Last Days of Summer Fruit Tart

So, there has been quite a lot going on here.  In July, we welcomed our second son, who decided to arrive 4 weeks early.  Life with a toddler and a new born is quite hectic, leaving little time for baking.  In addition, our wonderful friends and family have been feeding us practically every night and I haven't been in the kitchen in weeks.  I think it will be a little more time before I go back to baking, but I thought I would share this tart with you before summer fruit is completely done.

I made this tart in back in June.  It is a great combination of slightly sweet tart shell, creamy pastry cream and sweet/tart berries and fruit.  One of the great things about this tart is that you can pretty much use any fruit you want.  I chose peaches, strawberries and raspberries since I love that combination and this tart was enjoyed by all.  I made the glaze with strawberry jam (homemade, recipe to come).

This is a Dorie Greenspan special -- the Classic Berry Tart.  You can find the recipe in Baking from My Home to Yours or here.

Berries for Baby!

Hi from California! What is Sarah doing in California? Well, the Baking Sisters have some very exciting news - Rebecca had a baby boy last week! He was a month early but the little dude just couldn't wait to see the world and all the sweet things it has to offer. Today, in what my brother-in-law refers to as "catered surgery," he had his bris, or circumcision, which inducts him into the covenant of the Jewish people. Not much fun for the little guy, or really for anyone who doesn't want to watch an old Jew take a scalpel to an eight-day-old's genitals. But you gotta do what you gotta do, and now he is healing nicely. Plus, he got a name! His English name is Leo Evan, and his Hebrew name is Leor Chaim. And he is super-cute! 

Since a bris is a Jewish event, of course there has to be a lot of eating. And since this is California, said eating should involve fruit (especially since Adam doesn't like chocolate)! And since this is the Baking Sisters, that fruit should be in pie form! Newly minted big brother Simon and I went through Rebecca's cookbooks and picked out some recipes with enticing-looking pictures, and we settled on a berry pie from David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert. Yesterday Simon and his relatives went to the Culver City Farmers' Market, and we bought the most delicious berries imaginable. It seemed almost a waste to put them in a pie, but into a pie they would go. 

And they definitely paid off! The pie went so fast, and it was not even runny, which is often a peril with fruit pies. It was so simple to throw together, plus it not too sweet, which was good for a 9 a.m. event. You can put in whatever kind of fruit you fancy (I substituted one cup of raspberries for blackberries, though that was mostly because these were the best blackberries I've ever eaten and I wanted to eat them raw.) The fruit was bright and amazingly flavorful; I really think it made a big difference! 


Mixed Berry Pie
from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz (pg. 80)


Pie dough (recipe can be found here)


2 cups hulled and sliced strawberries
2 cups blueberries
2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca flour or cornstarch 
1 tablespoon lemon juice or kirsch


1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon whole milk or cream
1 tablespoon coarse crystal or granulated sugar


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.


Lightly flour a work surface and roll out one disk of dough into a 14-inch circle. Drape it into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim away the excess dough, leaving a slight overhang. 


In a large bowl, gently mix the berries with the 1/2 cup of sugar, tapioca flour or cornstarch, and lemon juice or kirsch. Transfer the berry mixture to the dough-lined plate and distribute in an even layer.


Roll out the second dough disk into a 14-inch circle. Moisten the exposed edges of the dough in the pie plate with water, then drape the second dough circle over the top. Working all the way around the pie, tuck the upper edges under the lower dough edges and crimp to seal.


In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk or cream. Brush the top crust generously with the egg wash and sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pierce the top crust with a paring knife in six places.


Bake until the top crust is browned and the filling juices are thick and bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust is browning too quickly, loosely drap a sheet of aluminum foil over the top during baking.


Let the pie cool for about 1 hour before serving.

Strawberry Shortcake (Cream on Top.)

In New York, you know it's summer when the fruit stands on the street start selling strawberries for 2 boxes for $3. For me, that's the happy time of year, as I love strawberries. So when I was enlisted to make a friend a birthday dessert and I heard that she liked fruity things, my mind jumped right to strawberry shortcake.

I've never made strawberry shortcake before, but I have enjoyed it many times. What's not to like? Strawberries-- good. Biscuits-- good. Whipped cream-- SO good. The trick was to find a recipe that could be made in advance, and that I could make into individual shortcakes, because those are just so much fun.

