Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes

I made these along with Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes for a morning baby shower I went to recently. I over-estimated how many cupcakes were actually needed (not a bad thing at all if you ask meJ) and ended up dropping off the extras with my husband at work. My husband is currently going through officer training with the Marine’s so I didn’t think twice about whether or not Curtis and the other Marines in his platoon would enjoy them.

When I dropped them off to Curtis our conversation went a little like this:

Curtis: So what type of cupcake are these again?

Me: Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese

        Frosting

Curtis: <3 second pause, then a smile lights up his face> Sa-weet!

 When he came home that night the cupcake carrier was empty and he had about 10 different responses to relay back to me from his fellow Marines. So cute, they’ll be getting cupcakes again soon!

Cook’s Note:

This recipe made 30 standard-sized cupcakes using my trusty 4-tablespoon scoop.

Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 C butter, softened

1 ½ C sugar

3 eggs

2 egg whites

3 1/3 C flour

1 t baking soda

½ t baking powder

1 t salt

1 T cinnamon

½ t nutmeg

1 C sour cream

1/3 C milk

1 t vanilla extract

1 ½ C fresh or frozen blueberries

Maple Buttercream:

½ C butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese

¼ C real Maple Syrup

1 t vanilla

5 ½ C powdered sugar

Milk, as needed

Cinnamon sugar and fresh blueberries for garnish.

Directions:

For the Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 360 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together and set aside.

Using a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla extract and sour cream until combined, set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.

On low speed, add eggs and egg whites one at a time until each is fully incorporated.

Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the wet (milk, vanilla extract and sour cream).  Let each ingredient fully mix in before adding the other, be careful not to over mix.

Fold in blueberries. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full (I used my trusty 4-tablespoon scoop) and bake for about 16-19 minutes (rotating pans half-way through), or until an inserted knife comes out clean.   

Cool cupcakes on a wired-rack for at least 30 minutes before piping on the frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. 

Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar and beat on low until combined, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. If needed add 1 tablespoon of milk to loosen.

Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and top with cinnamon sugar and berries.

Makes about 30 cupcakes

Source: adapted from Your Cup of Cake

Spanish Tapas: Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates

I L*O*V*E Tapas! One of my most favorite Valentine’s Day dates was when my hubby took me out for Tapas. There’s just something about Tapas restaurants that are romantic; the lighting, the sharing of dishes, the music, etc. We had a dish very similar to this and it was love at first bite!

 I love bringing this recipe to parties (I brought it to both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve parties) because 1) is SO easy to make, 2) it’s uber delicious, and 3) it’s different from your typical party food.

Cook’s Note: The dates and goat cheese are usually expensive ingredients, but I got all the ingredients for this dish at Costco. The prices are much lower than at the grocery store and the quality is great.

Spanish Tapas: Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Ingredients:

16 large Medjool dates, pitted

16 roasted almonds

1/4 C mild goat cheese, crumbled

8 slices of bacon (about 7 ounces), halved crosswise

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Cut a lengthwise slit in the dates and remove the pit. Stuff each one with an almond and about ½-1 teaspoon of the goat cheese. Pinch the dates closed. Wrap each date securely in a piece of bacon and arrange the dates, seam side down, on a wire rack set on a baking sheet.

Bake the stuffed dates for about 20-25 minutes, or until the bacon is browned and crisp; turn each date after 10 minutes. Serve the stuffed dates warm or at room temperature.

Make Ahead

The stuffed dates can be prepared through Step 1 and refrigerated for 1 day.

Source: Food and Wine.com

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday, Menu Plan Monday , Skip to My Lou, Tip Me Tuesday, Today’s Creative Blog

Peach Salsa

This was my very first canning endeavor and it was easier than I thought it would be. I do suggest though at least quadrupling the recipe when canning to make your efforts worth while.

Cook’s Note: If you don't have peaches, substitute any yellow-orange fruit, including mangoes, pineapples, or papaya.

Peeling Peaches Tip: Using a knife, score the bottoms of the peaches with an X pattern. Bring a pot of water to a roiling boil, add the peaches and parboil for 60 – 90 seconds. Plunge the peaches into an ice water bath and the skins should peel right off. Use the X you made on the bottom of the peaches to peel them.

