Sweet Cherry Pie

If there is another vehicle in the world as perfect for showcasing cherries as is a flaky, delicious pie crust, I dare you to find it and show it to me. Oh, sure, there are clafoutis and jams and cobblers and coffee cakes, but after making my first cherry pie (indeed, my first pie) this weekend, I am firmly convinced that all these other things are just filler in case there's no time to make pie.

I didn't grow up here and I didn't grow up with pie, but when I took the golden, flaky, bubbling, fragrant pie out of the oven, with the red droplets of cherry juice and sugar swirling on the hot baking sheet, I knew that I had missed out on something very important. If food can be poetry, this is it - a deceptively simple, charming, loving and brilliant ode to the American culture.

Since this was my first time making a pie crust, I had no idea what to expect. And, not having had home-made pies very often, I still have no idea whether I got it right. I think that I could have made my dough flakier by handling it less, and I'm sure my technique was totally off. I didn't think the lattice did a very good job of holding in all the filling, so next time, I'll just go with a simple double crust. I'm sure there were other shortfalls that would prevent this pie from winning a pie contest. And yet, I can tell you for sure that this pie was the bomb. For real. Go and make it, people. This is the BEST way to enjoy the cherry season other than just eating them straight.

Sweet Cherry Pie

Pie Crust - makes a double crust
(compiled from different recipes)
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 sticks (10 oz) very cold or frozen unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-5 tablespoons of iced water

Cherry Filling
(Joy of Cooking)
5 cups pitted cherries (about 2 1/2 lbs unpitted)
3/4 cup sugar for sweet cherries or 1 1/4 cup for sour cherries
3 to 3 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch or quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Make the crust: Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Quickly cut the cold butter into small pieces (I cut each stick into 16 pieces). Make sure to keep all ingredients cold, even if that means stopping and sticking things in the refrigerator for 5 minutes or so to cool off.

With a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the largest piece of butter is no bigger than a pea. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of water on top and mix gently with a fork. If pieces of the dough stick when you pinch it between your fingers, it's good - if not, add more iced water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead briefly to incorporate the dry ingredients, if any. Divide in half and form each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator and leave on the counter for at least 10 minutes to allow the dough to come to room temperature. Butter or spray a pie pan. On a well-floured surface or between two sheets of plastic wrap, roll out two rounds, about 12 inches each. Fit one of the rounds into the pie pan and cut away excess dough, leaving a little on the edges for crimping. Refrigerate both the pie pan with the bottom crust and the rolled out top crust.

Make the filling: While the crusts are refrigerating, pit all the cherries and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle the sugar and cornstarch over the cherries and then pour the water and lemon juice on top. If you wish, add the almond extract. Gently mix until no trace of sugar or cornstarch remains. Leave for 15 minutes and then drain the cherries of most of the liquid.

Assemble the pie: Pour the cherries and the remaining liquid into the prepared crust. Fit the second crust on top of the cherries and either prick it all over with a fork or cut several vents in it. Or, you can make a lattice by cutting the crust into thin strips and fitting the strips over the top crust in a lattice pattern (like so).*

Turn the oven to 425F and fit a rack to the lower third of the oven. Put the pie dish onto a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper (to catch the juices) and bake for 15-20 minutes. Then, turn down the heat to 350F and bake for a further 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Cool on a rack for several hours and serve with ice cream.

*At this point, the pie can be frozen for up to several months (flash freeze and then wrap it very very well). To bake a frozen pie, turn the oven to 450F and bake the pie on the lower rack for 15-20 minutes, then turn down to 375F and bake it for a further 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the juices ar bubbling.

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Honey Nectarine Pancakes

As all Russian men, my dad is a disaster in the kitchen. And yet -- and yet! -- he can turn out a perfect breakfast on any given Sunday. No one knows what mysteries of the universe allow him to handle kitchen equipment with such agility on this particular day, when on the other six days of the week he can barely operate the toaster oven, but breakfasts are "his thing" on Sundays and growing up, I have to confess it was my favorite meal of the week.

