Perfectly sun-ripened summer fruit is one of the great pleasures of the season. Forget the fact that blueberries, peaches, strawberries, raspberries and plums are available during much of the year. When these fruits and berries are seasonal and at their peak of flavor, they far surpass their imported counterparts.
Eating these sun-ripened fruits and berries out of hand is by far the simplest way to enjoy them. Not as simple, but definitely enjoyable, is baking with them.
Cakes, bar cookies and desserts burst with summer freshness when these fruits are their key ingredients.
Consider the following recipes for baking. Each counts on the seasonal freshness of fruit to make it special. The fresh blueberry lemony bundt cake is loaded with blueberries and brushed with a lemon glaze while still hot, reinforcing the lemon flavor.
For an unusual bar cookie, try the chewy caramel peach squares with pecans. The thin layer of peaches almost transforms this bar cookie into a tart.
The old-fashioned, ruby fruit cobbler is a successful sweet conclusion to almost any summer meal, served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
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This is one of those old-fashioned bundt cakes where one slice never suffices.
FRESH BLUEBERRY LEMONY BUNDT CAKE
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 1 large bundt cake
Cake:
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon each: baking soda, salt
1cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
Grated rind (colored part only) of 2 large lemons, removed with a zester or grater
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons cake flour
Tart lemon glaze:
Grated rind (colored part only) of 1 lemon, removed with zester or grater
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Pinch salt
1. For cake, put rack in center of oven; heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 12-cup capacity bundt cake pan; coat lightly with flour, tapping out excess over sink. Set aside.
2. Sift flour, baking soda and salt onto sheet of waxed paper; set aside. Beat butter, sugar and lemon rind in large bowl of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and lemon extract. Beat 3 minutes until mixture becomes thick and smooth. Add sifted ingredients and buttermilk. Mix well to combine. Toss blueberries with flour to coat. Use wooden spoon to stir into batter; batter will be very thick. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bang pan on counter to settle batter. Smooth surface with spatula.
3. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.
4. For glaze, while cake is baking, put sugar and lemon rind into blender or food processor and process until rind is finely minced. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.
5. Let cake rest on cooling rack for 10 minutes. Gently invert cake onto cooling rack. Place rack on a cookie sheet. Brush warm cake with glaze, reapplying glaze as it drips onto cookie sheet. Let cake cool completely. Can be made a day ahead. Store at room temperature, covered airtight.
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Here, sweet, succulent peaches are sandwiched between a chewy, crunchy base and a crumb topping. Lightly brushing the egg white on the crumb topping gives the squares a crispy finish. This dessert is best served the same day that it is made.
CHEWY CARAMEL PEACH SQUARES WITH PECANS
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 65 minutes
Yield: 16 2 1/4-inch squares
Crust and topping:
3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Generous pinch of salt
1 cup flour
1 large egg white
Peach filling:
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt
2 firm, ripe large peaches, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced, about 2 1/2 cups
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1. Put rack in center of oven; heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-9-inch baking pan. Set aside.
2. For crust and topping, beat sugar, butter and salt in large bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add flour. Mix until just combined.
3. Reserve about 1/2 cup mixture for topping; refrigerate until ready to use. Spoon remaining mixture into baking pan, distributing as evenly as possible. Put hand in small plastic food bag and press dough into a thin, even layer. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool about 15 minutes.
4. Put egg white in small dish; stir with fork until frothy. Set aside.
5. For filling, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in 1-quart bowl; add peach slices; toss to coat with flour mixture; the slices will be gooey. Closely overlap peach slices over slightly cooled crust. Use all peach slices (they cook down). Crumble reserved 1/2 cup topping evenly over peaches. Dab crumbs and surface with all of reserved egg white. Scatter pecans over top.
6. Bake until lightly browned, about 50 minutes. Cool completely on rack, then refrigerate until chilled. Cut into 2 1/4-inch squares. To do this more easily, cut into quarters and transfer each quarter to cutting board. Cut quarter into 4 squares. Serve chilled. These squares are best served the day that they are baked, but they can be made a day in advance. Refrigerate squares overnight on cookie sheet, arranged single layer, covered with foil.
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Cobblers, those homey, deep-dish fruit desserts that are baked with a tender biscuit-crust topping, are timeless in their appeal. Here, plums are combined with strawberries and raspberries, creating an explosion of summer fruit flavors. The extra step of cooking the fruit before assembling the cobbler is essential; I have tested this recipe without doing this and the juices were much too thin. Serve the cobbler warm (it reheats nicely) with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over it.
OLD-FASHIONED RUBY FRUIT COBBLER
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Biscuit topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup whipping cream
Fruit:
6 large firm plums, about 1 3/4 pounds total, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch slices, about 5 cups
1 pint strawberries, hulled, halved
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pint raspberries
Vanilla ice cream for serving
1. Put rack in center of oven; heat oven to 425 degrees. Have ready a shallow, 8-cup capacity baking dish and a baking pan or jelly roll pan.
2. For biscuit, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a food processor or mixing bowl. Work in butter with processor metal blade or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream and process or mix until dough clumps together. Transfer to a large plastic food bag and through the bag press dough into a firm clump. Remove dough from bag and place on floured board. Knead dough, folding and pressing it back on itself, until smooth and together, about 30 seconds. Refrigerate while you prepare fruit.
3. For fruit, put plums and strawberries in 12-inch skillet. Add tapioca, sugar and cinnamon. Gently toss until well mixed. Cook just until they reach a simmer, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to baking dish. Scatter raspberries over top.
4. To finish biscuit, roll out dough on heavily floured board to roughly the shape of the baking dish. Remove excess flour with soft brush. Place dough on top of fruit (it doesn’t matter if fruit is hot or cool) and gently tuck the edges down into fruit. Patch dough where necessary, although dough does not need to cover entire surface of fruit. Place dish on baking pan to catch any juices and to make handling easier.
5. Bake until crust is lightly browned and fruit bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Can be baked a day ahead. Once cool, refrigerate overnight, uncovered. To serve, place in a cold oven, set oven at 350 degrees and bake, uncovered, until warm (not hot), about 12-15 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.
