Blueberry Boy Bait Preview

You are going to die. Assuming you like blueberries. Also assuming that you're a human (the spam-bots that roam this blog have little appetite for lightly sweet summer cakes).

This deliciousness is equal parts awesome name and awesome taste, and I promise that you can do almost nothing better with a basket of berries.

More pictures and a recipe forthcoming!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

How have I gotten this far without posting a recipe for buttercream frosting? I mean, if the dessert will hold still long enough I slather it with the stuff. The truth? I never really measure when I make frosting. I just taste until it tastes right. Or until Lito (my husband/guinea pig) tells me that it tastes right. I have some rough measurements for you, but the trick to making the best frosting ever is to taste & adjust until it's just right. (Someone please make a Goldilocks joke.)

Okay. Dreamy Buttercream Frosting

Here's What You Need:

1 stick of room temp butter. MUST. BE. SOFTENED. ENTIRELY.
3-ish cups of powdered sugar.
1 Tablespoon vanilla (I use Trader Joe's Bourbon Vanilla when I can't get my hands on real mexican vanilla)
4-ish Tablespoons of milk, half-n-half, heavy cream, whatever's in the fridge. The higher fat content, the yummier, right? Right.

Here's What You Do:

1. Cream the butter in a medium bowl (medium-high speed).
2. Add the vanilla. YUM.
3. Add the powdered sugar and milk in alternating batches. Start with about a cup of powdered sugar, mix it in, then maybe a tablespoon of milk, mix it in. See where you are. If your mixer is going to sieze if you put in any more powdered sugar because the stuff is too dry, add more milk before going on to the next round of milk/pwd sugar.
4. Taste it. Adjust powdered sugar and milk until you have the desired consistency. For piping (above) I like the frosting to be able to "stand up" when I dip a spoon in and create a little peak. Make sense? Message me if you want more muddled instructions.

You can add flavors/extracts to switch up this basic recipe too -- I've had success adding almond, maple, and lemon. Anyone else tried something awesome?

Enjoy!

Freezer Jam

New Kitchen! New cozy town house! New recipes and blog posts! The beloved Kitchenaid mixer is on the counter in its designated spot and biscuits have been made, along with strawberry freezer jam and home made vanilla bean ice cream. I forgot to take pictures of the biscuits, which were phenomenal by the way, so we'll get the blog party started with the amazing strawberry jam my friend Nicole and I made yesterday.

Little Jars of Strawberry Freezer Jam

Doesn't it look great? Strawberries are ripe and delicious out here in the bay area, and on sale at the farmer's market. I picked up a huge flat of berries (enough to make four (or more?) batches of jam) for about $10, and strong-armed my friend Nicole into making jam with me. It's easy, but it's so much more fun to do it with a friend. 

Prepping the Berries: Washing and Stemming

We washed and stemmed the strawberries, gave them a rough chop and threw them in the food processor. For one batch of jam, you need two cups of pureed strawberries, which I think is about one medium package of whole berries.

Stemmed Berries

The Big Red Box of Berries. 12 Dry Pints for $10.

Hot and Clean Jars Drying on the Counter

Strawberry Freezer Jam 

(Recipe adapted from Sure Jell Box Recipe)

Here's What You Need:

2 Cups Pureed Strawberries (You can use a blender or a food processor)

4 Cups Sugar

1 Package Sure Jell Pectin (Regular)

3/4 Cup Water

6 8-oz. Mason Jars

Pouring the Jam into the Jars (Photo by Nicole)

Here's What You Do:

1. Prep the berries: Wash, Stem, Chop, Puree. Measure out exactly two cups of puree into a medium-large bowl. 

2. Mix in the sugar. (I do it by hand.) Stir until sugar is incorporated, and then let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

3. Bring pectin and water to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute, then remove from heat. 

4. After sugar/berry mixture has had 10 minutes to cure, add the pectin water. Stir for about 3 minutes until all the sugar is dissolved and it basically looks like runny jam. 

5. Pour into your mason jars. Make sure to leave about 1/2" at the top for the jam to expand in the freezer.

Voila! The whole process takes about 30 minutes, and you have freezer jam for the rest of the year. 

This jam is perfect on biscuits & toasts, or in homemade strawberry ice cream, or drizzled on top of vanilla ice cream for a delicious extra treat.

Rose Cake

I know you've seen this before, but...

maybe you haven't seen it quite like this: Rose Cake

In honor of having some really beautiful women over to my house this evening, I made a rose cake (like the whirly-gig cake, only better I think). This is strawberry with strawberry filling (homemade) and bourbon vanilla buttercream frosting. What do you think? 

Chomp.