I have always been a baker – long before I enjoyed cooking savoury dishes, my true love was baking and creating sweet desserts. While chocolate, caramel and all things fudgy and delicious normally take my fancy, the summer provides plenty of lighter inspiration for baking aficionados.
The king of summer fruit, particularly in Ireland, is the mighty strawberry and so this column is an ode to one my favourite summer berries with three wonderful desserts that make the most of them.
Brilliance
Oh semifreddo, how I love you so. An Italian dessert that translates as “half frozen”, but don’t let that fool you, this is definitely going in the freezer – but unlike ice cream, requires absolutely no churning.
Basically it’s a grown-up, homemade version of those beloved blocks of Vienetta. You don’t need an ice-cream maker or complicated kitchen equipment to produce this delicious make-ahead dessert.
Although, just like ice cream, its brilliance lies in its versatility, the basic recipe can be adapted with any variety of flavours. Here, I’ve swirled through strawberries blitzed in the blender, and topped it with fresh ones.
Traditionally, New York-style cheesecakes are kept plain and simple, so I have refrained from spoiling the clean interior of the cake by swirling it with strawberry coulis. But I do indulge my love of strawberries by coating them in a sticky, sweet jam and garnishing the top of this sublime summer dessert.
Floral tang
On my first visit to New York years ago, I fell in love with these dense, sweet and vanilla-scented desserts, having only ever made the no-bake versions which simply set in the fridge.
The real difference between the two methods is that the baked variety takes a little more skill to perfect. You’ll need to strike a balance between sweetness and the tang of cream cheese, while also baking to a perfect consistency. The version here is my take on the ones you will find in iconic New York bakeries.
A Victoria sponge filled with fresh cream and strawberries, made smack bang in the middle of strawberry season, is possibly one of life’s greatest treats. The version I share with you also makes the most of another of early summer’s great spoils, elderflower. Here, in the form of cordial, it spikes the cream with its uniquely floral tang and sweetness.
Three summer desserts to celebrate the Irish strawberry season, make one or make them all, you won’t be disappointed.
New York-style baked strawberry cheesecake
This basic baked cheesecake recipe is a keeper, it can be adapted with a whole host of different flavours, even when strawberries aren’t in season. Be sure to line both the base and sides of the baking tin well to allow easy release of the cheesecake, once baked.
Serves 6
For the base:
300g digestive biscuits, blitzed to a fine crumb
150g butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
500g cream cheese
150g sour cream
175g caster sugar
3 large free range eggs, 1 egg yolk
Zest of ½ lemon
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
For the topping:
5 tbsp strawberry jam, sieved
Juice ½ lemon
200g strawberries, hulled & halved
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin with parchment paper on the base and sides.
Combine the biscuit crumbs and butter until completely mixed through. Press this mixture into the base of the cake tin. Place in the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until completely incorporated. Fold through the egg yolk, vanilla bean paste and lemon zest.
Pour the filling over the biscuit crumb base and smooth off the top.
Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in the oven.
Place the smooth strawberry jam and lemon juice in a saucepan over a medium-high heat until it comes to a gentle simmer. Cool before using to garnish the cheesecake.
Once the cheesecake has cooled completely, decorate with strawberries and then brush over with the strawberry jam mixture.
Strawberry semifreddo
Semifreddo is the ideal make-ahead dessert. The basic recipe here can be garnished with different toppings of your choice, but is delicious with the summer’s freshest strawberries.
Serves 6
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g caster sugar
400ml double cream
200g strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp icing sugar
To serve:
200g strawberries, hulled & halved or quartered if large
3 tbsp strawberry jam, sieved (optional)
Double line a 1.5-litre capacity loaf tin with cling film.
Place the egg, egg yolks, vanilla extract and sugar in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water. Using a hand-held electric whisk, beat for about eight minutes until the mixture is thick and pale. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whip the double cream until it is stiff. Fold in the pale egg mixture until combined.
Pour half the mix into the prepared loaf tin.
Blitz the strawberries and icing sugar in a blender until smooth and then ripple half the purée through the creamy mixture. Add the remaining mixture to the tin, cover with cling film and place in the freezer to set for six hours or overnight.
To serve, turn the semifreddo out on to a serving platter and carefully remove the cling film. Drizzle with the jam and garnish with the prepared strawberries and serve in generous slices.
Strawberry & elderflower cake
Although elderflower has a short season, elderflower cordial is a perfect pantry ingredient that bottles the essence of summer and allows you to savour the flavour long after the last flower has fallen.
Serves 8
225g butter
225g caster sugar
4 large free-range eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
225g self-raising flour
About 3 tbsp of milk to loosen batter
6 tbsp elderflower cordial
1 jar of good quality strawberry jam
250ml double cream
To finish:
Dusting of icing sugar
A good handful of fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two 21cm springform tins.
In a standalone mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one by one before adding the vanilla extract.
Using a spatula, fold in the flour until you have a smooth mixture. Use a little bit of the milk if you need to loosen the mixture. You want the mixture to be a bit loose.
Divide the mixture into the two springform tins, flatten the top with a spatula if needed. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until it’s nice and golden.
When the bases are cooked, take them out and let cool for a few minutes before you take it out of the tin to cool completely. Pierce the top of each sponge with a stick and pour over half the elderflower cordial on each sponge and let it sit and soak.
While the bases are cooling, prepare the filling by whipping the double cream and elderflower cordial together.
To assemble the cake, spread some strawberry jam on one of the bases before topping with cream, then add the second base and sprinkle with icing sugar and top with some strawberries.
