Cake of the Week: Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ok so I know that a frosting recipe is not a cake of the week per say. But I also know that (for most of you out there) frosting is your favorite part of the cake eating experience. And though I'm more of a cake girl myself (I value a reasonable frosting-to-cake ratio), I bake for friends, so I know what's up. More frosting is always appreciated.

This Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting is delightful. You know when you stick your finger into something you've made for a taste and immediately think (or say) Ohmygosh wow go me? That is this frosting. It has fresh strawberries and jam, so take advantage of those end of summer berries while you can! Pretty soon we're going to be all pumpkin all the time, but it is currently in the mid-90s here in Boston (ugh), aka still summer.

I used this frosting on Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes (my favorite chocolate cake recipe). I imagine it would also go well with a white cake, or oooh lemon cake! This recipe makes enough for one cake (2-3 layers), or for a batch of cupcakes. You could also adapt it for any fresh berry/jam combo -- I'm thinking blueberry? Or raspberry, though raspberries have seeds.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
• 3 Tablespoons strawberry jam or jelly
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 fresh strawberries, very finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons milk, as needed

Directions:

1. Beat the cream cheese, butter, fresh strawberries, and jam with a hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth(-ish, the fresh strawberries will be a little chunky of course). 
2. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
3. Add milk if the frosting is too thick.
4. Spread on everything!

Cake of the Week: Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

When life gives you lemons, make Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting. 

I realize that’s not how the saying usually goes, but can you really disagree? I mean, lemonade is good, but can anything really compare with a rich and chocolatey cake covered in sweet creamy (and pink!) frosting? Nope. Nothing can.

A few weeks ago SpeedyKate and I had a chocolate cupcake-needing day, so I made a batch of these babies to cheer us up. I knew they would be good – but oh man this is almost like a flourless chocolate cake kind of good. I only wish I had some right now!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Printable recipe.
(Recipe adapted from Une Gamine Dans La Cuisine.)
For the cake:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
• 2 ounces chopped bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate (I used unsweetened)
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sour cream OR Greek yogurt

For the frosting:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup pureed strawberries (or a large spoonful of strawberry jam)
• A splash of milk or cream if your frosting is too thick

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
3. In a medium heat-proof bowl combine butter, chopped chocolate, and cocoa. Either set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water to melt the butter and chocolate while stirring until smooth OR microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between. Set aside to cool.
4. In a separate bowl, wish flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
5. In another large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk the chocolate into to the egg mixture. 
6. Sift in about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Then add the sour cream or Greek yogurt. Stir in remaining dry ingredients. 
7. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners and bake for 18-20 minutes. (Warning: Do not over-bake! Err on the side of underdone for these. I baked for 20 minutes and it was a bit too much.) Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, then remove to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Frosting:

1. Beat all ingredients together. Add more sugar or some milk as needed to either thicken or loosen your frosting. 
2. When the cupcakes are completely cool, frost with a spatula or piping bag.

Printable recipe.

Cake of the Week: Rustic Rhubarb Tarts

I cannot get these Rustic Rhubarb Tarts out of my head. Maybe my judgment is clouded by the consumption context (stoop-time on a perfect summer evening with three of my absolute favorite people after eating pesto pizza), but I really think this is the best dessert I’ve ever had. 

LLC has been winning at dessert baking recently, which means that as the primary eater of her efforts, I’ve been winning as well.

Let’s start with the crust. If I could eat this crust – encasing everything from fruit to vegetables to cheese to eggs  – every day for the rest of my life, I would be completely content. It is hands-down the lightest, buttery-est, most delicious thing in the world. It has corn flour and a little bit of fine cornmeal, which I suspect adds to the texture and buttery flavor (you know how good fresh corn can taste like butter?).

(before cooking)

And then the filling. Well, we all know how I feel about rhubarb, so clearly it’d be hard to go wrong with this. The original recipe is an only rhubarb compote, but LLC went with strawberry rhubarb instead. Strawberries and chunks of tart rhubarb-y goodness. Not too too much sugar, so the tarts stay tangy.

And, in notes from the baker: “rustic” is the best adjective to put in front of any dessert you ever make. It’s like a baking free pass. Those cookies aren’t shaping up the way you expected? Call them rustic. Worried the crust won’t turn out perfect? Rustic. Plus in this age of farmers markets and foodie-isms, “rustic” is a shabby-chic adjective that is sure to draw a crowd.

