Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

This Strawberry Buttermilk Cake is one of my all time favorites.

It's so fresh tasting and a breeze to make and serve, making it the perfect cake for potlucks and parties. Just know that you need to make it at least a day in advance since the cake needs to chill for 6 hours before adding the cream cheese icing.

My preference is to make this cake when strawberries are in season but frozen strawberries work well too.

Here's the recipe:

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
(Serves 16 to 20)

1/2 cup butter, unsalted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 (3 oz.) package strawberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water

1 pound sliced strawberries (I prefer fresh but thawed frozen berries work well too.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 pan.

Beat the butter with the vanilla extract. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Mix well.

Add the baking powder and salt and mix again. Finally, add the flour and beat until thoroughly combined.

The finished batter.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until done and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

As the cake is baking, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water and add the sliced strawberries. Set this mixture aside until the cake comes out of the oven.

The strawberry mixture.

Slash the hot, just out of the oven, cake in a diagonal pattern and pour the gelatin strawberry mixture over it. Let the cake cool to room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator to cool for at least 6 hours before icing.

The hot slashed cake is ready for the strawberry mixture.

Let the cake cool at room temperature and then chill it in the fridge for at least 6 hours before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing
2 packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream

In a large bowl, whip the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the powdered sugar and whip again until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Gradually add the cream, whipping after each addition. Don't add to much at once or it will splash. Once all the cream is added, whip the icing on high speed until it is light and spreadable.

Ice the top of the cake and that's it. Keep the cake covered in refrigerator until serving. 

Icing the cake.

The finished cake.

Hungry Guests

Andy and Terri assembling quesadillas.

The last week of the month is typically our busiest at The Wednesday Community Meal and today was no exception since it was not only the last, but a rare fifth Wednesday. At the end of our two hour service we had served 457 meals, the busiest we've been this year.

The line to get into the meal was long, running through the courtyard of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and all the way out to the sidewalk on NW 19th Ave. After the first hour, we had already served nearly 300 people. Our guests were very hungry today and very appreciative.

The first entree we served was homemade frittata filled with toasted bread, tomatoes, onions and herbs and then we moved onto chicken, lasagna, fish and finally quesadillas filled with refried beans, cheese and topped with homemade salsa.

A serving of homemade frittata.

Guests were also offered soup, salad and dessert. The latter was extra special since volunteer Cindy made mini cheesecakes. I think cheesecake has to be our guests' favorite dessert and it's something we don't get to serve very often so it was a wonderful treat.

Volunteers Isla Blue and Mimi serving dessert.

Creamsicle Macarons

Learning that I can flavor macaron shells by adding extracts to the granulated sugar and it doesn't ruin the meringue, has got me so excited that I had to experiment again.

This time,  I created "Creamsicle" macarons that are so fresh tasting with the winning combination of orange and vanilla coming from both the macaron shell and the filling. The flavor bursts in your mouth from all directions and for me, brings back so many fond summertime memories. I just loved eating orange and vanilla ice cream with a wooden spoon!

To color these, I used the technique of drawing stripes of gel coloring on the inside my pastry bags before adding the macaron batter.

It's an easy to create and cool effect that gives you different intensities of color — some bright and some more subtle. In combination, I think the variety is eye catching.

An assortment of colors.

Here's the recipe:

Creamsicle Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
Orange gel coloring

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Add the vanilla and orange extract to the granulated sugar and mix it well. Set it aside.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well.
 
Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

With a small food only paint brush, draw three stripes of orange gel coloring on the inside of each piping bag. A little coloring goes a very long way, so just dip your brush once in the coloring before each swipe.

A pastry bag filled with macaron batter added after painting the three stripes of color.

Transfer the macaron batter into the piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Piped macarons.

Leave the macarons to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch. While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave them on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off. Sort the macarons into pairs and fill with Creamsicle Buttercream.

The baked macarons sorted and ready to be filled.

Creamsicle Buttercream
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/4 teaspoons orange extract
Orange gel coloring, optional 

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whip together until smooth and creamy. If desired, tint with orange gel coloring. Transfer the buttercream to a pastry bag for the filling of the macarons.

Filling the macarons.

All done!

Neapolitan Macarons

My daughter Eleanor came up with the idea to make Neapolitan Macarons about a year ago. I thought it was such a clever idea at the time and planned on figuring a way to make them,  but somehow got sidetracked and kind of just forgot.

That is, until this week, when my oldest daughter Una jogged my memory with a picture she showed me of some pretty resin chocolates she made at The Oregon College of Art and Craft.

Una's resin chocolates.

So with the idea of Neapolitan Macarons  back and fresh in my mind, there was no time to waste. I got busy and whipped these up today and even had success with a new technique.

I wanted to make a vanilla flavored macaron shell but didn't have a vanilla bean on hand.  I was hesitant to use vanilla extract thinking the extra liquid might mess up the meringue and change the texture of the batter, but I went for it and it worked. My method was to mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of extract into the granulated sugar and add this to my egg whites as usual.

I added the vanilla to my measured out 100 grams of granulated sugar.

I mixed the vanilla in and then added this to my egg whites as usual to make the meringue for my macarons.

Knowing I can add extracts to the macaron batter this way changes everything. Now I've got more ideas and and more baking to do! In the meantime, here's the recipe:

Neapolitan Macarons 
(makes 120 macarons)

To make these, you need to make two batches of macaron shells, one chocolate and one vanilla.

Chocolate Macaron Shells
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
10g cocoa powder

150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and set aside.Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

The chocolate macarons setting before baking.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.
Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.


Vanilla Macaron Shells
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Add the vanilla to the granulated sugar and mix it well. Set it aside.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 
Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

The vanilla macarons setting before baking.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch. While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave them on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.
   
Strawberry Filling
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup good quality low-sugar strawberry preserves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pink food coloring

Whip together the butter, preserves and sea salt. It takes a good 10 minutes for the mixture to come together and be fully incorporated. Be patient and just keep whipping. When your buttercream if done, add enough coloring to tint it bright pink like strawberry ice cream.

Transfer the filling to a piping bag for filling the macarons.

The finished strawberry filling.

To assemble:
Sort the macarons into pairs of one vanilla and one chocolate. Add a dollop of Strawberry Filling and sandwich the cookies together.

Sorting the macarons into pairs.

Adding the strawberry filling.

All done!

Lots Of Delicious Cake

Jane, Diana and Dorrie, our wonderful volunteer servers, worked really hard today.  They helped serve 310 meals and there was a constant line to get inside for for nearly an hour and a half after we opened our doors at 11 a.m.

Our guests got to eat delicious cake at the Wednesday Community Meal today thanks to the generosity of Baker & Spice which donated an assortment of flavors for us to serve. The local bakery's four-layer, all-butter cakes are made with only the best ingredients and are sooo goood. It's such a pleasure to be able to treat our guests. Thank you Baker & Spice!

German Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Ganache Cake

Black & White Cake

Carrot Cake

Latte Cake

The Wednesday Community Meal is very fortunate to have the support of Baker & Spice and other generous businesses in our community because their donations keep our operating costs down and help us feed everyone who comes to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesdays.

In addition to the cake, we served soup, salad and an assortment of entrees. We started out with homemade meatloaf and then moved on to chicken skewers, fish, ham and finally chicken curry. Our guests were very happy.

We served 310 meals.

Salted Caramel And Dark Belgian Chocolate Macarons

It's so much fun getting creative with macaron making because the filling options really are limitless. This is my third take on a salted caramel macaron, having already made straight up salted caramel and salted caramel spiked with coffee, and I have no doubt there will be more versions to come.


Besides the flavor of the dark Belgian chocolate which is in my opinion enhances pretty much everything, I like the texture of the firm set chocolate layer against the creamy salted caramel buttercream. That, combined with the crunch and chewiness of the macaron shell makes this macaron extra special.  After a taste, my husband told me this was his new favorite flavor, but of course with my macaron making addiction, there will be more to come...

Here's the recipe:

Salted Caramel And Dark Belgian Chocolate Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well.

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch. 
While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave them on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Salted Caramel Buttercream and Dark Chocolate.

Salted Caramel Buttercream
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup salted caramel sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Whip the butter until it is smooth and light. Add the caramel sauce and salt and whip again until light and creamy. Transfer it to a piping bag for the filling of the macarons. 

Dark Belgian Chocolate Filling:
(note: make this only when your macarons are sorted, flipped over and all ready for filling. Once you melt the chocolate, there's no time to waste, you've got to be ready to go.)

You'll need 1 1/4 cups of Belgian chocolate chips. I prefer the Callebaut brand. 

 

Place 1 cup of the chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir. Keep microwaving for 10 to 20 second sessions and stirring between them until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of chips until they are completely melted. This method is called seeding and is a quick way to temper chocolate. 

 

Let the chocolate cool for a minute before transferring to a piping bag.

To Assemble:
Sort your macarons into pairs and flip both over. Starting with the chocolate, pipe a dollop on the back of one macaron from each of the pairs. Don't go too close to the edge or it will spill over. Let the chocolate firm and cool for about 10 minutes before proceeding.

Add a dollop of salted caramel buttercream to the remaining macarons and sandwich the pairs carefully together. Don't press to hard or the chocolate will flow out and make a mess.

Filling the macarons. I let the chocolate set for about 10 minutes before adding the buttercream and sandwiching the cookies together. If you rush this process, the warm chocolate will melt the buttercream, spill out and make a mess.

Orange Scented Shortbread

A new find, a bottle of Orange Peel from Penzys Spices, was the inspiration that led me to create this delicious shortbread that I think I made even better with a dip in dark Belgian chocolate.

I found the unusual product on a shopping trip with my dear friend Pam who was visiting from Seattle. We were heading towards Powell's Bookstore when we walked by the shop on NW 10th Avenue and I suggested we go inside. 

Penzys is a company I want to support not only because it sells the best tasting and freshest spices, but because it's been very generous to The Wednesday Community Meal. In the past they've given us cases of black pepper, chicken stock, ham stock and beef stock — staples we need and use regularly at our meal.

At the store, there was a sample of the Orange Peel that I smelled and was immediately blown away. The orange scent was so strong and so fresh that I knew it was a product I wanted to try and use and that's how this shortbread came about. 

Before I added the peel to my shortbread dough, I re-hydrated it by soaking it in a tablespoon of vanilla. The smell of this vanilla orange combination was intoxicating, reminding me of the scent of a Creamsicle or Orange Julius. Why can't anyone make perfume that smells this good?

Here's the recipe:

Orange Scented Shortbread
(makes about 6 dozen)
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 teaspoons Penzys Orange Peel (Note: If this product isn't available, you can use 5 teaspoons of finely grated orange zest.)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar, optional (for rolling the cookies in before baking)

In a small container, combine the orange peel with the vanilla and let this set for about 10 minutes.

Mix the orange peel in the vanilla and set it aside for a bit.

The peel will soak up the vanilla and it will look like this.

Cream together the butter, vanilla/orange mixture, sea salt and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add the flour and mix just until combined.

The mixed dough.

Divide the dough into thirds. Wrap each third in a piece of plastic wrap and roll into a log about 1.5 inches in diameter. If you are having trouble shaping the logs, just do your best and then let the dough chill for 30 minutes to firm up — then re-roll and re-shape the logs. Let the logs chill for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If desired, roll the logs in raw sugar (I do this extra step because I like the crunch and look that the sugar gives the cookies), and cut 1/4-inch thick rounds from the logs. Then cut the rounds in half.

Cutting the cookies.

Ready for the oven!

Place the cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 2-inches of space between them. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden on the edges and set. Let the cookies cool completely before dipping.

Dipping the Cookies:
10 oz. dark chocolate, divided (I like Callebaut brand Belgian chocolate best)

First off, have your cookies at hand, ready to dip and a counter or sheetpans lined with parchement paper before you prepare the chocolate. You have to have a place to set your cookies after dipping.

Place 8 oz. of the chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl. You need to use a bowl that adequately holds the chocolate but is small enough so that the chocolate isn't too spread out. You need depth for the dipping.

Microwave the chocolate in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring after each until the chocolate is thoroughly melted. Immediately add the remaining 2 oz. of chocolate and stir until it's also thoroughly melted. This is called the seeding method and is a simple way to temper the chocolate.

Dip a cookie about 1/4 into the melted chocolate and give it a gentle shake to remove any excess. Place the cookie on parchment and keep working quickly until all the cookies have been dipped. Leave the cookies on the parchment until the chocolate is completely set.

Chicken For Lunch!

The roasted chicken we served today drew a large crowd to our meal.

Chicken is hands down the most popular entree that we serve at The Wednesday Community Meal.

In the past, we've been able to serve it quite frequently because of the generosity of Lift Urban Portland which donates to us large boxes of frozen chicken quarters.

But lately, they haven't had it to give to us and our guests missed it until today because the local nonprofit treated us to four boxes.

We seasoned the large pieces of chicken with a homemade seasoning blend of garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and little chili powder and baked it in a 350-degree oven until it was done and the skin was crisp and golden brown. The smell in the kitchen was amazing and after our first seating of 60 people, there was a long line to get into the lunch. Word on the street spreads really fast when roasted chicken is being served.

The first 130 or so guests got chicken and then it was onto ribs, enchiladas, lasagna and finally ham. Everyone got a good meal.

The side dishes we served today were rice, green beans, mashed potatoes and mashed carrots. The latter was a dish we concocted on the fly because of the largest carrots I've ever seen that our gleaners picked up at The Oregon Food Bank. Last week we roasted the carrots but this week I thought we should try something different and our carrot mash ended up better than I could have imagined.

We boiled the carrots for over an hour and then mashed them by hand (thank you Andy!) and added butter, salt and pepper and fresh parsley. It was a beautiful and very fresh tasting dish.

Our special carrot side dish.

Here are some of the wonderful volunteers who helped us prepare and serve 333 meals today:

Isla Blue who is 5-years-old, worked alongside volunteer Cindy serving pudding in the busy dining room. Isla Blue's dad is a regular volunteer in the dining room, greeting and seating our guests, and her grandma is the co-chair of Outreach at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. With such great role models for volunteering in her life, I have a feeling she'll do great things.

I can't say enough good things about Terri. She comes early to help cook and stays until the very end,  helping to clean up. She's smart and efficient in the kitchen and a huge help to me.

Justine, John and Leah are also indispensable. They are hard workers and up for any task. After prepping food for the meal, Justine went out into the dining room to wait on tables and Leah and John stayed in the kitchen plating the salads.

Nancy just knows exactly what to do without being told. It's like she's a mind reader! I'll say "oh I forgot to get the rice out of the oven," and she'll say "I already did it." Keeping track of what's cooking would be overwhelming without Nancy. She also stays late to help clean up.

I owe Andy big time for mashing pounds and pound of boiled carrots in small batches. It was tedious work!

Andy insisted that I mash one batch of carrots and pose for a picture because in his words, "you're never on your blog." So here I am, but really, he deserves the credit for mashing the carrots.