My dad's pancakes are soft, fluffy and tender, but not as thick as the ones usually made here, and they always include a surprise - sauteed apples, diced peaches, maybe even strawberries with a bit of sugar. I haven't had dad's pancakes for a while and this morning, when I picked up some gorgeous nectarines at the market, I got nostalgic for them and had to make them for myself. After all, I'm a big girl now and I can't run to my daddy for every little thing, can I? (I can and I do, but at least I can give him a break on the pancakes once in a while). :)

Nectarines and honey are a combination made in heaven and they work beautifully together in these pancakes. I replaced a teaspoon of sugar in the recipe with a tablespoon of honey and I also drizzled a little honey over the top. The softened nectarines and the mild taste of the honey complement each other perfectly, but of course, feel free to replace the nectarines with apples, blueberries, bananas or whatever else is in season.

Happy Independence Day to all my American readers! (and happy "Day We Finally Got Rid Of Those Pesky Colonists" to the Brits!) Have a happy and safe weekend, everyone!

Honey Nectarine Pancakes
(makes about 12 medium sized cakes)

Dry Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients
2 eggs
1 1/5 cup buttermilk (or milk, in a pinch)
1 tbsp honey

2 ripe nectarines

First, bring a pot of water to a rollicking boil. With a small paring knife, score the nectarines on the bottom (cut a little cross in the skin), and then drop the fruit into the boiling water for 2 minutes. Fish them out and rinse under cold water. Peel the skin off starting with the place where you scored the nectarines. If the nectarines are ripe, the skin should come off pretty easily. This also works with peaches. Core and dice the nectarines into bite sized squares.

Now, heat a little butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. In a different, largish bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until you can't see the flour anymore. Make sure to get to the bottom of the bowl because flour is tricky and likes to hide down there. The batter will be pretty lumpy, but that's ok.

With a small ladle, drop a little bit of batter onto the frying pan to make cakes about 3 inches in diameter (or whatever diameter you like them, really). Drop a few nectarine pieces on top of each pancake. When you see bubbles forming on top of the pancakes, flip them over for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Continue until you're out of batter (if you'll be making lots of pancakes, heat the oven to 100F and store the finished pancakes on a cookie sheet in the oven to keep them warm). Serve drizzled with honey.

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The Lake

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Cherry Coffee Cake

Before I go on a trip, I like to cook what I call "clean the refrigerator" meals. In my head, I pretend that I'm being inspired by my ingredients, but really, I'm just in a mad rush to use up everything because I hate seeing food go to waste. I've actually been pretty good about it this week, so today, the tally of perishables in my refrigerator was: half a bag of cherries, two eggs and some milk on the bottom of the carton. HMMMMMM.......... Can you guess what I made with it?

Tomorrow, we are leaving for a whole week to a place where I anticipate reading at least three big, fat books and not wearing real shoes. It may not be everyone's idea of a perfect vacation, but I can't wait. I made this coffee cake to take with us on the drive, but the smell was so divine, so golden sweet and promising with its subtle notes of vanilla and baked cherries, and the crumb was so fine and so light, that we kind of ate half of it right away, hardly waiting for it to cool. Oops. I'm not sorry, though -- it was totally worth it. Have a lovely week, everyone! If there's an internet connection, I promise to check in!

Cherry Coffee Cake
via A Series Of Kitchen Experiments (check it out - wonderful blog! I simplified the recipe a little, so if you want to do the original recipe, please follow the link!)

1 and 1/2 cup of fresh cherries, halved and pitted
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup of butter, softened
3/4 cup of sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup of milk

Preheat the oven to 350F and spray or butter an 8x8 square baking pan.

Pit and halve the cherries and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time and beat briefly, just to to combine. Add in vanilla extract and beat briefly to combine.

Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together. With the mixer on low speed (or with a wooden spoon), add half the flour mixture and mix just to incorporate the flour. Do not over-mix the dough. Add milk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix just to incorporate all the ingredients together.

Carefully, fold in the cherries.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the edges are golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

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Stuffed Eggplant

I know that I promised you guys something that isn't a cake, and after sticking it through like twenty cakes with me, you definitely deserve it. So with that promise in mind, I walked into my local library this morning, hoping to run into a cookbook with something green on the cover, something that would make me want to sail full speed out to the farmer's market and buy out their supply of whatever is in season (not like I need an excuse to do that, but still).

