baking in the sun

so cheap and juicy!

Once upon a time at an Oregon farm stand by the side of the road, I ate a magical nectarine. This dark red orb was speckled in gold, gave just satisfying smidge when pressed and every bite was smooth, sweet and juicy down to the pit. It was the sort of fruit that needed no embellishment, best devoured alone with one’s eyes closed. I’ve only encountered its like once or twice since, but am always on the prowl for this enchanting taste and hypnotic hue. If you are lucky enough to encounter a piece of magical fruit, please eat it fresh and unadorned. Now, magical fruits are few and far between, an ever elusive bite, so we probably usually encounter simply delicious ones. These can be delightful raw, but are sometimes lackluster or without a real punch of flavor. But fear not! Even a lame strawberry can transformed into perfumed decadence when roasted with a spoonful of sugar and a vanilla bean or tucked into pockets of cornmeal cake or even blended with Campari then frozen. Some fruit just need a little bit of help to become magical.¹

My last food focused post was “what’s for dinner?” where I shared my past as a cookbook store employee, the reason why I’m lucky enough to have many shelves of cookbooks. Today I’m all about celebrating summer’s bounty. I’m not much of a baker because yeast intimidates me and I’m a bit perfectionistic and don’t want to mess anything up. But fruit forward baking tends to be more forgiving and worth the risk to me because it can’t really be that bad if you end up with sweet and jammy pockets of fruit at the end. I stick with simple cakes, galettes, crumbles and crisps that act mainly as a vehicle for these bright and tangy delights.

Today’s books contain all sorts of recipes for all times of the year, but my primary go-tos in their pages are the fruit based bakes, usually with savory and sweet elements. These are the stained pages I open up every spring and summer as the farmers markets fill with flats of blackberries, blueberries, sour cherries, apricots, plums, nectarines and more. I gravitate towards simple, straightforward recipes that highlight the fruit and don’t disguise it with loads of sugar or pomp. Remember your local library will probably have these if you just want to try them out. Devastatingly, my own local library is currently under cyber attack so I cannot add anything to my queue :( ²

Stock up on what’s fresh at the farmer’s market, throw on your apron and open up one of these for summer in a dish.

SWEETER OFF THE VINE by Yossy Arefi

Yossy Arefi of the Apt 2B Baking blog has written a few terrific baking books, but her first is still my favorite because it focuses on fruit. Divided by season and then further by specific fruit/produce, this is one of those books to keep on your counter as the year goes on.³ The photography is lovely; simple, rustic and approachable giving you the confidence that you too can make this recipe in your own kitchen. I enjoy her inclusions of various flours like rye, spelt and buckwheat and she’s got some fun flavor combinations that grab you and beg to be made. Thankfully it includes both volume and weight measurements⁴ and most recipes fit on one page. Not limited to baking, this book also contains sorbets, paletas, granitas and other fruited celebrations so if its way too hot to think about turning on that oven, pull out the popsicle molds!

SOME of my FAVORITE RECIPES

• Rhubarb and Rye Upside Down Cake⁵

• The Simplest Strawberry Tart

• Strawberry and Campari Paletas

• Spiked Cherry Sorbet

• Cherry and Poppy Seed Yogurt Cake

• Blueberry Skillet Cobbler with Whole Wheat Biscuits

• Nectarine and Blackberry Pie Bars

• Cornmeal and Ricotta Cake with Cranberries

• Chocolate Sesame Tart with Grapefruit

THE VIOLET BAKERY COOKBOOK by Claire Ptak

Claire Ptak worked at Chez Panisse before opening her lovely little bakeshop in London⁶ . She made Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake so you know she’s got a cool English/California hybrid thing going on. This contains sweet personal anecdotes and insights along with pantry section and then is divided into time of day/event: Morning, Midday, Afternoon, Party Party etc. A few savory meals are scattered throughout but the main attraction here are the baked goods, though not all star fruit. These recipes tend to be more labor intensive than Sweeter off the Vine, with a few having recipes within recipes. I stick with the simpler ones and there are a fair few that I make all the time. Again, we’ve got both volume and weight measurements.

