rye and poppy seed yogurt cake with cherries

Yossy Arefi over at Apt. 2B Baking is one of my favorite baking bloggers.  She (like me!) loves incorporating seasonal produce into her baked goods (she has a particular fondness for rhubarb which makes me happy).  I'm constantly looking to her blog for inspiration; her pictures are gorgeous, she cooks all of this beautiful food in a New York City sized kitchen, and she loves playing around with unusual grains/flours/flavor profiles.   I sometimes feel as if we should be friends.   

While perusing her blog last week, I stumbled across the trailer for her new cookbook which seems to be filled with all kinds of brilliant recipes - rye rhubarb upside down cake, blood orange doughnuts, the list goes on.  But the dish that had me racing to the kitchen was for a cherry poppy seed yogurt cake.    I don't know why this caught my eye, but something about the combination of cherries and poppy seeds just felt exciting - even without the recipe I knew I had to make a version of it.   

This is my riff on that cake and while it may not be her version, I think she would appreciate it.  It's a little bit tart, a little bit sweet and just about perfect.  The combination of cherries and rye flour is brilliant but they kicker is the poppy seeds, they really add a little something extra.   I've been snacking on it when I need a little afternoon pick-me-up but I don't think it would be out of place as part of big Sunday brunch spread.   

Rye and Poppy Seed Yogurt Cake with Cherries
Inspired by a clip from the trailer for the Apt. 2B Cookbook.  Yogurt cake adapted from Ina Garten. 

For the Cake

1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (55 grams) rye flour
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup (230 grams) plain whole-milk yogurt (I used Greek)
1 cup less 2 tablespoons (175 grams) sugar
3 extra-large eggs (can use large eggs with no ill-effect)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups (about 255 grams) fresh or frozen pitted cherries

For the Strussel

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon rye flour
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
Generous pinch of salt
3 tablespoons to - 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar (depending on your preferred level of sweetness)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Take the cherries and scatter them over the top of the cake, pressing some (about half) of the cherries down into the cake (if you don't do that all the cherries will be in a layer at the top).

In a bowl (I recommend the same one you use for your dry ingredients) combine the strussel ingredients - butter, flours, poppy seeds, salt, and sugar.   Cut the butter in to the other ingredients with a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the strussel on top of the cake and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

almond and sweet cherry galette.

For the better part of the last 3 weeks I've been buying at least 2 pounds of cherries (sometimes close to 3) every Thursday.  Part of the reason why I've been buying so many is because Thursdays are the day I walk by 3 different farmer's markets and I feel it's my civic duty to contribute to the bottom line of every farmstand I see. It also doesn't help that I am attracted to jewel like things and cherries fit that bill nicely.  They just keep calling me and I keep answering.  

Which means cherry desserts have been a mainstay as of late.   

I hope you don't mind.  We discussed Cherry Shortbread bars a few weeks back and now it's time to discuss this Almond and Sweet Cherry Galette which is everything. Like most people, I am obsessed with the combination of cherry and almond because it just works and trying to break up something that just works isn't something I'm willing to do.  Most galettes consist of just a layer of fruit and a crust but this one, created  by the wonderful Deb at Smitten Kitchen, is a galette that has fruit, crust, and a layer of almond filling.  That extra layer of almond filling takes the galette from run of the mill to truly special. I particularly love it because it has the elegance of a tart with the simplicity of a free-form dessert.  A win-win in my book.       

Almond and Sweet Cherry Galette

Recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

For the Galette

1 Flaky All-Butter Crust (recipe below)

1/3 cup sliced, slivered, or coarsely chopped almonds, blanched if you can get them (or almond meal)
1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg white
1 pound  (or a generous pound if you are anything like me) sweet cherries, any variety or a mix of varieties, pitted

To Finish

1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon coarse sugar

Make pastry: The dough should be refrigerated for at least an hour before you use it in this recipe.

Make filling: Finely grind almonds and flour in a food processor (if you use almond meal, you can just use a bowl and a spoon).  Mix in sugar, butter, and extract, then egg white. Blend until smooth. Cover and chill until needed.

Prepare galette: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the almond filling evenly over the bottom of the galette dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Scatter the cherries on top. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit; the center will be open. Whisk egg yolk with water, brush crust with egg wash mixture and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake galette until the filling is puffed and the crust is golden brown, about 30 – 40 minutes, rotating front to back halfway through for even browning.  Cool, and serve.

Flaky All-Butter Crust

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
1 sticks unsalted butter, very cold

Gather your ingredients: Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside. In a large bowl — I like to use a very wide one, so I can get my hands in — whisk together 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 ½  teaspoons of sugar and a ½ teaspoon of salt. Dice one stick (4 ounces or 1/2 cup) of very cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Get out your pastry blender.

