Desserts

buttermilk ricotta ice pops with lemon, thyme, & honey

Okay, so it’s Summer.

But I think the honeymoon’s already over. Sorry Summer.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m still into it. There’s so much about the season to be into. Parties and picnics and barbecues and day drinking and sunshine and long days and shorts and slip-on shoes and trips to Coney Island and fresh local produce. Glorious beautiful juicy ripe produce. Unbeatable unbelievable produce.

I’ve been so excited about the warmer weather and all the wonderful things that come along with it though, that I forgot about the things that I’m not so into. Unfortunately, now that Summer is upon us those unpleasant things refuse to be forgotten.

Sunburn and mosquitos and fruit flies and humidity and sweat stains and sleepless nights in sweaty sheets and days so hot that the plants just wilt against the force of the sun. To make matters worse, there’s something especially… yucky about this time of year when you spend it in New York City. Stale air and hot concrete and nights just as hot as days and stifling subway platforms and the smell of hot garbage on a Friday night. Ugh. So gross.

To help cure my hot weather woes, my red hot blues, I thought a fresh batch of ice pops was in order. Since I can’t actually live in the freezer, I figured that something sweet and icy straight out of the freezer would have to do.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and it’s totally true. I invented these ice pops because it was necessary for me to not go outside in the heat for groceries. I had a tub of ricotta in the fridge that needed using up, and since lasagna isn’t exactly hot weather food, I thought I’d give ricotta ice pops a whirl. From there I thought that lemon, thyme, & honey would be the perfect complements to sweet and creamy frozen ricotta, and that buttermilk would be an ideal liquid to thin out and pair with all that yumminess.

These ice pops are wonderfully cool and refreshing, but beyond that, they also have an amazing unexpected flavor. I will admit that the ricotta does give them a slight sort of graininess, but I don’t find it at all unpleasant. Maybe it’s because they’re so creamy and taste so rich without feeling heavy. There’s something almost cheesecake-like about them, but they’re somehow lighter and more sophisticated. The lemon and thyme are the perfect, dare I Summery, complement to the subtle sweetness of the honey and the cultured dairy creaminess of the buttermilk and ricotta.

You better eat them fast though because they won’t be around for long in this heat!

Buttermilk Ricotta Ice Pops with Lemon, Thyme, & Honey

Servings: about 10 3-ounce pops
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1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta
3/4 cup buttermilk
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, washed and stripped from stems
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt

place all ingredients in a blender and puree until very smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of carafe as needed. Carefully pour mixture into ice pop molds, filling almost to the top. Place cover or foil over molds and move them to the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove, add popsicle sticks to each pop, and return to freezer. This keeps the sticks from sinking too far or moving off kilter. Freeze for at least 3 hours more, or until completely solid.

Remove from pop molds by gently running under warm water for 10 or 15 seconds per mold.

cornmeal topped blueberry cobbler

A few days ago I mentioned that my boss recently hosted a seafood boil for work. Best job ever.

Most people involved were in charge of bringing a dish or two to go along with all the amazing seafood we consumed that night. So much seafood.

I thought that a big skillet of buttermilk cornbread and my new favorite coleslaw recipe would be the perfect compliment to the rest of the menu.

Everyone knows my reputation as a baker, so on top of my coleslaw I was put in charge of bringing a dessert too. Fresh summer fruit was the name of the game so, with lemon bars and key lime pie already on the menu, I decided a seasonal fruit cobbler would be just the ticket.

Did you know that the name “Cobbler” comes from the look and texture of the topping after it’s baked? I just learned that. Once the drop biscuit topping is baked it’s said to resemble the rough and bumpy look of cobblestone streets.

Originally I had peach cobbler in mind, but the market was overflowing with perfect plump ripe blueberries, while the peaches were still a bit hard. So, change of plans.

Who doesn’t love fresh blueberries anyway? I’ll save the peaches for a pie. Or ice cream. Or jam. Or all of those things.

To add a bit of interest to the traditional buttermilk biscuit topping, I decided to try a cornmeal biscuit recipe. You still get a super soft and tender topping but with just a little extra added texture and flavor.