The first thing I noticed was the abnormal number of babies. Seriously, there were babies everywhere - on the floor, on the counters, flipping through yesterday's copy of the London Times... It was like a "Where's Waldo?" game, only with ... babies. Ookay, weird. The librarian behind the counter looked at me strangely and said (in what I thought was an unnecessarily snooty voice), "Are you here for... story time?" She paused slightly and added for full effect "MA'AM," making me feel like I was all of a hundred, instead of a young'un of 30. All the babies and their mammas promptly turned their suspicious eyes towards me and I was stuck, looking like a deer in the headlights, to mumble meekly "oh, sorry" and beat a hasty retreat. It turns out that the library actually closes for two hours of 'story time,' and as I didn't have the required accessory to participate, I decided to nix the cookbook idea and make you my grandma's stuffed eggplant instead. It's really good, trust me, and considering that I braved a whole battalion of babies for you guys, I really think you should just make it. :)

It's been pretty busy here at Chez Irene lately. Summer is the season of birthdays in my family, which means a lot of celebrating, but between all those cousins, all that tequila and that pesky job thing that's been taking up more and more of my attention, there has been very little time for anything else. So please forgive me if I'm not as active here and and on your blogs as of late and don't get mad if I take a little longer to respond to your emails. I hope everyone's just as busy with their own cousins and tequila (a killer combination) to notice my brief absence.

My Grandma's Stuffed Eggplant
(serves 6)

3 Japanese (or Italian) eggplant
3/4 lb ground beef (or turkey)*
1 large tomato
1/2 of a yellow onion
6 oz mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
a handful of parsley leaves, chopped
shaved Parmesan to top
olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

*If you wanted to make this a vegetarian dish, simply do not use beef and use 1 onion instead of 1/2 and 10 oz of mushrooms instead of 6 oz. You can also mix in some cubed feta and pine nuts, chopped olives, etc.

Wash the eggplants, cut off the tops and slice each eggplant in half. Using a small paring knife and a spoon, cut/scoop out the insides of each half. Do not cut through the skin and leave enough eggplant inside so that the halves can stand on their own (they will look like little boats). Sprinkle with salt and arrange in a baking dish.

Chop the scooped out part of the eggplant into small squares. Chop the onion, tomato and mushrooms as well. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes, until the onions are just translucent, then add the mushrooms. Saute for another minute, until the mushrooms give off liquid, and add the eggplant and the tomato. Saute for about 5-8 minutes, until the eggplant is soft and cooked through, then add salt and pepper to taste.

While the vegetables are sauteing, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in another pan and brown the ground beef. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Make sure the beef is cooked through completely. Add the beef to the vegetables, then stir in chopped parsley. Adjust the seasoning one last time.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Fill the eggplant boats with the beef/vegetable mixture and sprinkle the tops with shaved Parmesan. Pour a little bit of water into the baking pan, just to cover the bottom (this helps the skins of the eggplant to bake), drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

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Mango Mousse Cake With Lime-Hinted Whipped Cream

Tell me the truth, my dears, are you sick of cakes yet? Do you want to run into the warm, comforting arms of asparagus and dance the tango with some low-fat yogurt? Do you crave the cool kiss of a cucumber and dream of summer zucchini? Yeah, me too. But not before I make this cake.

Because, you see, it's my birthday. Not just "a" birthday, not some #2 or #7, but it's the birthday that heralds a whole new decade, with that pesky "3" as the first digit. Now, I'm not complaining, nor do I want to go back five years or anything. I have many, many blessings in my life (like my wonderful husband, my beautiful loving family, loyal friends who make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, our house, a job I actually like, Wüsthof knives and a shiny new yellow KitchenAid named Lucy - yes, it's true!) and I am the kind of person who likes to look forward, not back. But this whole being 30 thing... I just don't know if I'm exactly ready for it, if that makes any sense. It seems a little bit daunting, like maybe I have to start taking this life thing a little more seriously now, like I can't wear pink or flirt my way out of speeding tickets, like jello shooters aren't cool anymore and I can officially start saying things like "kids these days" while shaking my head at Lady Gaga. Brrr, snap me out of this, someone! Oh, wait, there's still a mango cake. Ahh... all is right with the world.

After making birthday cakes for everyone else, you know that I had to make one for myself as well, right? I used my favorite yellow cake recipe from (you guessed it) Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes, which has worked wonderfully for me before. Instead of a tall, triple-tiered 9" cake, I did a shorter double-tiered 9x13 cake, which I think was just perfect (I may be the only person in the world who is indifferent to gigantic cakes). I filled the cake with a thick layer of mango mousse, moistened the layers a little with simple syrup flavored with lime juice and rum, and topped it with lightly-sweetened whipped cream to which I added a little lime zest. It was a heavenly combination - substantial enough for such a substantial date, and yet, light, breezy and summery - just what this 30-year old afraid of growing up would want to eat.

