Mixed Berry Slab Pie {Guest Post}

I am very excited to be guest posting over at The Spiffy Cookie today!

Erin, the brains behind The Spiffy Cookie, is a PhD student like me and fortunately she is at the end of her studies. But now she has all these experiments to finish up, research articles to write and publish and write a freaking book of a dissertation (I am not looking forward to this part at all).

During this stressful  time, a few of her blogging friends are helping her out to keep her blog alive. I'm so glad to be one of her blogging friends and excited to be guest posting for her today!

For my visit, I brought this mixed berry slab pie to share with her readers. Head over there now to check out her blog and get the recipe for this perfect summer pie.

Strawberry Lavender Cake

Happy Monday!

It's my birthday today and I made myself a birthday cake! A Strawberry Lavender Cake to be precise.

Apparently you are not supposed to make yourself a birthday cake but I wanted to and there was no stopping me. Who makes these rules anyway? Here was an opportunity to make myself whatever I want without worrying whether people will like it because it's my cake. Like this strawberry lavender cake; a great flavor combination.

This cake is straight up from my cake crush; Sweetapolita and I've had it at the back of my mind for months. Honestly, all her cakes are on my to-bake list. Like this chocolate marshmallow cake. But I digress. This strawberry lavender cake starts with a wonderfully moist vanilla buttermilk cake that is filled with a whipped vanilla mascarpone filling & strawberry and lavender compote and then topped with whipped lavender frosting. It's a mouthful, I know but it's just as amazing as it sounds!! Let me break it down for you.

First, there is a light, airy yet very moist cake. Rosie (Sweetapolita) uses an interesting mixing technique in making this cake. She adds cold butter to the dry ingredients and mixes to create a cornmeal consistency before mixing in the wet ingredients and this makes a light and fluffier buttermilk cake. The cake is filled with vanilla whipped cream, which is a perfect match for strawberries. I added mascarpone cheese to this for more richness and a little tartness. In addition to the whipped cream, the cake is also filled with a fresh strawberry, lemon and lavender compote that is sweet and full of summer flavors. Finally, a perfectly sweet whipped vanilla lavender frosting tops it all. Lavender is a beautiful flavor and if you haven't tried it yet, I suggest you do soon. It's my first time baking with it and I don't know why it took me this long.

I am not a big fan of birthdays to be honest. I hate being the center of attention and despite my love of presents, I don't throw birthday parties! My wedding took lots and lots of effort to walk out and be stared down...yikes! Anyway, I let my husband host two dinner parties for me this weekend and I resisted the urge to be involved in any of the planning except making this cake and some cupcakes I'll share later. Thanks to the great presents, I survived both parties! Oh I got a camera fund started by my friends. I am almost ready to shop for a DSLR!! I can't wait.

Recipe: From Sweetapolita
- The only change I made was adding mascarpone cheese (1/3 cup) to the vanilla whipped cream filling at the end.

Here is a look at the aftermath of this beauty.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

A beautiful 3-layered tart with a buttery crust and a creamy lemon mascarpone filling that is topped with fresh strawberries.

I accomplished two things this weekend; I woke up before 11am and made pie crust from scratch. 

I made my first trip of the season to our local farmer's market which in itself isn't a big deal. But see, I almost never leave my house before noon on the weekends. Unless if I really really have to or love someone dearly. My friends know this... you don't call or make plans with Z before noon (I know it wont last long, but I don't have kids yet and I plan to enjoy this luxury/laziness while I can). But I love the farmer's market and I really wanted some fresh fruits and vegetables so I ventured out and I am so happy I did. I got lots of strawberries (duh!), peaches, corn, peppers, tomatoes and plenty more. I'll be waking up for more farmer's market trips this summer to get some fresh produce and support our local farmers.

