strawberry season!

Although it's not quite time for strawberries in Tennessee yet, in more southerly states the season is in full swing. I really wanted to make a strawberry cake for my birthday party last week (along with strawberry-infused vodka), so I had to make due with CostCo strawberries. Of course a friend from Louisiana brought strawberries picked that morning to the party, but it was too late for the cake so we've just been eating them out of hand (which may be the best way to enjoy them anyway).

Luckily, this cake doesn't rely too heavily on the quality of the strawberries; they mostly provide a little color and some tart texture to round out the airy soft genoise layers and light and creamy mousse filling. This cake requires a bit of time and effort but I think it's worth it, particularly for a special occasion. Having a stand mixer makes the process much easier because you whip the batter for a long time, but it's possible to make it with a handheld mixer.

If you make nothing else, make the cheesecake mousse filling--it's quite easy and probably the best filler/frosting for a cake I've ever made.

P.S. - Speaking of strawberry season, my strawberry-basil breakfast bowl recipe was recently featured on a Whole Foods' cooking blog--check it out! (It's a variation on a blog post I did last summer, the blueberry-basil breakfast bowl.)

vanilla bean genoise filled with cheesecake mousse and strawberries
adapted from Sarabeth Levine and, oddly enough, Worcester Telegram and Gazette
makes one three-layer 9" cake

ingredients:
genoise:
   5 tbsp butter
   5 large eggs + 5 large egg yolks
   1 c sugar
   seeds from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
   1 c pastry or unbleached cake flour
cheesecake mousse:
   8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
   1/2 c powdered sugar
   seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
   1 c chilled heavy cream
+1 pint strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

instructions:
Make the genoise: Preheat oven to 350. Grease three 9" cake pans (or one or two, if you don't have three and need to bake the layers in batches) and line them with parchment paper. Do not leave out this step; I promise the cake layers will stick to the pans if you do!

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, or in a small heatproof bowl in the microwave. Let cool.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low to maintain the simmer. Whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer, or a very large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water), and whisk constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch, about 1 minute. If you have an instant read thermometer, the mixture should reach 118 degrees.

If you have a stand mixer, attach the bowl to it and fit it with the whisk attachment. Add the vanilla and beat the mixture on high speed until it is almost quadrupled in volume, very pale yellow, and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If you're using a handheld mixer, Sarabeth says this will take at least 6 minutes. She says the right consistency has been reached when, if you lift the whisk attachment a couple of inches above the bowl, the egg mixture creates a thick ribbon that falls back on itself and holds its shape on the surface of the mixture for at least 5 seconds before sinking. I whipped mine for at least 6-7 minutes and didn't quite reach the 5-second mark, but my cake turned out just fine! Whenever you think it's good enough, remove the bowl from the stand mixer.

In four equal additions, sift the flour over the egg mixture, folding in each addition with a whisk. (I'm not much of a sifter, but I think it's important here.) Handle the batter gently to keep it as light and fluffy as possible. Transfer about a quarter of the batter into a medium bowl; add the butter and fold in with a whisk. Pour this mixture back into the remaining batter and gently fold it in with a whisk.

Pour the batter into the cake pans and smooth it over with a spatula. If you don't have three pans to use at once, try to fill the pans you have to about a half-inch thickness; this should make your layers roughly even. Bake until the top of the cake is golden and it springs back when pressed gently with your finger, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan. (If you need one of the cake pans to make another layer, you can probably get away with letting the layer cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing it.)

While the cake layers are cooling, make the mousse: using a handheld or stand mixer (whisk attachment) on medium-high speed, whip together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Whip the heavy cream in another bowl until soft peaks form. Using a spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture in three additions, and cover and refrigerate until cake layers are cooled and you're ready to assemble the cake.

Assemble the cake: Run a knife around the outside of one cake pan, and flip the cake out onto the plate you want to use for your cake. Remove the parchment paper, and spread a thin layer of mousse over the surface of the cake. Cover this with a layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat this process for the next layer, then top with the third layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining mousse. Top with strawberry halves or more sliced strawberries, if you'd like.

You can store this cake in the refrigerator for a day or two before serving, but make sure to remove it at least an hour before you want to serve it.

a time for baking, a time for blogging.

Although I have done less blogging (ahem, no blogging) over the past few months, I have baked more than ever. I started making muffins, scones, granola bars, and various other breakfast-y items for the divinity school's weekly coffee hour back in September, and I've tried dozens of recipes, from walnut date bread with brown butter (YUM) to blueberry-buttermilk "biscones" (yum) to chocolate oatmeal flaxseed muffins (un-yum).

