Blueberries!

Summer means berries.

Burnt's Blueberry Vodka

I have been noticing all the blueberries on sale as well as all the great recipes other blogs have been posting.  I usually make blueberry muffins or cobbler but I wanted to try something different.  I saw Bon Appetit's blog, Infuse Your Booze, and I wanted to make blueberry vodka.  In addition to the blueberry vodka, I also made strawberry vodka, pineapple vodka and watermelon vodka.  You have to try this.  It is so tasty and so much better than those infused vodkas you buy at the store (so long Absolut Acai Berry aka vomit inducer)

Bon Appetit also featured Blueberry and Cream Cookies by Christina Tosi of Momofuku.  The same cookie was also the Cookie of the day on Martha Stewart.  I am obsessed with all things David Chang so I had to make these cookies.  They. Are. Awesome. I love chewy, thin cookies and these are exactly that.  The recipe calls for dried blueberries but you can use fresh. 

Hank wants the cookie

Here is a list of my favorite blueberry recipes:
Infuse Your Booze
Blueberry and Cream Cookies
Thomas Keller's Blueberry Cobbler
Banana Muffins with Blueberries -this recipe doesn't call for blueberries but I add them.

Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Blueberries

My friend Caroline is allergic to gluten. For a baker/ pastry chef, this can seem like an obstacle but actually there are plenty of desserts that do not contain gluten: flourless chocolate cakes, macarons, ice cream, just to name a few.

At first I attempted to make a gluten-free cake using Betty Crocker Gluten-Free cake mix. It turned out absolutely disgusting. The cake did not rise properly and had the most terrible texture: similar to a wet sponge. It reminded me of this Vietnamese rice cake we would eat at Chinese New Year but not as tasty. I could not imaging frosting it with chocolate frosting as pictured on the box.

Since the gluten-free cake mix was a total FAIL, I had to make another dessert. Because it was summer, I felt like making something fresh and with fruit. A pavlova was perfect: gluten-free, I had all the ingredients and Caroline loves Australia. The pavlova is the national dessert of Australia.

I found this recipe on Epicurious. It is a great recipe because the entire egg is used in the recipe: the whites for the meringues and the yolks for the curd. Also you don't need to buy superfine sugar. You can just pulse white granulated sugar in the food processor a few times.

To read more about being gluten-free, check out this article in the NY Times: The Expense of Eating With Celiac Disease (Did you know that in England, patients with Celiac disease are actually prescribed gluten-free products? And in Italy, they receive a stipend to purchase gluten-free products? Yet in America where we supposedly have the best health care system in the world...)

Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Blueberries

For meringue:

1 cup superfine granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 large egg whites at room temperature 30 minutes
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

For filling:

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups mixed berries

Directions

Make meringue:
Preheat oven to 300°F with rack in middle. Trace an approximately 7-inch circle on a sheet of parchment paper. Turn parchment over and put on a baking sheet.

Whisk together superfine sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.

Beat whites with a pinch of salt using an electric mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks. Add water (whites will loosen) and beat until whites again hold soft peaks.

Increase speed to medium-high and beat in sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time. After all sugar has been added, beat 1 minute more.

Add vinegar and beat at high speed until meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes (longer if using hand-held mixer).

Gently spread meringue inside circle on parchment, making edge of meringue slightly higher than center (the "crater" is for curd and fruit). Bake until meringue is pale golden and has a crust, about 45 minutes (inside will still be marshmallow-like).

Turn oven off and prop door open slightly with a wooden spoon. Cool meringue in oven 1 hour.

Make Lemon curd while meringue bakes:
Stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then add lemon juice and butter. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking, then continue to simmer, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Lightly beat yolks in a small bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup lemon mixture, then whisk into remaining lemon mixture in saucepan. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thickened, about 2 minutes (do not let boil). Transfer to a bowl and stir in zest. Chill, surface covered with parchment, until cool, about 1 1/2 hours.

Assemble Pavlova:
Beat heavy cream until it just holds stiff peaks, then fold 1/4 cup beaten cream into curd to lighten. Spoon lemon curd into meringue and mound berries on top. Serve remaining whipped cream on the side.

Blueberry Cake

I am not an expert cake maker. I may technically be a pastry chef but cakes are not my forte. They are a pain in my butt actually. At work, I dread birthdays and special occasions that require a cake or their named piped in chocolate. But cake means celebration so I better get my pastry chef butt in gear. I need to practice, dammit. I cannot rely soley on my pastry techniques. Most people won't care that I can make a perfect creme anglaise or fold egg whites expertly. The people have spoken and they want cake and they want it to look pretty.

I came across this blueberry frosting recipe from Rachel of Coconut and Lime. She is a fellow foodie from Baltimore (of all places!). The color was so pretty and I happen to have a package of blueberries so I just had to try this recipe. I thought it would pare nicely with the lemon filling.

The frosting was very easy to make, although I could see how it could be intimidating to the newbie baker. Pouring liquid hot sugar down the side of the stand mixer can be quite daunting. You could take a note from Alton Brown and use a metal turkey baster to add the molten sugar but it seems like a superfluous step to me. Also if you don't have a vanilla bean, you can add 1 tsp. of vanilla extract to the egg whites after adding the blueberry syrup.

Image courtesy of Coconut and Lime

Rachel's Blueberry-Vanilla Bean Frosting

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
2/3 cup blueberries
1 vanilla bean, split length wise
pinch salt

Directions:

Beat the egg whites and salt to soft peaks using an electric mixer. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring sugar, vanilla bean, blueberries and water to a boil, stirring occasionally, mashing the berries a bit with the back of your spoon. Continue to boil until it reaches soft ball stage (when a drop of the syrup forms a soft ball when dropped in cool water or 235˚-240˚F if using a candy thermometer) while continuing to stir occasionally.

Whisk the blueberry mixture through a fine sieve into a heat safe measuring cup and discard the blueberries. Keep the mixer running (to be safe use a stand mixer or a friend to complete this next step) and carefully pour a continuous stream of molten syrup into the egg whites. Continue to beat for about 5 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy, glossy and cool. Do not get any syrup on the whisk or it will spread sugar strings throughout your frosting! Frost cooled cupcakes or cake.

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