This recipe from the Food Network hit the spot. I made the shortcakes in advance and then left them in the fridge for a few days before we ate them. I made 10 small shortcakes rather than one big one, which reduced the baking time a bit. Other than that, the only trick is making sure that you have enough juices from the strawberries to soak into the shortcake itself. Happy summer everyone!

Cream-Colored Ponies and Moist Strawberry Streusel

Hey there, long time no Baking Sisters. Wassup.

When you are a prolific baker, it’s good to have what I like to call “back-pocket recipes” on hand. These are foolproof recipes with simple ingredients that don’t take long to make but always impress. Some of my favorite back-pocket recipes are tarte noire, Emily’s apple pie, and chocolate (fake) soufflés. But when I am called upon to make a dessert that is both parve and non-chocolate, this cake from Kosher By Design: Short on Time is always the one that I go to. The problem with most parve cakes is that you can really taste the lack of butter. Not having frosting goes a long way towards helping this, but usually the cake itself is still dry and crumbly. Not so this cake. It’s light yet satisfying, it stays moist and delicious for days, and it’s incredibly simple to make. Try this out, and you’ll want to keep the recipe in your back pocket, too.

I am aware that Rachel had already blogged about this. I would like to state that I have made this cake many, many times and I've never had the problems she had - thus proving categorically that I am a better person than Rachel. Just kidding. But seriously, this cake is fool-proof. Thus proving that Rachel is a fool. Just kidding again. Before I get myself into more trouble, here's the recipe.

Adventures with the Ice Cream Maker: Keeping It in the Family

Note: Today's double-header is brought to you by Sarah and the Baking Sisters' dad, Irv.

If you're like me, then you believe that there are certain things that define summer. Beautiful sunset walks along the Hudson in Riverside Park...

Sunflowers...

And these small, ripe, intensely flavorful strawberries that start to pop up in farmers' markets around June.

For me, this summer has also brought some exciting news - I finally got a job! I started last week and I love it so far. Conveniently, the night before I started my job happened to be Erev Rosh Chodesh Av. For those of you scratching your heads, that means "the evening of the first day of the month of Av" (Av being the fifth month on the Jewish calendar, and Jewish days starting at sunset.) Despite my happy employment news, Av is considered the saddest month on the Jewish calendar because both of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed on the Ninth of Av, plus a lot of other sodding things supposedly happened on that date that I won't get into here. One of the ways that we show our sadness is by not eating meat or doing various other happy things for the nine days leading up to the Ninth of Av. So between our impending meat deprivation and my entry into the world of wage labor, the situation obviously called for some meat. And when the situation obviously calls for some meat, there is an equally obvious call for parve dessert.

My contribution came in the form of brownie bites from Kosher by Design: Short on Time. They are a snap to put together, they are moist and fudgy and last for ages, and when I gave one to my friend she didn't even realize they were parve! You obviously don't have to cut them just the way the recipe says but I agree with Susie Fishbein that it's waaaay fun to eat the edges around the brownie circles. I didn't do all that business with flipping the brownies out of the pan; I found that if you just use a biscuit cutter, they come out pretty easily. I also didn't roll them into balls because in my experience that's always made a huge crumbly mess, but if you want to try it best of luck to you.

Brownie Bites

From Kosher by Design: Short on Time (page 240)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted margarine, melted and placed in refrigerator to cool for 10 minutes

3/4 cup good-quality Dutch process cocoa powder

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 cups sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Coating: confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, chopped nuts, edible glitter, colored sanding sugars

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a 7- by 11-inch brownie pan with parchment paper and coat with non-stick cooking spray.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the melted margarine, cocoa powder, oil, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla. Beat to combine.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place into the refrigerator for 20 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

When the brownies are cool, run a knife around the edge of the pan. Flip the brownie out onto a piece of parchment paper on a hard word surface in one whole piece. Using a 1 1/2 inch diameter round cookie cutter, cut circles from the center of the brownie, leaving the harder crust. Roll the circles between the palms of your hands to form into balls, and roll into coating of your choice.

Store in airtight container.

Over to you, Dad!

