Jumbleberry Pavlova

One of the greatest families around had an enormous backyard party at our house last week. With the parents celebrating an anniversary, a sister back from the Peace Corps in Panama, and other sisters having graduated various levels of school, the time was nigh for a big ol’ summer party, replete with its own Pinterest planning board (and cute squabbles to the tune of, “Didn’t you consult the Pinterest board?!”). The Doughertys are the first family I met in DC since they’re that of one of my oldest and finest pals around, Bobbie, and we first crossed ways four years ago when the parents lent us their minivan to do yard sale and Craigslist runs to furnish our new and very empty Petworth group house. Many pizza nights, family concerts, dinners, and parties later, and I’m not quite up to the level of being an honorary Dougherty sister, who are the very coolest of them all, but I fancy myself a sort of honorary very distant type of cousin—good enough.

Dessert at the front, veggie kabobs at the back. Reverse food mullet.

So it was over MadLibs and keg beer that all the Doughertys got together last week. The backyard was filled to the brim with beautiful handmade decorations, a giant white and yellow circus tent, and tons of flowers, pitchers of lemonade, puzzles, and of course good pals from all over. Bobbie and Richie manned the DJ booth, Matt made a giant platter of the most delicious homemade Carolina BBQ, family slaw recipes abounded, and we played a totally dizzying and nearly nauseating game of around-the-world micropong on a circular table while someone beat the stuffing out of a pinata. To top it off, Bobbie’s family commandeered Emily and I to bake for the party, and while it wasn’t quite a Tarts by Tarts last hurrah, it was really nice to be in the kitchen together working on recipes again. Emily whipped up a chocolate-peanut butter-pretzel tart (!!!), a bourbon peach pecan pie, lime tarts, and a passion fruit pie with mile-high meringue. I baked some weird but good frozen key lime bars, a five-layer salted caramel pecan cake, and this here jumbleberry pavlova, which was my favorite of the things I made. This time of year, it’s refreshing to have a recipe that doesn’t require baking or freezing the fruit, letting the height of summer berries shine on their own. Plus, all of the elements can be made ahead, which leaves you more time to spend dancing and playing Taboo with some of the best folks around while scheming permanent points of entry into their family.

Jumbleberry Pavlova

Adapted from GourmetLive

Tweaked this to make the curd much tangier, the meringue slightly larger and less sweet, and of course upped the berries. It's summer y'all: get 'em while you can. This is also gluten-free. Yahoo! 

For meringue:
1 cup superfine granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 large egg whites at room temperature (3 is fine if you don't want to break a fourth egg)
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

For filling:
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
½ stick unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon grated lemon
¼ cup whipped cream (recipe below)

For assembly:
1 cup heavy cream
5 cups mixed berries (I used blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)

1.  Make meringue: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F with rack in middle. Trace an eight-inch circle on a sheet of parchment paper (I traced one of my removable tart pan bottoms). Turn parchment over and put on a baking sheet.

2.  Whisk together superfine sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Beat whites with a pinch of salt using a stand mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks. Add water and beat until whites again hold soft peaks.

3.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat in sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time. After all sugar has been added, beat one minute more. Add vinegar and beat at high speed until meringue is glossy and holds very stiff peaks, about five minutes.

4.  Gently spread meringue inside circle on parchment, making edge of meringue slightly higher so that lower center can hold the curd and fruit. Bake for 45 minutes, or until meringue has developed a light golden crust all around. Turn oven off and prop door open slightly with a wooden spoon. Cool meringue in oven for one hour.

5. Make lemon curd: While meringue bakes, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a two-quart heavy saucepan, then add lemon juice and butter. Whisking, bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, then continue to simmer, whisking constantly, for one minute. Turn off heat. Lightly beat yolks in a small bowl and whisk a quarter-cup lemon mixture into the small bowl, then whisk yolk mixture back into saucepan. Turn heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thickened, about two minutes (do not let boil). Transfer to a bowl, whisk in zest, press a piece of parchment to surface, and allow to chill in fridge while meringue bakes.

6.  Assemble: Using a spatula, gently remove meringue from cookie sheet and place it on your serving plate--a big one works best as this tends to serve up a bit messy. Beat heavy cream  with a pinch of granulated sugar until it just holds medium peaks, then fold one quarter-cup beaten cream into curd to lighten it. Spoon lemon curd into the dent in the meringue meringue and mound berries on top. Serve remaining whipped cream on the side.

Do ahead: Curd can be made several days ahead of serving, and meringue can be made, wrapped in plastic, and frozen, up to two days ahead. To use, just unwrap meringue layer and leave it on counter for an hour or two to bring it back to room temperature.

