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In the Oven: Sour Cherry Slump

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No need to turn on the oven to make this week’s recipe — you cook this “twice-removed cousin of the cobbler family” entirely on the stovetop. Posting date is July 29!

Sour Cherry Slump
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • For the biscuit topping
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • Raw sugar for topping (optional)
  • For the Sour Cherries
  • 2 pints sour cherries, pitted and drained
  • ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to serve
Instructions
Make the biscuit topping
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With a wooden spoon, stir in the melted butter and mix until combined. Add ¼ cup of the sour cream and stir. Add a few heaping tablespoons of the remaining sour cream, stirring between each addition, until the dough feels wet. You may end up using slightly less than the ½ cup of the sour cream. Set aside while you prepare the sour cherries.
Make the sour cherries
  1. In a well-seasoned 8-inch or 8 ½-inch cast-iron skillet, gently combine the cherries, sugars, 3 tablespoons water, the lemon juice, and lemon zest.
  2. Cover the skillet with a lid or a piece of tight-fitting foil and bring the mixture to a rapid boil over medium heat.
  3. When the mixture reaches a boil, remove the skillet from the heat and scoop heaping tablespoons of the biscuit topping over the cherries, covering as much surface area as possible. If using, sprinkle the top with raw sugar. Cover the skillet tightly and return it to low heat. Cook for about 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid. After 15 minutes, check the topping for doneness; it should be dry to the touch. (The topping will not brown the way it would in an oven.)
  4. Serve the slump hot from the pan.

 

In the Oven: Black Forest Cupcakes

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Who knew there was a Black Forest Cake Festival? We’re marking the occasion with Black Forest Cupcakes! Posting date is May 7.

Black Forest Cupcakes
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
  • For the Black Forest Cupcakes
  • 1 ounce (28 g) good-quality dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), chopped
  • 1⁄2 cup (40 g) unsweetened dark cocoa powder, such as Valrhona
  • 2⁄3 cup (165 ml) hot coffee
  • 1⁄3 cup (75 ml) whole milk
  • 1 1⁄3 cups (170 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5 ounces (11⁄4 sticks/140 g) unsalted butter, cool but not cold, cut into 1⁄2-inch (12-mm) cubes
  • 1 cup (220 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1⁄2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • For the Filling
  • 1 scant cup (7 ounces/ 200 g) cherry preserves
  • 2 tablespoons kirsch
  • For the Frosting
  • 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 1⁄2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • For the Assembly
  • Chocolate sprinkles
  • 24 fresh cherries with stems
Instructions
MAKE THE BLACK FOREST CUPCAKES
  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.
  2. Place the chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the coffee directly over them, let sit for 1 minute, and whisk until combined. Add the milk and whisk until smooth.
  3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the chocolate mixture, and beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
  5. Fill the prepared cups about three-quarters full. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cupcakes out onto the rack, place them right side up, and let them cool completely.
MAKE THE FILLING
  1. In a small bowl, combine the cherry preserves with 1 tablespoon kirsch. Mix and set aside.
MAKE THE FROSTING
  1. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together 1 1⁄4 cups (250 g) of the sugar, the corn syrup, and 1⁄4 cup (60 ml) water. Once the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Without stirring, heat the mixture to almost 235°F (113°C; almost the soft-ball stage). Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup fully reach 235°F (113°C), but not higher.
  3. Sprinkle the remaining 1⁄4 cup (50 g) sugar over the soft peaks of the egg whites and turn the mixer to low. Slowly stream in the hot sugar syrup. Once all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat the icing until it is thick and shiny, about 7 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat again for 10 seconds. Set aside.
ASSEMBLE THE CUPCAKES
  1. Line up the cupcakes on a sheet tray. Stick a large round pastry tip (the kind you usually use in tandem with a pastry bag) into the center of each cupcake, pressing it about halfway down, essentially coring the cupcake. (Alternatively, you can use a small paring knife.) Remove the excess cake.
  2. Using a pastry brush, spread the remaining tablespoon of plain kirsch on each cupcake top. Spoon a teaspoon of the cherry preserves mixture into each cored cupcake.
  3. Transfer the frosting to a large pastry bag using the same large round pastry tip you used to core the cupcakes. Generously pipe frosting onto each cupcake.
  4. Sprinkle each with chocolate sprinkles and top with a cherry. Serve immediately.
Notes
[i]How to Store[/i]: The frosting used on these cupcakes tastes best when eaten within 24 hours (even better within 12 hours); however, if you have leftovers, you can cover them tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

 

In the Oven: Cherry Almond Crisp

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Next up is Cherry Almond Crisp in celebration of Washington’s Birthday/Presidents’ Day!

Posting date is Sunday, 15 February.

In the Oven: Cherry Almond Crisp
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: 8 – 10 Servings
In celebration of Washington’s Birthday/Presidents’ Day
Ingredients
  • For the Crisp Topping
  • 2⁄3 cup (85 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (85 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 ounces (¾ stick/85 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for the pan
  • ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 2⁄3 cup (100 g) blanched almonds, toasted (see page 19)
  • ¾ cup (30 g) of your favorite oat-based childhood cereal, chocolate-based granola, or Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles[br]
  • For the Cherry Filling
  • 5½ cups pitted cherries (about 2 pounds/910 g before pitting)
  • 2 tablespoons instant tapioca
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
  • 1 tablespoon pure almond extract
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • For the Assembly
  • Premium vanilla ice cream (optional)
Instructions
Make the Crisp Topping
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
  2. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch (20-cm) round cake pan with at least 2-inch (5‑cm) sides.
  3. Place the flour, both sugars, and the salt in a food processor and pulse until combined.
  4. Add the butter and almond extract and pulse until sandy (8 to 12 quick pulses).
  5. Add the almonds and pulse until the nuts are chopped and incorporated but the mixture is still coarse and chunky, not powdery; do not overpulse.
  6. Add the cereal and pulse with the almonds for a few more seconds.
  7. Place the topping in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Make the Cherry Filling
  1. In a large bowl, gently toss together the cherries, tapioca, lemon juice, almond extract, sugar, and lemon zest.
Assemble the Cherry Almond Crisp
  1. Place the cherry filling in the prepared pan.
  2. Evenly scatter the chilled crisp topping over the filling and bake until the top is browned and the fruit is bubbling, 25 to 35 minutes. If the top starts to brown too quickly (but the filling is not bubbling), tent the crisp with foil and continue baking until the filling is ready.
  3. Remove from the oven, place the pan on a cooling rack, and allow to cool slightly.
  4. Serve the crisp warm, with vanilla ice cream, if you like.
Notes
How to store: Wrap and refrigerate any leftover crisp for up to 3 days. To reheat, let the crisp come to room temperature, then rewarm it in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Leftovers can also be eaten straight from the fridge with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Excerpted from Baked Occasions: Desserts for Leisure Activities, Holidays, and Informal Celebrations, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copyright © 2014 by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.  Excerpted by permission of Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of Abrams. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.