lemon berry crumb cake

My mom gave me the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook for my birthday back in May and I've read it front to back. I love Christina Tosi's baking success story and mostly the fact that she isn't scared to share so many of her kitchen secrets in the cookbook. I won't give any of the secrets away but I will tell you that while the recipes can seem intimidating (example: one of her recipes calls for freeze dried corn), it always results in an incredible dessert. My mom and I made this lemon berry crumble cake that was inspired by Tosi and her layer cake techniques and absolutely loved it. This recipe is not in her cookbook, though I definitely felt more confident in my ability to assemble it after reading the cookbook. The bottom two vanilla cake layers are brushed with warm blueberry preserves, topped with homemade lemon curd, white chocolate berry milk crumbs and raspberry frosting (that tastes like real fruit!). To finish it off, the top cake layer is covered in raspberry frosting and sprinkled with lots of the white chocolate berry milk crumbs. Now go make this cake, it's worth all the work. Oh and the cake will keep in the freezer for up to two weeks, so it's the perfect dessert to make ahead of time for a special occasion.

Recipe here:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2012/06/27/lemon-berry-crunch-cake/

key lime blueberry tarts

These key lime blueberry tarts are surprisingly light and a great summer dessert since it is officially blueberry season! I used the store bought tart shells but also provided the tart shell recipe for all the homemade tart lovers. To be honest these store bought tarts have a great buttery, flaky texture without all the work. While the store bought tarts might not be quite as good as homemade, these tarts make this a very quick recipe to assemble and really the lime filling is what this dessert is all about. 

Key Lime Blueberry Tarts

makes 34 tarts

for the filling:

4 eggs

2/3 c. fresh key lime juice

3/4 c. sugar

6 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp of grated key lime rind

Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly for 12 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Stir in lime rind. Pour mixture through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl. Cover mixture and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours. 

for the blueberry topping:

2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

1/8 c. orange juice 

1/2-3/4 c. sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)

Combine all of the ingredients and cook over medium-low heat until mixture thickens. 

for the homemade tarts:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. cake flour

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 c. butter, cut up

1/4 c. shortening 

6 tbsp cold water

In a food processor, pulse flours, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add butter and shortening and pulse until crumbly. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition. Remove dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours. Once 2 hours have passed, make 1- inch balls of dough and press dough balls into miniature tart pans. Prick tarts with a fork. Bake at 375°F for 13 minutes or until golden. Once tarts are cool, spoon lime mixture into tarts and top with cooled blueberry mixture and serve. 

berry crisp

I took a mini vacation with my boyfriend this past weekend to Charleston, SC. I love Charleston for so many reasons and one of them is the berry cobbler at Kaminsky's on Market St. My absolute favorite dessert is berry crisp and every time I bake a berry crisp or cobbler I compare it to Kaminsky's. Served in the bowl that it was baked in, it mixes blueberries, blackberries and raspberries with a buttery topping and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It has taken years to find a recipe that is as a good as the Kaminsky's berry cobbler, much less better. This recipe is very similar but the pie crust base paired with a blackberry, raspberry, blueberry filling and crispy, buttery oat topping make this delicious dessert even better than Kaminsky's!

Berry Crisp
makes one pie sized crisp or 8 ramekins

1 refrigerated pie crust

for the berry filling:
5 c. berries
1/8 c. cornstarch
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c.- 1 c. sugar, depending how sweet your berries are

for the crispy topping:
2/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. oats
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375°F. 


Line each ramekin with 1/8 of pie crust dough. For the berry filling, mix together berries, cornstarch, lemon zest, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. Let the berry mixture sit for at least an hour so the berries get a good sugary coating. Spread berry mixture evenly between the 8 ramekins (leaving about 1/2 inch for the topping). For the topping, mix together the sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon and butter until combined. Drop spoonfuls of the topping on top of the berry mixture and bake pie size for 40- 50 minutes and ramekin sized for 20-30 minutes or until the edges start bubbling. Serve with a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream.