Strawberry Field of Dreams with Sabayon

Strawberry season is in flux and as I trial variations of strawberry hand pies with pre-made puff pastry to attempting pastry dough from scratch, here's a simple strawberry recipe to satisfy a late night dessert craving until I find a presentable hand pie recipe to share. 

I've tried a few version of sabayon and of course, the version with a dash of champagne/moscato or sweet marsala is best, but those are ingredients I don't normally have in my pantry or don't want to open a new bottle of wine just to use a few dashes. For those nights where you simply crave a good, refreshing dessert on a whim, this is it. Takes about 10 minutes to prepare. 

Ingredients

Strawberries (as much as you want/don't want)

2 egg yolks

1/8 cup of sugar

Juice from 1/2 of lemon

1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Wash and slice the strawberries to the size of your liking. Place in individual serving bowls. Seriously, any bowl will work but I like to put these in clear glass so I can watch the sabayon slowly seep down the sides to cover each of the strawberries before I happily consume the entire contents. It's the little things that make you smile each day, right?

2. Simmer about a cup of water in a pot and with a bowl large enough to put on top without touching the water, put the egg yolks and sugar. You can whisk by hand but I brought out my hand mixer and beat the egg/sugar mixture until creamy/silky and is a pale yellow color. Take off heat. With the same hand mixer and in another bowl, beat the heavy cream until it turns into whipped cream.

*Variation. If you do happen to have moscato or champagne around, mix the sugar with the wine first and then add the egg yolk before putting over the double boiler.

3. Gently fold the two together. Add in the squeeze of lemon juice. Dollop a few spoonfuls over the strawberries. Eat it right away!

*Variation. You can also add in a dash of vanilla extract but I think it's too overpowering, if you can believe it. I would, though, recommend adding a bit of lemon zest to up that flavor a bit.

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

No long post to start. Just the recipe and my thoughts. I felt the cupcakes were a little too dense and a tad dry. I would consider adding in 1/2 cup buttermilk and/or sourcream to lighten this recipe up. Also, this was incredibly easy to make. Making the actual batter took about 15 minutes and the ganache about 10 minutes. The ganache is fantastic but makes way too much for the dozen or so cupcakes. I ended up using it as a fruit dip for snacks!

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes and 6 mini-cupcakes
Adapted from Ina

1 stick butter (room temperature)

1 cup flour

4 eggs (room temperature)

16 oz  Hershey's chocolate syrup (note, I couldn't find this and used hershey's chocolate syrup typically used for ice cream)

1 tbspn vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

2 tbspn of espresso or very strong coffee

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Make sure the butter is room temperature. I actually leave my butter out the night before if I know that I'll be baking with it the next day. You may be tempted to go ahead and bake with fresh out of the fridge butter, but highly recommend you wait just two hours. Trust me, I was that person and after making a dessert the room temperature butter, I saw a difference. Your dessert is more moist and creams significantly better. 

3. Next, crack the eggs in a measure cup. Then add them one by one to the mixer. Add in the vanilla. 

4. Add in the chocolate syrup, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixer periodically to ensure the batter is well mixed. I couldn't find the Hershey's syrup at my grocery store, so I substituted with Hershey's hot fudge syrup. The same? Probably not but I think it worked to provide that intense chocolate flavor. Next, slowly add in the flour in three batches.

5. Spray your cupcake pan and fill each to about 3/4 of the cup. These cupcakes don't rise too much. I also baked some mini-cupcakes as well!

6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. For the mini-cupcakes, they only took about 12-15 minutes.

7. For the cupcake ganache frosting, heat the heavy cream in a double boiler. Once simmering, add in the chocolate chips and mix until all the chips are melted. Add in two tbspn of espresso or very strong coffee. It should be shiny and silky.

8. Once the cupcakes are done and cooled, dip the top of the cupcake into the chocolate ganache. Set on platter to set.

Summer Picking: Peach Cobbler Pie

With peach season in full swing, it's hard to pass up the large, fresh peaches at the grocery store. And at $.99 per lb, it's even harder to not buy several.  While absolutely delicious on its own, my food blogs had an influx of peach desserts - from cooked peaches, peaches in cream to peach cobbler - and it was hard to resist making a sweet variation. Also, my folks were stopping by and I had an upcoming visit to my sister's so it was perfect timing to try a new recipe.

This recipe was a combination of a slew of cobbler recipes.  I made the filling based on what I thought would go well together.  Most variations I saw do not require you to cook the peaches on the stove - just toss together with the ingredients (juice, sugar, flour, etc.) - but since my peaches were incredibly firm, I needed to soften up the peaches before letting them bake in the oven.  If I had an orange, I would have added the juice and zest to the filling. 