Make your mix: Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with the pastry blender, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly. When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas — this won’t take long — stop. Yes, even if it looks uneven; you’ll thank me later.

Glue it together: Start by drizzling 1/4 cup of the ice-cold water (but not the cubes, if there are any left!) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You’ll probably need an additional 2 or so tablespoons of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out and get your hands in there (see how that big bowl comes in handy?). Gather the disparate damp clumps together into one mound, kneading them gently together.

Pack it up: Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap. I like to use the sides to pull in the dough and shape it into a disk. Let the dough chill in the fridge for one hour, but preferably at least two, before rolling it out.

Do ahead: Dough will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer longer. If not using it that day, wrap it in additional layers of plastic wrap to protect it from fridge/freezer smells. To defrost your dough, move it to the fridge for one day before using it.

cherry shortbread bars.

Everyone has a food that conjures images of summer.  Or perhaps they feel as if it isn't summer until they consume said food.  For some its a toasted almond bar from a Mr. Softee truck.  For others it may be a lobster roll and a lemonade.  I imagine some feel nostalgic for a BLT made with the first heirloom tomatoes of the season and then there is the camp that feels it isn't summer without something made on a grill. Namely a good burger best served with a cold beer.

For me, it's cherries.  And not sour cherries.  I am talking about big old bing cherries.  The kind you eat my the handful while sitting outside preferably at a beach though on a bench isn't necessarily a bad thing. I eat cherries until my fingers turn pink and then I keep going because I love them.

So it's easy to imagine that come July, I am looking for every recipe possible that incorporates cherries. There are salads of micro greens, blue cheese, and cherries.  There are porkchops with cherry salsa.  And then there are desserts.  Cherry pie, cherry crumble, cherry clafoutis (such a classic) cherry brown butter bars (here's hoping I get to make those again next week), and now for the newest addition, cherry shortbread bars.  

These are the new unsung hero of picnics but they work just as well consumed at the beach or straight from the fridge after a long day at work.  It's summer in a neatly packed, handheld, and portable square.

Cherry Shortbread Bars

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

The original recipe calls for peaches and while the peach version is insanely delicious, I couldn't help adapting this to work with cherries because I am a cherry-aholic.   I changed the spices around (and added a little almond extract) just because.  The resulting bar is sublime.   

I cut mine into 24 2 x 2 1/2-ish squares. You can halve this and bake it in a 8 x 8 pan instead.

1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (12 5/8 ounces or 359 grams) cups all-purpose flour (can replace 1 cup with graham flour aka my new favorite thing)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Couple of gratings of fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 cups cherries pitted and halved (quartered if really large) 

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns and the very second that you turn around to do something else. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter, almond extract, and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly.

Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Pour the cherries over the base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over cherries and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Keeping: I’ve kept mine in the fridge and they’ve held up great. These would freeze well, between layers of waxed paper, with the container sealed well in plastic wrap.   

cherry and blueberry buckle.

When we were in the depths of winter,  I went through the archives of my favorite food blogs (and some new ones) bookmarking recipes for when summer finally showed up.  There were recipes for roasted tomato tarts and grilled potatoes with mustardy vinaigrette.   There were minty sugar snap pea salads and fruit-filled cakes galore. 

So many fruit cakes.

As evidenced by the current state of refrigerator, I get a little trigger happy around farmers markets this time of year.  It's hard to walk past rows upon rows of cherries and blueberries and raspberries and not immediately gather up as much fruit as your arms can carry.  Our freezer is already bursting with rhubarb and strawberries. Our fridge is no better.  And while I've been doing my part to consume it as fast as I purchase it, there are only so many bowls of raspberries I can eat stirred into yogurt and drizzle with maple syrup.  

This is where a good buckle recipe comes in.

My love affair with fruit-filled strussel topped rustic cakes that can be severed with a dusting of powdered sugar or a spoonful of vanilla ice cream knows no bounds.  Actually, I find it to be growing exponentially.  This cake is my new favorite version (and will probably be included in my 4th of July menu).  Bake it as soon as you can.  Studded with fruit that bakes down into pockets of jammey summer wonderfulness it's positively addicting especially when paired with a crunchy, spiced, and subtly sweet strussel topping.  You'll be the hero at your next BBQ if you bring this.     

Cherry and Blueberry Buckle

Recipe from Bon Appetit and Seven Spoons

Once again the baking time on this recipe seemed exceptionally long.  Original recipe called for 75-90 minutes of baking.  I baked in what I think was a 9 inch pan and for about 60 minutes.  In an 8 inch pan it may require the longer time.  I would start checking it at 45 minutes.   

