Vanilla Preserved Strawberries

I hesitated to post this, given that I've done something similar in the past with strawberry jam. I won't lie and say that these preserved strawberries are leaps and bounds different, but they're different enough that I think they're worth a try. Plus, they're less labor-intensive than jam.

The canning bug bit me last summer and I was practically writhing in anticipation of summer's fresh produce so I could get a move on already. There's nothing prettier than a stack of homemade jams and pickles in crystal-clear jars, and the ability to give away to friends what was just ripening in your backyard the day before brings a feeling of community, of old-timey nurturing.

Or, some might say, perhaps I just glorify food too much.

Obviously these preserved strawberries can be used in many ways that strawberry preserves can; they just come out of the jar in whole, plump pieces that break and smoosh under the slightest pressure from a knife.
And, as I learned today, they add a little something to a ham and blue cheese wrap - something summery and just sweet enough that other condiments simply cannot achieve.

Note - I used powdered pectin on a whim, but looking back I would have left it out. If you want to use it for a jammier texture, add about a tablespoon.

You will need:

2 pounds strawberries, hulled but left intact

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbs lemon juice

2 vanilla beans, split and cut in half

If you are canning the strawberries, prepare your canning materials. This recipe yielded two pints.

Place the strawberries and sugar in a heavy, large pot and turn heat to medium. As the strawberries simmer they will release their own juices - once this happens, pour in the lemon juice and add the vanilla bean.

Allow the strawberries to come to a boil, and the second they do, remove them from the heat. If you're not preserving for later, let them cool slightly, then store in a glass container and refrigerate.

If you are preserving, ladle the strawberries and juice into canning jars, being sure to include one half of a vanilla bean in each jar. Leave 1 inch headspace and process for 15 minutes in a water bath canner.

Strawberry Crumble

March always does this to me. The first hint of a warm breeze and I'm overly excited for more permanent warmth. Eventually I will wake up on a pretty morning and dress for work in a sandals and a skirt without leggings underneath. I will then find myself walking through a windstorm in the parking lot knowing that all the other employees walking into work in jeans are laughing at me.

The same goes for produce. Strawberries start to grace the shelves in shades of crimson only slightly deeper than their pale December counterparts, and I giddily fill my cart, only to find later that they need significant help from a sprinkle of sugar before I can consider them palatable. I'm annually premature and I'm not sure I'll ever learn.

Enter this strawberry crumble. Grand Marnier, sugar and butter join forces with the otherwise subpar strawberries and create something not only palatable, but superb - early March or not.

You will need:

1 pound of strawberries, tops removed and cut in half

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or cognac

1 teaspoon lemon juice

For the crumble topping:

1/2 cup flour

Scant 1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold butter, diced

6 tablespoons rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

1/4 cup dry-roasted almonds, chopped, or 1 tablespoon almond meal

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Add the flour, sugar, salt, and butter to a medium bowl. Work the butter chunks into the flour mixture with your fingers, crumbling until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the oats and almonds/almond meal and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the strawberries.

Spray a pie plate or 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in halved strawberries, vanilla, lemon juice and Grand Marnier and toss gently to coat. Top strawberries with crumble mixture and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown. Allow the crumble to rest and cool before serving.

September Daring Cook's Challenge: Strawberry Preserves

"Snore," I thought when I read the September Daring Cooks challenge. Canning. Done it.

I don't mean to sound like a snob worldly home cook who deems herself above the rest of the Daring Cooks. I certainly didn’t have to dumb myself down to make strawberry preserves, and I understand that home canning and preserving is a science. I just can't imagine that many people who would consider themselves "daring" home cooks in the first place haven’t already attempted home canning, at least once.

I digress. I guess I was just hoping for something out of my comfort zone, like salmon en croute or crepes or something.

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

So I made strawberry preserves. For one, strawberry season is almost over. Secondly, I remember my mother canning jelly when I was very small, and I’d never attempted it myself. Equipped with the same materials from our bread and butter pickles, I followed a recipe for strawberry preserves from the Ball book of home canning.

