It’s June, which means Juneberries, or serviceberries, or saskatoon berries, are in season. My middle son is amazed with growing food that a small seed could turn into a carrot or a whole pumpkin - like magic. And there is something magical about it, he also finds the idea of foraging very exciting. But I am not brave enough to chance it, so we planted a Juneberry tree of our own. Juneberry trees are native to North America and ubiquitous. They are actually in the rose family and not related to blueberries, although they look like them and can be substituted where you use blueberries (think muffins or pancakes). They are juicy and delicious on their own, but in this recipe we will make a summer Juneberry ice cream.
Juneberry Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 4 cups Juneberries, fresh
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbs water
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks, beaten
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 cup half and half
Preparation directions: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, Cook the berries, 1/4 cup sugar, and water until berries start breaking up and are soft. You can squish the berries around as you stir. Once cooked, transfer the puree to a blender and process until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine, mesh strainer. This should yield you about 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups of puree. Set it aside.
In the saucepan, heat the whipping cream and sugar until steaming, stirring the whole time. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and salt. When the cream is steaming, slowly whisk it into the egg yolk - whisking the entire time. Be sure to do this slowly so as not to scramble the eggs. Pour the egg/cream mixture back into the pan and place back over medium-low heat. Cook and stir, until mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon. Place the lemon juice and half and half in a bowl. Stir 1 and 1/2 cups of the Juneberry puree.
Place the strainer over this and pour the hot egg/cream mixture through the strainer to get out any cooked egg bits. Stir well to combine. Chill ice cream base for at least 3 hours. When thoroughly chilled, place in ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's directions. I don’t have an ice cream maker, so I usually mix it up again to make it "fluffy" in a mixer or our ninjacreami and then place it back in the freezer to fully set.
I took few pasta making classes because I wanted to really be able to make a good carbonara, but then I ended up with a decent amount of semolina flour left over. This Italian butter cake uses semolina and AP or cake flour, and is a lighter version of a pound cake. It goes great with all of the fresh berries that are available now around the local farms.
Italian Warm Butter Cake
Ingredients for the cake:
- 1 cup (136g) flour, spooned then leveled
- ½ cup (88g) fine semolina flour
- ½ tsps (2g) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (2g) sea salt
- ½ cup (112g) light oil (avocado, grape seed, canola, etc.)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ tbs (7g) pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) whole milk, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
Ingredients for the warm butter soak:
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter
- 1/3 cup (80g) water
- 1/4 tsp (2g) almond extract (optional)
- 1 tsp (4g) pure vanilla extract
Preparation directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter and flour (or spray with baking spray) the wells of a regular cupcake pan. You may need to use a few wells of a second pan, depending on the size. In a medium-mixing bowl, use a large fine mesh sieve to sift then whisk together flour, semolina flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another medium to large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, vanilla, milk, and sugar. Whisk well for about one minute, until well blended and the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Gently whisk in the flour mixture until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into your prepared cupcake pan, filling about b full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle cupcake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in the pan 5-10 minutes while you make the warm butter sauce. If not serving right away, let cakes cool in the pan then reheat for 5-10 minutes while you make the sauce immediately before serving.
For the sauce, combine the sugar, butter, and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved, stirring frequently. Add the almond and vanilla extracts.
Using a fork, toothpick, kebab stick, or something similar, poke holes all over the cakes (still in the warm pan). Brush about b of the sauce over the cakes and let soak in. Carefully remove each cake to its serving plate, turning it upside down. Brush with remaining sauce. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and fresh berries.
The sauce should only be poured/brushed on a warm cake right before serving. If needed, you can make the cake up to one day ahead and store in an airtight container. Reheat for 5-10 minutes while you make the sauce, immediately before serving.
