Frozen yogurt fruit pops
June 14th, 2010
It’s about this time every year that I get so excited about all the fresh fruit that is in season that I tend to go a bit overboard. Cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries. strawberries, melons, mangoes… the list seems unending.
What ends up happening in all of my fruit crazed haze is I buy it all – and then of course I can’t eat it fast enough before it starts to become overripe.
Last Tuesday that is exactly what had happened. I had one extra large cantaloupe that was wafting it’s ripe sent over half the kitchen, a bag full of softening cherries, a carton of strawberries, and a container full of fresh black raspberries I couldn’t resist picking from wild bushes growing along the old railroad trail that runs behind our property (and making raspberry leaf tea from the leaves!).
I decided the only way to handle so much ripe fruit at one go was to puree it and make homemade frozen yogurt fruit pops.
These really did turn out so good and so very simple.
I pureed all my fruit, added a quart of vanilla yogurt and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, poured it all into paper cups (just use a ladle so you prevent the mess I made first pour!), froze them for 20 minutes, inserted the popsicle sticks, and then finished off the freeze. My fruit was so sweet and ripe I did not need to add any extra sweetener, though I imagine a bit of honey would be lovely if desired or needed.
I’ve been feeding these slightly defrosted into a slushy smoothie to little Jonathan for the past week. He gets all kinds of excited when I pull one out of the freezer;
“What’s that?!” he exclaims, eyes wide each time with anticipation (and impatience), “Mmmmmm. I want it! I want it!”
-some of his favorite 21 month old expressions-
Our hydrangeas are in bloom now and our many mulberry trees are littering the ground with their sweet fruit faster than we can collect. I made strawberry mulberry jam recently, though I’m afraid that that hardly made a dent in the overall crop. I imagine the birds of the yard are thankful we have not been able to keep up as they seem ever fond of the prolific berries.
Now that summer is here we have been busy biking, swimming, and gardening, and I am in neck deep in my business at the moment. I hope to share more about that soon, but right now I simply want to say that I am going to do my best to post at least every two weeks, but I may cut back a bit on photos as I tend to spend what I believe is a bit of an obsessive amount of time reviewing and editing, and I really just want to enjoy this blog without it taking me four days to put together a post!
Frozen yogurt fruit pops
4-5 cups pureed ripe fruit*
1 quart vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
honey (optional, to taste*)
wooden popsicle sticks
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir thoroughly. Pour mixture into paper cups or popsicle molds. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes and then insert popsicle sticks and allow to finish freezing (at least three more hours). Once pops are frozen, place in airtight container, and return to the freezer.
Alternatively, before you puree your fruit, freeze it and then combine all ingredients in a blender to make a yogurt fruit smoothie. In this case, I would reduce all the ingredients and make just enough for what you want to eat at that time, otherwise you will end up with a large number of smoothies that will need to either be eaten or frozen into pops!
*I used 1/2 of 1 large cantaloupe, 1 pint strawberries, 3/4 cup pitted fresh cherries, and 1 1/2 cups black raspberries.
*if you want to use honey, I suggest starting with a couple of tablespoons and then add more to taste.
Tags: bars, frozen yogurt, fruit, popsicle, raspberry tea, smoothie
Posted in Sweet | 13 Comments »
Apple buttermilk cake with Sea salt caramel
January 2nd, 2010
Happy new year. It is going to be a good year, I can feel it in my bones. My husband and I have started a company where we have finally found common ground for working together. Food. My son has opened up a whole new dimension of love in my life and gets easier to care for everyday – yes, I admit I am thankful for this side effect of children growing up. I am starting this blog and feel excited about writing for the first time since overflowing boxes (currently collecting dust in my basement) of journals in high school and college. As for cooking – that has always been exciting and stress relieving – my favorite shows at 11 years old were “Great Chefs of the West” and “European Cuisine.” Why the vocation that seems so clear to me now eluded me for 30 years of life, it is complicated to assess, however, in short – as I am sure you well know – many times in life we must take a long roundabout way to embrace what has always been close to our hearts. And so here I am. Excited. Not too nervous. But a little. I love to cook. I hope it rubs off. Now onto this cake.
What I like about the cake part of this cake is that it’s not too sweet, uses part whole wheat flour, has a subtle buttermilk tang, and is marbled with moisture supplying grated apple, giving it a wonderful wholesome and slight earthy quality. So much so that I can easily recommend it served for breakfast or brunch alongside a dollop of greek yogurt and honey.
But do not mistake this cake as all morning sunshine once drenched in deeply caramelized sugar combined with large pats of butter, pure organic cream, and a sprinkling of sea salt. Now we have something different altogether. The hot caramel poured over the warm cake seeps into the surface and sides creating a sticky, slightly chewy, moist crust. The contrast between the intensely flavored caramel and the more delicate flavor profile of the apple cake is a noticeable and well suited juxtaposition.