Me and Emily, keeping it real summery

Lemon Verbena Meringue Tartlets

My cousin Ethan is getting married on a summer camp outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania tomorrow. Ethan and I, and all the cousins, spent many magical summers together as kids thanks to my parents' house in Maine and the proximity of the cousins' former home in Vermont. We spent hours upon hours traipsing through the fishing camp next door (now a town recreation center), raiding the supply shop for candy and making up rude rhymes about the campers, one particularly cruel one which was directed at a guy we nicknamed Rambo and his rabbit, and that ultimately resulted in our grandmother forcing us to go next door with bowed heads and apologize. We honed our acorn whistles, perfected matching bird calls, and practiced shimmying over the dividing fences as we made up enemies and allies in our ongoing imagined battle for control of the lakefront (and candy store). One time Ethan and I were running through the forest, barefoot, and we slipped on a large dead fish with a black worm crawling out of its eaten eyeball. Another time we braved a sloshing lake storm in a rubber raft together with his little sister and my same-age cousin Lydia, all the while screaming made-up sea songs into the wind without any parental supervision. All of the cousins excelled at making up songs, and my aunt's dogs especially were the brunt of many of them. Ethan and I haven't seen each other in about eight years, Lydia maybe five, and Jacob close to a decade.

And so my sister came down to DC last night to drive up to Scranton with me. My parents and both aunts will be there, and Joey is coming too, and we've packed up the cards and Bananagrams in anticipation of a rainy, cabin-spent weekend, punctuated, of course, with long-overdue reunions and a wedding. Certainly there won't be any Rambos or battle cries, but I'm very much looking forward to the inevitable rekindling of cousin spirit that was so prominent in my kid-dom. 

Oh and so these tartlets have nothing to do with any of this, except that I made them last night when I had a spare two hours before my sister and I went out dancing. It's a tart, tart lemon verbena tart (did you read that? very tart), with a marshmallowy billowy topping that I love. I worried that the verbena would get lost in the lemon, and maybe it does just ever so slightly, but I still think I can taste the herbalness and definitely recommend that you try it if you've got verbena on hand. Half as much lemon balm might be nice too, or a few springs of lemon thyme if you're into it. Happy weekend, all!

Lemon Verbena Tartlets

Makes six four-inch tartlets

For tart dough
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan, via Smitten Kitchen
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon fine-grain salt
9 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter
1 large egg

For curd
½ cup granulated sugar
20 lemon verbena leaves, about two inches long each
6 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold water
½ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3 egg yolks, whisked (save the whites!)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1½ cups boiling water
2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

For meringue
4 large egg whites
1 cup white sugar, pref. very fine

1. Make tart dough:  cube butter into one-inch pieces and chill in freezer while you ready everything else. In the bowl of a food processor, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Sprinkle butter over top, and pulse about 10 to 15 times until butter is between the size of peas and oatmeal. Use a fork to break up egg in a small bowl, and pour a bit at a time through the feed tube, pulsing once after each addition. When the egg is all in, pulse the dough for ten seconds at a time until it comes together. Right before you get to this point, the mixer will change sounds and essentially start grumbling at you. Dump dough onto sheet of plastic wrap, gently knead together, and chill for at least one hour.

2. Divide the dough into six pieces, and roll out one by one into a six-inch circle. Line each of your tartlet pans with the dough, even out the tops, prick crust all over with a fork, and freeze lined pans for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. When tartlet dough has chilled, line each pan with a buttered sheet of foil, sticking it firmly to the bottom and sides to help prevent shrinkage. Place the pans on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is lightly browned. Proceed with curd and meringue.

3.  Make curd:  chop verbena leaves and grind them into the sugar using the back of a wooden spoon or a pestle in a large bowl; this helps release the oils and flavor. Wipe out bowl. Add sugar, leaves, cornstarch, and salt to a heavy two- to three-quart saucepan. Gradually blend in cold water and lemon juice until smooth. Whisk in the three egg yolks until thoroughly combined, then add the butter. Slowly add the boiling water, stirring all the while, then bring mixture to a full boil over medium-low heat, stirring gently. Once curd begins to thicken, reduce heat and simmer for one minute. Remove from heat, strain curd into the bowl you smashed the leaves in, then stir in the zest. Pour filling into baked tart shells, and cover with foil to trap the heat.

4.  Make meringue: preheat oven to broil and place rack in upper third of oven. Place egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer set over, but not touching, simmering water. Cook, whisking, until mixture is warm to the touch, about three to five minutes (will depend on how cold your egg whites were to begin). Transfer mixture to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on high until stiff peaks form.