The filling gets super bubbly, jammy and wonderful once it goes into the oven. The blueberries burst and release their juices and the brown sugar, lemon & spice give them a great syrupy blueberry pie-like flavor. But instead of fussy pie crust, there are biscuits on top. Soft, tender, heavenly buttermilk biscuits with bits of jammy blueberry filling peaking out and bubbling up over the top.

I mean, I know you want to go make this right now. If you’re good at practicing restraint (I’m not) you could always wait until your next picnic or bbq. Oh wait. I feel like there’s one coming up, like really really soon…

Cornmeal Topped Blueberry Cobbler

Servings: 12 to 16-ish
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adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 tablespoons butter
4 pints (about 8 cups) blueberries, rinsed and dried
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cornmeal biscuit topping
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter a 9×13, or 4 quart baking dish. Toss blueberries with sugar, flour, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and spread evenly in your prepared baking dish.

Wipe out bowl and use it to stir together flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry mixture with a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingertips. Stir in buttermilk until a wet, loose dough comes together.

Plop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough over the filling; don’t worry about covering entire surface. Bake until the filling is bubbly and the topping is beginning to brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. If desired, top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

lemony strawberry cupcakes with strawberry meringue buttercream

For whatever reason, I tend to cook, and bake, in phases.

There was a point, a few years ago, when I was making scads of cupcakes. Up until that point pies were my thing, but then one day, suddenly, I started making cupcakes and couldn’t stop. Every chance I got; birthdays, special occasions, holidays, parties, picnics, you name it; I was there with a box of cupcakes in hand.

Then, a year or two ago, I started perfecting my layer cake technique and my cupcake phase was over as suddenly as it began. I started pumping out picture perfect layer cakes, and my overgrown stash of cupcake liners and muffin pans got pushed to the back of the cupboards and forgotten. I’m not positive, but this might mean I’m getting back on the cupcake train.

When a good friend of ours announced the other day that she was having a birthday party at a bar in her neighborhood, I knew right away that it was time to dust off the muffin pans and bake some cupcakes.

A lot of people have become disillusioned with cupcakes because they were so ubiquitous at their peak, especially in New York. I totally get it. I do. The cupcake trend was out of control, and there were a lot of bad cupcakes out there.

But! The cupcake craze is over! Like totally over. We moved on. We have gourmet donuts! And Cronuts! And Cragels!
You’re officially allowed to like cupcakes again. You don’t even have to make any references to Sex and the City when you eat them or anything. I promise! Really.

And, the thing about cupcakes is that they’re extremely portable and easy to eat without plates and forks and knives and all the other things you need to serve and eat a layer cake. Cupcakes are a whole lot easier, and a whole lot more fun. They’re the perfect single serving of cake and icing, they’re handheld, and they’re totally adorable and festive.

Not only are these cupcakes fun and easy to eat, but they also happen to be completely and thoroughly delicious. Our friend requested something fruity and summery, so I went all out and flavored both the cake and the icing with strawberries and lemon. To really pack in the flavor I pulsed the strawberries in a blender with a little bit of sugar, and cooked the mixture on the stove to reduce and concentrate the ripe berry flavor. This extra step makes a huge difference to fill these cupcakes with bright fruit forward flavor without the use of any extracts or artificial flavorings.

These cupcakes are incredibly moist and full of summery flavor. They’re sweet but not too sweet, and the lemon juice and zest adds a bold brightness to the strawberry flavor. Since the cakes are sweet enough on their own, I chose to go for a light and airy meringue buttercream, and it was definitely the right decision. Traditional American buttercream would probably have been too heavy and sweet here. Meringue buttercream is fluffy and light and just barely sweet, like whipped cream but much more stable. Not only is the texture and flavor perfect, but the icing is perfectly pretty in pink, with little specks of fresh strawberry showing through. Because these were for a birthday I added some festive pink sanding sugar for extra sparkle and shine, but to be honest, I probably didn’t need to.

Obviously, they were a huge hit.