Homemade caramel is an example of something I had put off trying for at least one, likely all, of the following reasons: I had never made it before and had fear of the unknown, fear of not using the right recipe, fear of finally settling on a recipe and then having said recipe be a flop (hate that), and/or fear of not making recipe perfectly once perfect recipe was found. But, as is often the case in life, the actuality of the process was much less monstrous than the preceding mental haze of ignorance and learned helplessness (more on this at a later date).
Really, it is quite simple and yielded incredible return for effort, meaning homemade caramel is vastly superior to store bought and the 5-10 minutes it takes to make is a tiny investment for the amazing return received. And as for the perfect recipe? I ended up pulling from several different recipes using the tips and ingredients that seemed most appealing – and it worked. I love it when it works.
So, it is not difficult, but read the directions ahead of time, and take care not to allow the caramelized sugar to come to a rapid boil and burn – as I did on my first attempt (fear four actualized – no big deal – pour in grass out backdoor and heat up new sugar – five minute setback and now I know how to make, and not make, amazing caramel).
As for the cake, the most tedious part of the prep is peeling and grating the apple. Altogether you should be able to pull this cake off in about an hour including baking. Time is always a consideration when I cook. I find it satisfying to figure out ways to cut time and simplify prep work without sacrificing quality.
This is a versatile cake whether dressed up with the caramel to show off after dinner, or set in the sunshine for brunch with yogurt and honey. I imagine it would also work as a breakfast muffin or as cupcakes with whipped cream or cream cheese frosting. While I used whole wheat pastry flour, white or standard whole wheat flour will also work. White whole wheat will yield a milder, more delicate flavor profile while not sacrificing any of the nutritional benefits of standard whole wheat.
Next time I plan to use more cognac (if serving for breakfast I would eliminate this flavoring and perhaps sprinkle a favorite chopped nut on top), try it with a pinch of allspice and a touch more sea salt. My husband thinks a little lemon zest might add a nice extra zing. But it was great just like this.
Oh, and please take a couple of extra minutes to whip up any leftover heavy cream (an electric hand mixer works fine) with a bit of brown sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla bean seeds to serve alongside. You won’t regret it.
Apple buttermilk cake
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, white wheat, or standard whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons white cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg at room temperature (can let sit in hot water a couple of minutes to bring to room temp)
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 medium sized firm apple, peeled, cored, and grated (I used Granny Smith)
1 tablespoon brandy/cognac (can use more, but I would not go over 2 T)
1 recipe for Sea salt caramel
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease a 9×9 baking pan or similar equivalent volume baking dish, or line with parchment paper.
3. Use a hand whisk to combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
4. In a separate larger bowl or standing mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until light, about 4 minutes.
5. Beat in the vanilla and cognac, then the egg until just incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating slowly until just blended. Beat in half of the buttermilk. Repeat with another third of the flour and the last half of the buttermilk. Beat in the remaining flour.
7. Fold in the grated apple.
8. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 – 50 minutes (depending on size of pan used) until a tester comes out clean. In the pan I used, the cake was done after 35-40 minutes. Check frequently after 35 minutes. Do not over bake.
9. Make Sea salt caramel while cake is baking.
10. Pour Sea salt caramel onto warm cake. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm.
Sea salt caramel
1 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons organic or premium unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons organic heavy cream warmed slightly (not boiled) or at room temperature
1/4 + 1/8 (3/8) teaspoon sea salt
1. Have all ingredients out, measured and within reaching distance of your cooktop. Caramel gets very hot, so use oven mitts, be mindful of your arms and eyes, and keep all little ones away for the few minutes this takes to make.
2. Distribute sugar evenly in a large, even heating saucepan or pot (to allow room for hot caramel to foam up) and begin heating over medium high heat. Keep an eye on the sugar, as when it begins to caramelize, it is a quick process that will need your constant attention.
3. Within a few minutes, the sugar will begin to melt and caramelize. As large patches of sugar turn to liquid puddles in the pan, stir only often enough to aid even caramelization (because sugar is comprised of crystals, it tends to clump together as it is melting and stirred). As soon as all of the sugar has turned to liquid (aside from any stubborn clumps that will dissolve later or can be strained out), resembles the color of copper, and just begins to simmer/bubble around the edges, remove from heat and immediately add butter and sea salt, stirring vigorously. Add cream and stir until completely combined.
4. Cool slightly. Pour over warm cake or other dessert.
Note: If pouring over above apple buttermilk cake, you may end up with an extra 1/2 cup or so. This can be served in a a pouring dish alongside the cake, or with ice cream.
Tags: Apple, Buttermilk, Cake, Caramel, Dessert, Sea salt
Posted in Sweet | 16 Comments »
