Raspberries are in, so I went and picked some. Sometimes when I pick them, I find they’ve become mushy within hours, but these survived a couple days in the fridge (it was very cool when I picked them, that’s part of the reason why.) I made jam with most of them, and with the remainder, one of my favorite summer cakes, a simple berry buttermilk cake.
that’s my favorite cake with summer berries - I’ve made it with raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, etc. I prefer it to her strawberry summer cake.
@mig and @sallyt is that SK buttermilk berry cake fairly idiot-proof? It has been many a long year since I did any baking but that cake appeals and I have company coming. Also, if you do think it’s idiot-proof, do you think I could reduce the sugar in the batter at all?
It’s one of the very easiest cakes I know. If you follow the directions, you’ll be fine! Feel free to ask questions here if you like 
Don’t reduce the sugar. The cake only has 2/3 cup.
I’m a fan of that cake and it’s very simple and easy for anyone. Deb’s weight measurements are a little off. 2/3 cup of sugar is 133 g, not 146, and that’s what I use (well, 130). That’s a difference of a tablespoon, which isn’t huge, though. It’s standard equal parts sugar as flour. I would not make the sugar less than the flour here because you have tart berries to account for.
Definitely make sure to use the full amount of sugar that gets sprinkled on top!
Gretchen, I’ve been making that cake since it was published in Gourmet in 2009. It is truly fool proof… I frequently bake it in an 8” cake mold rather than 9” and just bake a few minutes longer. Never had a fail.
Thanks so much @mig @Shellybean and @Nannybakes for your advice and encouragement!! That is part of why I lurk on this thread although I am not a baker - such a nice community here! (Plus luscious photos.)
I have SIX quarts of freshly picked strawberries - any suggestions for what to do???
Have you made strawberry sorbet? The River Cafe’s strawberry lemon sorbet is really delicious. Food 52 and NYT have the recipe . I would read some of the comments to see if it appeals to you, but it has always been a winner for me.
Not at all, soft and scoopable. I’ve only used Meyer lemons and I reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups rather than 2 cups…but…I do add 2T Lyles Golden which keeps it soft although the sugar is reduced.
awesome, making it for sure. I’ll see if I can find Meyer lemons. Any other changes?
Make sure to purée the whole trimmed and diced lemon with some of the strawberries until it’s finely puréed. Add the rest of the strawberries and sugar to the blender until you cannot see any strawberry seeds. Add the lemon juice to taste…I like mine lemony but it’s your call on the degree of lemon taste you want to introduce. As it’s late for Meyer, regular lemons will likely be more tart.
ETA…As the mixture will be frothy , I like to refrigerate several hours or more so that the mixture is dense and you are not introducing excessive air bubbles which might make it less pleasant on the tongue.
Hazelnut coffee cream torte. Four layers of flourless hazelnut sponge cake moistened with coffee syrup, filled with praline and coffee mousseline, and finished with one of my favorite chocolate buttercreams that gets made in the food processor or blender.
That sounds so delicious! Do tell about the chocolate buttercream.
Normally my palate gets fatigued and layer cakes like this never taste good to me on day 1, but I tasted a thin sliver of this when slicing it up to distribute among friends and neighbors and thought it was amazing! Such an excellent combination of flavors!
The buttercream is made by pouring boiling hot coffee into egg yolks and chocolate running in the blender or food processor, then soft butter is added to emulsify. It produces a shiny, super smooth buttercream that is not too rich nor too sweet. No guarantee that the egg yolks fully cook with the amount of coffee, though.
I actually did this with the immersion blender because it’s a smaller batch. Most layer cakes I bake these days are smaller versions.
Oh I love that cake!
Raspberry tart with crème légère. The crust was blind baked and then a layer of chocolate shavings added while the crust was still warm. Popped into the oven for a minute to finish melting. The chilled crème légère was added after I chilled the crust. Topped with the tiniest raspberries from the FM. Chilling it again for a sample after lunch, I anticipate good eats.
Love it.