The pie topping was courtesy of Liz, who providing her chuk apple crisp recipe. As for the melted butter on top of the butter, I omitted this and just sliced two slivers of butter and crumbled on top. My attempt to cut down on the butter...but really, what's another few slivers?

Peach Cobbler Pie

Makes 2 pies

Filling:

2 pie crusts (I get from frozen section)

12-15 large peaches (firmer peaches are better)

1 tbsp flour

Juice from 2 lemons

Zest from 2 lemon

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg (fresh if possible)

1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

Pie topping:

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big dash of salt. Thoroughly wash the peaches. Add the peaches to the boiling water for approximately 1 minute. This will help you peel the skin off the peaches.

 

2. Drain the peaches immediately and put under the sink with cold water.  I briefly cover the peaches for a minute to help separate the skin. Then take off and let them cool enough to handle.  

 

3. Take a paring knife and start peeling the skin off the peaches. Cut the peaches into slices.

 

4. Zest and juice one lemon.  

5. In a pan large enough to hold the sliced peaches, melt the butter.  Once melted, add the flour. Mix well and then add in the sugar and brown sugar.  Don't worry, it will look dry and lumpy.

 

6. Add in the lemon juice, zest, salt and cream. 

7. Next, add in the peaches. Turn the heat to medium and mix well - making sure the peaches are covered in the sugar sauce. Let this cook down for a good 10 minutes on medium-medium low heat.

8. Add the cinnamon and the freshly grated nutmeg.  Take a quick taste and balance out the peaches if you need. More cinnamon, sugar, etc.  Turn off the heat and let it sit to cool just a bit.

9. While the peaches are simmering, make the pie topping. Combine the dry ingredients together.  Then crack an egg into the dry mixture and mix (chopsticks work well here) until crumbly.

10. Put the two pie crust onto a large baking sheet or on one each.  This will help ensure that no peach goodness seeps out of the pie and into the oven. Evenly distribute the peaches into two pie crusts. Top each of the pies with the dry mixture.  Take the melted butter and pour over the top.

 

11. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Check periodically to make sure the tops do not burn. You'll see that I made a mini cobbler in a ramekin as well - so that I could enjoy one immediately without having to destroy the entire pie for a taste. :)

12. Take out and let it cool.  If you are transferring and don't have a pie/cake container, a cardboard box does just fine. 

Summer Delight: Silky Lemon Semifreddo

 

Have I mentioned how HOT it is in Texas?  So hot that I've been having an ice cream sandwich or popsicle every day. Probably not the best diet to have.

My daily conversations with Liz always revolve around food - what we are currently eating, plan to cook or would love to be eating. She is a master hostess and made an amazing ice cream dessert for one of her dinner parties, which inspired me to make a semifreddo.  

In my research for the best recipe, I found that there are several many ways to make this dessert.  It doesn't have to be citrus based - some are based on berries, bananas or mangoes. Insight from Liz is that the flavor sometimes isn't as strong so in order to get that intense lemon flavor, I added more lemon and lime juice than the original recipe and also cut back on the sugar and buttered crust. You can also add in some lemon flavored liquor to give it a little more punch, but I can't justify buying a bottle of limoncello, for instance, just for one dessert. 

Just be prepared, you'll go through several bowls and mixers. Another downside? You have to wait eight hours until you can enjoy it, but that gives you plenty of time to do the dishes...

Lemon Semifreddo

(adapted from Giada)

20 amaretto cookies (can be found at Central Market)

1 cup heavy cream

Zest from 2 lemons

Zest from 1 lime

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 4-5 large lemons for me)

1/4 cup lime juice (approximately 4 limes) 

8 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup sugar 

Pinch of salt

1. Prepare everything first. Zest the lemons and lime first before squeeze the juice from them. Squeeze the rest of the lemons and limes, which I do directly into the measuring cup so I know exactly how many more lemons/limes I need. Get a large bowl, fill with water and ice and set aside.

 

2. Get a small saucepan with water, put on stove until it starts simmering. While that is happening, separate the egg yolks and whites. Save the whites for another meal/dish. Put the egg yolks directly into a large bowl that will fit on top of the pot of simmering water.  Add 1/3 cup sugar, lemon and lime juice, and the salt. 

3. Put it on top of the simmering water on the stove and using an electric mixer, mix until it almost triples in size and is fluffy, creamy/frothing and turns a pale yellow. This took about 7 minutes.

