Joy the Baker » strawberries

Angel Food Cake with Vanilla Strawberries

joythebaker — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:38:30 +0000

Real talk:

I’ve never once made an Angel Food Cake.

Real talk:

It has scared the heck out of me.

Wait… I need how many eggs? Wait… I don’t grease the pan? Hold on just a second… I have to hang the cake upside down!?

What is this? Is this science? Is this some sort of trick?

Real talk:

I finally made my own Angel Food Cake.

Real talk:

There were only two moments during the making and cooling of this cake that I thought I had completely ruined the whole thing. I hadn’t. I was just kinda freaking out for no good reason.

Real talk:

You need a fancy pan (not that fancy, it’s just a tube pan), and enough faith to hang this cake upside down for a bit… but it’s totally worth it. These are true words.

Angel Food Cake, if you’re unfamiliar, is a super light cake made from eggs whites… lots of egg whites.

This particular recipe calls for a dozen large egg whites.

I’m totes making ice cream with the yolks… trust.

You’ll also need a bit of flour, sugar, and salt.

Without these things… you’d probably just have a frittata. That’s not cake.

Egg whites get beaten to medium peaks. Sugar is added, so they’re a bit glossy.

Dreamtown.

Once the eggs are beaten, you gently fold in the dry ingredients.

Folding is different from stirring. Folding flour into egg whites means swooping the spatula from the bottom of the bowl, over atop itself. Bring egg whites from the bottom up and over. We’re incorporating ingredients without deflating the eggs.

That’s a full, ungreased cake pan.

Ungreased!? Yea… don’t freak out. I kinda did. We use an ungreased pan so that the egg whites have something to hold on to (the pan) as they rises.

Oh man… that’s baked.

Make sure you give the cake the skewer test. A skewer is poked inside of the cake, and if it comes out dry… perfect!

A wet/underbaked cake will sink as it cools. Not cool.

Smash some sugar and vanilla bean into sliced strawberries. Let rest in the fridge while the cake cools (upside down) ((totally weird and awesome)).

As the cake cools, it will begin to separate itself from the sides of the pan. Phew. When the came comes out of the oven you’ll (if you’re anything like me) wonder how the dang cake is going to be removed from the pan.

After cooling… it totally wants to come out. It may need a little coaxing with a butter knife… but I promise… with a little tapping and fudging, youre golden!

This cake is light as air and sweet as sugar… because there’s totally sugar in here.

The strawberry topping is a simple mixture of sliced strawberries, sugar and vanilla bean. Add a touch of whipped cream.

Angel Food Cake with Vanilla Strawberries

makes one cake

recipe from Alton Brown

Print this Recipe!

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cake flour, sifted

12 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/3 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 pint fresh strawberries

2 to 4 teaspoons granulated sugar (depending on how sweet your berries are)

1/2 scraped vanilla bean

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the blade attachment, grind sugar for about 2 minutes. This will help create a super fine sugar that will be better absorbed into the egg whites.

Place half of the sugar in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, sift together the remaining sugar, salt, and cake flour. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the egg whites, water, extract, and cream of tartar medium speed. If you’re worried that the cream of tartar is too chunky… don’t worry, it’ll smooth itself out. Beat on medium high, gradually adding the sugar from the small bowl, until medium (not stiff) peaks form. The meringue will hold a trail of the beaters through it, be glossy, and won’t be overly foamy.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift in one quarter of the flour and sugar mixture. Fold with a spatula. Try to avoid stirring the mixture too much. Instead, sweep the egg whites from the bottom of the bowl to the top, incorporating the flour. Add flour mixture in three more batches. Fold until thoroughly combine, but don’t overmix or deflate the egg whites.

Spoon battering into an ungreased tube pan. Ungreased in is important, as it will help the cake rise. The tube pan will be full.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and carefully invert upside down, propped up on a bottle. This cake cools upside down. Let rest for at least an hour before trying to remove from the pan.

Slice strawberries and mix with sugar and vanilla bean. Let rest in the fridge to create juices while the cake cools.

As the cake cools, it will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. To remove from the pan, tap the pan with a butter knife, or carefully run a butter knife around the edges between the cake and the pan.

Serve with berries and cream.

Cake will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

Strawberry Balsamic Flatbread

joythebaker — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:15:39 +0000

Am I the only jerk that still orders a medium coffee at Starbucks?

What am I supposed to say?… grande. When it comes down to order time, I always choke. I feel like I’ll sound like a complete tool ordering a grande… but now I realize that I sound more like a tool ordering a medium. I dunno…. it’s just coffee! Can you just give me coffee?

I was at a Starbucks this weekend, saying grande over and over in my head… I was focused. I was on my A-game. Then… I overheard the lady in front of me order some sort of half caf/nonfat/extra foam/iced/capp…. with less than half a pump of chocolate.

I was totally thrown off my game. Why would anyone order an iced cappuccino? With extra foam? What does that even look like? And I don’t think the chocolate croissant you just ordered is doing any favors to your nonfat iced creation. I’m so confused. What are you doing? And Lord! How much did that handbag cost you!? And does anyone really say handbag anymore… or is that like saying pocketbook!? I am old.

