The Cunning Whisk

Mel brought a bucket of farm fresh strawberries into work the other day and I just had to have some. I haven’t made a strawberry cake since I worked at Joe’s, so I figured it was about time. This recipe is not to be confused with the cake served by Joe’s, however; it is a completely different recipe, though the texture and flavors are similar.

I think I went overboard. I bought a FIVE POUND bucket of strawberries from a local farm. Two cakes later and there’s still more than half a container left!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 c. cake flour
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 c. pureed strawberries
• 1/3 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 eggs, separated
• red food coloring
• 1 pt. fresh strawberries
• fluffy white icing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and one cup of the sugar. Add the pureed strawberries. Beat together thoroughly. Add sour cream and egg yolks. Add drops of food coloring until vibrant pink.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining sugar to whites while still beating until peaks become very stiff. Gently fold egg whites into yolked batter.

Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans. Evenly divide batter between pans. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pans for another 15 minutes.

Spread a thin layer of icing on one round of cake. Slice strawberries and layer over icing. Place other round of cake on top. Frost completely and decorate with more sliced strawberries.

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My cousin came over for lunch today, so I thought I would make a nice little dessert to go along with it. I whipped up a simple pound cake (from a box, though scratch probably would have been better) and then made this fruit topping to go over it.

Ingredients:

According to Roman legend, when Adonis died, Venus wept uncontrollably.
The tears rolled down her cheek and dropped to the earth, turning into heart shaped strawberries.
• 1 pt. fresh blueberries
• 1 lb. frozen strawberries;
  whole, no sugar added
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. raspberry extract
• 1/4 tsp. rum
• 2 Tbsp. butter; unsalted

Directions:

Before you do anything else, find a pair of tweezers. Just because you buy the blueberries at the grocery store doesn’t mean that they’re perfect. About every third berry I found had a piece of stem still attached. Pick over the blueberries and wash them.

Cut each strawberry in half and combine with blueberries in a large sauce pan. I used frozen strawberries because all the fresh ones looked pretty bad. I’m sure fresh would work as well, though. Slice up butter and mix into berries along with sugar. Turn heat to medium-high.

I wanted a little more dimension to the mix than just the two fruits, so I sprinkled in extracts of raspberry and rum. As the fruit comes to a boil, stir gently and infrequently until a dark syrup forms. Continue boiling softly for an additional 10 – 15 minutes to thicken the syrup. Turn off the heat and allow it to come to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

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