As much as I love whipping up three or four new baked goods each week, I keep going back to one scone recipe that consistently delivers. No matter how you embellish them, these scones are divine--rich but delicate, with a crumbly brown exterior and a soft, light interior. You can make them sweet and/or savory, add dried fruit, chocolate, nuts, or cheese, break them open and spread them with butter and jam or eat them as-is.

The scones pictured here have about 1/2 cup of oats replacing the same amount of flour, with about 1/3 cup of blue cheese and 1/3 cup of chopped dates mixed in. If that combination doesn't appeal to you, here are a few other options for mix-ins:

sweet:
1/3 c white chocolate chunks + 1/3 c dried cranberries
1 c fresh blueberries + 2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 c chopped pistachios + 1/3 c chopped dried figs

savory:
1/2 c grated parmesan + 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 c chopped cooked bacon + 1/3 c gruyere, topped with cracked black pepper
1/3 c grated cheddar cheese + 1/3 c diced apple (okay, this one straddles the line a bit)

simple cream scones
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
makes 8 scones

ingredients:
2 c (10 oz) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar (for sweet scones only)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
1/2 - 1 c mix-ins (optional)
1 c heavy cream

instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Whisk together the flour, sugar (if using), baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in any mix-ins you are using.

Form a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the cream. Using a rubber spatula, stir together just until combined. If there's a bit of excess flour, incorporate it into the dough using your hands, but try to handle the dough as little as possible! (If you knead it too much, the scones will be tough.)

Lightly press the dough into a round cake pan and cut into 8 wedges. Place wedges on the prepared baking sheet, and bake until they are light brown, 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through if you remember.

Transfer the scones to a wire rack and let cool for as long as you can stand it (at least 5-10 minutes). Serve warm or at room temperature.

P.S. - If you don't want to bake eight scones at once, these freeze well. Once you've cut them into wedges, just place them on a baking sheet and freeze until firm (at least 3-4 hours). Transfer to a freezer bag, and they'll keep for at least a month.

everyone loves a pumpkin.

Marketing the seasons is nothing new. According to retailers, school starts in July, Halloween in August, Thanksgiving in September, and Christmas...well, it seems like any time is a good time to start your Christmas shopping.

The pumpkin market, though, is in a class all by itself. When fall hits, every restaurant, coffee shop, and grocery store plasters their walls with posters advertising pumpkin spice fill-in-the-blank. The pumpkin phenomenon may have gotten out of hand. This assertion might make me sound like an old lady screaming at trick-or-treaters to get off my lawn...except I'm about to offer you a pumpkin recipe.

One of my friends had a pumpkin-themed potluck last night, and as much as I make fun of the pumpkin trend, everyone brought something delicious that included pumpkin. Pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin salad, pumpkin pizza, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, a fabulous pumpkin bourbon milkshake (heavy on the bourbon, light on the pumpkin)...the list goes on. I decided to go whole hog (whole gourd?) and hollow out an entire pumpkin, stuff it, and bake it.

I knew I would get points for presentation, but I honestly didn't have incredibly high hopes for this combination of flavors. As it turned out, they melded perfectly. Although my serving method wasn't perfect--I just stuck a spoon into the stuffing, so most people only ate that and didn't get any pumpkin--I combined the two on my plate with wonderful results. Next time I would follow the directions Dorie Greenspan offers and either slice the pumpkin with the stuffing for individual portions, or scoop it all into a big bowl and mix it up.

I made a vegetarian version, but if you're only serving this to meat eaters I would definitely add some bacon or sausage. You can use pretty much any combination of bread and cheese--whatever you think would go well together. No matter how you make it, this is one pumpkin recipe worth trying.

pumpkin stuffed with everything good
adapted from dorie greenspan
serves 6 as a side or 4 as a main course 

ingredients:
1 medium cooking pumpkin, 3 to 4 pounds
about 4 c bread, torn into chunks (I used cranberry pecan)
6 oz cheese, shredded (gruyere, emmentaler, cheddar, or whatever you like)
4 cloves garlic, minced
about 1/2 c heavy cream
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper 

instructions:
Place the oven rack on the bottom Preheat the oven to 350. Cut out the top of the pumpkin, leaving a large enough hole for your hand to fit. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin, and save them if you'd like to toast them. Rub the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl combine the bread, cheese, and garlic, and mix with your hands to combine. Stuff the pumpkin with the bread-cheese mixture, filling it but leaving space to put the cap back on.

Combine the cream with as much nutmeg, salt, and pepper as you think is necessary, and pour the cream mixture into the pumpkin, covering the bread but not submerging it in liquid.

Place the cap back on the pumpkin and place it on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or in a Dutch oven. I used a Dutch oven to make sure my pumpkin wouldn't collapse, but it held up remarkably well. Bake for about 2 1/2 hours or until the pumpkin is easily pierced with a fork. I removed the cap after about 2 hours to let the top of the stuffing brown. Prepare to impress your friends and family!