Feel free to use all blueberries or all cherries if you choose.  Though I find the cherry/blueberry combo to be brilliant that is until I get my hands on wild Maine blueberries and then all bets are off.   

For the Topping

½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (32 g) all-purpose flour (I swapped this for graham flour because I had some on hand)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, cold and diced

For the Cake

¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

1 ½ cups (191 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar

1 egg, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or seeds scraped from a vanilla bean

¼ teaspoon almond extract

½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream

10 ounces (283 g) pitted cherries; a mix of tart and sweet is wonderful but just sweet would work

6 ounces (170 g) blueberries, fresh or defrosted

Start with the topping. Whisk sugar, flour, and spices in a medium bowl. Tumble in the butter cubes and rub between your fingers until the mixture is evenly damp and coming together in clumps. Set aside.

For the cake, preheat an oven to 350°F / 175°C. Grease an 8 or 9-inch springform or removable bottom pan. Line the base of the pan with parchment, then grease the parchment. Dust the pan with flour, and tap out the excess.

Whisk the 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. 

In another medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, around 5 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat to combine, 2 minutes. Turn the speed down to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring until mostly incorporated. Pour in the cream and stir until smooth. With a spatula, fold in the cherries and blueberries. The batter will be quite thick, and may not fold easily; as long as the fruit is somewhat stuck into the batter, all will be fine. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Place tin on a rimmed baking sheet, then sprinkle the topping over the batter in an even layer.

Bake in the hot oven until the buckle is golden brown and a cake tester poked into the center comes out clean, 50-80 minutes (see note above). Transfer pan to a wire rack and let the cool completely. Unmold and serve, as is, or dusted with icing sugar.

fruit-filled coffee cake.

Our freezer has turned into an arctic tundra where things go to die.  

I have the habit of throwing things in there haphazardly and then 3 months later while I am frantically searching for something I vaguely remember throwing in there, un-earthing a whole other world of items I had completely forgotten about. Homemade pesto, sausage, berries - the list goes on.  

I've spent the last couple of weeks making attempts to use what I have - to try and really get creative in the kitchen and instead of getting new things, to shop from my own cabinets and to do more with what I have.  It isn't always easy.  We are trained to constantly want new.  But, I am proud of my resourcefulness - it's forcing me to think differently.

And freezer clean-out isn't such a bad thing when it means cake! Coffee Cake nestled with berries you've had stored in your freezer for months just waiting for their time to shine.  This is one serious coffee cake with (in my opinion) the perfect ratio of tender cake to tart fruit to crunchy crumb.  It's a classic cake and one that will be on repeat this summer.  

Fruit-Filled Coffee Cake 

Recipe adapted from Lootie and Doof

The original recipe called for fresh sour cherries and while I have plans to make such a version this summer when cherries return to the market, this also works insanely well with just about any fruit.  My version was made with a combination of raspberries and cherries – but I think blueberries would be killer as well.  Rhubarb would also be grand (note to self must make rhubarb version next).    

For the topping

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for dish

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dish

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

For the cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk

2 ½ cups fresh sour cherries, blueberries, raspberries, or some combination of fruit (frozen also works incredibly well)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch round baking dish,  dust with flour, tap out excess.

In a medium bowl, stir together butter, flour, sugars, salt, and cinnamon, ginger, and almond extract. Set topping aside.

Whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla and almond extract.

Working in alternating batches, add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Dot top with fruit, and sprinkle with crumb topping.

Bake until golden and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool before cutting.  

cherry streusel slab pie.

Guys I made a cherry pie!
(Can finally cross that off my list of summer foods to make.)

I didn't think it was going to happen this summer with all that's going on. Road trips to Maine, friend's weddings, flea market trips, and that little thing that involves a lot of planning (aka our own wedding) but it did because if there is anything I was going to make time for it was baking a cherry pie.  

(Have you seen the cherries this year?  They are beautiful.)

This also wasn't just any cherry pie. It was a cherry slab pie which is probably the greatest kind of pie that ever was.  It's portable! It's handheld! You don't need a fork (!) which means you can eat it on the go or on picnics or on the beach.  Slab pie also feeds a crowd which means it's a party pie (and everyone loves a party).  

The rye crust is nutty and substantial, providing the perfect base for a plethora (and I mean plethora) of cherries. The streusel topping is my favorite part. A little bit sweet, a little bit crunchy, and a whole lot of almond flavor. The almond flavor as everyone knows is brilliant with the cherries (one of my personal favorite combinations) which is how I found myself gobbling up pie faster then should be allowed.  

