Itβs summer! Whether youβre in or outdoors, hopefully for all of you there are beautiful summer fruits and berries to be had, and I hope that youβre able to get your hands on as many of them as you can. I am loading (actually, overloadingβ¦) myself up at the market. While a good portion on the fresh fruit gets eaten just as-is, some of it goes into the following dessert recipes that I continue to make year after year. Others go into jam, which is a great way to preserve all those summer fruits and berries, and make them last through fall and winter.
Cherry season is behind most of us (sniffβ¦sniffβ¦), but if they are still lingering where you live, you can type βcherryβ or βcherriesβ into the search engine at the top right corner of the page to find cherry recipes. (And we donβt get a bountiful array of fresh raspberries and blackberries here, so I donβt have many recipes that use them on the blog.) But for nectarines, strawberries, peaches, plums and other summer fruits, here are some of my favorite recipes on the blogβ¦
Summer Fruit Galette with Frangipane
Iβve seen so many galettes this year on social media, that itβs tempting to already call galettes The Dessert of the Year. (Okay, there were plenty of Banana Breads as well. And itβs hard to knock Banana Bread, even my low(er) fat one.) But for the bang-for-the-buck, itβs hard to beat the silly-easy galette, made with a fail-safe dough that gets rolled out, topped with fresh fruit, and baked until ripe βn ready. Mine has a layer of frangipane under the fruit to keep some of those juices away from the bottom crust, so it stays crisp. It also tastes good, too! Apricots work especially well in this one but you can use nectarines, plums, peaches, orβ¦
β¦rhubarb and strawberries! Yes, the classic combo works well as a galette, too. But donβt let tradition stand in the way of deliciousness and you can swap out cherries, raspberries, or blackberries for the strawberries.
When I was a cook in upstate New York back in the 1980s (!) I remember someone brought us a (as in 1) basket of fresh apricots from California, which Iβd never seen before. I made a simple tart with them and only eight lucky customers could get a taste of it. (Or maybe I cut it into ten?) Fast-forward to today, summer brings a cavalcade of fresh apricots to the markets and toward the end of the season, I donβt have time to shed any tears as Iβm piling apricot jam into pots, to save them for the coming months. Itβs Romainβs favorite jam so I make sure thereβs enough to keep him happy, because Iβve learned what happens when I donβt : 0
Summer Fruit Tart (with frangipane)
Another summer fruit favorite, yes, with more almond cream than the galettes above, this is that classic French tart that youβll find in many pastry shops all year round, using everything from pears to pineapple. Donβt love almonds, or want to take it in a different direction? Replace the almonds with hazelnuts for a special treat.
While apricots are Romainβs favorite for jam, I am 100% on team plum. The luscious tang of juicy plum, and the high natural pectin content, makes this one of the easiest jams to make. And itβs not too difficult to eat, either.
While I miss the purple Santa Rose and Elephant Heart plums we got in California, France has its own special selection of delectable plums, including Mirabelles, quetsches, and even wild plums. While the wild plum trees that we used to pick/glean from have been pruned by the absentee owners (phooey!) we found another source last summer. And the only thing better than free plums is free wild plums, which come in an array of snazzy colors and are extra tangy, perfect for those of us that like some pucker in our pastries.
The cousin of clafoutis, this flaugnarde features a jumble of plums baked in a silky custard. Theyβre so pretty I almost hate to bake them. But then, when I pull it out of the oven, Iβm happy to have a beautiful baked gratin dish of custardy plums for dessert on a warm summer night.
Two tart fruits come together, baked under a buttery blanket of streusel. If these two bedfellows are available at the same time where you live, youβre doubly lucky!
The elusive Mirabelle plums have a cult-like following and while some mistakenly think they arenβt available in the U.S. (they were briefly banned a few years ago), if youβre lucky, you can indeed find them. Theyβre intensely flavored and sweeter than other plums, and make a wonderful confiture with jewel-like fruits suspended in a shimmering jelly, which are lovely heaped on toast in the morning. (If you want to get a taste of Mirabelles but canβt find them, Bonne Maman makes a golden plum Mirabelle jam thatβs exported from France.)
While I wasnβt a fan of Angel Food Cake growing up, which my mother usually made to accompany strawberries, I became a convert as a grown-up. Perhaps it had to do with writing an ice cream book and having an overload of egg whites to use up. (And Angel Food Cake is an express route to doing that.) Nevertheless itβs a treat along with summer fruits and berries, either baked as a compote or fresh, tossed in a little sugar and perhaps a dash of crΓ¨me de cassis. The spongy cake is an ideal way to make sure you get every drop of the fruit syrup thatβs surrounding the airy slab. Itβs French cousin, GΓ’teau de savoie, is equally enjoyable, and doesnβt require an Angel Food Cake pan.
Roasted Strawberry Miso Ice Cream
Roasting strawberries is lesser-known way of coaxing out their flavor, but works well when making ice cream as it concentrates them and reduced the water, so the ice cream stays creamier. Adding a touch of salty miso provides a curious contrast to the berries juicy sweetness, and a little umami to boot.
Once you make the (very) easy base for this Strawberry Spritz, you can use it to make Strawberry Margaritas, too. (And if youβve got a hankering for a classic Spritz, Iβve got you covered there, too.) But this Spritz is a great, light apΓ©ritif to enjoy all season long. I was drinking lots of these a few weeks ago when strawberries were at their peak. If they available where you live, go infuse some in vermouth blanc for a great spring/summer sipper.
Spiced Plum Cake with Toffee Glaze
Toffee glaze is one of those things you could put on an old sneaker, and it would make those dilapidated Reeboks taste great. Even better (and more recommended) is this spiced plum cake, which isnβt too rich or too sweet. Crunchy toasted almonds on top are a nice contrast to the buttery glaze.