5.  Spoon meringue over the tartlets, anchoring to crust around the edges; swirl it decoratively with the back of a spoon if you want. With tartlets on the cookie sheet still, broil until meringue is golden, about three or four minutes depending on your oven. Rotate the pan halfway through so that thebabes at the back don’t get more color than the ones in the front. Allow tartlets to set for about an hour, then pop in the fridge to cool and/or store. They will keep for two to three days in the fridge!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oreo Birthday Cake

There is a frozen yogurt shop in Pittsburgh called Oh Yeah!—possibly the most genius name because it’s a phrase uttered all the dang time—which Joey and I visited with my sister about two years ago. There are something like 150 different mix-ins and maybe ten or so basic yogurt flavors to choose from, after which your choices are shoved into a machine that crunches everything together and swirls it out into a cone. Katie and I took about two minutes each to determine flavor combinations, ordered, paid, and were eating before realizing that Joey was still poring over his selection sheet. Naturally we made fun of him, then watched on incredulously as he ordered the fully most inspired combination of mix-ins that put our puny fig-honey-coffee combos to shame. His cake batter yogurt included pretzels, coffee grounds, and caramel, along with few other things that I can’t recall, and so I wasn’t at all surprised when he said to me last week that he wanted a “Joey cake." I totally get what that means. 

Inside party shot! Still learning essential camera functions, such as focus.

Making birthday cakes for friends is the best, and birthday cake for a boo is an especially fun thing to be able to give, particularly when said boo is into ridiculous desserts. Dude loves a little salty with his sweet (in love and in desserts—har har). Originally I was planning to riff a Mississippi mud pie, but I realized that it was not crazy enough—obviously—and why on earth didn’t I think of making a chocolate peanut butter caramel pretzel cake until just this very second!? This here Oreo cake is probably tame compared to the ideal birthday cake of Joey’s dreams, but for the rest of us, it’s a totally worthwhile celebration cake, with towering super chocolatey layers and truly the taste of Oreos; it's like dirt cake, but bigger and better. It proved just the ticket for Joey's happy birthday, and thus begins the planning for his next personalized cake monstrosity.

Happy birthday to the best dude on the planet (left) with best brother on the planet (right)!

Chocolate Cake Layers + Assembly

This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe! It hails from the Internet (possibly originated on All Recipes) and reminds me of Bruce Bogtrotter. It will yield three nine-inch layers, as seen here, or two fatty ten-inch layers, with adjusted baking time.

3 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1 ½ cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups granulated sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutched)
2 teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups shaken buttermilk
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 15.5 ounce box of Oreos, for assembly

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Butter three nine-inch pans. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and butter the paper.

2.  Finely chop chocolate and combine with hot coffee in a bowl. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

3.  Into a large bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl and using a hand-mixer, beat eggs on medium until thickened slightly and lemon colored, about three minutes with the stand mixer, or five with the hand mixer. Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.

4.  Divide batter evenly between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 45 minutes to one hour. As usual, start checking your layers around the 30-minute mark. If your oven is like mine, it’s impossible to have all three layers finished baking at the same time, so better to make sure that none will overbake.

5.  Cool layers in pans on rack for an hour, or until mostly cool. Invert layers onto rack, carefully remove parchment paper, reinvert, and let cool completely. Cake layers can be wrapped in plastic and left at room temperature for a day, or wrapped in triple plastic and frozen for a few days before frosting.

6.  To assemble, crush two-thirds of the pack of Oreos. I did this by putting them in a paper lunch bag and smooshing them with a rolling pin. Set aside. Put your first cake layer right-side-up on a plate or cakestand. Tuck strips of wax paper underneath the edges to protect plate from frosting. Spread two-thirds cup of frosting (recipe below) on top of this layer, then cover with about half your smashed Oreos, leaving a half-inch border all the way around. Cover with second layer, two-thirds cup more frosting, and remaining smashed Oreos. Top with third layer.

7.  Get yr crumb coat on! Put about two cups of frosting in a separate bowl (to keep the main bowl free of crumbs) and coat the cake completely, on all sides and on top, in a thin layer of frosting. Use more frosting if necessary. Put the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes to let the crumb coat set. Using an offset spatula, swathe cake in the rest of the frosting, making as smooth a layer as possible. Set frosted cake in fridge to cool for about an hour. Make chocolate glaze (recipe below) when you’re ready to proceed.

8.  Pour chocolate glaze onto the top of the cake, and use an offset spatula to push it to the edges. It should flow down on its own, but it’s okay to give it a nudge with your spatula. I used about ten smashed Oreos to make a ring around the edge of the cake, but you can use more or less or none as your taste determines. Put cake back in fridge to let glaze set for about 30 minutes, and remove about an hour before serving.

Vanilla Buttercream
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ - ½ cup milk, at room temperature
Big pinch fine-grain sea salt

1.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or in a very large bowl with a hand-mixer, cream the butter until it’s an even, smooth consistency. Gradually add in the sugar, a cup or two at a time, and beat on medium until frosting is light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the salt and vanilla. Slowly stream in the milk until frosting is smooth and spreadable--you likely won’t need all of the milk.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Do not make this glaze until you have cooled the frosted the cake!

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 Tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
½ cup half-and-half

1. In a heat-safe bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm and flowy. If you let it sit for too long, rewarm in the microwave in ten-second bursts.

Cake guts.