…. and then, when my turn came, I ordered a medium…. when all I was trying to do was be a normal person and order a grande.

… and then I went home and made strawberry bread… and that felt right. Then people came over and Whitney brought wine… and it felt even righter (more right, duh).

This bread is like a fluffy flatbread. Is that a thing? It’s like focaccia. That’s definitely a thing.

Let me walk you through this bread…. because I made it and I want you to make it too!

This bread has three rises. Don’t let that deter you. Three rises, but no mixer… does that make things better?

The first rise is yeast, warm water, and a cup of flour. It’s left for an hour to get foamy, frothy, and alive with yeast.

After the first rise, more flour is added… that’s what’s pictured above.

After the first rise, more flour, oil, salt, and sugar are added to the dough. It’s almost ready for the second rise!

But first we add orange zest… because it’s fragrant and delicious.

A little kneading, and the dough is ready for the second rise!

After the second rise, the dough is stretched and rolled out, and placed in a sheet pan.

Let is rise for a short time more and top with olive oil, sliced strawberries, and coarse sea salt.

Oh man. So pretty, right!?

After the bread is baked, it’s topped with goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and fresh mint. Look how fancypants this is! And it’s really not that hard!

The best part is serving it to friends. They’ll freak. I promise.

This bread is somewhere in between sweet and savory. It’s neither and both. It’s an enigma. The dough itself is only slightly sweet, but the added orange zest makes it seem just a touch sweeter. The goat cheese, mint, and strawberries also push this bread to the sweet end of the spectrum… but it’s certainly not very desserty.

I served this bread for brunch with quiche and salad. Win.

Strawberry Balsamic Flatbread with goat cheese and fresh mint

makes 12 squares

recipe adapted from LA Times

Print this Recipe!

2 packages (about 5 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (between 110 and 115 degrees F)

3 cups of flour, divided into 1 cup increments

3 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 cup thinly sliced strawberries

coarse sea salt for topping

1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles

good quality balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

1 tablespoon fresh mint, coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. I use a fork so I can mash and stir any yeast clumps. Add the flour and blend together until smooth. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

After the mixture has risen, remove the covering and stir in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, sugar, and orange zest. Add one cup of flour and stir to blend. Add the remaining cup of flour and salt and work together into a dough.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add up to 1/3 cup more flour and knead. Dough will be slightly sticky, and that’s alright.

Clean out the large bowl and coat with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Place dough in the bowl, and flip it over so that it’s entirely coated in oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and knead for just a minute, before pulling and stretching the dough into a 16×9-inch rectangle. I used a rolling pin to help me to this. Place on a greased baking sheet and let rise for 30 minutes.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

When dough has risen, use your fingers to make random indentations in the puffed dough. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with sliced strawberries, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden, crisp and baked through. I rotated the pan once, halfway through baking.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the baking pan, slice into squares with a pizza cutter and drizzle with balsamic vinegar, goat cheese, and fresh mint.

Serve.

This bread is best served within 2 days of baking.

On the Lamb at Surfas, Culver City

joythebaker — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:10:17 +0000

Listen up friendly friends! I’ve got fun news!

The ladies of On the Lamb are having a strawberry themed cooking demonstration at Surfas in Culver City on April 10th!

We’re making strawberry drinks, strawberry sweets and strawberry savories in Surfas’ gorgeous test kitchen. If you’ve never been to Surfas, the amazing kitchen supply, marketplace and cafe… um… seriously? Get on it.

April 10th. noon to two in the afternoon.

Come watch Whitney, Rachel and me throw down in strawberry town.

It’s free. There will be free laughs and free samples. No lie.

Take a peek at the invite, then email us at onthelambfb (at) gmail dot com. Let us know you’re coming.

The only hitch? There is no guest list for this cooking demonstration. It’s a first come, first serve situation. Get there early. Shop around. This little gem is sure to fill up fast.

Southern Style Strawberry Cake

joythebaker — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:46:36 +0000

Praise the heavens! I got a new cookbook! I think I was in a cookbook rut. I found myself relying on the same two cookbooks day after day for my baking indulgence. Granted, they’re great cookbooks- charming, attractive and funny- but I had heard all their stories, seen all of their dress shirts, and laughed at all their jokes. I needed something new.

Just when I was about to accept my circumstance, a charming new love came into my life. Sweets by Patty Pinner is my new darling. This book is more than just a collection of recipes. Sweets is a gathering of family memories. In my life food is all about family and memories, so this book has quickly become so so dear to my heart.

Sweets is a southern style cookbook. The recipes are extremely approachable. Some of the cakes are made with (gasp!) cake mix, and then fancied up with additional ingredients. The family pictures are utterly charming and the stories that go along with each recipe are really touching. I read this book, cover to cover on an airplane, like a novel. I just love it!