Mango Mousse Cake With Lime-Hinted Whipped Cream
A big thank you to the lovely and talented Helen of Tartelette, who helped me with the ideas and flavors for this cake.

Assembly: Set the first layer of the cake inside a mold (or inside a 9x13 cake pan with straight sides). Brush the layer with half of the lime/rum syrup. Spread the mango mousse on top of the cake layer. Lay the second cake layer on top of the mango mousse. Gently press on the top to distribute the mousse evenly. Brush the top layer with the rest of the lime/rum syrup. Wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate for two hours or overnight. Unwrap the cake and either unmold (if using a cake mold) or carefully turn it over onto a 10x14" cake board (if using the latter method, the bottom layer will be the top, but it doesn't matter at all). Prepare the whipped cream frosting and frost the cake. Decorate with chocolate shavings and allow to set for at least 3 hours.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake (Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes)
3 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1/3 cup buttermilk
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and 1 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Mix on low speed briefly to blend; then raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk until well blended. Pour one-third of the egg mixture into the cake batter at a time, folding it in completely after each addition. There will be 9 cups of batter.

Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the layers out onto wire racks by placing a rack on top of a pan, inverting it, and lifting off the pan. Peel off the paper liners and let cool completely. When the layers have cooled, place a cardboard cake board on top of a layer, invert again, and lift off the rack. To make the layers easier to handle, wrap them on their boards completely in plastic, so they don’t dry out, and refrigerate them.

Mango mousse (Tartelette)
3 teaspoons powdered gelatin, 3 tablespoon water
8 oz mango puree (I made my own from 2 large mangoes, but next time, I think I will buy it for more concentrated mango flavor)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup heavy cream, cold

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it soften while you prepare the fruit. In a medium saucepan, bring the mango puree and sugar to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Stir until the gelatin is completely melted. Transfer the fruit puree to a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold about 1/3 of the whipped cream into the fruit puree to lighten it up (do not worry about losing air at this point). Carefully fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Use within one hour.

Rum/lime simple syrup
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons rum
1 tablespoon lime juice

In a small saucepan set over medium high heat, bring all the ingredients to a simmer until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Let cool to room temperature.

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting (Tartelette)
2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin dissolved in 3 Tb. cold water
grated zest of one lime

Rub the lime zest into the sugar to release the oils. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream with the sugar/lime zest until soft peaks. In the meantime, dissolve the gelatin in the microwave for 10 seconds. Or set the cup where the gelatin was in a large saucepan filled with a couple of inches of water, bringing the water to a simmer and waiting for the gelatin to melt. Slowly pour the gelatin in one steady stream over the whipped cream and continue to whip until firm. If you add your gelatin a little cooled and before the whipped cream is still at soft peaks stage, it should not clump on you. Decorate your cake with the whipped cream and return the cake to the refrigerator to chill until you are ready to serve it, at least 3 hours.

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Strawberry Cream Cake

I'll tell you something - I am not an impulsive person by nature. In fact, I am the complete opposite of that. I like to think and plan, to draw up lists (and lists of lists), to "talk things over" ... and over... and over until A. gives me that look and I know it's time to stop. And yet, I often do things on impulse because I just know that it's right and regrets are the worst things to end up with. Some of the best decisions I've ever made have been split-second-gut-feeling type of things and I've learned that trusting my intuition and letting go of control brings about the sweetest freedom.

I had this same feeling when I saw an email in my inbox from a person whose name I did not recognize. I read it, and I just knew. It was an email from a mother. She said that her son lives in Los Angeles while the rest of the family is in Brazil, and she said, "we would like to send him a strawberry cake with fresh whipped cream, for his birthday, because he loves it." She used to make this cake for his birthday all the time. She said that she and her mother looked through photos of cakes for an hour, and then, she saw a photo of my cake and said: "look, mom, this cakes look so good, and this strawberry cake looks like ours, it must be made by a jewish mother." It made me cry, and I am not the kind of person who cries easily at all, because I know that if I was far away, my mom would do the same thing, she would find a way to send me something familiar so that I know she is thinking about me and that she loves me. With a mother like that, no one can be alone, even in a strange country half the world away. I am not a mother yet, but this is the kind of mother I hope I will be. Of course, I had to make this cake. I was honored to do it.