Cherry Streusel Slab Pie

For the filling

Generous 5 cups of cherries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the strussel topping

1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup rye flour
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
5 tablespoons butter

1 rye crust (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375º F and line a 9- by 13-inch rectangle baking sheet with parchment paper.

Gently toss the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough into a roughly 9- by 13-inch rectangle, 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick (dough can come up the sides of the pan). Gently move the dough to the prepared baking sheet and put the whole thing in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Make the streusel - Blend all of the ingredients together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the mixture becomes crumbly.  Or you can blend the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender until large chunks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove the dough from the fridge and pour the cherry mixture on top.  Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the cherries.

Bake the pie until the crust is deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting into squares and serving with ice cream or whipped cream.

Rye Crust

Recipe from Yossy Arefi 

6.75 ounces all-purpose flour

6.75 ounces rye flour

9 ounces unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

3/4 teaspoon salt

6 to 9 tablespoons ice water

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

To make the crust, combine the flours, sugar and salt in a bowl. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to cut half of the butter into the flour until it is the size of peas, then cut in the other half until it is the size lima beans. Some of the butter will be completely worked into the flour, but you should have lots of visible pieces of butter in the dough, too. Add the apple cider vinegar to the water and make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Use a gentle hand or wooden spoon to mix about 8 tablespoons of water into the flour until just combined. If the dough seems very dry, add more water a couple of teaspoons at a time. You have added enough water when you can pick up a handful of the dough and squeeze it together without it falling apart. Press the dough together, form into a disc, and wrap the disc in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least one hour before using, or overnight.

apricot and cherry tart with marzipan topping.

I have found myself hoarding stone fruit.  
(There are worse things I could hoard, right?)

It started with 2 quarts of cherries and before I knew it, I was coming home almost daily with pounds of apricots and plums and more cherries then I could ever possibly eat.  I can't resist.  (Restraint is not one of my strong suits.)  They look like jewels and if there is anything I am drawn to it's bright, shinny, colorful objects.  (Tyler can attest to this.)

This tart was made out of necessity but the result is so damm good that I may require myself to continue my stone fruit frenzy.  

A delicate French tart shell serves as the base for a plethora of apricots and cherries.  The marzipan topping is everything.  Crunchy, almondy (so much almond flavor because nothing goes better with fruit then almonds), sweet but not too sweet.  It's a strussel but so much better.  As the tart bakes, the fruit breaks down turning into a tender mess of deliciousness.  The softened fruit marries beautiful with the crisp topping which is why it's such a perfect summer dessert (especially if served with whipped cream, just saying).  

Apricot and Cherry Tart with Marzipan Topping

Recipe from David Lebovitz

I played around with the ratio of fruit by using more cherries and less apricots (9 apricots and about 23 cherries). But any ratio would be lovely.  It would also be stellar with just one of the fruits.  The choice is yours.  In my constant attempt to sneak in whole grains, I subbed half the flour in the topping for whole wheat and it was a welcome addition.  

For the marzipan topping

1/2 cup (70g) flour (or 1/4 cup whole wheat and 1/4 cup all-purpose)
1/2 cup (70g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup (3 ounces, 85g) almond paste
1/4 cup (40g) sliced almonds (blanched or unblanched) (or whole almonds chopped also works)
1-2 drops pure almond extract
4 tablespoons (2 ounces, 55g) salted or unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

For the fruit

12 ripe apricots

15 cherries

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

One 9-inch (23cm) prebaked French tart shell (recipe below!)

Make the topping by mixing the flour, brown sugar, almond paste, sliced almonds, almond extract (if using), and butter with your fingers, or a pastry blender, until the pieces of almond paste and butter are the size of kernels of corn. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (109ºC).

Pit and halve the apricots and slice them into 1/2-inch (1.5cm) slices. Stem and pit the cherries, and halve them. Toss the apricots and cherries in a bowl with the cornstarch and granulated sugar, and spread the fruit into the baked tart shell.

Strew the marzipan topping over the fruit and bake until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes.

(I’ve not had this tart run over, but if you’re the cautious type, you can bake it on a foil-lined baking sheet, in case there are any spills.)

Remove from the oven and let cool a bit before serving.

Serving: The tart can be served just as it is, warm or at room temperature. It can be accompanied by ice cream, such as vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Storage: The tart will keep for up to three days at room temperature however the crisp topping will soften considerably by the second day.

French Pastry Dough

Recipe from David Lebovitz

Makes one 9 (23 cm) tart shell

90 g (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used canola)

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

150 g (5oz, or 1 slightly-rounded cup) flour

Preheat the oven to 410º F (210º C).

In a medium-sized ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex bowl, combine the butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt.

