Joy the Baker » strawberry

Strawberry Coffee Cake

joythebaker — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:49:06 +0000

Strawberries make me restless.

It’s a fact. Yes, a strange fact, but no less true.

See, in my part of the world, strawberries come along every year right around May. This is around the time when I’ve loooooong ago let slide any New Year’s resolutions I might have made for myself, when it’s possible that I’ve slacked a bit on my workout routine, and the goal of reading a chapter of a book a night before I fall asleep has somehow transferred into watching an old episode of House every night before I pass out.

Don’t even get me started on the mania that I try to pass off as my closet. It’s not pretty.

So…. strawberries come along at a time of year when I’ve cemented in some slightly lazy and ooooooh so comfortable habits for myself.

I don’t know how or why this works, but strawberries inspire me to shake my world up a bit, maybe introduce something new, maybe hop on one leg every morning just for the hell of it…. whatever. This is the time of year when I change things up a bit.

This year, strawberries have inspired me to do two things: learn Italian and combine fresh strawberries with one of my favorite cakes of all time…. streusel topped coffee cake.

Let’s do this.

Now seems like a good time to admit that you could put streusel topping on just about anything and I’d devour it with few regrets. Please don’t let that take away from how crazy awesome this strawberry coffee cake is. Moist sour cream coffee cake is mixed with cooked down fresh strawberries and topped with streusel topping. It’s both lovely ad humble, and just the perfect little cake to sit with in front of my computer as I work my way through Italian flash cards.

Strawberry Coffee Cake

inspired by Panache at Rose Hill

Print this recipe!

1 heaping cup sliced strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons water

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a few drops of almond extract (optional)

Topping:

3 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the topping:

Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly. Set aside.

To make the strawberry mixture:

Combine strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar, water and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened and strawberries are soft and somewhat broken down. Set aside to cool.

Grease and flour a 10×10-inch baking dish, knocking out excess flour, and set aside.

To make the coffee cake:

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, and almond extract if you’re using it.

Sift dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter in 3 parts alternating with the sour cream in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until combined.

Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the cooled strawberry mixture over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter onto the strawberries and spread evenly. Top with streusel topping and bake in the upper third of the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Easy Meringues with Fresh Strawberry and Kiwi

joythebaker — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:54:14 +0000

I’ve decided to have a very quiet and still weekend.

Today- more pictures than words.

I hope you all find a piece of peace this weekend.

These unassuming, simple and delicious meringues might be just your ticket to bliss.

Memaw’s Meringue Shells

Panache at Rose Hill

Print this recipe!

4 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon vinegar

Beat whites until stiff; add other ingredients and beat until shiny and very stiff. Draw circles on paper sacks and spread with a spoon or pipe with pastry tube within the confines of circles (I did my meringues free hand). Bake in 225 degree oven until lightly browned, about 45 minutes. Turn oven off, leaving the shells in the oven to completely cool. May be cooked before hand and stored in an airtight container until ready to use. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries and kiwis, or any fruit or berries you see fit.

Vanilla Strawberry Ice Cream Treat and Cookie Giveaway Winners

joythebaker — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:14:09 +0000

Thanks to all of you for the kind words in my cookie giveaway. I’m so glad I could lure some of you silent readers out into the commenting world with the chance at free cookies!

And the winners of fresh baked, express mail, Red Velvet Black and White Cookies are:

Megan of Meganscooking

Jennifer who is pregnant and probably really needs some black and whites

Tara who’s sister is a wiz at apron making

and Whitney in Chicago. Good luck on your big test!!

I’ll be baking this week and ship those cookies off to you all soon. And don’t fret, there are more yummy giveaways coming soon. I just can’t help myself!

What’s the strawberry treat above? It’s a simple and surprisingly delicious dessert. A bowl of quality vanilla ice cream, topped with sliced strawberries and drizzled with good aged balsamic vinegar. I know it sounds a little crazy, but it’s a pretty incredible, fresh, perfect for summer dessert. Go out on a limb and try this one. Do it for me.

Strawberry Ricotta Cupcakes

joythebaker — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:46:28 +0000

This morning I started the day thinking about Easter as a child. It was the holiday as exciting as Christmas. There were personalized Easter baskets filled with candies and chocolates on a bed of fake plastic grass. There was always some sort of delicious ham and potato meal And the Easter egg hunt. Oh… the hunt! The hunt is the sole reason I could sit through church is my Easter dress, itchy tights and Sunday shoes. It was my little sister and I tearing through the house and backyard trying to find as many plastic eggs as we could. It was brutal, and there was no mercy. Flower beds were trampled, the house cat was scared from its house, tears were shed… it was the hunt, and it was serious. The coveted Easter eggs to find of the hunt were the silent one. Silent? Yes! Without the rattle of little chocolate candies, we knew those particular eggs were filled with cash. Oh how my sister and I would fight for those eggs. Thinking about it now, I have to shake my head at what greedy little children we must have been.

For Easter as an adult, I created a dessert that takes me back to Easter as a kid. Strawberry Cupcakes with light, fluffy frosting and mini Easter eggs on top. Since my sister and I don’t nearly kill each other in the Easter egg hunt anymore, I thought we might remember those sweet days with these darling cupcakes.

I used fresh, diced strawberries and ricotta cheese. The strawberry flavor was light and subtle. Next time I think I’ll use sour cream instead of the ricotta, just because I love the tender crumb that sour cream creates. These cupcakes are adorned with seven minute frosting, coconut and mini speckled robin’s eggs.

Happy Easter!

Print this recipe!

Strawberry Ricotta Cupcakes adapted from Cooking with Amy 1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, room temperature1 egg8 ounces ricotta cheese mixed with 1/4 cup whole milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon soda1/2 cup diced strawberries, freshCenter a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcakes papers and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. Dice strawberries and set aside.In the bowl of a stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla.Add the ricotta mixture alternately with the flour mixture. Starting and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the strawberries .Divide among the 12 muffin tins and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until risen and very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.

Seven Minute Frosting- Pink and Green from Gourmet Cookbook2 large egg whites1 cup sugar1/4 cup waterCombine all ingredients in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, and beat with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved. Increase speed to high and beat until frosting is thick and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Remove from bowl and beat until slightly cooled. Add a dash of vanilla extract and food coloring if desired. I used pale pink and green for Easter.