Peach Salsa

Ingredients:

2 ripe but firm peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped coarse

1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced thin

1 small red onion, diced

¼ C chopped fresh parsley leaves

1medium clove garlic, minced

¼ C pineapple juice

6 T lime juice

1 medium jalapeño chile or other medium hot pepper, minced

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste, in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate to blend flavors, at least 1 hour or up to 4 days.

For Canning:

If you plan on preserving the salsa, skip the refrigerator and immediately place into hot, sterile pint jars with 1/2 inch head space. Don’t forget to gently shake the jar to remove air bubbles. Wipe the rims clean, center the lid, and tighten the band finger tight before placing the jar into the boiling water. The pints should be processed with at least one inch of water above the lids.

Process in a water bath canner for:

20 minutes < 1000 feet above sea level
25 minutes 1001 – 5999
30 minutes for another over 6000 ft

Makes about 3 cups

Source: Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, July 1996 & Home Ec 101

I’m linking this post up at:

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Fruit Pizza

This is a classic, quick and easy summertime dessert. It comes together in a jiffy and is super yummy.

Fruit Pizza

For the Crust:

1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

For the “Sauce”:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (7 ounce) container marshmallow Fluff

Your favorite fruit to top it: I like using strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and kiwis.

For the Glaze:

1/4 C white sugar

1 pinch salt

1/2 T cornstarch

1/4 C orange juice

1 T lemon juice

1/4 C water

1/4 t orange zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Press dough flat into pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, beat until fluffy, and then fold in marshmallow Fluff. Spread over cooled crust.

Arrange your fruit in a decorative pattern. Put the pan in the refrigerator while you make the sauce.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, and add orange zest. Allow to cool, but not set up. Spoon over fruit. Chill for two hours, then cut into wedges and serve.

Source: adapted from Allrecipes

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday
Menu Plan Monday
Skip to My Lou
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Today’s Creative Blog

Balsamic Strawberry Pizza with Chicken, Sweet Onion & Bacon

While living in Crystal City, Virginia, my husband and I would frequently go out to eat. There was a plethora of amazingly diverse restaurants within walking distance to our apartment and it would have just been wrong to not try them out.  ;) But the main reason we’d go out so often was because I worked late almost every night (P.S. It’s an urban myth that teachers work only from 9-3).  By the time I got home it would usually be 7 or 8 PM and I wouldn’t feel like cooking—especially when I was pregnant! One restaurant we would go to periodically was California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) and there was one visit in particular to CPK that I will never, ever forget!

It was the Friday after winter break so it was especially hard getting back into the swing of things, and at the time I was also 6 months pregnant. I had just gotten home late (again) from work and there was no way I was about to stand on my swollen, pregnant feet to make dinner. So naturally we decided to go out. I suggested CPK because it was relatively close (only about 150 yards from our apartment) and they had that yummy Spinach-Artichoke Dip I was craving. We leisurely walked to CPK, hand-in-hand while discussing our day/week. Once we were seated at the restaurant I suggested we share an appetizer and an entrée (something we did quite frequently), I then proceeded to say I was pregnancy-craving the Spinach-Artichoke Dip so I’d pick the appetizer and he could pick the entrée. Without skipping a beat Curtis looked me square in the face and said “No”.

………………Whaaaaat?!?!?!?!?........................

I was like a deer in the headlights! I proceeded to turn and look all around because surely Curtis didn’t say no to me! To date he had said no to me maybe 2 other times…and certainly never while I was pregnant! But I was mistaken, he definitely said no! Once I was able to pick my chin up off of the table and gather my thoughts I probed him for answers. As it turns out, Curtis had just finished his first week of Professional Negotiations and was testing out some techniques he had learned on me…so not cool to do to a pregnant lady! (And to set the record straight, we ended up ordering the Spinach Artichoke Dip and 2 entrees and left with a lot of leftovers.)

Anyhow, this Strawberry Chicken Pizza totally reminds me of something you’d get at CPK (and the unforgettable “no” I received from my hubby while there). The combination of flavors is so right-on and delicious. To speed up the pizza-making process, I suggest picking up a dough ball from your local supermarket. I picked mine up at Safeway, and I know other stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods sells them as well.