Life is a strange and beautiful thing, my friends. How wonderful it was that she found me, me to do this lovely thing for her son. Happy birthday, dear S., and best wishes to your whole beautiful, loving family!

Strawberry Cream Cake
1 chiffon cake (recipe below)
2 lb strawberries
Whipped cream filling (recipe below)
Milk/rum mixture (below)
1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tbsp sugar for the topping

To Assemble
After the cake has cooled, slice it into three layers with a very sharp, serrated knife. Remove the stems from the strawberries. Set aside the best 20 and slice those in half. Chop the rest of the strawberries and set aside. Prepare the whipped cream filling. Also prepare the milk/rum mixture.

Line the sides (not the bottom) of a 10-inch springform pan with plastic so that there is enough overhang to cover the cake completely. Place the bottom layer of the cake inside the springform pan. Moisten it with one-third of the milk/rum mixture. Arrange a ring of strawberry halves, cut side down and ends facing out, around the perimeter of the cake layer.

Spread half of the chopped strawberries on top of the cake layer. Gently spread half of the whipped cream on top of the strawberries. Place the second layer on top. Moisten and repeat with strawberries and cream. Place the third layer on top and moisten with the rest of the milk/rum mixture. Wrap the top of the cake in plastic and press gently to distribute filling. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Whip half a cup of heavy cream and 1 tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Frost the top of the cake and decorate with more strawberries.

Chiffon Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
6 large egg yolks (I used 5)
3/4 cup of water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest, grated
10 large egg whites (I used 8)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom exactly. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups of sugar and add the salt, whisk to combine. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Make a well in the flour and add the yolk mixture, and then whisk thoroughly and quickly until very smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium-high until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until the whites hold firm, shiny peaks.

With a rubber spatula, fold about one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten and then gently fold the remaining whites until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula if necessary. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top springs back and the tested inserted into the center comes out clean (note: in my oven, this took an extra 30 minutes - I was checking every 10 min after the 50 minute mark). Let the cake cool in the springform pan (so the cake holds its shape) and then run a sharp knife around the edges and unmold.

Whipped Cream Filling
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Place the heavy cream in the bowl of a mixer with a pinch of salt. Whip on medium-high until frothy, then slowly add the granulated sugar and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form.

Milk/Rum Mixture
3/4 cup whole milk
2-4 tbsp rum (depending on how boozy you want it to be - optional)
1/4 cup of sugar

Place the milk and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat on low-medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved (do not let the milk come to a boil). Take off the heat and add rum. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Assemble the cake and decorate! For the decorations, I melted about 4 oz of white chocolate in a double-boiler (well, my make-shift double boiler, which is a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of gently-simmering water - make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water and that steam does not get into the bowl). I drizzled some of the white chocolate over halved strawberries, left them in the refrigerator for an hour to set and then arranged them on top of the cake. I mixed the rest of the melted white chocolate with about 3 drops of yellow food coloring and piped the letters (as you can see, my calligraphy is atrocious... sigh... at least the white chocolate is tasty! I use Callebaut white chocolate and it melts like a dream).

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Nutella Chocolate Cake

Sometimes, a cake is not just a cake. See, when you're friends with someone for fourteen years, when you've been through the ups and downs of life together, when you've cried and laughed and found life a little ridiculous and wonderful together, a 30th birthday cake is kind of like a summation of all those nights we stayed up until 3am propounding theories about the boy who went to Jamaica and discussing the relative merits of Bakery Boy 1 vs. Bakery Boys 2 & 3 (don't ask, you don't want to know). The trips to Palm Springs, the times we went shopping and bought the same outfit (and didn't even get mad at each other), the almost-being-pulled-over-by-the-cops-while-sort-of-kind-of-tipsy and the one jaywalking ticket we had to split between the two of us (as well as the Haagen-Dazs ice-creams we always shared). We were probably the only ones who voluntarily read Anna Karenina in high school (and loved it). Holding each other's hand through the loves that never were and celebrating birthdays, graduations, new jobs, and even a wedding (guess who watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding with me the night before I got married and peeled the petals off of 10 dozen roses? And guess who laughed at me the entire time?). So many memories, so much love, and I tried to fit it all into one cake.

Oh, but it was, it was a cake. Two thick, chocolaty layers filled and frosted with the most luscious, sweetest Nutella Swiss buttercream that you can imagine, and even a double layer of prime California strawberries in between. Because that's just what this girl likes, you see, and if a friend like that likes things like these, well, it's just a match made in heaven, isn't it? This cake could only go one way, and hoooo boy, did it ever.