The Baking Sisters’ father is glad to be back for a guest blog. When Sarah graduated from college and returned home with her ice cream maker, I decided to experiment. (I guess it’s in my blood, since my father owned a drive-in ice cream store when I was growing up, and I worked there every summer when I was a teenager.) This recipe was one of my best finds.

Everyone knows that there are two kinds of strawberries: those made for travelling and those made for eating. The travelling kind – the ones you get in the supermarket year-round that are bred to make it across the country in one piece – look beautiful but are hard and white on the inside and have no taste. The eating kind are small, sometimes misshapen, but red all the way through and almost oozing sweet juice. So while summer lasts, get to a greenmarket or farm stand and buy some locally-grown berries. Then turn them into this amazing strawberry sorbet with flavor even more intense than the berries themselves. You can make it with “travelling” berries, but why bother?

This recipe is adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. It makes about 4 cups.

1-1/3 lbs. (yes, pounds) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1 cup sugar

1-1/3 tsp. kirsch (optional, but it adds a nice punch)

1-1/3 tsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a medium bowl with the sugar and kirsch, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand for one hour, stirring every so often.

Puree the strawberries and their liquid with the lemon juice and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth (I prefer the blender). There is no need to strain out the seeds.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Enjoy, and plan to make more soon, since this batch won’t last.

Adventures with the Ice Cream Maker: Seasonal Strawberry Ice Cream

I told you this was my own personal strawberry week!  There are lots and lots of strawberries all over Los Angeles now, so I have to keep thinking up things to make with them.  Last weekend, we went to the farmer's market and, of course, bought strawberries.  Then, we sat down to listen to some Cinco De Mayo music, and my son fell off his chair (he was very into the music) and right into the strawberries.  So the question is -- what can you do with crushed strawberries?  The answer -- ice cream!

I looked in The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz, to find a strawberry ice cream recipe, but there wasn't one.  I could not believe it!   He has many strawberry recipes, but nothing for straight strawberry ice cream, which is what I wanted.  However, after poking around on various blogs, I found a good recipe.  I don't normally go for strawberry ice cream, but this was really good.  It tasted really fresh -- like strawberries and cream.  I would recommend adjusting the sugar and lemon juice to your taste, so you get the right balance of tart and sweet.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

1 pound strawberries, washed and stemmed
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract)
4 egg yolks

1. In a medium bowl, lightly mash strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar and the tablespoon of lemon juice.  Toss to combine and set aside.

2. In a saucepan, stir together cream, remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, and salt.  With a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean pod in half lengthwise and using the tip of the knife, scrape the seeds into the pot of cream (if using extract instead of vanilla bean, you will stir it in later); add the pod halves to the pot, too.  Bring the cream mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then turn the temperature all the way down to low.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth.  Slowly add a ladleful of the hot cream mixture to the egg yolks, whisking continuously.  Slowly pour the yolk mixture back into the pot of cream and whisk until incorporated.  Bring the liquid back to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 5 – 6 minutes until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Strain the mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl.

4. Puree the strawberry mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth [Note -- I left some chunks, because I thought it would be good, which it was].  Stir the strawberry puree into the cream mixture until completely incorporated.  If using vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean, stir extract in now.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming while cooling.  Place bowl in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to cool completely – at least two hours.  After it is well chilled, freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions.

Strawberry Season is Here: Strawberry Shortcakes

When you were little, did you ever play the jumprope game that went, "strawberry shortcake, cream on top, tell me the name of your sweetheart."  Then, you would say each letter of the alphabet and on whichever letter you messed up on, that was the letter of the first name of the person you were going to marry.  Every time I hear Strawberry Shortcake, I think of that rhyme.  

Anyway, it is currently strawberry season here in LA and there are delicious strawberries everywhere!  I have made a bunch of different strawberry recipes that will make an appearance on this blog over the next few weeks.  I hope you will find some inspiration for your own strawberry season.

These strawberry shortcakes were amazing, but what would you expect from Dorie Greenspan?  They were super easy to put together (I promise!) and then all you do is toss some strawberries (or any other fruits you like) with sugar and make some lightly sweetened whipped cream.  The one thing to remember is not to overwork the shortcake dough. It is better to have some lumps and dry places in the dough then the work it too much. 