No rolling pins, no tart rings, no damn-this-crust tears when it doesn’t come out perfect (ok maybe that’s just me). And the name is alliterative (ok, again, maybe just a thing for me): Rustic Rhubarb Tarts. Do it.

Rustic Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.)

Printable Recipe.

Corn Flour Crust

• 1 cup corn flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher or coarse salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 batch Strawberry Rhubarb Compote (recipe below)

If you’re using a food processor: Combine the dry ingredients in the work bowl of your food processor. Add the butter and pulse in short bursts, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add heavy cream and egg yolks and pulse until combined; it will look crumbly but it will become one mass when kneaded together.

OR

If you’re using a stand mixer: Whisk the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, add the butter and turn the mixture speed to low (you’ll want to lock the top, so the mixture doesn’t fly about) and mix to break up the butter. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is as coarse as cornmeal. Add the heavy cream and egg yolks and mix until combined. The dough will look crumbly but when pinched between your fingers, it will come together.

OR

By hand: The butter can also be blended into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender, or you fingertips. The cream and egg yolks can be mixed into the butter mixture with a wooden spoon. You’ll likely want to turn the dough out onto a counter to gently knead it into one mass.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

• 1 lb strawberries, rinsed and hulled
• 1 lb rhubarb, trimmed
• 1 lemon
• ¾ cup granulated sugar 

1. Select about 4 ounces of the smallest strawberries and cut lengthwise into quarters. These will be added raw to the cooked compote; set aside.
2. Cut the remaining larger berries in halves or quarters so that the pieces are about the same size. (You should have about 2 1/2 cups.) Place them in a medium saucepan.
3. With a paring knife, pull away and discard the strings that run the length of the rhubarb stalks. Cut the stalks into 3/4-inch pieces (you should have about 3 cups) and add to the saucepan.
4. Use a fine grater or a Microplane to zest the lemon. Add 1 teaspoon of the zest to the pan. Squeeze 1 tablespoon of juice and add it to the pan. Add the sugar and stir to coat the fruit.
5. Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. By the time the sugar has dissolved, the fruit will have released a lot of juice. Boil for about 4 minutes to reduce the liquid somewhat, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 2 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft. Don’t worry if some of the rhubarb falls apart.
6. Take pan off the stove and stir in reserved strawberries. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate in a covered container until cold. (This makes about 4 cups of compote, but the extra will keep for a couple of weeks and is delicious for breakfast.)

Shape the tarts: 

1. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Lightly flour a work surface and using the heel of your hand, flatten the dough into a rough circle. Continue flattening until it is approximately 5 inches in diameter. Try to work quickly, so the dough doesn't get too warm and soft, making it harder to handle. For more elegant edges, gently flatten the outer edge of the circle with your fingertips, making it thinner than the rest of the dough.
2. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the Strawberry Rhubarb Compote into the center of the dough. 
3. Fold the edge of the dough toward the compote and up, to create a ruffled edge; continue around the perimeter, letting the ruffles be their bad irregular selves. 
4. Slide a bench scraper or spatula under the tart and transfer it to a parchment-lined (or cooking-sprayed) baking sheet. Continue with the remaining dough. 
5. Freeze the tarts on their tray for at least 1 hour or up to 2 weeks, wrapped tightly in plastic.

Bake the tarts: Preheat over to 375°F. Bake tarts, still frozen, for about 35 minutes or until the edges of the tarts are brown and the rhubarb is bubbling and thick. Serve warm or at room temperature. The tarts keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Printable Recipe.

(I ate mine with a dollop of Greek yogurt. If only we had whipped cream or ice cream...)

Cake of the Week: Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Fresh Strawberries

Friday was my boss’s last day of work, so we simultaneously celebrated her awesomeness and mourned her loss with cake – Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Fresh Strawberries to be exact.

This was my first new apartment baking venture, so YAY my oven works! Friday morning I boxed it up and metro’ed to the office, praying that the (albeit semi-sloppy) writing on top would arrive intact. (I like to think of myself as a good writer, and a good cake-baker…but writing on cake is clearly not my forte, so forgive me for the messiness and focus on the message and deliciousness.)

I don’t bake for everyone at the office - just those I really really like. Jenn hired me about a year ago (time flies!) and has taught me soooo much in that time – things I never even knew existed: information architecture, content strategy, and web accessibility to name a few. The Enough Project will miss her, but I know that NYC will love her!

At 4 pm we met for one final Online Comms meeting in her office, busted out the cake and some champagne and honored Jenn’s 2 years of accomplishments.

This is a cupcake recipe that I adapted to make a 3-layer cake. The cake is deeelicious – just the right amount of lemony. Between the layers I slathered frosting and laid out thinly sliced strawberries (I lost my camera in the move, so no process pictures – sorry!). Though it’s tempting to pile on more strawberries, they do add a degree of difficulty when it comes to balance and frosting the outside, so I suggest holding back a bit for appearance purposes.

Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Fresh Strawberries

Printable Recipe.

Cake Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest (about two medium-sized lemons – you’ll only need one lemon’s juice, so after zesting store the second lemon in a zip-lock bag or Tupperware to keep it fresh)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups whole strawberries, washed and dried completely, then thinly sliced

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons milk or buttermilk as needed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour 3 9-inch round pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. With an electric mixer with paddle attachment or stand mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl down the sides as necessary.
5. Beat in the lemon zest and the vanilla.
6. Mix the lemon juice and the buttermilk together.
7. Add the buttermilk/lemon mixture and the flour mixture to the batter in thirds. Pour 1/3 the flour mixture, then 1/3 the buttermilk mixture, beating until just combined, then repeat.
8. Divide batter evenly between pans. 
9. Bake for about 35 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean.
10. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to completely before frosting.

For the Frosting: 

1. Beat butter and cream cheese, add in vanilla and 2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk.
2. Beat in powdered sugar. 
3. Add more milk or buttermilk as necessary to reach a spreadable consistency.

Assembly:

1. Choose flattest layer for the bottom.
2. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the cake and cover it with thinly sliced strawberries (make sure your strawberries are completely dry).
3. This is a little different but worked quite well: instead of putting cake layer 2 directly on top of the strawberries, first spread a thin layer of frosting on the underside of it. So it goes: cake layer 1, thin layer of frosting, strawberries, thin layer of frosting, cake layer 2, etc. 
4. Repeat between layers 2 and 3. If your cake appears unstable, push spaghetti noodles down through the layers to keep it upright (but warn people eating the cake about the potential for spaghetti; Mama rules: whomever gets a piece of spaghetti in their slice gets to make a wish!)
5. Frost the outside of the cake completely. Store in the refrigerator, but take out at least an hour before serving.

Printable Recipe.

Cake of the Week: Ginger Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

Well this is awkward. It’s Tuesday. Cake of the Week time. And I want to blog about something delicious…but I don’t have any new recipes/pictures up my proverbial sleeves! Blogger-fail, I’m so sorry!

LLC and I are currently gchatting about how much we wish we had chocolate cake for breakfast. That, and the incredibly depressing fact that despite the superabundance of rhubarb recipes currently taking the interwebs by storm, there is literally NO rhubarb here in DC. (Does anyone know where all the rhubarb has gone?)

In a fit of rhubarb nostalgia, I perused some of my previous posts. Ginger Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce. I totally forgot about this recipe, which means you probably did too, which means it’s ripe for a re-post! Here we go, let’s have a rhubarb party like it’s June 2010!

Rhubarb is a curious vegetable (actually, the US classifies it as a fruit for tax reasons. Weird!). The leaves of the rhubarb plant are toxic, but the stalks are edible. It's very tart, which is why it tends to be paired with sweet strawberries. What a fabulous combination, strawberries and rhubarb are match made in heaven, if you ask me!

Though strawberry rhubarb pie is a delicious classic, I'm not too fond of the crust-making process. But cake, now that's more my thing. I decided to go for a pound cake, and to spice things up a bit, I made it a ginger pound cake. Then I topped it with strawberry rhubarb sauce (technically it's a compote, but I've been told that "compote" is too close to "compost" and just doesn't do justice to the yummiliciousness that this boiled mixture really is).

This was my first rhubarb cooking adventure. Even though the rhubarb seems tough, it actually cooks pretty quickly. I guess it just depends on the texture you're going for. Mine ended up almost jam-ish, but in the future I think I'll cook it less so the rhubarb retains some bite. You could also cook half the rhubarb, and then add the other half later in the cooking process to get different textures in your finished sauce (and the same principles go for the strawberries).