Happy birthday, my dear friend, and here's to many, many more birthdays and memories to be shared!

For the chocolate cake, I used one of my favorite birthday cake recipes from "Sky High," one of my favorite (probably the favorite) cake books. The cake is super moist and chocolaty and the coffee gives it an extra depth of flavor that I really enjoyed (you can use decaf if you don't drink coffee). The Nutella buttercream? I just winged that. All you need to know is that I used almost a cup of Nutella - I highly recommend it. Don't be intimidated by Swiss buttercream - once you know what to expect (and I'll tell you exactly what that is), it's really very easy to make and tastes way way better than the "simple" buttercreams that only use butter and powdered sugar.

To frost and fill the cake (mine was a 9x13 two-layer cake), arrange the first cake layer on a cake board. Spread a layer of buttercream about 1/2-3/4 inch thick on the layer. With a large round piping tip, pipe a border of buttercream along the outer perimeter of the cake. Hull and slice the strawberries (I use about 1 lb), and arrange them in two layers on top of the buttercream. Reserve a few as decoration for the top of the cake, if you'd like. Place the second cake layer carefully on top. Coat the top and sides with a thin layer of buttercream (that'll be your crumb coat) and refrigerate for at least an hour or until the buttercream is very firm. Then, decorate with the rest of the buttercream. I used Nutella to pipe the letters - bad idea, it pipes horribly (as you can tell from the picture) so next time, I will probably just melt a little bit of dark chocolate and use that for piping the letters.

Chocolate Butter Cake
Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

A few notes about the cake:
(1) The recipe makes a three-layered 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake. However, I made mine a two-layered 9x13" cake and I thought that turned out really well. The layers were thick, but there wasn't *too* much cake, if you know what I mean. The size fed about 30-40 people (depending on how thickly you slice it) and seemed perfect for a birthday cake. However, I'd love to make the tall tall tall 9 or 8-inch version one of these days!
(2) This cake is pretty sturdy and yet, I had trouble (because of the size) lifting the second layer to fit on top of the first layer. Hence, I would really recommend wrapping the cake in plastic (3 layers) and freezing for a few hours or until the cake is firm. Then, it won't break when you're maneuvering the layers.
(3) Remember that as a butter cake, it will be dense if you eat it straight out of the refrigerator. Make sure to leave it out for at least a half hour to an hour before serving so you get maximum fluffiness. The buttercream holds up very well to all kinds of weather, so you can leave it out even if it's fairly hot.

3 cups cake flour
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
3 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups freshly brewed coffee (or decaf - I use instant coffee), cooled to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter or spray your cake pans (or pan, if you, like me, only have one 9x13 cake pan and can bake one layer at a time) and line the bottoms with parchment paper cut to size. Butter or spray the paper.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and buttermilk and blend on low until moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. At this point, please make sure to scrape the bowl very very often because the little deposits of flour, sugar and cocoa can really sneak up on you.

Whisk the eggs and coffee together, and add to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating only until blended after each addition. In the end, stir carefully, bringing up the batter from the bottom of the bowl to make sure all the batter is at an even consistency. Divide the batter among the prepared pans (if you are using 9-inch round or 8-inch square pans, each pan will take about 3 1/4 cups of batter; if you are only using two 9x13-inch pans, well, you can do the math, right? And if not, just eyeball it like I do).

Bake for 38 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Carefully turn the cake layers out onto wire racks and allow to cool completely. Remove the paper liners only when they are cool. (to frost, wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for a few hours).

Nutella Swiss Buttercream (also called Swiss Meringue Buttercream)
Nutella added to my favorite Swiss Buttercream recipe from (who else?) Martha Stewart

Note: because of the Nutella addition, I found this buttercream to be not as stiff as if I had made it without Nutella, so while you probably won't be able to pipe chocolate roses with it, it still holds up extremely well to simple piped decorations and I was very pleased with it.

5 large egg whites
1 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
4 sticks (1 lb) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Nutella, at room temperature

Place a medium sized pan with about 3 inches of water over medium heat and allow water to come to a gentle simmer. Put the egg whites and sugar in a large heat-proof bowl and set over the simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk egg whites and sugar together constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved (when you rub the egg whites between your fingers, you should not be able to feel granules of sugar). This usually takes about 5 minutes.

Transfer the egg mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure to wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl which you've just taken off the heat because if water gets into the egg whites during transfer, they won't whip up properly). Whip on medium-high speed until the whites hold firm peaks and are cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, cut the softened butter into 1 tbsp chunks (8 chunks per stick of butter) and once the egg whites hold firm peaks, lower the speed to medium and add the butter one chunk at a time, allowing it to incorporate into the egg mixture for about 20 seconds before adding the next one. Continue to add until all the butter is incorporated.

Here's the thing with buttercream: you need patience and faith. At first, the mixture will look soupy and you will a little skeptical. Then, as more butter is incorporated, it's going to look soupy and curdled, and then you will be afraid that it's never going to come together. Then, it's going to look really curdled and disgusting, and you will want to cry and throw it out. Don't, just keep mixing. I promise that just when you think it's reached its most curdled and disgusting point, it's going to magically turn into smooth, beautiful, thick buttercream.

When the buttercream is smooth, add the Nutella and mix slowly to combine, scraping down the bowl if necessary.

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Baked French Toast

Here's something you've probably figured out about me: I like to throw parties. I love to see my friends and family all dressed up and ready to relax, tell jokes and eat some good food. I love seeing my dad tease my sister, my mom dashing around the kitchen with a glass of champagne, and all the other familiar patterns that always emerge when we all get together.

I'll tell you something else - I have a hostess apron. A real, cute, frilled hostess apron that makes me feel like I want to twirl my skirt (and sometimes, I really do, kind of like a 5 yr old). Generally, I cook in an old ratty t-shirt that I'm not afraid to splatter with flour and butter, but a half hour before the guests are supposed to come over, I'll leave the kitchen and pretty myself, and then I will put on my hostess apron and make everyone believe that I've been standing in the kitchen for hours (when in fact, 90% of the work was done the night before and the day of, I pretty much frosted the cake and mixed up a green salad. I might have put things on platters, too, but I was eating scraps of cake so my brain is a little hazy on that point).

This baked french toast (ok, it's more like a bread pudding) lets me get out of the kitchen that precious half an hour earlier. You do all the prep work the night before (there isn't much of it) and then about an hour before the guests arrive, you pop this baby into the oven and voila, out comes a perfect, fluffy, sweet treat that everyone will love. Minimal effort + maximum taste = pretty darn awesome. Oh, and just in the interest of full disclosure, I drizzled Nutella over my portion. I'd tell you how good it was, but it's a little x-rated, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Baked French Toast
adopted from Gail Gand's Brunch

I love this little book. So far, the crepes were stellar and this bread pudding/french toast disappeared faster than I could stick a spoon in it. The book is sunny, homey and inviting with delicious photographs, and I love the way it has simple things - cheese and tomato galette, almond french toast, pear and almond tartlets, just to name a few - that I conceptually knew existed, but now cannot imagine living without.

10 slices of thick white bread (I use either challah or Hawaiian sweet bread)
7 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Topping:
6 medium apples (I use Gala or Golden Delicious)
2 tbsp unsalted butter and more for buttering the dish
1/2 cup sugar (I usually use less - about 5 tbsp - if the apples are sweet)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon (more if you like cinnamon, up to 1 1/2 tsp)
sprinkle of ground nutmeg

The night before:

Make the topping: peel, core and cut the apples into 1/4-inch thick slices. Heat the butter over medium heat until melted, then add the apples and cook, stirring a few times to coat in butter, until the apples are tender (about 10 minutes). Turn off the heat and stir in sugar and spices. Set aside.

Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cut the bread in half to make triangles and either toast it lightly or leave it out on the counter for a few hours. Arrange the bread in the dish in two rows, so the slices overlap.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour the custard over the bread, pressing the bread down a bit if it's poking up above the milk. Spoon the apples over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day:

Heat the oven to 350F. Uncover the baking dish and bake 50-60 minutes, until the custard is set and doesn't shimmy when you shake the pan. It will puff up and brown slightly. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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Strawberry Bavarian Cake and a Trifle

I am disturbingly indecisive these days. This is strange because I usually know exactly what I want (salespeople hate me) and go after it without too much internal debate. Lately, however, the prospect of the smallest decision, like choosing a sandwich at lunch, is making me want to either run away in panic or bury my head in the sand (I can't decide which one... heh).