Peach Shortcakes with Butterscotch Sauce
Speaking of buttery sauces, butterscotch with peaches is a natural. Grammar-correct keeps asking me: A natural what? But I think you can figure that out. If not, give them a try together and youβll see what Iβm talking about.
If youβre fortunate enough to have a peach tree or can get some of the leaves, they lend a delicate almond-like flavor to this intriguing apΓ©ritif wine. I try to make a few bottles every year and serve chilled glasses as the seasonβs change, reminding me of summer, and reminding me that the light almond flavor of peach leaves in wine is something to put on my calendar for the following year.
Peaches and bourbon are natural partners, and they donβt mind sharing space in a tumbler with the classic French apΓ©ritif, Bonal. But not to worry if you donβt have it; I offer some substitutes that you might already have on your liquor shelf. This cocktail isnβt just pretty, itβs also a pretty effective way to beat the heat. (Yup, nectarines or plums could replace the peaches, if youβre so inclined.)
A vintage metal popsicle mold that was a find at a flea market prompted these summer βsicles. You can load βem up with berries and since I used white nectarines, the popsicles were extra-pretty in pink. But anyone would say βyesβ to them in yellow, if you go with standard nectarines.
Mixed berry anything automatically makes something my favorite dessert. I love, love, love the juicy tumble of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, red currants, or whatever else youβve got. Bring the berries on!
While I am nostalgic for the overload of blueberries that I grew up with New England, when I do find myrtilles, I try to keep them as close to their pure state as possible. Topped with crumbly drop biscuits, all thatβs needed is a scoop of vanilla ice cream to complete the picture, but white chocolate-fresh ginger ice cream would also be welcomeβ¦and appreciated, on this cobbler.
Mango Frozen Yogurt with Blueberry Compote
While everyoneβs mind is on peaches and nectarines, donβt forget mangoes, their tropical counterpart, which go just as well with summer berries. Blueberries particularly come to mind but raspberries and strawberries could fill in for them.
With pretty swirls of crispy meringue, this tangy frozen yogurt can be part of a composed dessert, which I like to serve in the summer, being generous with the fresh fruitβ¦and filling in the blanks with frozen yogurt and meringues.
Blueberry Buckle with Lemon Syrup
I donβt know if blueberries get any better than in this buckle, which do indeed βbuckleβ under the weight of almost too many blueberriesβ¦if thatβs even possible. A dousing with tart lemon syrup keeps things moist and tangy. You can skip the cream with this one. Itβs great on its own.
Β
Β
Β
Β
Β
Β
Β
Β
Iβve been featuring some new and revisited favorite restaurants in Paris, writing them up in my newsletter. You can find a list of my Favorite Restaurants in Paris on my website but here are links to the posts in my newsletter of places Iβve eaten at latelyβ¦
To get more Paris tips (and stories and recipes) sent right to your Inbox, subscribe to my newsletter here:
Login
I think I have something wrong with me. I seem to be afflicted with a particular malady that forces me to buy way too many summer fruits when theyβre in season. It gets particularly dire when faced with apricots and cherries, two fruits whose seasons are much shorter than the others. The first fresh apricots I saw were back in upstate New York, around the 1980s, and Iβd never seen them before. Someone brought us a basket of the tender, squishy little orange fruits to the restaurant that I worked at, and I remember being completely taken off guard, as the only apricots Iβd ever seen were the dried ones. And while I loved the crinkly dried specimens, those fresh beauties with a red blush were a whole other taste entirely.
Then, when I moved to California, I discovered how abundant fresh apricots are (or can be), as they are in France. But no matter how abundant β or not β cherries are when the season is in full swing, I always consider them extra-special fruits and give a prominent place in my kitchen. At the beginning of the season, theyβre incredibly expensive and rarely good. Then, as the season moves along, they start showing up in larger mounds at the market, and the prices get gentler, coaxing me to buy as many as I can heft.
This week, I was helpless when faced with an overload of summer fruits at the market. And in addition to a giant bag of apricots, two bulging sacks of tomatoes, and eight white nectarines, I bought 2 kilos (about 4 1/2 pounds, give or take a few cherries) of fresh cherries β and from the looks of the other shoppers, it was more than any normal person would buy. (Although I think I made the vendorβs day.) But I couldnβt help it. They were Burlat cherries and Iβd bought a small bag from the same vendor last week at the market, and there he was again, tempting me with more. Once I got home, I got my cherry pitter out, and pitted half of them, saving the others to eat fresh. (Except I almost polished off the fresh ones I was reserving as I was pitting these!)
Fresh cherries are, of course, great fresh. But cooking them can deepen, and even improve their flavor, especially nice if you get home and find yourself with a bag of rather wan ones. Or ones that you might snag at the end of the market, when the vendors are trying to get rid of any extras that might not keep until the next market day.
In addition to being the answer to what the heck you (or I) are going to do with all those cherries, this recipe also deftly answers that age-old question: Can I freeze that? And the answer is a big, resounding, βHeck, yeah!β Once the compote has cooled, it freezes perfectly in zip-top freezer bags or other containers that you prefer to use, and will last up to a year. (You can also freeze pitted fresh cherries on their own as well.)
And let me tell you, itβs great to stumble upon a bag of cherry compote that may have moved to an unfavorable position in your freezer as summer shifted into fall β or winter, when they can become quickly forgotten. Once defrosted, and perhaps rewarmed, theyβre terrific served with vanilla ice cream, plain yogurt, or alongside a cake, such as almond cake, gΓ’teau de savoie, or angel food cake.
I like to boost their flavor with a handful of dried sour cherries, added midway during cooking, so they plump up and absorb the cherry juices, which add another dimension of cherry flavor. A shot of kirsch also dials up the flavor nicely.
Related Recipes
