Life is just a . . .

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bowl of cherries

Life is just a bowl of cherries
Don't take it serious,
Life's too mysterious
You work,
You save,
You worry so

But you can't take your dough
When you go, go, go

So keep repeating "It's the berries."
The strongest oak must fall
The sweet things in life
To you were just loaned
So how can you lose

What you've never owned

Life is just a bowl of cherries
So live and laugh,
Laugh and love
Live and laugh at it all!

Judy Garland

When life seems like it's the pits, celebrate the little things like these gorgeous Rainer cherries.  They're even better baked up in this cake because the pits have been removed!

This cake is so quick and simple, you could whip it up at a moments notice and everyone will think you're a domestic goddess. This recipe is adapted from a recipe from Gourmet for a raspberry buttermilk cake. The cake itself is perfect for almost any soft fruit. It's a moist cake that can be changed slightly for a variety of different variations. I added almond extract and slivered almonds because I thought those flavors would compliment the sweet cherries. I used Rainer cherries but any sweet cherry would work as well.

Buttermilk Cake with Sweet Cherries
Source: Gourmet, June 2009,by Melissa Roberts(adapted)
(Printable Recipe)
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup
1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (or regular sugar)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1-2 Tablespoons of slivered almonds (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes,add the almond extract. Add egg and beat well.
At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.
Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter cherries and almond slivers evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar.
Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

That's just got to put a smile on your face!

Strawberry Curd...part one

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Lemon curd is pretty high on my list of favorite things. So a while back when I came across a recipe for strawberry curd, I definitely wanted to give it a try. A curd is usually made of citrus combined with sugar, butter and eggs. It's thick and has sort of a pudding like texture. They can also be made from fruit combined with citrus and eggs. Since strawberry season is in full swing at my parents farm, I'm always on the lookout for new ways to use them. Of course when I went to make the strawberry curd, I couldn't find the recipe I'd seen originally. It's out there somewhere on the world wide web!! I adapted this recipe from one for I'd found for a raspberry curd. I had some leftover cake I want to use up so I decided to put it between the layers of cake. The cake I used was just a basic vanilla cake. I liked it with the curd, but I think a lemon cake would have been even better. If you'd rather not go to the trouble of making a cake, you could just serve it as is with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Although I really like this curd, I think that I'm going to try making one that doesn't have whipped cream and is more like traditional lemon curd. So stay tuned for strawberry curd part two!

1 pint of fresh strawberries
3/4 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. Gran Marnier

Puree strawberries in food processor, Stir strawberries together with sugar, eggs, lemon juice, butter, and salt in medium saucepan over medium heat until thickened and beginning to bubble at edges, about 5 minutes. Strain strawberry curd into medium bowl, pressing on solids in strainer. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Whip cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and Gran Marier until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into strawberry curd. Refrigerate until slightly set up about one hour.