For example, this Bavarian cake. The internal monologue went something like this: "Omg, I hate this cake. There are just too many components. I mean, who wants to make a cake and strawberry puree AND a batch of pastry cream AND whipped cream AND stabilize it with gelatin?? I am crazy, aren't I? I'm preparing to have 12 people over for brunch. Why could I not have chosen a simple tea cake or something? OH MMMMM.... wait, this cake is AMAZING! It's fantastic, in fact! I am totally making this again! Well -- maybe without the pastry cream... But the pastry cream is SO GOOD! Maybe skip the gelatin? BUT......" and then my head exploded. But at least, I got to eat this cake, and so should you because, really, it's a perfect summer cake and it's totally worth it. I think.

The only problem I found with this recipe is that it makes way too much cake. I mean, you only need 2 layers, and I had enough cake left over to make 8 mini-trifles (cake cubes layered with strawberries, strawberry puree and whipped cream). Not that I'm complaining, the cake itself was deeeelicious, even if it took an extra half hour to bake, but I don't like surprises in baking, so next time, I would either halve the cake recipe (it halves beautifully) or make it a tall, 3-layer cake with less filling between each layer.

Strawberry Bavarian
Tartine

1 Chiffon cake, cut into 2 layers (note: this recipe makes way too much cake. Next time, I will either do a tall, 3 layer cake, or halve the chiffon cake recipe)
Fruit puree (recipe below)
Filling (recipe below)
Whipped Cream Topping (recipe below)
Strawberries - about 2 pints (20 oz)

Assembly directions: Prior to assembly, bake the cake and cut it into 2 layers. Make the strawberry puree and the pastry cream. Then, line the sides of a 10-inch springform pan with plastic so that it does not cover the bottom, but there is enough overhang to cover the top of the cake completely. Fit the bottom layer inside and moisten it with half of the fruit puree. At this point, make the gelatin-stabilized whipped cream and mix with pastry cream.

Spread a little of the cream filling on the bottom layer, just barely to cover. Cut about 7-8 strawberries in half and line them up against the sides of the pan, pressing into the cream (so the strawberries go all the way around). Leaving the other strawberries whole, stand them up on top of the bottom layer of the cake, pressing into the cream. Carefully, spread the rest of the filling on top and fit the second layer on top of the filling. Moisten the layer with the remaining fruit puree. Cover in plastic and press gently to spread the filling evenly. Leave in the refrigerator to set for 4 hrs or overnight.

When you are ready to finish the cake, unmold it carefully from the pan and peel off the plastic, then whip the whipped cream with the sugar for the topping until soft peaks form and frost the top of the cake. Decorate. The cake will keep for 3 days (just be careful that it does not absorb the smells of the refrigerator).

Chiffon Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
6 large egg yolks (I used 5)
3/4 cup of water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest, grated
10 large egg whites (I used 8)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom exactly. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups of sugar and add the salt, whisk to combine. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Make a well in the flour and add the yolk mixture, and then whisk thoroughly and quickly until very smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium-high until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until the whites hold firm, shiny peaks. With a rubber spatula, fold about one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten and then gently fold the remaining whites until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula if necessary. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top springs back and the tested inserted into the center comes out clean (note: in my oven, this took an extra 30 minutes - I was checking every 10 min). Let the cake cool in the springform pan (so the cake holds its shape) and then run a sharp knife around the edges and unmold.

Fruit puree

1/2 pint (6 oz) strawberries
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt

Combine everything in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Filling
1 batch of Pastry cream (about 2.5 cups)
1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatin
1 tbsp water
2 cups heavy cream

In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over water to soften. Heat about 1/2 of the pastry cream (in the microwave or in a double boiler) until hot and whisk in the gelatin until smooth. Whisk half of the remaining pastry cream into the hot mixture, then whisk in the rest. In a mixing bowl, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately and gently fold the pastry cream into the whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Because the filling will begin to set as soon as the gelatin is mixed into anything cold, it's best to use it immediately (see instructions above on assembly).

Topping
1 cup heavy cream, very cold
4 tsp sugar

Whip the cream on high speed until thickened. Add the sugar slowly and whip to soft peaks.


You can make a liqueur-flavored sugar syrup in place of the fruit puree for moistening the cake layers. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup minus 2 tbsp sugar (6 oz) and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and refrigerate until cold. Select the liqueur or other spirit that complements the fruit you are using and whisk 2-4 tablespoons into the sugar syrup.

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