Ah, the joy of fresh strawberries on the Easter table. Plumb and juicy, briming with gentle acidity balanced with upfront sweetness, these berries bring joy from the moment they catch our eye. These ripe berries are alluringly red, uniformly speckled with dry, diminutive yellow seeds. OK, there are white varieties, but that’s a different story.
I prefer organic strawberries, smaller in size but most often they have the deepest color, the sweetest taste, and the most fragrance. Enormous strawberries are sometimes a flavor disappointment, with hollow centers and less appealing texture.
Choose strawberries that are brightly colored, without mold or soft spots. Refrigerate (unwashed, dry, and untrimmed). Before using them, wash briefly in cold water with the green leaves (botanically known as the calyx) still in place. If removing leaves and stem (hulling), use the point of a small sharp knife or the end of a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler, or a strawberry huller.
Happy Easter!
Strawberries with Balsamic Sauce, Angel Food Cake and Ice Cream
Toss ripe halved strawberries with a little balsamic vinegar spiked with judicious amounts of sugar and liqueur, and you have an easy-to-prepare refreshing Italian-style dessert. Made from white Trebbiano grape juice and slowly barrel-aged in various woods over a period of years, balsamic vinegar has a subtle flavor and slight sweetness that goes beautifully with berries. For a little more oomph. add a splash of grenadine, orange liqueur or crème de cassis.
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grenadine, orange liqueur, or crème de cassis
4 cups halved or quartered fresh hulled strawberries
For serving : 4 slices angel food cake, 4 scoops of ice cream
Garnish: Sprigs of fresh mint
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl (30 to 60 minutes before serving), combine balsamic vinegar, sugar, and either grenadine, orange liqueur, or crème de cassis. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add berries and gently toss (I use two rubber or silicone spatulas). Set aside.
2. Place a slice of cake in each individual bowl. Top with ice cream. Spoon berries and some juice on top. Garnish each with a fresh sprig of mint.
Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake
I’ve made hundreds of fancy cakes in my day and for the most part, they have been greeted with appreciation from my family. So, it is interesting that they adore this rustic, old-fashioned cake that isn’t a showstopper. The recipe is from Alison Roman’s cookbook “Sweet Enough.” Roman contends that the flavor haunts her, with its donut-like taste and texture. To me, it tastes like a strawberry shortcake. Whatever it resembles, it disappears at my house in under a day. Serve it with whipped cream or ice cream. And save a piece to enjoy for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee.
Yield: One 9-inch cake, about 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
Cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk (shaken before measuring)
10 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 tablespoons demerara sugar (you can use granulated sugar in a pinch)
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with parchment paper (either cut to fit the bottom, or leaving some hanging over the edges for easy removal).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer) beat the butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla together on medium-high speed, periodically scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything incorporates, until mixture is pale, light, fluffy and creamy, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. (This is a good time to scrape down the sides again.)
5. Reduce mixer speed to low and carefully add half of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk, beating just until no large lumps remain.
6. Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the strawberries and transfer batter to the prepared cake pan. Scatter remaining strawberries on top of batter and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake until cake is puffed, deeply golden brown, and pulling away from the sides, 45 to 50 minutes. (It should spring back slightly when pressed in the center and appear fully baked where the strawberries meet the cake.) (Note: I cut out the parchment paper to fit the bottom of the cake pan, therefore to remove it from the pan, I let the cake sit for 10 minutes on a cooling rack, then ran a knife around the edge of the cake and inverted it on another cooling rack. I removed the parchment and quickly inverted it on a serving plate. Easy.)
Source: “Sweet Enough” by Alison Roman
Glazed Strawberries
Jacques Pepin features these scrumptious and easy to prepare glazed strawberries in his book “Sweet Simplicity: Jacques Pepin’s Fruit Desserts.” They look beautiful using stemmed berries (if you can find them). Because I prefer organic strawberries, they are most often on the smaller side and are rarely sold with stems; look for berries with healthy green leaves that can be used as “handles.” To keep the glaze in place they need to be served cold, straight from the fridge.
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
12 large chilled strawberries with stems or about 15 smaller chilled strawberries with bright green leaves
About 10 ounces currant jelly or seedless strawberry jelly
Garnish: Sprigs of fresh mint or basil
For serving: 8 to 12 cookies
DIRECTIONS
1. Chill a large plate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2. Place jelly in a small saucepan and warm it over low heat until it has melted and is smooth, stirring occasionally. Put cold plate next to stove. Holding the berries by their stems or green leaves, dip them in jelly (it helps to tilt the pan) to coat them. Scrape the berries gently against the rim of the pan to remove excess jelly and place on cold plate. Refrigerate them until serving time.
3. At serving time (and not before), arrange berries on each individual plate and garnish plate with a sprig or two of mint or basil. Add cookies on the side and serve.
Source: “Sweet Simplicity: Jacques Pepin’s Fruit Desserts” by Jacques Pepin
Cheryl’s White Chocolate and Mascarpone Stuffed Strawberries
Cheryl Hall and I worked together at the Orange County Register for many years. She loved to host High Teas in her home, and I was lucky enough to attend. As one of her amazing assortments of goodies, she served these beautiful stuffed strawberries. The filling is made of mascarpone and melted white chocolate. To pipe the filling into the berries you will need a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. I have found that they can be prepared a couple of hours in advance and refrigerated.
Yield: About 20 berries
INGREDIENTS
4 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces mascarpone, room temperature
20 fresh strawberries, washed, dried, dried with paper towels or clean kitchen towel
DIRECTIONS
1. Place white chocolate in a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power in 30-second intervals until melted, stirring between each. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or using a handheld electric mixer, add melted white chocolate and mascarpone. Beat at medium speed until smooth. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. Allow mixture to soften to piping consistency. Transfer mixture to piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Set aside.
3. Cut an X in each strawberry starting from the pointed end and stopping before you reach the bottom of the berry and the leaves. Using your fingers, lightly separate sections of each strawberry and pipe mascarpone mixture into the strawberry. Serve or refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving.
Source: Cheryl Hall