Balsamic Strawberry Pizza with Chicken, Sweet Onion & Bacon

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

½ C strawberry jam or preserves

¼ C balsamic vinegar
1 t sriracha chili sauce, or any other chili sauce(chipotle would be yummy)

For the Rest of the Pizza:

1 ball pizza dough, your favorite recipe or on purchased form the store
1 C diced or shredded chicken breast, from rotisserie chicken or left over chicken of any kind
½ C bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces, cooked until crispy and drained

½ C thinly sliced sweet onion
12 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese
¼ C fresh cilantro, finely chopped
¼ C fresh strawberries, diced

Directions:

Place pizza stone or an inverted sheet pan on middle rack of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 4-5 minutes, or until reduced to half the original volume and the mixture is thick and syrupy. Add strawberry preserves and sriracha chili sauce and mix well. Set aside to cool.

Pat or roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to approximately a 14 inch circle. Place a piece of parchment paper, slightly larger than your dough on a pizza peel or an upside down sheet pan. (The parchment paper will make your transfer of the pizza to the oven so much easier!) Sprinkle parchment paper lightly with cornmeal. Fold dough in quarters and place on parchment paper, then unfold.

Combine chicken with 2 tablespoons of the balsamic-strawberry mixture and mix to coat all chicken with sauce. Pour rest of sauce onto pizza dough and spread to cover. Leave a 1 inch border all around the edge.

Place about 3/4 of the cheese on top of dough and spread to cover sauce evenly. Scatter chicken, bacon and sweet onion over cheese to distribute evenly. Scatter remaining cheese over this layer.

Slide parchment paper with pizza on top onto stone or cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Watch carefully, at this temperature it is easy to burn the pizza!

Remove from oven and let cool slightly, 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and fresh diced strawberries.

Source: Adapted from this recipe

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday
Menu Plan Monday
Skip to My Lou
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Today’s Creative Blog

Pina Colada Cupcakes

♫”Do you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain…”♫

I know you all know this classic summer-time/escapism song and I apologize if it’s stuck in your head now…but I definitely don’t apologize for these cupcakes! I made these for my hubby’s LSAT students and they were a huge hit. One guy said he didn’t even like cupcakes, but he does now! Score! I was able to stash one away for myself and I am so glad that I did! I really suggest making these with coconut oil instead of vegetable oil because it adds another layer of subtle flavor to the cupcakes. Enjoy!

***Cook’s Note: If you plan to pile on the frosting like I did, I suggest making a recipe and a half of the frosting.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Cake

2 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1 3/4 C sugar
1 C coconut oil (vegetable oil could be substituted for coconut oil)
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 C sour cream
1 1/2 C canned crushed pineapple (drained slightly)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until slightly thickened and a light cream color (about 2 minutes).

On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended.

Add in the pineapple and sour cream and mix until fully incorporated.

Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined and smooth.

Fill each paper liner in the muffin tin to about 2/3 full.

Bake cupcakes for about 22 minutes.

Remove the cupcakes from tin and cool on wire rack.

Frost with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below).

Makes 24-28 cupcakes

For the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

½ C butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 t vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
1- 1 ½  t coconut extract (this all depends on your taste)
4 C powdered sugar
1 T heavy cream (milk will do if you don’t have any cream)

Toasted coconut (optional)

Directions:

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until well combined, about 30 seconds.

Add vanilla extract, coconut extract and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.

Slowly add the heavy cream or rum.

Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

If you want to pipe the frosting on your cupcakes, you may need to put the frosting in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to firm up.

Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.) 

For added flavor and texture, top frosted cupcakes with toasted coconut.
(To toast coconut- lay about 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F about 4-5 minutes).

Garnish cupcakes with toasted coconut, fresh pineapple, maraschino cherries or paper umbrellas…you can basically make these as festive as you’d like!

Source: Adapted from Glorious Treats

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday
Menu Plan Monday
Skip to My Lou
Tip Me Tuesday
Today’s Creative Blog

Baked Banana and Blueberry Oatmeal

I made this for breakfast the other morning for my hubby and me. I love that this recipe was so deliciously wholesome with healthy ingredients. The banana flavor was extremely evident in this oatmeal, so if you’re not fond of a lot of banana flavor cut the bananas down from 4 to 2.

