Berry Bliss

What does old-fashioned mean to you?  Is it someone stuck in their conservative ways, a cocktail or maybe a romance where the car door gets opened and flowers are presented at the door?  Maybe old-fashioned is a root-beer float or a handcrafted piece of furniture, time worn with the battle scars of life?  There is charm in the old-fashioned.  There is a pride and preciousness that tends to get lost in our increasingly industrialized, cheaper, faster society.  Sadly, this isn’t a concept limited strictly to show room floors and cattle feed organizations.  No, this concept can also apply to the dessert.

How many times have you bought something at the store that has been processed to within an inch of its life?  The synthetic and almost plastic taste causes a film to wash over your tongue, coating it in such a way as to dull the tastebuds.  Your brain becomes confused into thinking, “Hey, this is dessert” and it’s serviceable.  I know I’ve done it…especially in college when on a Ding Dong or Ho-Ho binge. 

There is of course a time and a place for everything, and that time was sitting in the college dorms sipping beer, beer snuck into the dorm by way of the depths an artist’s portfolio case or a “tackle-box” full of art supplies.  Processed desserts are perfect for when you are doing something wrong…and that is exactly the point, but today I’m trying to do right.  I won’t say I didn’t enjoy those days and nights of already prepared treats (at least the evenings and mornings I remember anyways) but I have been fortunate enough to discover my tongue’s preference for other items in the past decade or so.  

I like the old-fashioned and the tried and true.  Maybe it’s because I grew up in a small town and I like the small town ways of homemade bake sales and car washes to raise funds for your senior class trip, or maybe I just like the act of making things with my hands that taste good and will go into my mouth filling my body with sugary bliss.  A freshly baked dessert is better than a smuggled Natural Light or Twinkie any day of the week.

I was feeling nostalgic and obviously a bit old-fashioned this week when it cake time to choose the pastry offering.  The nostalgia coming from age mostly, I think, due in large part to the “final” baby’s arrival on July 15th.  I’m speaking of course of our good friend’s Izabella and Jonathan.  Over the course of the past four months Brian and I have had close friends delivering babies like clockwork, starting families and becoming the blissfully exhausted and only mildly strung-out parents we ourselves hope to be in the near future.  It was almost as emotionally important and involving as if it were our own child because we spend so much time with them having dinners, running errands and living the “small-town” life we have all created together in Ossining.  And, as honorary uncles we need to make sure that our newest family member has nothing but the best of the best of everything…like fresh flowers from the summer garden and freshly baked cakes.

Yes, I am well aware that a newborn can’t jump right into eating cake, but you are only one week old once and I would have felt remiss if I hadn’t made a cake to honor such a special occasion.  Our darling Mia was born on July 15th, weighing 6lbs. 5oz, 18” long, with blonde hair and is already very fond of smiling at her favorite uncles (when you brush her cheek with your finger).  I’m also aware that babies don’t truly smile, but I can certainly pretend better than anyone I know.  All babies are adorable, but to us she is very special and we can’t wait to see her grow, learn what her interests might be and be there for the first time she “sasses” her mom and dad...with a little encouragement of course.

As I said, I know that babies can’t eat cake, but they drink milk and mom’s can eat cake, so you do the math and get back to me.  I really wanted to make something special, something beautiful and something rustic and country-like to celebrate and honor the arrival of someone so special.  The recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook and I couldn’t find the specific recipe anywhere online so I’ll break it down for you because I really want you to make this cake!  At first glance it may look a little difficult and somewhat intimidating, but I promise it’s not. 

The cake only requires 4 important steps:  1) Buy the freshest and most delectable berries you can find at the farmer’s market or organic section of your grocery store.  2) Make and bake the cakes.  Two 9-inch cake pans are all you need.  3) Make the vanilla whipped cream.  4) Put it all together and watch people get excited over its glory.

Old-Fashioned Berry Layer Cake (re-printed from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook)

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, for pans

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

6 large whole eggs, plus 4 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest of one lime (my addition)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 quart (4 cups) heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)

3 pints mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc…)

Fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter two 9-by-2 inch round cake pans; set aside.  Into a large bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch (and lime zest); set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.  Beat on high speed until thick and pale (it should hold a ribbon-like trail on the surface when the whisk is raised), about 5 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture.  With mixer on low speed, beat until just combined.  Add oil in a steady stream, mixing until just combined.  Remove bowl from mixer.  Using the whisk, fold mixture several times.

Divide batter between pans, and smooth with an offset spatula.  Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cakes are springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Immediately invert cakes onto a wire rack.  Then reinvert cakes, and let them cool completely, top sides up.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine cream, confectioner’s sugar, and remaining teaspoon vanilla extract.  Scrape in vanilla seeds, if using.  Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high, whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, trim the tops of the cakes to make level.  Slice each cake in half horizontally into two layers.  Place one of the bottom layers on a serving plate.  Spread a quarter of the whipped cream over the layer; arrange a quarter of the mixed berries on top.  Repeat with remaining cake layers, cream, and berries; garnish top with mint leaves, if using.  Serve immediately; slice with a serrated knife.

The addition of the lime zest really brings out the “cake-y-ness” of the cakes.  It’s like the Barefoot Contessa always says, “citrus enhances everything”, and I couldn’t agree more.  The oil keeps it moist and binds the ingredients together nicely delivering a cake that is firm enough to cut and stack, but is still delicate and airy on the palette.  Combined with the angelic layers of vanilla whipped cream and extremely ripe summer berries this cake becomes a surefire winner for any summer get together.  The recipe says to serve it immediately once you have put all the pieces together, but I found it held up quite nicely in the fridge and at a reasonable (70-75 degree) room temperature for several hours.  With all the fresh cream it won’t “keep” for too terribly long, so just make sure you are taking it to a large party or a hungry crowd of 6 plus 1 cute baby to avoid leftovers.

All the different berries which go into this cake are so fresh and sweet right now and some of them you may have growing along your country road or out in your field, so there is absolutely no excuse for letting them expire on the branch or vine when there is a cake waiting to be made.  This dessert would also work really well for the Fourth of July with its strong red, white and blue palette.  Whether you are celebrating birth or independence, Martha and I have got you covered.

Sometimes people tell me they've seen a picture of a "fancy" dessert in a book and think, “oh, I could never make that”, but you can.  People sometimes think they will never have a wonderful child or experience the joys (and terrors) of parenthood, but they do.  The ability to put our minds and hearts (and sometimes the hand of science) into something, working toward a desired outcome may be an old-fashioned and heartily American way of thinking. We may have turned into a bit of a silver-spoon laced, reality television watching (I’m counting myself here too) society but all hope isn’t lost.  There are summer days full of bright sunshine, babies safely sleeping under their parent's watchful eyes and round disks of golden cake waiting to be baked after the sun goes down and the kitchen has had time to cool off.  Call me old-fashioned if you will.  It’s just who I am.