I hulled and mashed some strawberries.

I juiced a lemon.

I measured out 7 cups (yikes!) of sugar, and added powdered pectin.

I boiled the heck out of the whole thing.

The whole process was simple, but I did learn some things.

• I learned that sticky, hot preserves splatter and adhere to skin.
• Perhaps most importantly, I learned that a classic PB&J is stratospherically improved when grape jelly is replaced by strawberry preserves. I had PB&SP sandwich twice for lunch this week, possibly against my better judgment.
• This stuff is nothing like what you find in the grocery store. It's purer and...strawberry-er.
• I will use less pectin next time as they turned out a little thicker and not quite a spreadable than I'd have liked.

The original challenge post
And the recipe I followed

Alyssa's 8th Birthday

I've been itching to entertain. Since Josh and I had yet to throw a party at our place, when conversations about Alyssa's birthday started coming up, my mind started racing. We quickly decided that we would go all-out, to simultaneously satisfy my entertaining itch, and to give her an 8th birthday to remember. Or hopefully remember. Try as I might, I can remember my 7th and 10th birthdays, but 8 and 9 are for some reason lost forever. Good thing we're in the age of the digital camera!

Alyssa made up her mind while I decorated Andrea's birthday cake back in April that she wanted a heart-shaped, pink strawberry cake for her birthday, much like the one we made for her last year...

...which was monstrous. Rich, crazy decadent, and tipping the scales at 10 pounds of sweet birthday evil. Or goodness, depending on the circumference of your waist.

So we designed the whole party around the cake. I did my best to channel my inner Amy Atlas, found leftover Valentine's decorations at various dollar stores (I was surprised but giddy to find them in June), created a dessert table, and did the place up in pink, red and white.

I'm pretty proud to say I did this all myself...cooking, baking, decorating. It's nice to remind myself from time to time that my degree in Event Management didn't go completely to waste. Josh told me "I don't want you to stress about this." So I started everything on Tuesday, and listed out what to do and when to do it throughout the rest of the week.

I'm a chronic list maker. They make me feel in-control.

The heart/pink/red theme was also carried over into some of the food:

 533 pink and white marshmallows, counted by hand...the winner took them all home (thank God)

Pink Party Punch (Simply Raspberry lemonade, Sprite and frozen raspberries)

                                                         Muddy Buddies with red M&Ms

Candied pecans

Strawberry Whoppers

Chocolate covered strawberries

 White sangria...for the grownups only, of course

 Cookies, dyed with red food coloring and decorated with royal icing

Maui onion dip

 And of course, the birthday cake!

The turnout was great. We came up with some great games, Josh surprised me with a hidden talent:

And everyone enjoyed themselves - especially the birthday girl!

Happy birthday, Alyssa! I hope it was everything you wanted and more than you expected.

Strawberry Vanilla Agua Fresca

The nearly two pounds of leftover strawberries from Andrea's cake were taunting me incessantly from the refrigerator; threatening to turn white and fuzzy at any moment if I didn't find a suitable application for them quickly. Thanks to Serious Eats, I found exactly what I was looking for.

Aguas Frescas are refreshing, light fruit drinks popular in Latin America, which basically consist of some sort of pureed fruit, sugar, and ice cold water. I would make no adjustments to this recipe unless you're making it for a picky 7-year-old, in which case you should add a glug or two of simple syrup to pump up the sweetness. Otherwise she may tell you "it tastes like nothing." Hmph.

While we didn't partake on Saturday afternoon for obvious reasons, a splash or two of Triple Sec or Limoncello might be nice also.

You will need:

1 pound strawberries, hulled
4 cups ice cold water, divided
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
Ice, for serving
Optional: simple syrup, recipe follows

In a blender, combine the strawberries with 2 cups of the water and the vanilla extract. Puree until completely liquid. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or through cheesecloth into a pitcher.

Stir in the remaining 2 cups water, lemon juice, sugar and/or simple syrup to taste, if using. Pour into ice-filled glasses and serve.

Simple Syrup:
1 cup water
2 cups sugar

Bring the water to a rolling boil and add sugar. Stir and heat through until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature and pour into a sterilized glass bottle (I just dunked it and rinsed it in some more boiling water). Keep in refrigerator for up to a month.

Andrea's Birthday Cake: Part Three

Not Andrea - this is Josh's daughter Alyssa.

There's nothing better than the stiff but creamy, grainy but smooth, tangy and sweet goodness like cream cheese icing.

I sat watching the blinking cursor for a moment, contemplating how to elaborate upon that sentence, but I'm not sure I need to. If you know the pleasure of red velvet cake, then you know the pleasure of cream cheese icing. And I can stop there.

To this particular cream cheese icing, I added fresh strawberry juice revved up with simple syrup. You could probably use frozen strawberries and do without the simple syrup - it just so happened this time around that strawberries came into season about the same time as Andrea's birthday.

Strawberry juice:

To start, you will need about a pound of fresh strawberries, hulled and halved. Puree the strawberries until completely pulverized, then add simple syrup (recipe follows) a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired sweetness. Don't make it too sweet - you're about to dump it in 6 cups' worth of powdered sugar. The goal is to even out the taste and sweetness of the strawberries, compensating for the inevitable few in every case that are underripe or too tart. Pour the mixture into a fine-mesh sieve or over cheesecloth into a small bowl. Set aside.

Simple Syrup:

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

Bring the water to a rolling boil and add sugar. Stir and heat through until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature and pour into a glass bottle. Keep in refrigerator for up to a month.

For the frosting:

2 8-ounce bricks cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups confectioners’ sugar

Once your frosting has come together, slowly start adding the strawberry juice. Mix well after each addition and taste - you will probably not be able to detect strawberry flavor right away, so keep going. Stop when you can taste strawberry (the flavor will develop as the cake sits).

To assemble the cake:

I cut each layer in half so I ended up with 4 thin cake layers. You don't have to do this, but like I said before: I had a lot of frosting. Place the first layer on your cake plate and drop a large blob of frosting on top. With a spatula, work from the inside out and cover the top of the layer. Place the next layer on top and repeat with as many layers as you have; just frosting the tops at this point.

Next, frost the sides of the cake. Don't worry about crumbs - this is your crumb coat. A thin layer of frosting seals in the crumbs, and when properly chilled, your second, thicker layer of frosting will glide over the crumb coat perfectly, flawlessly. Having said that, after you frost the sides, keep the cake in the refrigerator to chill - preferably overnight. Add your final layer of frosting and decorate.

Andrea's Birthday Cake: Part Two

I'm slacking on replacing my camera, but for the meantime I suppose at least I have my cell phone's camera. The lighting is horrible and the shutter is far too slow (resulting often in blurry, unappetizing food pictures), so please forgive the lack of cake-baking-in-process pictures. That's not just an alibi - I swear I didn't use a box mix!

I purchased cake flour for the first time in my life and, proceeding with hopeful caution, modified Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake recipe. Why cautiously? Honestly, I didn’t know that it would work. I ditched the lemon zest, substituted vanilla extract for lemon, and did away with the raspberry filling and coconut. There’s a distinct reason I feared baking for so many years: unlike cooking, there’s no way to taste-test before serving, lest you hack off a piece of somebody’s else’s birthday cake – but even then, if you screw up, you can’t add a little of this or that to doctor it up. Baking is a science of leaveners and acids; a science I’m learning but on which I'm certainly not an authority.

The original from Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Photo from a fellow food blogger.

Fortunately though, the baking gods smiled upon me and it was better than I could have hoped: moist but spongy, airy but firm, and it rose perfectly and evenly during baking, eliminating the need to even the tops out with a serrated knife. The two nine-inch layers (that I cut in half to make 4 layers – I had a ton of frosting) were a perfect, gorgeous canvas for my also-experimental strawberry cream cheese icing (see part 3).