When deciding what to make with my strawberries, I thought of this tart I first saw by Kelly Bakes, a few months ago. The only problem about it was that, I don't do pies or tarts because I can't make pie crusts from scratch. I tried it once last fall and it was an epic fail so I stayed away from pies. But I realized it's about time I face my fear. And I was pleasantly surprised that this crust turned out perfectly (or I got lucky, but I'm going to go with the first here!). My second accomplishment of the weekend!

For the filling, I combined honey, lemon juice and lemon zest with mascarpone cheese which gives a very creamy filling that you can consume on its own. But don't, you have to fill your lovely golden buttery crust with it (isn't it just so beautiful?). It will be hard, trust me but once you can muster the will power to fill the crust, chill it for a few minutes, and prepare the strawberries. I simply mixed the strawberries with sugar and let it sit for 20 minutes to make it sweeter. In retrospect, I would not have mixed the strawberries in sugar at all. It made the strawberries slightly too soft for my liking and hard to handle so next time I will just layer the fresh sliced strawberries on the mascarpone layer. Plus, that would make for more beautiful pictures!

            (Clearly, I didn't chill for the recommended two hours before serving. I suggest you do!)

This pie is the perfect combination of my favorite summer flavors; strawberry and lemon, adding a tangy mascarpone layer to create the ultimate tart. It takes a few hours to make, mostly waiting time, but it is so worth the time and you will not be disappointed. It will amaze guests at any 4th of July gathering, so do try it! If you like, you could add some blueberries for a full red, white and blue effect.


Strawberry Mascarpone Tart
Inspired by Kelly Bakes. Crust adapted from here

Ingredients
For the Tart Crust:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3 tablespoons iced water
1 large egg yolk

For Filling:
2 cups mascarpone cheese1/3 cup honey (or up to 1/2 cup if you want it sweeter)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 - 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions
For Tart Crust:
In a food processor, pulse together the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt for 30 seconds to combine. Add in the cold butter cubes and process using on/off turns to cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes. Whisk together the ice water and egg yolk in a small bowl. Retrieve the butter and flour mixture from the fridge and add the egg and water mixture all at once. Pulse until moist clumps forms and the dough comes together.

Gather the dough into a ball and form into a disk on a lightly floured surface. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap for 1 hour. When you are ready to roll dough, let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Unwrap dough and roll out on a floured surface. Roll to an 11-inch circle and gently transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough against the sides and edges and trim excess overhang. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper making sure you cover all sides. Fill the pan with pie weights, dried beans or coins. Bake crust for 15 minutes, roatte the pan and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for addition 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool crust in pan completely.

For the mascarpone filling:
Beat together the mascarpone and honey until creamy (You don't need an electric mixer for this, but if you do have one, beat on medium-low speed). Add lemon juice, zest and vanilla extract and beat until combined. The mixture will be creamy and glossy.

Once the crust is completely cooled, spread the mascarpone filling into the tart shell. Spread evenly. Chill while you prepare the strawberries.

Mix the strawberry and sugar in a large bowl and set aside for 20 minutes.

Top the mascarpone filling with the sliced strawberries. Arrange in a circular pattern. Chill for at least an hour, up to two hours, before serving.
 
Store any leftovers refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I have no words to describe these strawberry lemonade cupcakes. Not just because they leave you speechless and wanting for more after the first bite (which they totally do!), but because I am brain-dead (and coming from a neuroscientist-in-training this is inaccurate, but I will let it fly today because I am that exhausted).

I had two big presentations earlier this week and I spent the past week and a half just reading and reading and reading and juggling married life, family, friends and blogging with that just left me exhausted. Of course at some points my brain was resisting the urge to work leading to some serious procrastination like giant cookie bake-offs (I'll share soon), mall excursions in search of cute tea cups that were never procured and baking these perfect summer strawberry lemonade cupcakes (among other stress induced goodies) but with no time to blog about them.

Using up the rest of the strawberries from this cake, I made a light and airy lemon cake filled with fresh strawberry bites and I topped the cupcakes with fluffy whipped strawberry lemon buttercream. It is the perfect balance between sweet and tangy (I believe strawberry and lemons were made just for each other!).

