Now That's More Like It

Enough of this healthy stuff.  Time to get back to the baked goods.

Ok, so this isn’t exactly terrible in the Things that Are/Aren’t Good For You department.  Full of good summer berries, and there’s not a ton of sugar.  But there is a stick of butter in there, so it won’t win any low-fat awards.  I made this for breakfast, by the way.

This was partly an experiment to see how well it would hold up over 24 hours, since I was looking for something to add to my catering repertoire.  I decided to sprinkle the crust with a bit of vanilla sugar before topping it with berries, and this seemed to do a great job as a barrier between the juiciness of the berries and the crust.  And of course you can go crazy with your fillings here.  I opted for blackberries and strawberries because I have a sea of blackberry brambles pushing on my back fence, and it’s a constant battle to keep them from overtaking the yard.  So this was my reward for having to wade through thorns and hack down runners on a too-warm day.  If I had been more ambitious, I would have topped it with some lemon curd, but instead I finished up a container of vanilla bean ice cream.

Ok, so you need to forget the ice cream if you’re going for a more healthy alternative.

And maybe dispense with the additional sprinkling of sugar.

And then there’s that stick of butter…

Mixed Berry Crostata

For the crust:

1 ¼ cups flour

½ tsp salt
2 Tbs + 1 tsp sugar (I used vanilla sugar, but plain will do)
1 stick butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
¼ cup ice water

Berry mixture:

3 cups of mixed berries, rinsed, dried and cut into smaller pieces, if necessary

1 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbs vanilla sugar (again, regular sugar is just fine)
1 Tbs flour

Preheat oven to 425°.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and 1 tsp sugar.  Add the butter cubes and cut in with a pastry blender until the largest butter pieces are about pea sized.  Stir in ice water just until dough begins to come together.  Dump mixture onto floured surface (will still be crumbly) and knead lightly just until it comes together.  Roll into a circle about a foot in diameter.  Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with the 2 Tbs of sugar.

In same mixing bowl, combine the berries, zest, sugar and 1 Tbs flour.  Mound this mixture in the center of the dough, leaving 3 – 4” all around.  Brush the exposed edges of the pie dough with a little water.  Bring the dough up, partially covering the berry mixture and ‘pleating’ it where it comes together.  Press slightly to get a good seal.

Place in oven and bake 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden, and the berry mixture is bubbly.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

No Moaning Allowed

I just have to say from experience that hearing guttural moaning while at work is just… disturbing.  Even if you are well aware of where the sound is emanating from and the reason for it, it is just not something that is ok.

One of our VPs is retiring, and although I wasn’t able to take on the task of providing lunch for the group attending, I did volunteer to do some cupcakes.  I wanted to come up with something special but not terribly labor intensive.  I came up with two options:  Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes and Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Amaretto Buttercream.

The chocolate cupcakes featured a fresh strawberry gelée inside the cupcake, and a strawberry cream cheese frosting.  And these are what caused the majority of the commotion.  They were made using my go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes, which are unbelievably moist and delicate.  Once baked, I carved a cone shape out of the center, cut off the bottom portion of the ‘cone’ and then replaced the cap back on the cupcake once I had filled the void with the gelée.  Don’t worry if they turn out a little ugly.  That’s what the frosting is for.  J  You will definitely need to pipe frosting onto these, though, rather than trying to frost them with a knife.  They’re just too delicate and would fall apart.

For the amaretto cupcakes, I used a vanilla bean cupcake recipe, topped them with a buttercream spiked with a little amaretto, and studded the tops with an almond brittle.

Ok, now you know all of my secrets.  Go forth and elicit your own moaning.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

 2 sticks of butter (room temp)

2 1/2 c sugar
4 large eggs
1 3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c cocoa powder
1 c milk
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line cupcake tin with liners (this will make about 24 regular sized cupcakes).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter for several minutes light and whipped.  Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 or 3 minutes until sugar is fully incorporated into the butter and the mixture is fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.  Add the dry ingredients a third at a time to the butter mixture, alternating with a third of the milk.

Scoop batter into lined cupcake tins about halfway.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely.

* * *

Strawberry Gelée

1 cup strawberry purée

1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs cold water
1/2 envelope unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup diced, fresh strawberries

Heat purée and sugar in a small saucepan just until it begins to bubble, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat.

Put water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add fruit purée mixture to the bowl and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.

Stir in diced strawberries and chill until set.

* * *

Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup strawberry jelly (I used freezer jam I had on hand)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well combined.  Add the jelly and beat until incorporated.  Slowly add the sugar, about ¼ a cup at a time, and mix until frosting is creamy.  Frosting can be made ahead of time and chilled.  Bring to room temp if piping.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 c sugar
3/4 c milk
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise.  In a small saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean together until the milk begins to steam. Remove from heat and let cool for about 1 hour, then remove the vanilla bean. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them back to the milk. Discard the remaining bean pod. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°.

In a medium bowl, sift together the salt, flour and baking powder.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Alternately add the flour and milk mixture until well combined. Divide batter into about 18 lined or greased cupcake tins. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

* * * 

Amaretto Buttercream

2 sticks butter, room temperature

½ tsp salt
½ cup cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 – 3 Tbs milk
2 tsp Amaretto liqueur

Beat the butter with a mixer until light and fluffy.  Add salt and cocoa powder, and slowly stir to combine.  Add the confectioners’ sugar a small amount at a time, mixing in between additions and adding the milk, about a Tablespoon at a time once the mixture starts to stiffen.  Stir in the Amaretto.

* * *

Almond Brickle

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ cup water

In a skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds just until they begin to turn golden.  Remove to a bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients to the pan, turn the heat up to medium high, and allow the mixture to come to a boil.  Allow the sugar to cook, only swirling the pan on occasion, until it turns an amber color.  Add the almonds.  Pour hot mixture onto a greased cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.  When it is completely cooled, break into small pieces.