Ginger Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

(Printable recipe.)
For the cake:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 teaspoon vanilla

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
2. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with milk and vanilla. Do not over-mix. 
3. Pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 325° for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

For the Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce:

• 1/2 lb strawberries
• 1 lb rhubarb
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Dice rhubarb and strawberries into similar sized 1/2 inch pieces. 
2. Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. 
3. Simmer for 10-20 minutes (depending on what texture you want). 
4. Remove from heat and cool at least 2 hours. Store sealed in the refrigerator.

(Printable recipe.)

If you live somewhere with rhubarb, please make this recipe for those of us who can't!!!

Cake of the Week: Fresh Strawberry Tart

Last weekend SpeedyKate referred to me as her hippie friend “but in a good way,” and I quickly realized she’s right. I come from a family of unintentional hippies. You wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at us, but we do exhibit all the key NorCal/local/environmental/peace and love traits (but my Dad would be horrified if you called him a hippie - sorry Dad!).

Upon entering the real world I was shocked to learn that not everyone recycles and turns off all lights when leaving the room, that many people don’t understand how chickens lay eggs, or know that fruits and veggies have seasons.

My family’s hippy-ness is most apparent in our food. My “comfort food” is fresh salsa made from home-grown tomatoes, and strawberry pie made from the berries grown in the planter beds my mama built in our backyard. In the fishing season, my dad would bring back striped bass and rainbow trout for dinner or to smoke (yumm!). Boxed mac and cheese was an only-when-there’s-a-babysitter special occasion thing, eggs came from our chickens (living in the coop my Mama built – so crafty she is!), and soda never happened.

My parents didn’t take it to the no-TV, no-sugar, no-fast food extreme (we ate In-N-Out every weekend on the way to Tahoe), which is why we don’t qualify as true hippies, just totally cliché Northern Californians.

Anywho, when I was in elementary school when we had the most prolific strawberry beds ever. We’re talking about so many strawberries that picking then became a chore and my Mama had to come up with creative ways to use them all up.

Enter the Strawberry Tart (my mama made it in pie form, but I went for the tart version). The filling is almost 100% strawberries – no fat, no filler, just sweet red awesomeness. This recipe is so easy, and it looks and tastes like a summer afternoon. You can serve it plain, or top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Strawberry Tart

Tart shell: (this is the same recipe from my Ricotta Tart)

1 cup AP flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Liberally butter a 11" tart or quiche pan and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt.  Pulse to combine.  Add butter pieces and pulse until fine crumbs form.  Add yolk, vanilla and water.  Pulse in quick bursts until dough forms a ball.  Press dough into buttered pan (flour hands if your dough is sticky). Chill shell for 40 minutes.

After chilling, prick the tart shell with a fork and bake for 30 minutes.  Let shell cool completely before filling.

 

Filling:

2 quarts fresh strawberries

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup water

Mash or briefly food-process about ½ quart strawberries (you want enough to make about 1 cup mashed/chopped berries).

In a saucepan on the stove over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, and water. Heat for 2 minutes, then add the mashed/chopped berries. Bring the mixture to a simmer, wisking constantly. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Cut the rest of the strawberries in half and set aside.

Assembly:

Spread a thin layer of filling inside the cooled tart crust.

Arrange the halved berries on top of crust.

Using a spoon and spatula, evenly spread filling/glaze over the fresh berries.

Chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

My Favorite Spring Recipes

It’s feeling distinctly springy here on the east coast. Boston last weekend was surprisingly balmy for mid-March, and as I ran through Rock Creek Park this morning I noticed a few ambitious buds beginning to appear on the trees. And it's finally light when I leave work - daylight savings you annoy me...but simultaneously delight me!

In light of the season change, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite spring recipes. Spring food is usually light, lemony, fruity, and colorful – all things good in the realm of food! If it’s getting warm where you are, or if you just want to eat something that reminds you that spring will eventually come, try one these. 

Pea Pesto Pasta - Peas and asparagus scream spring, and smoked salmon is always a good idea. Instead of oil, pine nuts, and basil, this pesto is made out of peas, almonds, and mint - it's healthier and different and really really delicious!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake - I've been seeing strawberries on sale, and everyone knows that strawberries = spring, pound cake = yum, and cream cheese icing = sweet and tangy fabulousness!

Mint Chocolate Pound-ish Cake - I called this a "pound-ish" cake because it's much lighter than a traditional pound cake. If an angel food cake married a pound cake, and they went on their honeymoon to the island of York Mints, this is the baby they would have 9 months later.

Sweet Potato Frittata - This recipe is one of the most-googled on Eat Run Read! I made it in June, but to me the combination of eggs and asparagus say easter and spring. And yes, that is a layer of bacon-y sweet potatoes on the bottom. :)

Choco-Coconut Peanut Butter Bars - I can't come up for a good reason why these are springy...but I was reminded of them as I sifted through past recipes, and they were sooooo good! 

Ginger Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce - It appears that I went on a pound-cake kick last spring and didn't realize it until now. This is a traditional pound cake with a flavorful twist (i.e. the ginger). Rhubarb has a brief season in spring, so test out this unique sour but sweet veggie-fruit while you can.

Happy spring cooking/baking! What's your favorite spring recipe? Feel free to share a link in the comments!

Chocolate Ganache

Remember back when I made the most epically awesome cheesecake known to humanity?Well, at the time, I mentioned that the recipe made way too much gnache. (For those of you not familiar with gnache, it's chocolate melted in cream then cooled to a fudgy consistency.) So ummmm, too much gnache? Is that even actually possible??? I think not.


I took my bowl o'chocolatey goodness, and began dipping. I started with my fingers...then a spoon...and eventually moved on to fresh fruit.You may notice that there's some condensation on the gnache in these pictures. That may be because I refrigerated them after dipping...that also may be because DC can be quite the humid...either way, chocolate + fruit = what's not to like????

Chocolate Ganache

2 cups heavy cream

20 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I combined both)

Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.

Once the cream reaches a simmer, pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circles until a smooth ganache has formed.

If you make that whole batch, you will be dipping fruit forever! I suggest halving the recipe, and using about 2 lbs of strawberries..

Cake of the Week: Ginger Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

It's been a crazy week, but just pretend with me for a moment that it's Tuesday right now. Yay Tuesday! Because that only means one thing...Cake of the Week! (Ok, now you can skip to being relieved that it's Friday!)Have you noticed the superabundance of strawberries and rhubarb recently? I feel like I've never seen so much rhubarb before! So, in honor of all things in season, I decided to bake something rhubarby...Rhubarb is a curious vegetable (actually, the US classifies it as a fruit for tax reasons. Weird!). The leaves of the rhubarb plant are toxic, but the stalks are edible. It's very tart, which is why it tends to be paired with sweet strawberries. What a fabulous combination, strawberries and rhubarb are match made in heaven, if you ask me!

Though strawberry rhubarb pie is a delicious classic, I'm not too fond of the crust-making process. But cake, now that's more my thing. I decided to go for a pound cake, and to spice things up a bit, I made it a ginger pound cake. Then I topped it with strawberry rhubarb sauce (technically it's a compote, but I've been told that "compote" is too close to "compost" and just doesn't do justice to the yummiliciousness that this boiled mixture really is).This was my first rhubarb cooking adventure. Even though the rhubarb seems tough, it actually cooks pretty quickly. I guess it just depends on the texture you're going for. Mine ended up almost jam-ish, but in the future I think I'll cook it less so the rhubarb retains some bite. You could also cook half the rhubarb, and then add the other half later in the cooking process to get different textures in your finished sauce (and the same principles go for the strawberries).

Also, I only put one teaspoon of ginger in my pound cake, but it was too mild. Next time I'll do two.Anywho, take advantage of the rhubarb and strawberry season while it lasts!

Ginger Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

For the cake:
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups sifted flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
3 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with milk and vanilla. Do not overmix. Pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 325° for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

For the Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce:

1/2 lb strawberries
1 lb rhubarb
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon corn starth
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Dice rhubarb and strawberries into similar sized 1/2 inch pieces. Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10-20 minutes (depending on what texture you want). Remove from heat and cool at least 2 hours. Store sealed in the refrigerator.

I hope you're all oohing and aahhing over Photoman's pictures like I am. I can't help but try to squeeze as many as possible into this post. Because I remember the cake tasting good, but hot damn! It looks absolutely fantabulous!

If you're not inspired to try cooking with rhubarb after seeing these pictures, well, you're far beyond my help!