Sour Cherry Almond Crunch Cake

Almond-topped baked goods on wood.

This simple and absolutely delicious coffee cake is another wonderful use of sour cherries. While the fresh season for these gems is behind us, good quality bottled sour cherries work fine in this recipe. Whole milk buttermilk provides tenderness and its distinctive tang. Sour Cherry Almond Crunch Coffee Cake is the perfect treat for brunch…

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Browned Butter Cherry Tart

PRINT Browned Butter Cherry Tart Yield: 1 9†tart # of Servings: 8 to 10 Difficulty:   Moderate Ingredients: 1 recipe Pâte Sucrée 2 ½ cups (14 oz / 397 g) fresh sour cherries, stemmed and pitted, or 1 bottled sour cherries. Browned Butter Custard  4 large eggs, room temperature1 cup (7 oz / 198…

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Browned Butter Cherry Tart

Cherry tart with a glossy glaze.

This wonderful tart is a combination of farmers market sour cherries, a browned butter custard, and a crisp Pâte Sucrée tart shell. It may be served as is, with a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar, or dressed up a bit with an apricot glaze. Browned butter, or beurre noisette in French, is an extremely useful…

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Orange and Chocolate Gâteau

PRINT Orange and Chocolate Gâteau Yield: 1 8†cake # of Servings: 10 Method: Separated egg sponge Difficulty:Moderate Ingredients: 1 recipe Butter Sponge Cake       1 recipe French Buttercream, or Swiss Meringue Buttercream 1 recipe Simple Syrup   1 tbl grated orange rind (from 2 oranges)1 tsp orange extract or orange oil ½ cup (4 fl oz)…

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Orange and Chocolate Gâteau

A cake with chocolate frosting and orange decorations.

This light and flavorful cake, a marriage of orange and chocolate, is a perfect summer dessert.  In it, soft butter sponge cake layers are brushed with an orange-scented syrup, layered with a rich orange buttercream, then coated with the same bittersweet chocolate glaze used in many of our chocolate tortes. The result is a wonderful…

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Red and Blue Fruit Tarts

PRINT Red and Blue Fruit Tarts Yield: 2 8†long tarts # of Servings: 12 Ingredients: 12 oz Puff Pastry  or 1 box store bought frozen puff pastry 1 egg, lightly beaten ½ recipe Pastry Cream¼ cup heavy creamor, Mascarpone Filling:  8 oz mascarpone, room temperature â…“ cup (2.3 oz / 65 g) granulated sugar…

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Red and Blue Fruit Tarts

Blueberry and strawberry pastry on wood board.

There was a strawberry farm on Martha’s Vineyard that grew the most amazing strawberries. Thimble Farms’s berries were the essence of the perfect strawberry – fragrant, juicy, and sweet. During the peak berry season, I would drive the Seven Layers van over there and pick up a few flats (12 pints) for our strawberry desserts.…

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Strawberry Galette

PRINT East 62nd Steet Lemon Cake Yield: 1 galette # of Servings: 8 to 10 Method: Creaming Ingredients: 1 recipe Pâte Brisée Filling:  ¼ cup (1.75 oz / 51 g) sugar 3 tbl (.8 oz / 22 g) ground almonds 3 tbl (1.1 oz / 31 g) all-purpose flour 1 ¾ lb (680 g) fresh…

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Strawberry Galette

PRINT Bread Pudding Yield: 1 galette # of Servings: 8 to 10  Difficulty: Creaming Ingredients: 1 recipe Pâte Brisée Filling:  ¼ cup (1.75 oz / 51 g) sugar 3 tbl (.8 oz / 22 g) ground almonds 3 tbl (1.1 oz / 31 g) all-purpose flour 1 ¾ lb (680 g) fresh strawberries1 , sliced…

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Strawberry Galette

Strawberry galette with flaky crust.

I love galettes but had doubts about one made with strawberries, worrying that they would lose their structure and turn to jam. However, those doubts were totally unfounded, as this Strawberry Galette is a fabulous dessert. The sliced strawberries soften but remain intact, and the baking process intensifies their flavor immensely. I stuck with the…

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