Place the bowl in the oven for 15 minutes, until the butter is bubbling and starts to brown just around the edges.

When done, remove the bowl from oven (and be careful, since the bowl will be hot and the mixture might sputter a bit), dump in the flour and stir it in quickly, until it comes together and forms a ball which pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Transfer the dough to a 9-inch (23 cm) tart mold with a removable bottom and spread it a bit with a spatula.

Once the dough is cool enough to handle, pat it into the shell with the heel of your and, and use your fingers to press it up the sides of the tart mold.

Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork about ten times, then bake the tart shell in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.

Let the shell cool before filling.

cherry almond dutch baby.

Brunch in New York is taken very seriously which is why I both love and loathe it.  I loathe it because it's usually loud, (thanks to a child have a severe temper-tantrum) rushed, (turn-over is the name of the game) and underwhelming.  I love it because the foods that are socially acceptable to be eaten at brunch, namely eggs benedict and french toast (which if we are being honest here is practically the same as bread pudding) are some of my favorite foods in the world. 

So don't you think it's about time you start serving brunch at home?  You can eat in your PJ's! And you can serve thing's like a cherry almond dutch baby which may be the greatest brunch dish of all time.  
A dutch baby is essentially a giant pancake that gets baked in a cast iron skillet.  This one with it's addition of cherries and slivered almonds is an elevated version (that is extremely appropriate for the summer months).  I like it served with a plethora of powdered sugar (though I wouldn't be opposed if you decided to add a spoonful of whipped cream) and the current issue of NYMag.  

Suddenly brunch sounds dreamy.  


Cherry Almond Dutch Baby

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 2 generously or 4 petitely

3 large egg
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (more or less to taste)
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups pitted sweet cherries
1/2 cup sliced almonds, well-toasted
Powdered sugar
Lemon wedges

Heat oven to 425°F. Whisk egg, sugar, flour, milk, extract and salt together until the batter is blended but lumpy; you can also do this in a blender. In a 12-inch ovenproof frying pan, melt butter. Add cherries and cook until warmed, about 2 minutes. Pour in batter and transfer to heated oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and rumpled-looking. (I err on the side of more cooking time with these pancakes, because I find the longer, within a range, they cook, the more rumpled and golden they get.)

Remove pancake from oven and quickly scatter with toasted almonds, dust with powdered sugar and squeeze lemon juice over. Serve in wedges, piping hot.

cherry brown butter bars.

July only means one thing.

Cherries.  (!!!)

Beautiful Bing cherries eaten by the handful.  Sour cherries thrown in pies.  

(It's and incredibly wonderful time of year.)  

These cherry brown butter bars are here to kick off the next couple of weeks of cherry recipes and I can safely say these are the best thing I've made in a long time.  (Really, truly!)

These bars manage to taste like everything I want this time of year. Plump Bing cherries are paired with a brown butter custard that is reminiscent of a clafoutis filling (and anytime clafoutis can be transformed into a handheld dessert I become one happy girl).  The cherries and custard sit a top a shortbread crust which makes these perfect for toting on a picnic or to your friends.  

But trust me, they will be very hard to share.  

Cherry Brown Butter Bars

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

Makes 16 2-inch square bars 

Crust

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Filling

1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1 pound sweet cherries, which will yield 12 ounces of pitted cherries, which yielded some leftovers, perfect for snacking (alternately, you can use 12 ounces of the berry of your choice)

Make crust: Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut two 12-inch lengths of parchment paper and trim each to fit the 8-inch width of an 8×8-inch square baking pan. Press it into the bottom and sides of your pan in one direction, and then use the second sheet to line the rest of the pan, perpendicular to the first sheet. 

Using rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl, or if you’re Deb, in the bottom of the small saucepan you used to melt the butter. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to your prepared pan, and use your fingertips to press the dough evenly across the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until golden, about 18 minutes (it will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

Make the filling: Cook butter in heavy small saucepan (a lighter-colored one will make it easier to see the color changing, which happens quickly) over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often and watching carefully, about six minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup to cool slightly.

Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

Arrange pitted cherries, or the berries of your choice, in bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over the fruit. Bake bars until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes (please check starting at 30 min and watch your baking times carefully). Cool bars completely in pan on rack.

Use the parchment paper overhang to carefully remove cooled bars from pan and place them on a cutting board and cut them into squares with a very sharp knife. The cherries, if they fall over your slicing lines, will want to give you trouble but if you saw a sharp knife into them slowly before pressing down, they’ll cut neatly and with minimum carnage.

Do ahead: Can be made at least a day ahead, and stored at room temperature. Any longer, keep them cool in the fridge.