Lemony Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

Servings: About 32 - 34 cupcakes
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Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Reduced Strawberry Puree:
2 lbs of ripe strawberries
1/4 cups sugar
pinch of salt

wash and hull strawberries and either chop very finely, or pulse in a food processor or blender. You want them finely chopped, not liquified. Mix together with sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and reduce for about 20 or 30 minutes, until thick and jammy. Stir regularly and watch carefully, it’ll want to boil over. I had about 1 1/2 cups of puree when I was finished. If you have more, or less, divide between the cake batter and the icing at a 2:1 ratio.

For the Cupcakes:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
zest and juice of 2 lemons
3 eggs
1 egg white
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup reduced strawberry puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated & scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk, and beating until well combined. Add lemon juice and strawberry puree, and blend until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to pans to wire racks to cool for 15 minutes; turn out the cupcakes onto the rack and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature in airtight containers before frosting.

Strawberry Lemonade Meringue Buttercream:
4 egg whites
1¼ cups granulated sugar
1½ cups unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature
1/2 cup reduced strawberry puree
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Combine the egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, mix until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and switch to the paddle attachment; continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Add the strawberry puree, lemon zest and juice; and beat until combined. Stir the icing with a rubber spatula until smooth. Keep the buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.
Spread or pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake. I used an Ateco #846 tip and piped a large swirl, then sprinkled on a bit of pink “raspberry rose” colored sanding sugar. They’re best eaten the day they’re made, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerated for up to 3 days.

hibiscus lime bundt cake #bundtbakers

Woohoo! Time for another installment of #BundtBakers!

This months theme is “tropical”, which I thought would be really easy, but ended up tripping me up at first. My maple bacon bundt cake was such a hit last month that I felt like I needed to keep up that momentum and do something totally unexpected.

At first I thought I’d try to get away from the idea of “caribbean” tropical flavors like guava and mango, and go for a more Southeast Asian profile. I decided to keep pushing the sweet and savory thing and make a Thai coconut curry bundt cake with a spicy thai chili & lime glaze. I made the cake with coconut milk, lime and fresh ginger, and I really wanted that coconut curry spice to be present so I added a tablespoon of Thai green curry paste. The cake was baked, cooled, glazed, photographed, sliced…

And…

NOPE.
(I bet you already guessed though, since I’m sharing a different recipe.)

The thing about curry paste is that along with the chili, lime, lemongrass and galangal, there’s also a healthy dose of garlic and shallots. Not exactly what you want in a cake, even if you are trying to push the limits of sweet and savory. I didn’t hate it, but Russell said it was absolutely disgusting and spit it out in dramatic fashion into the kitchen sink. He also poo-pooed last month’s maple bacon cake though, and everyone else loved it, so I brought it in to work for a second opinion.
NOPE. Not this time.
I came home with almost as much cake as I left with. Everyone was polite about it, but didn’t go in for more than a few bites. I actually think certain elements of the cake were great, especially the chili lime glaze, but the garlic and shallots in the curry paste just tasted… wrong. I thought about trying again without the curry paste, and eventually I might, but for now my heart isn’t in it anymore.

A few days later I came across some dried hibiscus flowers in bulk at my local grocery store and I was reminded of a hibiscus tea I used to drink as a teenager. It was naturally sweet, tart and citrusy, with a definite tropical flavor. When I opened the bin to scoop it out, the smell was overwhelming. Oddly enough, hibiscus smells much more fruity than floral. It’s sticky sweet, tangy, & pungent, reminiscent of overripe cherries and citrus fruit. I may or may not have stuck my head into the bin to take a big whiff. I also may or may not have caught the cashier taking a big sniff of the bag while I was digging for my wallet. If you can’t find hibiscus flowers (sometimes called flor de Jamaica), they can easily be found online.

I decided to steep the flowers in buttermilk and lime juice (rather than water) to concentrate the flavors. The hibiscus tea I used to drink was a brilliant pinky-red so I hoped that the cake might come out a similar color. After steeping, I squeezed the beet red liquid out of the flowers, but when I mixed it into the batter it turned the cake a gorgeous deep dark purple. I swear that there is not a single drop of food coloring in this cake.