Here’s my modified recipe, and a link to the original:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups half and half
1 tsp red wine vinegar (trust me)
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and place a large baking sheet on the top rack of your oven (I'm not sure how, but I believe this has something to do with the evenness of the cake tops). Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered wax paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the half and half and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and the butter in a mixing bowl, and beat with a hand or stand mixer at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the vanilla extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

I know it seems very specific, but even though I happen to hate sifiting, I followed the instructions to the letter and arrived at the best cake I’ve ever pulled out of my oven. It’s worth it to do as Dorie says.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a toothpick inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes. Cool to room temperature (or be impatient like me and stick them in the freezer), turn over on to a plate and remove wax paper. If you choose to cut the layers in half to double up, use a serrated knife and make a clean cut halfway through each layer.

Next up: frosting and assembly.

Andrea's Birthday Cake: Part One

My dear friend Andrea's birthday was fast approaching when she was still deciding how to celebrate. Once she'd settled on a low-key get together, I offered to make her cake. But what kind of cake? Andrea had a few specific parameters: no chocolate, no lemon anything, no mint, and most especially, no cooked fruit. Such specifications immediately knocked about every cake in my repertoire out the window.

But, after tossing around a few ideas from Dorie Greenspan's Baking book, we ultimately settled on a white cake with strawberry-cream cheese icing. Not a huge stretch, but different nonetheless. Since I made it a personal goal early this year to bake every cake I make completely from scratch, I'll be blogging the creation of this cake in parts. Today's topic: decorations.

I knew from the start that I wanted to make the cake's flavor obvious on sight. I hemmed and hawed for a while over how to decorate it so it was obviously strawberry, but cutting up fresh strawberries and arranging them on top seemed too easy and overdone. Did I want to pipe on buttercream strawberries? Did I want to shape the cake like a strawberry? Finally I settled on cutting out and decorating butter cookies as strawberries and strawberry blossoms and plopping them on the cake.

But I couldn't find a strawberry cookie cutter to save my life. Even after the clerks told me they carried no such cookie cutter, I wandered nevertheless around a new baking supply store for inspiration (not that I'd need a reason to wander around a baking supply store). I happened upon a row of silver heart-shaped cookie cutters on wall pegs, in varying sizes. As I removed the smallest cutter from the wall and held it upside-down, I felt a stroke of genius. Surely I could decorate the hearts as strawberries!

Upon finding some teeny white sugar flowers:

I nixed the cookie blossom idea, picked up some royal icing powder, and headed home.

I made about 50 tiny heart cookies using a very simple butter cookie recipe (it didn't need to be an earth-shattering, delicious cookie, as it's just being used for decorating).

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine flour and salt, set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add egg, corn syrup, and vanilla and beat until combined. Slowly add dry ingredients. A slightly crumbly dough will form, but should come together when pressed. If your dough is too dry, try adding half of another egg (beat it in a separate bowl and pour in half of the mixture) and beating together again.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters into desired shapes, then place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 12-14 minutes (with such tiny shapes, mine took no more than 10). Allow cookies to cool while you prepare your royal icing.

If you aren't lazy or in a hurry like I was, you can make your own royal icing, and here's a good recipe (see "runny icing" section). If you do opt to use a mix like I did, just add about 5 tablespoons of water to a one-pound bag and mix by hand with a wooden spoon. Make sure you follow the directions on the bag for "picture/flood" icing, otherwise you'll be creating a whipped icing for decorating cakes - not ideal for cookies. Basically, you want it to be thick enough not to run right through the tip of a piping bag, but thin enough that it will easily "flood" the inside of a cookie outlined in icing (for reference).

Divide into small bowls with lids (or use plastic wrap), to keep the icing from drying out - which it will do, more quickly than you may think. Color the icing in each bowl with food coloring, and mix well. You can use a spatula to spread the icing, but I prefer the piping bag/squeeze bottle method.

Tada! I successfully transformed the tiny hearts into tiny strawberries. I'm still not completely sure how I'll lay them out on the cake with the sugar blossoms, but I think I'm off to a good start.

Now I just need to find an application for the other 30 naked hearts...

Stay tuned! Next up: white cake from scratch.