These are now on top of my favorite cupcake list and will be making them again as the months get warmer. I suggest you find a friend with a pool and bring these cupcake as a bribe, along with some fresh strawberry lemonade for the perfect hot summer day pool party (ahemmm, Laura).

I am off to bake about 80 cupcakes, decorate cookies and a cake for my first bridal shower dessert table this Saturday! Because I am a procrastinator genius, I left everything to last minute. Wish me luck! I'll share the results (hopefully successful) with you next week.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart Cakes)

Yield: 3-4 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus ¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½  cups unsalted butter (2 ½ sticks), room temperature

2 ½ cups sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature

½  cup fresh strawberry, hulled and diced finely

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350^oC. Line muffin tins with cupcake wrappers

2.     Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3.     Combine buttermilk, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Set aside

4.     In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

5.     Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Mix in zest.

6.     With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk mixture and beginning and ending with flour. Mix well to combine after each addition and scrape sides of bowl as needed. Fold in the strawberries by hand using a rubber spatula. 

7.     Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling 2/3 to the top.

8.     Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. About 20-25 minutes  

9.     Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool in pans for 2 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Strawberry Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 ½ cups sugar

6 large egg whites, room temperature

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup fresh strawberry puree

1. Whisk together sugar and egg whites in a heatproof mixing bowl set over (not in] a pan of simmering water. Whisk until warm and sugar is dissolved (mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingers), 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg white mixture 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue has cooled (test by feeling bottom of bowl), about 6 minutes.

3. Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.  Mix the strawberry puree into the buttercream until combined.

4. Best if used immediately or store airtight in refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes:

- Cupcake liners from Bake it Pretty

- I enjoyed these cupcakes with a fresh batch of strawberry lemonade, found here (minus the mint).

Dark Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

 

Dark chocolate strawberry cake. That is summer-y right? I promised you I will eventually get into summer after starting off the season with macarons. Strawberries are my favorite berries... right in front of raspberries :) So when they are in season, I always have at least a pound of fresh strawberries around to add to anything from salads to frosting.

This cake starts with a very moist "one-bowl" chocolate cake that's then topped with my favorite vanilla swiss meringue buttercream with fresh strawberry puree. You can find the cake recipe here on Sweetapolita. I used two 8-inch round pans instead of three 6-inch pans that she suggests. Other than that, I followed her recipe closely. I used semi-sweet chocolate for the glaze and just drizzled it randomly on top of the cake. I wanted the chocolate cake to be the star so I went easy on the glaze ( by all means, go crazy!). 

This is a great cake for chocolate lovers because the dark chocolate cake is (for lack of a better word) oh-so chocolate-y and the light, fluffy strawberry buttercream spruces up an already decadent chocolate cake. I made it memorial day weekend for a special out-of-town chocolate lover who was very happy with it.

I hope you will try it. It would make for a great birthday cake as well. It may not be as summer-y as the next cupcakes I just made to share with you next week, but I think having fresh strawberries in the frosting definitely puts this chocolate cake in the season.

What are some of your favorite summer desserts?? 

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

This weekend was a busy one. One of my best friend's sister was in town and it was her birthday. She loves strawberries and even though it's the middle of winter, I decided to make her a strawberry vanilla birthday cake. But with only two hours to bake in between lunch dates and shopping with the hubby, I whipped this cake up.

The cake was inspired by Martha Stewart's strawberry cupcakes. I used the roses I made in my Wilton class this previous week. I used my favorite buttercream, Swiss Meringue buttercream! The Whisk Kid has a great step-by-step tutorial on how to make swiss meringue buttercream. It is daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is a versatile frosting to work with. It pipes great on cupcakes and very easy to ice a cake with.

In the end, I was not very pleased with the rushed job, it could have looked prettier but the birthday girl was very happy and loved it!