When baked, the interior retained that purple color but the outside of the cake faded and browned. At first I was disappointed but then I realized it would make for an even more dramatic presentation when sliced. Just imagine bringing this unassuming, seemingly normal looking bundt cake to a party and slicing in to reveal the beautiful brilliant purple interior. Talk about wow factor!

Even though this was another experimental recipe, I was confident from tasting the batter that no one would turn their nose up at this one.
On a beautiful sunny Sunday we took the East River Ferry to Dumbo, vintage cake carrier in hand, and met some friends for a picnic at Brooklyn Bridge Park. When we showed up with a shiny aluminum cake carrier our friends knew they were in for something good, but when I cut in and people saw the purple-y mauve interior there were a few actual gasps, “OH MY GOD”s, and “SHUT UP!”s.

And guess what.
Everyone cleaned their plates! A few even went back in for seconds. This cake is crazy good. Perfectly moist, just sweet enough, and not too heavy. The lime flavor is a perfect compliment to the tangy tropical flavor of the hibiscus. The first bite is bright, citrusy, and tart, but with the second bite an interesting depth begins to unfold. The hibiscus gives this cake a subtle fruitiness similar to that of red berries or dark cherries. It’s almost difficult to describe such an exotic and unexpected flavor, but Russell says that the cake tastes just like it’s color; bright, fruity, & tropical.

Hibiscus Lime Bundt Cake

Servings: 12 to 16
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3 limes
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 cups dried hibiscus flowers (3 oz by weight)
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Glaze:
2 limes
2 tablespoons butter
2 to 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease and flour a 10+ cup pan and refrigerate.

Zest and juice limes (you want about 6 tablespoons of juice). Whisk zest and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer and set aside. Combine lime juice and buttermilk in a small saucepan and bring to a low simmer. Stir in hibiscus flowers, bring back to a simmer, and remove from heat. Press the hibiscus flowers down so they’re mostly covered in liquid, and steep for 15 or 20 minutes. (They’ll swell and appear to absorb the liquid) Once they’ve steeped, use a fine mesh strainer and a spoon to press the liquid out of the hibiscus flowers into a measuring cup. Measure 1 cup of liquid total. If you’re a little short you can supplement with more buttermilk.
Add butter to lime zest and sugar and cream on high with a paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. Mixing at medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Pour batter into pan, smooth top, and bake for 55 minutes to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack for 15 or 20 minutes before turning out onto the rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze:
Zest and juice limes (you want about 4 tablespoons of juice) Combine with confectioners’ sugar and whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cooled cake, and allow glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Thank you so much to our host, Lauren of From Gate to Plate, for organizing and hosting this month’s event! Please scroll down and check out all the other amazingly delicious sounding tropical bundts! You’ll definitely be glad that you did!

This month we have so many amazing tropical Bundts that have me anxious for summer! Be sure to check them all out.

Guava and Cream Cheese Bundt Cake by Love and Confections
Guava and Pineapple Impossible Cake by Passion Kneaded
Pineapple Macadamia Nut Bundt Cake by Sew You Think You Can Cook
Passion-Orange-Guava Bundt Cake by All That’s Left are the Crumbs
Mini Spiced Caramelized Pineapple Bundt Cakes by From Gate to Plate
Hibiscus Lime Bundt Cake by Brooklyn Homemaker
Mango Brown Sugar Glazed Bundt by Noshing with the Nolands
Pineapple Pound Cake by Magnolia Days
Mango Ginger Bundt Cake by Food Lust People Love
Almost Pina Colada Bundt Cake by Tea and Scones
Mexican Mango Cake by My Catholic Kitchen
Mango Coconut Bundt by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Mini Pineapple Lime Mojito Bundt Cakes by Blahnik Baker
Tropical Pineapple Bundt Cake by Bizzy Bakes

Interested in learning more about us?? #BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the BundtBaker home page here.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. If you are just a lover of Bundt baking, you can find all of our recipe links by clicking our badge above or on our group Pinterest board.