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, seem 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!

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! 

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!

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