Happy Summer! If ever there was a Happy Summer counterpart to the Happy Winter cake, this is it. Berries fresh from the CSA, fleetingly ripe and fragile, paired with a simple layer of vanilla cake makes for a perfect welcome to a sweltering hot holiday weekend.

With temperatures soaring above 100° I [...]]]>

Happy Summer! If ever there was a Happy Summer counterpart to the Happy Winter cake, this is it. Berries fresh from the CSA, fleetingly ripe and fragile, paired with a simple layer of vanilla cake makes for a perfect welcome to a sweltering hot holiday weekend.

With temperatures soaring above 100° I won’t be very productive in the kitchen this weekend. Fortunately, this cake is just as good after a few days in the freezer as it is fresh from the oven.

It’s been a tough year for our local cherry farmers. A cold and rainy winter coupled with an unexpected snow storm helped California’s drought situation but didn’t bode well for the cherry crop. We were lucky to receive fresh cherries in our CSA basket for two weeks in a row, and the cherry season has already ended.

Freshly picked, perfectly ripe berries never sit around very long in our house. Most of the cherries and boysenberries made their way directly from the CSA basket into our mouths. Sweet and juicy, they needed no accompaniment. But in my kitchen, chances are that some of them would end up in the oven. It’s a good thing they did.

The dark reds and blues of this cake are a perfect color palette for your Independence Day dessert display. There’s no better way to celebrate the first lazy long weekend of summer than with fresh, juicy berries. Relax and enjoy.

Cherry Boysenberry Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Teenie Cakes
Yield: One 9” cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 pound fresh cherries (approximately 30 cherries), halved and pitted
1/2 pound fresh boysenberries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup rice milk (or your preferred type of milk)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease only the sides of a 9” round cake pan.

In a small saucepan, melt 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the sugar, stirring to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture just begins to bubble. Pour into the cake pan, tilting the pan to ensure that the entire bottom is covered with syrup.

Arrange the boysenberries and cherries, cut side up, in the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup butter on medium speed until it is smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar gradually, beating in between additions. Continue to beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Pour 1/2 of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, beating on low speed just until combined. Add the milk and beat until combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Stir on low speed just until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Gently pour the batter on top of the berries in the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly across the pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes. The cake will be golden brown and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Invert the cake onto a serving platter immediately. Leave the pan over the cake for a couple of minutes, then remove it. If any fruit remains in the pan, place it atop the cake.

Slice and enjoy while still warm. Store in an airtight container when completely cooled. This cake also freezes well.

Saturday, 7:10 am. The farmers market had just opened and we found ourselves in front of a bright display of strawberries and marionberries. As we selected one of each type of berry, the farmer appeared in front of us and half-whispered, “I’ve got one container of tayberries back here if you’re interested.” The [...]]]>

Saturday, 7:10 am. The farmers market had just opened and we found ourselves in front of a bright display of strawberries and marionberries. As we selected one of each type of berry, the farmer appeared in front of us and half-whispered, “I’ve got one container of tayberries back here if you’re interested.” The Boyfriend and I exchanged looks. “What’s a tayberry?” I asked. He produced the half pint container and replied, “They’re like gold. They won’t last long.”

I’m not sure if it was his clever marketing or the gorgeous purplish-black hue of the tayberries, but we were sold. We brought home the most delicious collection of strawberries, marionberries, and tayberries. Our CSA share added boysenberries and rhubarb to our bounty. Now, each and every one of those berries could have made their way into our stomachs within a few hours. But I had grander plans for them: pie.

Here they are. The tayberries are on the left side, at the top. They look like blackberries but are longer in shape. They’re a cross between blackberries and raspberries, which means that they taste phenomenal. The perfect addition to my summer berry pie. This pie is definitely a winner, so I’m submitting it to “You Want Pies With That?” for this month’s summer fruit pies roundup.

I decorated my pie with a lattice crust on top, garnished with little pie crust strawberries. The filling came out a beautiful deep purplish-blue color, with a rich sweet-tart berry flavor. The perfect beginning to summer. Now, if only I had some vanilla ice cream…

Rhubarb Berry Pie
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
Yield: 1 yummy 9″ pie

For the crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cold
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice cold water

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Slice 1/2 cup of the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, blend the butter into the flour until it resembles large crumbs.

Slice the remaining butter into 1/4″ pats. To do this, slice a stick of butter lengthwise into four pieces. Rotate the stick and cut four lengthwise slices again. Then slice the strips.

Add the butter pats into the flour mixture and blend just until all the butter is coated in flour. Leave large chunks of butter in the dough for a flakier crust.

Add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a fork after each addition. Add enough water that the dough just comes together when you grab a small handful. Resist the urge to add too much water, it may get sticky when you try to roll it out.

Separate the dough into two halves, form each half into a disc shape, and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This “relaxation period” will serve to keep the dough chilled (thereby preserving the chunks of butter) and allow the gluten to relax (making the dough easier to roll out).

For the filling:
4 cups fresh berries, rinsed (I used 1 cup each of strawberries, marionberries, boysenberries, and tayberries)
1 cup rhubarb, chopped (about 4 small stalks)
1 cup sucanat (or your preferred sugar)
1 1/2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Combine the berries and rhubarb in a large bowl. Add sucanat and stir gently until well combined. Sprinkle the tapioca flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg over the berry mixture, gently folding until combined.

Beat the egg white and water in a small bowl. Set aside.

On a generously floured work surface, roll out one of the pie crusts to about 12″ or 13″ in diameter. Gently wrap it around the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9″ pie plate. Brush the inside of the crust with the egg white mixture. This helps to avoid a soggy crust.

Pour the fruit filling into the crust. Roll out the top crust and use it whole or create a design that inspires you. I chose to make a lattice pattern with the top crust. Brush the egg wash over the top of the crust as well.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 450°, then turn the oven down to 350° and bake for an additional 35-50 minutes. If it looks like the filling may bubble over in the oven, place a baking sheet covered with foil underneath the pie. The pie is done when the crust turns brown and the filling is bubbling.

Allow the pie to cool on a cooling rack for 45 minutes before slicing. Then eat it all up!