Here's the recipe, from Dorie's Baking from my Home to Yours, with great step by step photos.

Summer is Finally Here...In Fall!

So, those of you living in Southern California right now know that we are experiencing a heat wave.  It is the hottest it has been since we moved here in the beginning of June.  Who knew that summer came in late September...and on Sukkot no less?  Sukkot always seems to bring extreme weather, either hot, cold or rain.  Somehow, when we have to eat outside and we are supposed to dwell in little huts, we are reminded that we don't control everything, especially the weather.  

When the temperature creeps up (or in this case jumps...it was in the 70s a couple of days ago and it is going to be 97 tomorrow!), nothing is better than ice cream.  In this case, it is a duo of ice creams...lemon ice cream and strawberry frozen yogurt.  Both these frozen treats were born out of fruit and/or dairy products that were about to go bad.  I am glad I was able to save them with this yummy product.

Both of these are from David Lebovitz, guru of all things frozen.  The only thing I would say about both these recipes but especially about the strawberry, is to make sure you have really good, flavorful fruit, because that is all the flavor of both these desserts.  We had yummy farmer's market strawberries, so it turned out well.  As for the lemon, it had a nice tart and creamy flavor, different from the expected lemon sorbet.

The strawberry frozen yogurt can be found here.

The lemon ice cream can be found here.

Ghetto Baking, Anniversary Style

Greetings from Santa Fe!  This is actually Sarah writing on Rebecca's account. We're here on a family vacation and very excited to be reunited for the first time in many months (unless you count our grandma's funeral, which was, frankly, not that fun).  We are here to celebrate our parents' 35th anniversary and a big birthday for our dad.  Out of respect for his advanced age I won't tell you how old he is, only that it starts with an "s" and ends with an "ixty."  For these special occasions we knew we had to bake something special, something - dare I say - dressy?


However, we also knew that we would be engaging in some ghetto baking, since the house we're staying in doesn't have any equipment (and trust me, everything about it from the convection oven to the enormous copper bathtub in which I want to make meringue just screams "ghetto"), so the cake couldn't be that complex.  We especially wanted to minimize the amount of butter that we had to cream, so a non-butter-based frosting was preferred.  Luckily, Dorie's Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake fit the bill on every count: simple to put together, beautiful in its presentation, and delicious.


The only thing that makes this cake tricky is the cutting of the layers.  Last time I made it I had issues with the layers breaking apart as I cut them so Rebecca was put in charge of that, but she had the same problem.  So be sure to be very careful about that.  (Rebecca protests that the altitude caused the cake to sink in the middle, but I say there's no shame in having broken layers.  The frosting covers them up pretty well.)


The cake was delicious - always is, no matter how weird it looks - but I would especially recommend using Valrhona chocolate for this recipe.  I found some at Trader Joe's for three dollars a bar and it went really well with this cake, because it's got fruity overtones that match beautifully with the jam.  We used strawberry preserves, which was kind of an accident since I thought they were raspberry, but it was still tasty and we served the cake with tiny sweet strawberries we got at the farmers' market.  A very special cake for a very special day!  


Recipe after the jump.

MSC: Strawberry Cupcakes and I'm In!

I know you have all been waiting a long time for this day -- I am in the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club!  Check it out!  This week, Sherry of Sherry Starts Cooking chose Strawberry Cupcakes from pages 146-147 of the book.  Last month, I said I thought the cupcakes were getting better and better and these cupcakes continued the trend.  These were delicious.  I brought them to my son's second birthday party and they got rave reviews, which was very nice.  I also got to try one and thought it was delicious, even after sitting out in the 110 degree heat (a record) and then being refrigerated again.  I bet they would be even better fresh.

These cupcakes were pretty easy to put together.  I halved the recipe, which meant using 1.5 eggs and .5 egg whites, but that was not too difficult.  The best part about them was that you fold fresh strawberries into the batter right before you bake them and it gives you a special surprise when you bite into them.

Martha's recipe calls for strawberry swiss meringue buttercream which, in the introduction to the cupcakes she says calls for jam and in the actual recipe calls for fresh strawberries.  I decided to go for the fresh strawberries, but I didn't feel like putting them in the blender because I didn't feel like washing dishes, so I decided to chop them and fold them in.  