 

4. Once done, take the bowl and put into the ice bath so it completely cools down. Fold in the zest.

 

5. Next, whip the heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar until it also triples in size and holds firm peaks when you stop.

6. Fold the heavy whipping cream into the lemon mixture.

7. Take a loaf pan and spray with cooking oil.  Take a plastic wrap that is enough to wrap around the pan and stick it to the bottom and sides of the pan.  Make sure you have enough plastic wrap hanging over both sides of the pan so that you can fold this over later. Take a few handfuls of the amaretto cookies and crumble them into the bottom of the loaf pan until you have a very very very thin layer of crumbles.  This was approximately 10-12 cookies.  If you wanted a firmer, richer crust, you can mix the crumbled cookies with melted butter before putting in the pan, but I think this is just fine without those few extra calories...

8. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.  Fold over the plastic wrap so it covers the top and put this in the freezer for a least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

9. To serve, unfold the top two layers of plastic wrap and pull out. If you can't, put the sides of the loaf pan under hot water - careful not to get the semifreddo wet.  You should be able to easily take out.  Slice about 1 inch pieces for a serving and crumble two amaretto cookies on top for additional extra crunch.  

I dare you to have only one slice.

Party In Your Mouth: Strawberry Cupcakes

I can't resist the overwhelmingly large containers of fresh fruit at Costco. With strawberry season in full force, how can you resist the 8lb container? Not me! However, I can only snack on so many strawberries - plain, with a little sugar sprinkled on top or dipped in nutella - before the freshness starts to decline. 

I found some very odd, unique takes to dishes using strawberries, such as this strawberry risotto. Not tempting enough to make but still very interesting indeed.  Maybe one day I will venture out and try this....maybe. 

I had a cupcake craving several weeks ago and ended up going to the grocery store to buy some.  They weren't great and didn't satisfy my craving one bit.  This was my opportunity and hooray, it was great!  Using fresh strawberries definitely added an additional level of flavor - the bites of baked strawberries in the cupcakes with the combination of the fresh strawberries in the frosting worked well together.  I don't like overly sweet cupcakes so these cupcakes were perfect. If you like sweeter cupcakes, you can add more sugar - maybe 1/2 cup more or added more sugar to the frosting.  I also made a small batch of mango cupcakes and they were just as good. They made the batter a little more moist and you can probably cut down on the sugar as the mangos I had were incredibly sweet.  Sorry, no pictures of the mango cupcakes.

Strawberry Cupcakes

Makes approximately 36 cupcakes

1 3/4 sticks of unsalted butter

1.5 cups sugar
5 eggs
Zest from two lemons
1 cup sour cream
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2.5 cups diced strawberries

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make sure your butter is room temperature. I like to take mine out at least a half day in advance so it is perfectly creamy when you mix. In your mixer, cream butter and sugar on high for about 2 minute.  

3. For the eggs, I like to bring them out about an hour prior to baking.  Crack into a bowl to make sure you don’t get a bad egg in your batter or any shells.  Add one egg at a time to the sugar butter mixture while it is on medium high. Make sure to stop and scrape down the sides to make sure it is evenly mixed.  

Don't worry if it looks a little curdled. Keep mixing and it will smooth out.  

4. Add the sour cream and vanilla.  You can cut down on the vanilla but I have a tendency to almost always double the amount because I love the hint of flavor it provides. Let this mix on medium slow.  

5. Next, add the lemon zest.  

6. In another bowl, mix together the cake flour, salt and baking soda. You can use unbleached flour if you do not have cake flour. With cake flour, I find that it is just a little lighter and you end up coming out with less dense cupcakes. Add the flour to the mixer in three portions – making sure to turn off the mixture when you add or you’ll have a nice sprinkle of flour on your face and clothes.  

7. Add in the diced strawberries with a spatula and/or fork.

8. With your cupcake pan all nice and lined, use an ice cream scoop and fill each cupcake liner about 3/4th of the way.  

 (I made mini cupcakes too.)

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes. I put my timer at 18 minutes just in case your oven cooks a little faster. My total time in the oven was 22 minutes.

Meringue cupcake frosting

2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup diced strawberries

1. With a small bowl set over a pot of simmering water on the stove, beat the egg whites and sugar with a hand mixer until it doubles in size and becomes a little frothy.  You want to make sure the sugar is dissolved.  

2. Pour the mixture into your electric mixer with a whisk attachment (you can probably still use the hand mixer if you’d like) and set it on medium high. Start adding the butter 1 tbsp at a time until it becomes light and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract. 

3. With a spatula, fold in the strawberries into the frosting mixture.  Spread a little bit onto each cupcake and enjoy!