wedding+cake

although i know how

i 

rarely make wedding cakes

here's the deal

elaborate

fancy

wedding cakes 

take time to 

build

(yes, just like pedro says)

which means

by the time

you

cut into that cake

it

is

old

yes

there are tricks

soak it in syrup

it will seem moist

(when really, it is just wet)

freeze it

suspending the stale
or

up the filling to cake ratio

all good ways to get the job done

but

not my thing

i'm a bit of a jerk about it

wedding cakes are expensive

and should be

delicious

which means

for me

baking and assembling

as
the bride is donning her veil

that being said

there are times

when you can't keep me from 

making a cake

last weekend 

was one of them

my younger brother got married

last of the lot

&

the bride requested

lemon

i 

made

this

lemon meringue cake
(recipe and instructions)

fondant topper
honoring
the year of the dragon

flowers
matching the bride's bouquet

strawberries {a roundup}

this might be a bit

self-serving

between

my local csa

&

our own garden

we are swimming in strawberries

sometimes i forget

to refer back

to 

recipes on this blog

so

here is

a little compendium

of

some of my favorites

i hope you agree

although a phrase normally reserved for cherries

this cake

is

the bomb

strawberry cake

maybe you are a tart?

hmm

let me re-phrase

maybe you like tarts?

try this

strawberry-rhubarb custard tart

perhaps you prefer

to drink your fruit

try these

strawberry cream soda

strawberry balsamic shrub

and

strawberry-lemonade

have a berry good day

(okay, corny)

(mmm corn)

(i also like corn)

Strawberry-Lemonade

working in the garden

pulling weeds

and

picking fruit

can make a girl 

glisten

and

parched

i

like to wet my whistle

with 

a talk iced glass 

of

this

strawberry-lemonade

(printable recipe)

5 large lemons-sliced

1 1/2 cups strawberries-sliced in half

2 1/2 cups sugar

6-6 1/2 cups water

ice to serve

place lemons, strawberries and sugar in a crock or bowl. let sit for 30 minutes.  after the wait time, use a potato masher or muddle to crush the berries and the lemons to extract juice from the fruit and the oil from the lemons. really get in there and mash them up.  allow to sit for another 10 minutes and then give it another good mash.  leave all the bits in the crock (or bowl) and add water.  start with 6 cups and check for sweetness/flavor. add more water to your liking.  refrigerate until ready to drink.  serve over ice.

Guava Cheesecake {guest post}

recently

hubster returned from a meeting

raving about the dessert

one of the attendees

made a guava cheesecake

blush pink

and

light as a mousse

he declared

it was 

blog-worthy

several days later

a large piece of cheesecake

was hand delivered 

to my kitchen

it was every bit as good 

as hubster described

definitely

blog-worthy

i asked my friend

odie tollefson

if she would share her story

and a recipe

lucky for us all

she agreed

Odie was born in Cuba and enjoyed the combination of cream cheese and guava as a child ...

One of my families’ favorite desserts when I was growing up was guava and cream

cheese…a true Cuban delight! My dad would buy the guava paste in bars, slice it in

about a ¼ inch thick slices and take a bar of cream cheese and slice it in about the

same size. Other times we’d sandwich the guava between two slices of the cream

cheese. Another Cuban favorite is a “refugiado” pastry (literal translation…refugee.)

Porto’s bakery in Glendale makes the best! It’s a light, flaky pastry filled with guava.

No Cuban get-together is complete without these! As the stories I’ve heard go, the

pastry got it’s name because it’s what the Cuban refugees back in the 60’s could

readily afford to make and eat.

So when I ran across this guava cheesecake recipe many years ago in a cookbook

entitled Miami Spice, I knew it would become a favorite in our household and it

certainly has brought smiles to both family and friends over the past decade and a

half.

Enjoy!

Guava Cheesecake

from Miami Spice

Crust:
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
Filling:
1 cup guava paste
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, or to taste
4 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Glaze: (optional)
¼ cup red currant jelly
About 1 tablespoon water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9” springform pan.

2. Prepare the crust. Mix together the cookie crumbs, melted butter and

sugar in a mixing bowl to form a crumbly dough. Press the dough over the

bottom and up the side of the springform pan. Bake the crust until almost

dry, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Melt guava paste in the lemon juice in a

nonreactive heavy saucepan, whisking steadily, over medium heat, 2 to 3

minutes. Let the mixture cool slightly.

4. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer. Add the sugar and

beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, adding one at a time, beating

until each incorporated before adding the next, and scraping down the

sides of the bowl frequently. Beat in the vanilla, lemon zest, and melted

guava. Pour the filling into the prepared pan.

5. Bring 1 quart of water to a boil.

6. Wrap a sheet of aluminum foil around the bottom and sides of the

springform pan to prevent water from seeping in. Place the pan in a large

roasting pan and pour 1 inch of water.

7. Bake the cheesecake until the top is firm and the filling no longer jiggles

when the pan is shaken, about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours. If the top of the

cheesecake begins to brown before the filling sets, tent the cake with

aluminum foil. When the cake is done, turn off the heat, open the oven

door a few inches, and let the cheesecake cool for 20 minutes.

8. Transfer the cheesecake to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover and

refrigerate for at lest 6 hours, preferably overnight.

9. Prepare the glaze: melt the red currant jelly in the water in a small

saucepan, over medium heat, until the mixture is the consistency of heavy

cream. Thin with additional water, if necessary.

10. Gently brush the top of the cheesecake with the glaze. Cover and chill for

at least 30 minutes.

11. To serve, run a slender knife around the sides of the srpingform pan.

Remove the sides and serve.

raspberry-port chocolate spread

this morning

i raced to my favorite

ethnic grocery

for some reason

i had it in my head

that 

one year ago

to. the. day

sour cherries had arrived

the problem is

produce goes quickly

at this particular store

and

 once it is gone

it. is. gone

surprise...surprise

i was wrong

not

even 

close

3  months off

actually

however

they did have

raspberries

local

organic

&

a dollar a punnet

i couldn't resist

why should i?

raspberry-port chocolate spread

(printable recipe)

6 cups raspberries

3/4 c. port

3 cups granulated sugar

pinch salt

18 oz 70% bittersweet chocolate (broken into pieces)

place berries, port and sugar in a heavy, large pot.  cook over low heat until the berries break down.     remove from heat and strain in a chinois or medium seive (you want the seeds removed, but you want as much pulp as possible in your final liquid.  return the liquid back to the pot and simmer until it reduces by half (3 cups).  meanwhile, place the chocolate in a glass bowl.  allow the raspberry syrup to cool only slightly, then pour over the chocolate.  using a whisk or a hand blender, blend until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.  place in jars and keep in the refrigerator.

use on bread, sweet tea cakes, as a filling for cake, or just spoon it from jar to mouth