However, the fates were against me because our AC had broken that afternoon and it was over 100 degrees, even at night.  I made one recipe of the swiss meringue buttercream and it REALLY didn't work because it was so hot in the house.  I had to throw it out.  Trust me, it was disgusting.  So, I woke up very early the next morning when it was slightly cooler (like 85) and made Martha's fluffy vanilla frosting instead because I didn't feel like turning on the stove to cook the egg whites for the swiss meringue.  At the end, I dumped in some fresh chopped strawberries.  I was a little worried that the water in the strawberries would ruin the buttercream, but it worked out great and tasted delicious.

I highly, highly recommend these cupcakes.  They are delicious and are a great use of strawberries during the season.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is Bustin' Out All Over

Hooray, here comes spring! Buds are bustin' out of bushes, the sheep aren't sleepin' any more, and my Maw is gettin' kittenish with Pap. If you know what I'm referencing, watch this. (Actually, watch it even if you don't know what I'm referencing, because it's wonderful.) When it's pretty here in Cambridge, it's gorgeous. Unfortunately, most of the time the weather is the same as it was in January. But we had one week of really stunning weather. And you know what that means - picnic time! And what could be more appropriate for a summer-anticipating picnic than pie? And what could be more appropriate for a summer-anticipating pie than strawberry rhubarb?

This is a wonderful, very simple recipe for strawberry rhubarb pie. Unfortunately, I misread it and only put in 3 teaspoons of cornstarch instead of 3 tablespoons, so my pie was more like delicious strawberry rhubarb mess. The other change I made was only stringing half the rhubarb. There's really no need, unless the presence of strings offends you somehow, but I definitely think maintaining the color of the rhubarb is worth a few strings here and there. Then you can have a pie that's as pretty as it is tasty at your next picnic!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
(from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, by way of Rebecca):

5 cups of strawberries and rhubarb

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch allspice or nutmeg

2 pie crusts

2 tablespoons butter

String the rhubarb and cut into 1 inch pieces. Toss fruit with sugar, salt, cornstarch and spices. Put the mixture into one of the pie crusts and dot with butter. Put the top crust on.

Refrigerate the pie while you preheat the over to 425. Brush top of pie lightly with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Cut vent holes to allow steam to escape. Bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. Do not underbake.

Great Modifications: Happy First Birthday Cake

There was a big birthday in our house in June -- Rebecca's son and Sarah's nephew turned one! It was a joyous day of celebration with many, many 1-year-olds and we, of course, had cake. We decided to turn to our good friend Dorie Greenspan for cake inspiration. She has a cake called The Perfect Party Cake. Not to judge Dorie, but we think that any cake that involves so much coconut cannot be called perfect.

However, in Dorie's infinite wisdom, she offered some suggestions for modifications, which we took her up on. Our son/nephew loves strawberries. He is, as we call him, a strawberry-atarian and so we thought that a strawberry short cake would be perfect. We modified Dorie's cake so that it was a lot like a strawberry short cake but with the moist, lemon-y cake of the Perfect Party Cake.

As you can see from the picture above, we made one large cake and one small cake. We made 1.25 times the recipe, which was insane with the measuring, but worked out well for making one small cake in a ramekin. He loved his tiny cake and both the large and small cakes were delicious, enjoyed by grownups and kids alike. Go Dorie! The recipe for the cake is below.

Here are the modifications that we made:
1. In putting the cake together, we used lightly sweetened whipped cream instead of butter cream for the filling and frosting
2. We used strawberry jam, then a layer of whipped cream on each layer
3. After the whipped cream, we put a layer of thinly sliced strawberries in each layer
4. We decorated the top with strawberries instead of coconut
5. If you use whipped cream, you have to store it in the fridge. We took it out about 20 minutes before we served it.

And now, the recipe:

Perfect Party Cake
From Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours”
Makes 12 to 14 servings
For the Cake

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing

• 2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves, stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
• About 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make The Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

To Make the Buttercream: Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or other large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6 to 10 minutes. During this time, the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny, smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake: Using a sharp, serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with the third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream left over). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving: The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but it’s best to let it set for a couple of hours in a cool room. Serve it at room temperature with anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing: The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to 2 days.

If you want to see some other photos, here is one of the big cake and one of the little cake: