bit before serving, I didn’t really want to open a whole bottle of Champagne. Instead, I popped open a convenient, little can of California sparkling wine for the six and a half tablespoons I needed for this. After adding the sparkling wine, the mixture was whisked for another ten minutes while continuing to gently cook. When thickened, the sabayon was divided among serving bowls and topped with strawberries and quartered and seeded cherry tomatoes. I added a pinch of freshly-ground black pepper because I like it with both strawberries and cherry tomatoes. 

I wasn’t entirely sure the cherry tomatoes wouldn’t seem odd with the sweet sabayon and strawberries, but happily, I was wrong. With the seeds removed from the cherry tomatoes, the flavor of the two fruits is surprisingly similar when eaten together. You can make this a couple of hours in advance and chill it, or it’s so quick to make, you can whisk it together just before serving. It’s a modernized, classic dessert that easy to create in any size of kitchen. 

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Mini Strawberry Tarte Tatins

No sooner had I typed the words “there will be much, much more Simple Puff Pastry in my future” than I was already making it again. Store-bought puff pastry really might be a thing of the past in my kitchen. I had spotted this recipe for Mini Strawberry Tarte Tatins in an issue of Donna Hay Magazine last year, and the recipe is available online. I left it filed away until strawberry season rolled around, and by then I had discovered a way of making a quick puff pastry that works really well. I ignored the suggestion for frozen puff pastry and went with homemade. I also made the tarte tatins in ramekins rather than in a muffin tin as instructed since it seemed like it would be easier to plop them onto plates one at a time rather than turning them out all at once. And, I had so many lovely, red, ripe berries on hand, I overstuffed the ramekins just a bit. The hulled strawberries go into the ramekins first, and then a quickly-made vanilla caramel is poured over them before rounds of pastry are added. The vanilla caramel and juices from the strawberries meld into a fabulous syrup in the oven. Not that these need any gilding, but I topped each serving with a spoonful of creme fraiche anyway. 

Making the Simple Puff Pastry was so delightfully easy the first time, I was happy to do it again. I made the pastry a day in advance and rolled it out and cut circles for the ramekins. I increased the quantities for the caramel sauce and made enough for six desserts baked in six-ounce ramekins. The original recipe makes four desserts in a muffin tin. Still, I had some leftover puff pastry for a few turnovers. The ramekins were buttered, and hulled strawberries were added to each. The caramel was made in a skillet with butter, sugar, water and a scraped vanilla bean and its seeds. It cooked for a few minutes before being spooned over the strawberries in the ramekins. Puff pastry circles were set on top, and the dishes went into the oven for about 25 minutes. 

The strawberries slump into the caramel as they bake, and the pastry attaches itself to the fruit and syrup. A little heat from the oven, and these simple parts turn into an amazingly tasty dessert. This may or may not make a good dinner party dessert since you’ll want to lick every drop of the syrup off the plate, but it just depends on the kind of dinner party you're hosting, I suppose. 

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Pistachio Tart with Strawberries and Rhubarb

I wasn't sure if anyone grew rhubarb in central Texas. For the last couple of years when I was looking for it, I never saw any at our farmers' markets. Some people even told me that rhubarb is more common in the north than it is in the south. Then, all of sudden this spring, I started hearing rumors of locally grown rhubarb being available at markets and farm stands. I stopped by the farm stand at Boggy Creek Farm one morning, and they indeed had freshly cut rhubarb. It wasn't as big or as red as the stalks I see in the grocery store, but it was grown with no chemicals right here in Austin, so I was proud to bring it home. I had a mash-up of a plan in mind for it. In Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, there were ideas from two different tarts that I wanted to combine into one dessert. The rhubarb tart recipe in the book suggests cooking big pieces of rhubarb in a sugar syrup with a vanilla bean and beet wedges. The beet wedges give the syrup and the rhubarb more red color. Once the rhubarb was tender, it was removed, and the syrup was reduced to a thick glaze. The other tart from the book was made with a pistachio crust, was filled with a creme fraiche and whipped cream mixture, and was topped with berries and whole pistachios. I wanted both.

I made the pistachio dough as instructed by finely grinding shelled pistachios and adding them to butter mixed with confectioners' sugar. Egg yolks were added to that followed by flour, salt, and a little cream. The dough was soft and slightly sticky, so it was necessary to chill it before rolling. Then, rather than making individual tartlets as shown in the book, I made one rectangular tart. There was extra dough, so I did make a few tartlets as well to freeze and use another time. The tart crust was blind baked with pie weights and then allowed to cool. Going back to the rhubarb tart in the book, I cooked the cut pieces of rhubarb as suggested with sugar, water, a vanilla bean, and one beet cut into wedges. Since my rhubarb was more green than red, it required a little extra cooking time to become tender and sweet. Then, it was removed and allowed to dry on paper towels. The sugar syrup was strained and then poured into a clean pan to reduce until thick. One more flip back to the pistachio tarts to make the filling which was a mix of creme fraiche, cream, and sugar. That was spread in the cooled crust and then topped with halved strawberries, whole pistachios, the drained rhubarb, and last was drizzled with the cooled red, sugar syrup glaze.

The glaze was bright red from the beet, full of vanilla flavor, and was delightful. It was so pretty, I wanted to boil it to a higher temperature so I could turn it into lollipops. The pistachio crust was a winner too. It was easy to shape it in the tart pan, and the faint green tint contrasted well with the filling and toppings. I had no uncertainty about the creme fraiche and whipped cream layer under the strawberries and rhubarb, and it was tangy and rich as it should be. So, this mix of two tarts made one pleasing dessert.

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Lemon-Strawberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream

Even though I always start pondering cake options weeks in advance of my birthday, I usually end up choosing something lemony or berry-filled or both, unless I decide on butterscotch. I always have to try something different, it’s never the same cake twice, but the flavors are usually similar. I’ve been enjoying baking from Flour since receiving a review copy last fall. Not only has everything from the book been completely delicious, the recipes have also just worked really well. Even if you have a standard approach to apple pie, and I did, the one from this book might change your mind about it. The techniques resulted in the best apple pie I’ve ever made. So, I’ve come to trust this book, and I’m thrilled that Joanne Chang is working on a second one. I knew there would be a good option for a birthday cake in Flour. The name of the cake in the book is lemon-raspberry cake with lemon buttercream, but I had fresh, local strawberries to use instead. It’s intended as a three layer cake with lemon curd mixed with buttercream and berries between each layer. I cut the quantity down to two layers for the cakes and stored the extra buttercream and lemon curd in the freezer for another use. This was a special occasion cake, meaning there are a few parts to making it, although none of them are difficult.

I started by making the lemon curd in advance, and I used meyer lemons for the juice. The next day, I made the cakes which began by creaming together butter and sugar and then adding vanilla and lemon zest. A mixture of flour, baking powder, and salt were added alternately with milk. Last, egg whites were beaten until they held peaks, and they were folded into the cake batter. While the cakes baked and cooled, I gathered ingredients for the French buttercream. First, a sugar syrup was made in a saucepan, and it was brought to 238 degrees F. Eggs and egg yolks were mixed in a stand mixer until pale, and then the syrup was slowly added to the eggs while mixing on low speed. Once all the syrup was added, the speed was increased to medium, and it was mixed until fluffy and cool. Next came the butter, and this was an obscene amount of butter. Three cups of butter were cut into chunks, and the chunks were slowly added while mixing until the buttercream became smooth and lovely. A pinch of salt was added, and the frosting was completed. One last item to make was the lemon syrup which was a mix of lemon juice, sugar, and water which was brought to a boil to dissolve the sugar and then left to cool. That lemon syrup was brushed on top of each cake layer before the filling and toppings were added. A little of the lemon curd was mixed with a little of the buttercream to make the filling that was placed between the cake layers. And, I need to pause for a moment while I remember that mixture of lemon curd and buttercream because it was delightful. I placed some of it in a plastic bag so I could pipe a quick circle of the mixture around the edge, and that held the berries in place preventing berry juice from running on the outside of the cake. Sliced strawberries were placed on the curd-buttercream layer inside the circle barrier. The other cake layer went on top, it was brushed with lemon syrup, and the remaining plain buttercream was used to frost the top and sides of the layers. Last, some lemon curd was spread on top of the cake, and I decorated with a few whole strawberries.

The cake met my requirements perfectly for lemony-ness and berry flavor. Lemon curd, buttercream, and fresh strawberries couldn’t possibly disappoint. The cake layers themselves were light as can be, and the brushed-on lemon syrup kept them from becoming dry. With the strawberries, it was a cake for spring, and I bet the lemon flavors would be great with blueberries too. I’m not sure I can top this, so I might have to bake the same cake again next year.

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Fruit Salad with Limoncello and Yogurt Sauce

Is it just me, or is strawberry season far too short? It’s an especially short season for locally-grown strawberries in Austin. We’ve been getting pints of them in our CSA from Farmhouse Delivery, and I’ve been buying them at farmers’ markets. Just yesterday, when I bought some at Boggy Creek Farm, I worried they might be the last of the local season. Yes, I worry over strawberries. I worry over homegrown lemons too and how to best use them, and that could be why I decided to combine the two in a dessert. This fruit salad is from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, and the recipe is also available online. Fresh berries were mixed with limoncello and topped with a yogurt sauce made with lemon curd.

The recipe actually suggests using purchased lemon curd, but I had a last bit of frozen meyer lemon juice, so I made my own lemon curd. I also still had some of the limoncello I made earlier in the year. The lemon curd was whisked into some Greek yogurt along with honey and vanilla. For the salad, I used only strawberries and raspberries rather than the recommended mix of berries and bananas. The berries were tossed with a pinch of sugar and a few tablespoons of limoncello and allowed to sit at room temperature for five minutes or so. The macerated fruit was topped with the yogurt sauce and chopped mint.

I don’t think I’d ever tried limoncello with strawberries before, but it’s a combination that’s very worth remembering. In fact, I see a cocktail created with strawberry juice and limoncello in my future. And, the lemony, tangy yogurt sauce made the dessert more special than you would expect a fruit salad to be. I may not have much time left to repeat this dessert with local strawberries this year, but I might try it again when blackberries make an appearance.

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Strawberry-Rhubard Sorbet and Vanilla Ice Cream with Rhubarb-Red Wine Compote

It’s time for dessert. After tapas and paella, dessert was, well, not exactly Spanish. I wanted to make use of spring-time strawberries and rhubarb and turning them into something frozen seemed right. Since a frozen dessert would be made well in advance, that meant I could put together a few components and nothing would require last-minute attention. When I read The Perfect Scoop, I was inspired by the suggested pairings of sorbets or granitas with ice creams and sauces. I dreamt up a vision of fruity strawberry-rhubarb sorbet served next to a sinfully rich scoop of vanilla ice cream, and I found those recipes in that book. Following the strawberry-rhubarb sorbet recipe, there’s a note about serving it with a red wine-poached rhubarb compote which sounded perfect. Sorbet, ice cream, and compote was a good start, but I thought a nutty, crunchy item would make it complete. For that, I turned to Martha Stewart's Cookies and chose the lacy nut cookie. I had a plan, but I had no idea how to best present those items on a dessert plate. I should probably read a book on plating and presentation.

Each part of this dessert was very easy to prepare. For the sorbet, rhubarb was chopped and cooked with sugar and water until tender. That was pureed with strawberries, chilled, and churned into sorbet in my ice cream maker. The next day, I made the custard for ice cream with whole milk, sugar, cream, a vanilla bean, six egg yolks, and vanilla extract. I’ve tried a few different recipes for vanilla ice cream, and I can now gauge how delicious the result will be based on the number of egg yolks used. Six is a lovely number of egg yolks for vanilla ice cream, and it was very delicious. The compote was a simple mix of chopped rhubarb, red wine, sugar, honey, a cinnamon stick, and ground cloves. That combination was simmered until the rhubarb was cooked and the sauce reduced, and then I stored it in the refrigerator. Before serving, I brought the compote back to room temperature. The last item was the cookie. The dough was made from mostly butter but also confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, bread flour, and chopped pecans. Once mixed, it was rolled into a log, wrapped in parchment paper, and chilled. Pieces were sliced from the dough log and baked on silpat-lined sheet pans. I quickly learned that these cookies spread even more than you would think. The dough log I created was a little big, and I ended up cutting each slice in half before baking. The shape of the dough doesn’t matter so much because it spreads into a circle regardless while baking. The cookies baked into lacy and somewhat fragile wafers of buttery crunch.

I ended up with just what I wanted for flavors, textures, fruit, and nuts, but I had no idea how to make it look nice on a plate. Should I have put the compote on the bottom, drizzled it on top, or placed it to the side? What about the cookie? I couldn’t decide how to position it either. It could have been the platform on which everything else sat, or it could have rested on top like a lacy veil over the frozen scoops, or it could have sat in a more vertical pose. I played with the plating and snapped the photos seen here well before dinner time. Then, when it was time for dessert, my final plating decision was to set out a buffet of sorts and invite everyone to help themselves. Problem solved.

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