HOWEVER!

I MUST HERE PROVIDE A WARNING. So, I have made Violet’s cinnamon rolls for Christmas a few times and last year was my first time making it for my entire family.⁷ I specifically like this recipe because there is no yeast and you freeze the rolls the night before so all there is to do Xmas morning is turn on the oven and pop them in. They also taste impressive and fancy. I didn’t have my cookbook with me nor my scale, since we were in an Airbnb 3000 miles from home, so I used the photo I took of the book recipe⁸ and cup measurements. Well, Claire and/or her copywriter earned my ire that Christmas Eve because in no universe does 560 grams of flour equal only 1 1/2 cups!!!⁹ When I followed the recipe and received mush in return I freaked the fuck out and swore to high heaven. Christmas was ruined!! This tantrum confused my family who stared at me blankly and suggested just adding more flour. “It’s the PRINCIPLE of the thing!” I screeched while frantically googling to find some camaraderie in my angst. Food52 came to my rescue with their 2016 Piglet review naming this egregious error and also having the correct recipe for me.¹⁰ Christmas was saved! Until the nerf machine gun was unwrapped…

SOME of my FAVORITE RECIPES

• Cinnamon buns (-_-)

• Yellow peach crumb bun¹¹

• Lacinato kale, leek and ricotta bread pudding

• Squash, brown butter and sage quiche¹²

• Wild blackberry crumble tart

• Egg yolk chocolate chip cookies¹³

• The Violet butterscotch blondie

• Rye chocolate brownies

• Coconut macaroons

• Cherry cobbler

• Chocolate sunken soufflé cake

HUCKLEBERRY by Zoe Nathan,Josh Loeb and Laurel Almerinda

I once cried¹⁴ while eating the blueberry brioche from this cover at Huckleberry in Santa Monica where the display case is a treasure trove or as the author/chef calls it “the essence of abundance”. This is a lovely book with adorable yellow and white polka dot sprayed edges that is full of “stories, secrets and recipes” from the cafe and brims with helpful knowledge. Starting out with tips, tools and ingredient notes before leading into the recipes, Zoe’s voice here is friendly, funny and inviting. Quirkily divided by time of day beginning at 3:30 am with muffins, the other sections include: biscuits and scones, rustic cakes and teacakes, fried stuff, pancakes, baked in a dish, sandwiches, hearty plates with an egg on top, breads and other things that rise before ending with the cheeky My Apologies section instead of the typical Acknowledgements. Again, as is only right, volume and weight measurements are included.

dear french lady: i’m sorry we had to ban you from the bakery, although you are lucky because I was seconds away from performing a citizen’s arrest. There’s another bakery down the street that I promise you will much happier at. I promise.

SOME of my FAVORITE RECIPES

• lemon cornmeal muffins with lemon glaze¹⁵

• blueberry buttermilk scones

• blueberry cornmeal cake¹⁶

• mini strawberry galettes

• mixed berry cobbler

• cherry tomato goat cheese cobbler

• blueberry nectarine crisp

• black and blue oat bars

• corn, cherry tomato and spinach hash

What are your favorite recipes/books to highlight summer’s bounty?

1. is this a life lesson of some kind?

2. this is a true nightmare

3. next to six seasons

4. you should always use weight while baking. oh, you don’t? get a scale you monster

5. its not spring until i make this cake. usually for easter assuming rhubarb has shown up in time

6. when in london, go there!

7. at our third annual “plague cabin” christmas. there were like 18 of us. the theme was “night”.

8. i was prepared!

9. more like FOUR and a half

10. i did after all, just need to add more flour

11. i make this every year for my husband’s birthday because peaches are practically throwing themselves at me in late july. its super easy and makes the whole place smell enchanting.

12. i make this every thanksgiving morning and use a pre-made gf crust (for the MIL) and roast the squash and garlic the night before to make it super simple Tgiving morning. its smells so perfectly autumnal and sets the holiday mood.

13. i use all rye flour to make these and my husband uses all buckwheat

14. like A tear ok?

15. i’m a sucker for a citrus glaze

16. a favorite and easily adaptable for the seasons