Kirschkuchen (Cherry Coffee Cake)

 

 

It's become an annual tradition, five years and counting!, to go cherry picking with my family to herald the beginning of summer.  My parents live in California's San Joaquin Valley and there are several U-pick places near them. Normally we go cherry-picking around Memorial Day weekend, but this year we went two weeks later and most of the trees had been picked over.  Fortunately we were still able to find a few trees that were bursting with ripe, sweet Bing cherries, our favorite variety.  

 

 

When it comes to cherry picking my family doesn't mess around. No joke, in previous years we've picked in the neighborhood of 50-60 pounds!  And no, lest you think we're complete fruit gluttons, we do not eat all the cherries ourselves!  A majority of the fruit is distributed to family and friends to enjoy.

 

Ironically, while Bing cherries are great for eating and snacking, when it comes to baking it's actually tart cherries that are preferred.  Sadly I haven't really been able to source fresh tart cherries near me.  One year I even considered having some sent from Michigan, but after seeing the exorbitant shipping costs to San Francisco I immediately changed my mind.   Luckily canned tart cherries can be easily sourced at my local supermarket.

  

 

 

 

Pie is normally the first thing that comes to people's minds with cherry baking, but I happened upon this recipe for Kirschkuchen (Cherry Coffee Cake) from Red Currant Bakery and wanted to try it instead.  If you aren't already following Audrey's blog you should because she focuses on German baking.  What I especially like about this particular recipe is the use of tart AND sweet cherries.   Nothing goes better with cherries than almonds.  I just love the fruit and nut combination so I added hints of almond to the recipe where I could.  For the cake batter and streusel I replaced some of the vanilla extract with almond extract and to give the streusel topping some extra crunch I mixed in raw sliced almonds.  

 

 

It took immense willpower to let the cake cool slightly before digging into it but once it was warm enough to cut I immediately polished off two slices.  It's THAT good!  I think I might have found a new cherry tradition because I will definitely be making this recipe again and again.

Cherry Clafoutis

Fresh, ripe cherries always herald the beginning of the summer for me.  I just love them - especially the sweet, crunchy bing variety.  But beware, don't indulge in too many at once or you'll be sorry....if you know what I mean!

The Saturday before Memorial Day I went cherry picking in Brentwood with my nieces and sister-in-law.   It was the first day of the season so we headed out bright and early with the hope of getting the nicest fruit. 

Even by 9:30am the parking lot was already jam packed with minivans and young families.   Sixty minutes, one pair of dusty sneakers and nine pounds of cherries later I was a very happy person.

 

I immediately got home and set about searching for a new cherry recipe.  I happened upon this one for clafoutis from Bon Appétit.   I'd never made it before, but it's the quintessential French dessert using cherries.  It tastes very much like a pancake or crepe and is so good served slightly warm with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Think we've just discovered a new Memorial Day tradition. 

Cherry-Almond Shortbread Bars

A new year rolls around and most people use that as motivation to clean out their closets.  In my case it wasn't the closet that needed a thorough once over, it was my pantry.  As a baker I seem to collect (alright hoard!) baking ingredients.  I admit it's an addiction, but I can't help it!  

So what are some of my spoils?  Let's see: 15 pounds of Ghiradelli white chocolate candy making and dipping bars (for petits fours), 8 pounds of dutch-processed cocoa (too good of a deal at Costco to pass up) and bags and bags of dried fruit from Trader Joe's, just to name a few.

A jar of cherry preserves caught my eye as I was going through the pantry shelves and I knew I wanted to make something with it.  As luck would have it I happened upon a recipe for these shortbread bars online.  Good thing I had all the ingredients on hand which was additional  motivation to make them.   

The bars have a nice buttery cookie crust and the cherries provide a great tart contrast.  The only change I'd make is to use a 9x9 inch pan, rather than the 9x13 suggested in the original recipe.  I thought using the larger pan made the bars too thin.

Cherry Squares Done Two Ways

 I love London.  Several people in my inner circle either live there or have lived there so visiting this city has always been more about connecting with friends than being a tourist.  While there are so many great things about London (Wimbledon, Harvey Nicks, TopShop, the Tube and Pimms, to name a few) I have to admit that British cuisine hasn't necessarily made it to the top of my list.

I can hear my friends protesting as I write this, but I will concede that English food has improved greatly over the years, beyond the ubiquitous fish and chips, which is one of my favorites btw.  But when it comes to baking I think most would agree that  English desserts  haven't reached the same echelons as the Frenchies, and I daresay, us Yanks!

So when I read that April's Daring Bakers challenge was to make a British pudding I definitely felt some hesitation.  There are different types of puddings in the UK, savory or sweet.  Anyone care for steak and kidney pie?  No thanks!  I chose to go the sweet route since I don't really like savory puddings.  We were tasked use suet, a type of animal or vegetable fat, and also to steam the pudding.  I've never heard of suet before and my local market doesn't carry it but based on what I've read it's similar to lard or Crisco.

I ended up using a recipe for cherry squares, which is essentially a Victoria sponge cake topped with cherry pie filling.  Using suet didn't sound too appealing in the batter so I stuck with butter.  Since I failed at using the required fat, I instead focused my efforts on the  challenge's baking technique: steaming.  I've never steamed a dessert before so I was very curious to see what the end product would be compared to one made in a conventional oven.  

I split the cake batter in half and steamed some and baked the rest.  To my surprise the cakes cooked in the steamer rose as high as the one in the oven.  But the main difference between the two versions was the crust.  With steaming there wasn't one.  The cake was perfectly cooked but lacked the golden brown color and crunchy texture I was looking for.  Let's face it, the crust is one of the best parts of any baked good.

I'm glad I did this month's challenge.  I learned a new baking technique that I never thought of before.  But to be honest, steaming just isn't for me.   However, if my oven continues acting up as it has been recently I now have an alternate approach I can use.

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.    

Oatmeal Cherry Walnut Cookies

My mom loves oatmeal cookies so while I'm visiting my parents this weekend I made her a huge batch. I baked off some of the dough today and she can freeze the rest to bake later.

Got the recipe from this great baking book my sister borrowed from the library called Advanced Bread and Pastry, written by Michel Suas who founded the San Francisco Baking Institute. It's a comprehensive guide to making breads, viennoiserie, cakes and cookies. Definitely geared more towards the serious baker and/or professional and it's written in that vain. I liked it so much I promptly ordered it online.

Used the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe but substituted dried cherries for the raisins and also added toasted chopped walnuts. Made the cookies super size and I think they turned out great...nice golden brown color on the outside and chewy inside. All it's begging for is a glass of milk.