Baked Banana and Blueberry Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted

1/4 cup maple syrup, plus more for serving

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 super ripe bananas (the kind you’d make banana bread with)

2 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a 11/2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, toss together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and half of the walnuts and set aside.

In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), mix the 2 super ripe bananas until nice and smooth. Add in the maple syrup, milk, egg, half of the melted butter, and the vanilla. Mix until well blended.

Place the sliced banana pieces from the 2 ripe bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.

Banana slices in prepared casserole dish.

Sprinkle ½ cup of the fresh blueberries over the top of the bananas, then cover the blueberries with the oat mixture.

Drizzle the banana and milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute it as evenly as possible.

The mixture ready for the oven.

Sprinkle the remaining blueberries and walnuts over the top of the oats.

Bake the oatmeal for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the oats have set.

Remove the oatmeal from the oven and drizzle the remaining butter over the top and serve.

You may choose to garnish with drizzled maple syrup or brown sugar although I don’t think you’ll need it.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Inspired by this recipe

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Skip to My Lou

Tip Me Tuesday

Today’s Creative Blog

Berry Crisp

Back during my husband’s law school days in Washington, D.C., we lived in a part of Arlington, Virginia called Crystal City. We were within walking distance to 3 metros, the Mt. Vernon walking/biking/running trail that ran right along the Potomac River, about 50+ restaurants, a fantastic mall, grocery store, AND Costco (right after we moved a Nordstrom Rack opened up literally right across the street from our complex) and not to mention we were right across the river from DC! We absolutely LOVED living there and loved all the people we met through church, work, and school and we’d totally move back to the DC area in a heartbeat!

We lived in a high-rise apartment building that a lot of our friends from church also lived in which made it super convenient for social gatherings. We’d get together weekly with one group of friends to watch the epic TV show, Lost. As the weeks went on, our gatherings progressed into full-fledged parties with food, laughter, and fellowship. Our friends, the Tate’s, would host our Lost parties and Rebecca would consistently have the best treats for us to nosh on during commercial breaks, and this recipe is no exception! It is so easy to whip up and yet so delicious. I love how these frozen berries taste so fresh when baked up, and the topping is PER-FECT! There’s a lot of it and so tasty…I could seriously eat the topping by itself!

Cook’s Note: The frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries) from Costco works great for this recipe. Depending on how berry-rific you want the crisp to be, add between 6 to 8 cups of berries. I’ve made this crisp many times and I personally go for more berries, but it’s all up to your personal taste.

Perfect dessert for summer!

This is the berry blend I use from Costo.

Berry Crisp

Ingredients:

6 - 8 C frozen berry mix (I used the frozen berry mix from Costco)

1 T corn starch

2 C rolled oats (not the quick cooking)

1 C flour

1 C brown sugar

1 C butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place the frozen berries in a 9 x 13 Pyrex pan. Toss the berries with the corn starch to lightly coat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, make the topping by mixing together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and softened butter. I find my hands to be the best mixing tool for this step, but a wooden spoon will also work...it’ll just take longer.

Slightly crumble the topping over the berries and bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through cooking. The berry crumble is done when then topping is golden and the berry mixture nice and bubbly.

Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. This crisp is especially delicious served with a little bit of fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes 6-8 healthy-sized servings.

Source: My friend, Rebecca Tate

Field Greens and Strawberry Salad

I made this salad last weekend for brunch and it was a delicious and fresh dish to serve along side brunch staples like cinnamon buns and omelets. I really love making my own salad dressings because they are always so much better than the ones you get at the grocery store.

Field Greens and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:

8 oz field greens, rinsed

4 C sliced strawberries

1/2 C vegetable oil

1/4 C white wine vinegar

1/2 C white sugar

1/4 t paprika

2 T sesame seeds

1 T poppy seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together the field greens and strawberries.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the field greens and strawberries, and toss to coat.

Source: Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Baked Apple Muffins w/ Cinnamon & Nutmeg

These muffins were so yummy and a really nice treat for breakfast. I like that the muffin itself featured both nutmeg and cinnamon, and the cinnamon sugar topping had just the right balance of sweetness.

Baked Apple Muffins w/ Cinnamon & Nutmeg

Ingredients:

2 large apples (I used Fuji apples)
1-1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
1-3/4 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 t ground nutmeg
1/3 C cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 C milk

For the topping:

1 T butter, melted
1/4 C sugar
1 t cinnamon powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350^oF and line a muffin tin with liners.

Peel and roughly chop the apples.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Rub the butter against the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Beat the egg. Pour in the milk and stir lightly. Add the chopped apples to the egg-milk mixture.

Pour the apple-egg-milk mixture to the flour-butter mixture. Stir (a fork is most useful) just until blended. DO NOT over mix. The batter will be a bit stiff.

Fill the muffin tin with batter (each should be about ¾ full…I used a 3 tablespoon scoop).

Bake at 350^oF for 25 minutes.

While the muffins are baking, prepare the topping. Measure the sugar and cinnamon powder into a bowl. Stir to combine.

When the muffins are done, remove from the oven. Use a teaspoon to remove them from the pan. While still warm, dip the tops in melted butter then roll the tops in the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Serve warm while crusty. Enjoy!

Makes about 10 muffins.

Source: Adapted from Home Cooking Rocks

Strawberry Shortcake

I know, I know…I’ve sort of been obsessed with America’s Test Kitchen lately, but their recipes are in one word, amazing! This recipe was so great; it turned so-so strawberries into something special. The strawberry topping would also be great on top of ice cream.

Recipe Note: After cutting six perfect rounds of dough, you can reknead the scraps and repeat the cutting process to get one or two more rounds. These shortcakes will be a little tougher and less attractive than those from the first cutting. If you prefer to make the shortcake dough in the food processor, pulse the dry ingredients to combine them, then add cold butter that has been cut into half-inch pieces and continue to pulse until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal flecked with pea-sized bits of butter. Pour the mixture into a bowl; stir in the egg and half-and-half with a rubber spatula until the mixture comes together. Continue with step 4 of the recipe instructions.

Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:

Topping

2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled; 1/2 pint crushed with potato masher or fork, 1 1/2 pints quartered

4 T granulated sugar

Shortcakes

2 C bleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface and biscuit cutter

1/2 t table salt

1 T baking powder

3 T granulated sugar

2 T granulated sugar for sprinkling

1 stick unsalted butter (8 T), frozen

1 egg, beaten

1/2 C half-and-half + 1 T half-and-half

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Whipped Cream

1 C heavy cream, chilled (preferably pasteurized or pasteurized organic)

1 T granulated sugar

1 t vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix crushed and quartered berries with sugar in medium bowl; set aside while preparing biscuits (or up to 2 hours).

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Using large holes of box grater, grate butter into dry ingredients. Toss butter with flour to coat. Use pastry cutter to finish cutting butter into flour. Or scoop up coated butter with both hands, then quickly rub butter into dry ingredients with fingertips until most of butter pieces are size of split peas.

Mix beaten egg with half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. Toss with fork until large clumps form. Turn mixture onto floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.

Pat dough into 9- by 6-inch rectangle, 3/4 inch thick. Flour 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter; cut 6 dough rounds. Place 1 inch apart on small baking sheet; brush dough tops with egg white and sprinkle with remaining sugar. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.) Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Place baking sheet on wire rack; cool cakes until warm, about 10 minutes.

Chill nonreactive, deep, 1- to 1 1/2-quart bowl and beaters for a handheld mixer in freezer for at least 20 minutes. Add cream, sugar, and vanilla to chilled bowl; beat on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds more. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume, about 20 seconds for soft peaks or about 30 seconds for stiff peaks. If necessary, finish beating by hand to adjust consistency. (Can be transferred to fine sieve or strainer set over measuring cup and refrigerated up to 8 hours).

Split each cake crosswise; spoon a portion of berries and then a dollop of whipped cream over each cake bottom. Cap with cake top; serve immediately.

Makes 6-8 Servings

 

Source: America’s Test Kitchen