Strawberry Charlotte

During the last week, I have been spending most of my time in the kitchen, mixing ingredients by hand and giving my oven a workout. Halfway through my two weeks off from work and school, it is a welcome break to spend time away from the everyday grind, a chance to relax and get my thoughts back in order. Though I like to imagine that I will be productive with my newly found time, the last week has proven otherwise, as reality TV shows and sleeping in have sucked away more time than I would like to admit.

Maybe it is okay to let myself be lazy every once in awhile.

With more time in the kitchen, I have been playing around with elaborate, multi-step desserts, including cakes. While I love a good layered cake, I could not decide on a flavor, arguing back and forth with myself between fruit and chocolate based cakes and fillings. While fruit is lovely, it had been so long since I cut my fork through a thick chocolate cake that the thought grew tempting.

Nevertheless, after a walk outdoors with the weather still settling into early spring, a chocolate cake suddenly seemed too heavy for this delicate time of year. With buds just forming on the bare tree limbs, a sweet, light fruit cake seemed to fit the bill. After a walk through the local market, with pounds of red, ruby strawberries on sale, the deal was sealed.

Charlotte cakes originated in France in the early nineteenth century. They traditionally involve fruit purees, sponge cake, and custards or whipped cream frosting. This particular Strawberry Charlotte is not quite as the original cake, but the spirit is just the same. Instead of layers of sponge cake, I used my favorite light vanilla cake recipe and used a strawberry mousse to fill it. Lined with ladyfingers, either homemade or store bought, the cake becomes quite the sight.

While I did not have one on hand, a white or red ribbon tied around the middle would add a gorgeous finishing touch.

This Strawberry Charlotte is a spring cake that is perfect for all of life's celebrations. Layers of light vanilla cake are filled with an airy strawberry mousse and fresh strawberries and topped off with a coating of whipped cream icing. The strawberry mousse is made from pureed strawberries, which gives the cake a bright fruit flavor. The cake is lined with ladyfingers and graced with whole, fresh strawberries making this a simple, but impressive cake to decorate.

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Vanilla Cupcakes

Today marks my 24th year of life. Twenty-four seems like one of those unusual ages that's neither here nor there. I'm not old (though some days I may feel it), but I'm not so young anymore either. I have a bit of that sneaky thing called life experience that only career changes, extensive traveling, and a familiarity with the "real world" can bring. Even so, every year when my special day rolls around, I'm not sure whether I feel old enough to embrace that extra number.

Happy birthday to me.

Since becoming a baker, I've grown acquainted with a phenomenon known as The Baker's Dilemma. The dilemma poses a simple, but curious question: should a baker be expected to make his or her own birthday cake? It's true that a baker may bake a better cake than a friend or family member. It's also true that if they do make the cake themselves, they can have precisely the flavor they would like, elaborate or otherwise. I've debated this question back and forth with friends and fellow bakers alike.

Family and friends tend to agree that it is not only okay for a baker to make his or her own cake, but it's encouraged. I've heard confessions ranging everywhere from "I want to eat good cake, not my cake" to whispered fears that their own cakes wouldn't live up to a baker's expectations ("It's too much pressure to bake for a baker").

On the other hand, professional bakers seem to come to the opposite conclusion. After making a thousand cakes, baking a cake is no longer a novelty. It's work (with the added pressure to meet everyone else's expectations of what a baker's birthday cake should be). To a baker, it's the thought that counts, not the taste. It doesn't matter whether the cake is homemade or a boxed mix with canned frosting—both are loved and equally appreciated.

This year my mother and sister got together to make me my favorite cake, strawberry shortcake. It's a cake I've requested on my birthday a dozen times in my life and I couldn't be more excited to take a fork after it.

It took me two years to find this reliable, light, and moist vanilla cupcake recipe, but it is definitely a keeper. The cupcakes have a delicate crumb, but are tough enough to frost or fill with whatever delights that may strike your fancy. This is a true vanilla cupcake, made with pure vanilla extract (though if you are lucky enough to have vanilla beans on hand, a bean can certainly be used in place of one tablespoon of the extract). Watch the oven closely around 12 minutes; these cupcakes can over-bake rather quickly.

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Citrus Roasted Rhubarb

I've been distracted a bit lately, which is why my posting schedule has become a bit erratic and my head has been somewhere else for awhile. My city, Bismarck, ND, is flooding. We only had a few days warning before the water level began to rise. There is a lot of confusion and fear about what will happen next.

The Missouri river runs between the two cities of Bismarck and Mandan in North Dakota. As the water in the river rises, both cities are scrambling to save homes, businesses, and, perhaps most importantly, access to roads to reach these threatened areas of town so we can attempt to save them. Sandbagging stations have been set up around town, major roads have been closed to allow access to trucks hauling dirt and sandbags, and volunteers are in short supply. The weather is cold, rainy, and wickedly windy, which only helps to kill the spirit of those trying to save their homes. My home is safe, but many aren't.

We received news today that we need 4 million sandbags by Thursday, an outstanding amount for our small town of 80,000 people (if you just so happen to have a few million lying around in your backyard, could you please send them our way?). Over 4,000 people have already been displaced and the number is growing. Even those not directly in the line of fire still have to fear ground water finding a way in their homes through their already plugged drains. The outlook feels bleak.

The flood is estimated to continue for the next three months and, despite the estimates, no one is really certain how much the water is going to rise in that time. Three months of people displaced from their homes and most of their belongings. Three months of stress on not really knowing what is going to happen next. Three months of worrying if the dikes and sandbags will hold and save our city.

Yesterday I spent the day sandbagging to try to save my great uncle's home. I helped fill hundreds of sandbags and moved around at least a thousand on my own. It rained. It was cold. My back ached and my arms were sore. It was my 23rd birthday. Despite all of this, I'm not sure I would have (or could have) spent the day another way.

We tried to build a wall of sandbags 5 feet high and 5-6 sandbags deep. We can only hope it holds and the water doesn't find another way to get in. After helping sandbag just one home, my back could tell you just how exhausting it is and my arms could tell you how hard it is to lift another sandbag after you'd moved a thousand. It's even harder to imagine there are hundreds of homes that need just as much help as this one.

For now, we can only wish for the best and hope the flood outlook turns a little less bleak and a little more bright in the coming days. If you live in the city or nearby area, I urge you to get out and help volunteer. There is so much work to be done and so little time to do it.

I would like to congratulate Leah O and Sara on winning the vintage aprons*! I truly have the best followers. All of your wonderful comments continually inspire me to get back in the kitchen and keep creating delicious food. I can't wait to share more recipes, stories, and photographs with you over the next year. Thank you for being awesome!

*The winners were chosen by a random number generator (aka my sister).

Citrus Roasted Rhubarb is a subtle and understated way to enjoy rhubarb. So often rhubarb is paired with strawberry (like in this Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade) or buried deep within breads and crumbles, but rarely is it enjoyed on its own, for its own merits. Rhubarb is a tart fruit, true, but when roasted in freshly squeezed orange juice, a hint of vanilla, and a dash of sugar, the flavor of the rhubarb really shines through. Serve this rhubarb drizzled in leftover juices from the roasting pan. This is truly a different way to enjoy this fruit.

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