Let me tell you about this strawberry cake. First things first- it’s sweet and moist and covered in cream cheese frosting and pink tinted coconut. The best part? It’s pink on the inside. Pink! Come on! Who doesn’t like pink cake? This is the kind of dessert that needs to be presented on your prettiest cake platter, under the spot light in your china cabinet. It’s a show cake. But it’s also really delicious. And… with the fabulous presentation of the cake, and the inevitable oooohs and aaaaahs you’ll get from guests, you’ll NEVER have to tell anyone just how easy it was to make. It’ll be our little secret.

Southern Style Strawberry Cake

from: Sweets

Print this Recipe!

1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix (without pudding)

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry jello

1 Tablespoon self rising flour

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the cake, combine to cake mix, Jello, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition Add the water and strawberries and mix well. Divide the batter evenly into three 8-inch round baking pans that have been oiled and floured. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the layers pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer the layers from the oven to wire racks. Let them cool, still in their pans, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the inside edge of each pan, then unmold each layer onto the racks to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

2 (1 pound) boxes powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

pink food coloring

4 sliced strawberries

To make the frosting, in a bowl combine the cream cheese and butter. Beat until soft and pliable and no lumps remain. Add one box of the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Beat until incorporated. Add the second box of sugar and mix until incorporated. If you would like a smoother consistency, and a slash of milk. If you would like a thicker consistency, and a bit more powdered sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.

Put the coconut in a small bowl and sprinkle with two or three drops of pink die. Mix with hands to distribute the color and wash hands immediately. Once the cake is frosted, decorate the top of the cake with the shredded coconut and sliced strawberries. Enjoy! Happy Strawberry Summer!

The Sweetest Week- Ever. Strawberries

joythebaker — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:31:01 +0000

I’m so thrilled about strawberries season, I can barely contain myself! It’s still early in the season and I’ve already had my way with many berries. Oh the possibilities are limitless! Summer produce offers so many possibilities, it’s my favorite food season. And peaches! Don’t even get me started on peach season. That’s when I’ll get into some real trouble!

It seems that strawberry fever is spreading across blog land. Here are a few of my favorite strawberry entries this week.

Miri of Room4Dessert made a Strawberry and Cheese Mousse Tart. With the bright red beauty of the strawberries, the tart looks absolutely irresistible. So much yum! And beautiful photos too!

Pastry Studio experimented with Strawberry Balsamic Sherbet. It seems to have to simplicity of strawberry sorbet with a touch of good balsamic and cream to accentuate the beauty of the fruit. Brilliant!

And lastly, Helene of Tartelette always brings the goods. She’s incredible. This week she delighted with Ice Cold Lemon Strawberry Fraisiers. The dessert has three parts: Meyer lemon pound cake, Grand Marnier mousseline, and sliced strawberries. Yea… it’s a serious time commitment, but just beautiful!

Brown Butter and Cardamom Spiced Sugar Paper with Cream and Strawberries

joythebaker — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:31:14 +0000

This dessert was born out of the current circumstance of my life. Big things are changing for me in the next few months. While it all feels good and exciting, I have to admit that big change makes me anxious. You might think that when I get anxious, I bake. That makes sense, right? Well I actually clean (a lot!) when I get nervous. I called this afternoon’s kitchen scrubbing extravaganza “spring cleaning”. That’s how I justified my nerves. It is almost spring, after all.

My spring cleaning, in turn, reminded me of strawberries. I love strawberries, and impatiently await their arrival in April. Clearly, I couldn’t wait until April. Once my kitchen sparkled, I went out in search of strawberries, to make my spring themed day more complete.

With the strawberries I created Browned Butter Cardamom Spiced Sugar Paper. Sugar Paper is just a fancy name for Fillo dough layered with butter and sugar and spice. This dessert was a wonderful respite to my cleaning frenzy. With spring comes change. Somewhere in the cleaning and baking, I began to feel more comfortable with that.

The recipe for the Sugar Paper is super easy and open to chef interpretation. Here’s what I did.

Brown Butter Cardamom Spiced Sugar Paper

makes 4 sugar papers

Print this Recipe!

10-12 fillo dough sheets, cut in half so they measure approximately 6inches x 9 inches

1/2 stick melted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

scant 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Place oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, keep an eye one it, swirling in the pan occasionally. The butter will begin to brown and little brown bits will form. When butter colors slightly and you see the brown bits, turn of flame and remove from heat. Place in a small dish and have a pastry brush on hand.

In another small dish, combine sugar and cardamom and mix until evenly incorporated.

Remove 10-12 fillo dough sheets, cut them in half, and cover them with a moist towel immediately. They dry out very quickly if left out in the air. You should have 20-24 sheets. Wrap up the remaining fillo dough with plastic wrap and place back in the fridge or freezer.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place first one or two sheets of fillo dough on the sprayed baking pan and brush with browned butter, from edge to edge. Sprinkle with sugar mixture from edge to edge. Place the next 2 sheets of fillo dough on top of the first layer and brush with butter, then sprinkle with sugar. Continue stacking, buttering and sugaring all of the fillo pieces, two at a time, creating a stack of layered fillo dough.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cook completely on the baking sheet. When cook, remove from baking sheet and cut into four even pieces.

Assemble fillo pieces as desired- I chose lightly sweetened whipped cream with sliced strawberries. Don’t be afraid to play around!