Of course, mom loves flowers, phone calls, handmade cards and heartfelt hugs, but this Mother’s Day, why not whip up something as sweet as she is?
“Layered trifle with fresh fruit – that’s usually my go-to for her,” said pastry chef Holly Haas of Frecon Farms in Boyertown. “Especially because it’s May, and spring is finally here.”
She arranges homemade cake, pudding and three types of berries.
“It’s very rustic in how it looks,” Haas described. “You can put it in a glass bowl and see the nice cake and fruit and pudding all around. And it doesn’t have to be smooth like a regular decorated cake should be.”
So even the youngest bakers can feel proud.
“It’s something they can handle with dad helping them,” she noted.
While trifle’s an English tradition, Apple Tarte Tatin will have mom saying, “merci!”
“I like it because it looks really impressive, and it’s really simple,” said chef Jenny Young of The Red House Catering and Love in a Bowl, Soups from The Red House – a Kimberton-based delivery service.
A French friend shared the recipe, which is “always a winner,” she added. “Everybody ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs.'”
Young, also an instructor at Cooking Spotlight in Phoenixville, caramelizes apples on the stovetop, then covers the skillet with pastry, slips it in the oven and finally flips the finished tart fruit-side-up.
“Don’t try to rush the caramelizing,” she advised. “Give it time. Be patient. That’s always my advice in the kitchen anyway.”
Top it with creme fraiche as “a nice foil to the caramelized apples” and see mom smile.
Another dessert that’s sure to delight: a “bright” and “pretty” fresh fruit tart.
“That’s one of my favorite things to do for Mother’s Day,” said personal chef Lynn Lampe Lindquist of Cook on Call, who teaches at Delaware County Community College and Valley Forge Flowers. “I tend to go toward fruit or citrus.”
She combines lemon curd and pastry cream, topping the tart with glazed berries.
“It should look like a gift. It should look like a little jewel,” Lindquist explained. “It just screams happiness!”
Triple Berry TrifleIngredientsFor cake:
21/2 cups all-purpose flour21/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar4 eggs1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 pint fresh blueberries1/2 pint fresh raspberries
InstructionsFor cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-by-13-inch pan with pan spray and set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and sugar together until combined. Add in eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Do not overmix the batter. Once the batter is smooth, pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool before cutting into cubes and assembling.
To assemble: Have instant pudding made ahead of time. Try replacing milk with heavy cream to give it a lighter and creamier texture. Start by layering the bottom of an 8-by-4-inch glass bowl with half of the vanilla cake cubes. Break apart the pieces as needed to fit. Then spoon 1/3 of the pudding on top of the cake layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle half of the fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries over the pudding layer. Repeat using remaining cake, pudding and fruit. Top with remaining pudding and fruit. Chill and enjoy!
RECIPE COURTESY OF PASTRY CHEF HOLLY HAAS
Apple Tarte TatinIngredients5 or 6 Golden Delicious apples
Pie crust or puff pastry sufficient for a 9- to 10-inch circle
Juice of 1 lemon3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, plus a little more for dotting the top of the apples
About 1/2 cup sliced dried apricots
InstructionsNote: If your skillet has a rubber or plastic handle, wrap the handle with two layers of aluminum foil before using.
Line the base of an 8-inch heavy, preferably nonstick skillet with 1/8-inch-thick slices of unsalted butter. Sprinkle liberally with sugar, about 1/2 cup. Peel and cut apples into quarters. (I prefer Golden Delicious for this tart.)
Place apples cut-side-up onto butter/sugar. Apples should fit together as closely as possible; it takes about 5 medium apples. Fill in any gaps with pieces of apple and sliced dried apricots, and cover the whole thing with thinly sliced apple. Squeeze a lemon over the top and place pan on medium/low heat, covered. Let it simmer undisturbed until the butter and sugar caramelizes and softens the apples. You can check by gently lifting one of the apple quarters and peeking to see when it gets golden and slightly browned. It will take about 20 minutes, but check carefully that it doesn’t burn.
Roll out pie crust to a 9- to 10-inch circle. You can use puff pastry, or make your own flaky (but not puffed) pastry with 11/4 cups of flour, a stick of unsalted butter and iced water.
Remove pan from heat, dot the top of the apples with butter, place pastry circle over the top of the apples, tucking the edges down to form a thicker rim. Be careful; it is hot! Prick the pastry all over with a fork, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar and place in a hot (380-degree) oven and cook until well browned.
Remove from oven. Carefully place a dinner-sized plate over the pan, and with one hand holding the pan and one hand holding down the plate, very carefully flip it over so that the tart is now on the plate with caramelized apple-side-up. You need to do this while everything is still hot or the apples will stick in the pan. (If you want to make a few hours ahead and still serve warm, you can leave everything in the pan, and reheat gently on top of the stove until the caramel melts again, then flip onto a plate as described above.) Serve at room temperature or while still slightly warm with creme fraiche.
This is also very good made with pears with the addition of some chopped almonds scattered on with the apricots. Often made in France with quince, but they are hard to find here.
It sounds complicated, but is actually very simple. This recipe was given to me by a friend in the Bordeaux region of France many years ago. He would casually make it while everyone was having a pre-dinner glass of wine. Then it was just the right temperature in time for dessert!
RECIPE COURTESY OF CHEF JENNY YOUNG
Fresh Fruit TartIngredients1 (9-inch) baked tart shell
3 ounces lemon curd3 ounces pastry cream (a thick, creamy custard)
Assorted berries such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries
Apple jellyInstructionsPlace tart shell on serving dish. Gently fold together the lemon curd and pastry cream. You should have no lumps. Spread mixture evenly in the tart shell. Starting at the edge of the tart shell, place the blueberries on the cream in a circle around the tart. Next, if the strawberries are small, cut off the root end and place the strawberry, cut side down, on the cream. If they are on the larger side, cut off the root end and slice in half lengthwise. Place the cut-side-down on the cream, arranging the strawberries close together. Fill in the gaps with raspberries and blueberries. Other fruit can be used such as kiwi and mango. Glaze the fruit with apple jelly that has been melted in a saucepot over low heat. Brush the jelly on the fruit with a pastry brush.
RECIPE COURTESY OF CHEF LYNN LAMPE LINDQUIST
