This year, I've been trying to cook even more with seasonal ingredients. We have been visiting the farmers' markets up to two times a weekend, and I've been really attracted to doing more with fruit instead of just focusing on vegetable creations.
Perhaps my most successful fruit-based cooking attempt of the summer was the New York Times Strawberries with Browned Butter Shortcake, which I made at my parents' house in Michigan. This David Guas recipe added a few interesting spins to a standard strawberry shortcake, notably substituting a browned butter spongecake for the traditional biscuits. The spongecake turned out wonderfully, such that it alone may become a staple in our kitchen, as did the strawberry compote.
I documented the attempt below, and note the changes I made to fit what ingredients and tools were available.
You first prepare the strawberry sauce, which I modified by using less strawberries (to fit what was in my parents fridge - approx. 1/2 - 2/3 what were called for in the original recipe) and less sugar to compensate.
You stew the fresh strawberries, sugar and some orange zest on top of a pot of boiling water to cook down and allow the sugars to melt into the berries.
While the strawberries are cooking, you can also start preparing the spongecake, starting by browning the butter.
And also prepare the baking pan for the spongecake batter as well, so it doesn't stick to the pan. Because I used a scalloped cake pan, I couldn't get the parchment to line up completely to the edges, which ended up being fine post-baking.
Next, you prepare the rest of the cake batter, by whipping the eggs and sugar in a double-boiler, or in a heat-proof mixing bowl above a pot of simmering water.
Unfortunately, I didn't much luck getting the batter to triple in volume on the stovetop, so removed the mixture from the heat after 6 minutes or so to prevent the eggs from cooking.
After carefully folding in the dry ingredients just until combined, pour the batter into the prepare pan and bake until also just done and the sides are lightly browned. For me, this took approx. 17 - 18 minutes instead of the 20 called for in the recipe.
Invert the cake and cool completely.
Ok, now the great part - serve!
This spongecake had great texture - light and smooth - and wonderful flavor from the browned butter. Interestingly enough, the pre-baked batter didn't taste that good, but somehow post-baking, the flavors really came together. The strawberries were also a little tart for my taste, which may have been due to a mistake in reducing the sugar ratio to match the reduced strawberries, but in any case, I'll probably just add more sugar next time. Otherwise, I can definitely see this as an annual summer treat!
That looks so good Madhu!
Posted by: Anu | October 10, 2015 at 21:32