Posted on by Lilly Monster · 4 Comments

A Little Slice of Cherry Cobbler

Hello dearest readers,

I hope you’ve been doing well. This past year has been so fun and busy for us as Alex and I got married! It’s been an absolute whirlwind of happiness, change, emotions running high, travel for the first time in 2+ years and much more.

But I’m back! I chose to re-open the blog with a classic: the cherry cobbler. This might surprise some of you, but this is my first time making it… and eating it, now that I think about it. And as a true completionist, I picked up where I left off last year by reviewing Susan Semenac’s Market Chronicles. The recipe seemed very simple and fast, which was perfect for the amount of effort I was willing to spend.

These are the ingredients:

The quality of cherries you use is completely up to you. The recipe called for fresh sour cherries, which apparently are hard to find. I chose to go with frozen sweet cherries instead. I wasn’t kidding about low amounts of effort :D. But if I’m being entirely truthful, part of me wanted to see what would happen if I opted for convenience over freshness. I’m sure there’s a difference, but *spoiler*, convenience doesn’t taste bad at all.

The first step is always TURNING ON YOUR OVEN before you start. You want your oven at temp by the time everything is ready to be baked. I learned that the hard way time and time again. Next, toss the cherries in cornstarch and sugar. If you use sweet cherries, remember to minimize sugar!

Let those sit for a little bit.

Then, create your batter by mixing butter and sugar, adding an egg, buttermilk, flour, and baking powder and set aside. Toss the cherries into a greased 10″ cast iron pan (or 13″x 9″ baking dish) and add batter on top in sloppy spoonfuls. You want some fruit peeping out.

I later learned there are different ways to top a cherry cobbler. The method I used created a more “doughy”, less sweet experience. Others might prefer a sweeter, crunchier topping like a crumble pie. I let it bake for approximately 45 minutes, until the top turned golden and the fruit was bubbling. For additional garnish and flavor, ice cream is recommended.

Overall, I thought it was pretty good. The reviews from others were positive and there were some who went in for seconds. I was very flattered- I brought this for a family cookout, so the stakes were high! From what I can tell, the recipe itself is accurate: the ingredients and measurements work well, as do the instructions. I give this a 5 out of 5!

Anyways friends, I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Till next time!

Lots of love,

Evy

Posted on by Lilly Monster

Light, Fluffy, and Brittle: The Blueberry Pavlova

Hello, dear readers.

This week, I tackled something sweet and delicious– the blueberry pavlova.
I’ve never eaten pavlova before and had no idea what it would taste like or feel like in terms of consistency. In all the photos I had seen, it looked like a cloud of delicious mystery.

For those who didn’t know (like myself), the pavlova is a dish that was first spotted in Australia and New Zealand in the early 1920’s. The “pavlova” is likely named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who was touring in the country at that time. It is a light dessert that has a brittle crust, and is usually topped with whipped cream and fruit.
The one we will be making today will be topped with blueberries.

The ingredients needed are below:

Now, pavlova is basically baked meringue.
In turn, meringue is whipped egg whites, with sugar and cream of tartar, until you get “stiff peaks”. I remember seeing meringue everywhere, from cooking shows to fancy pastry shops, and thinking “that must be a headache of a recipe.”
I have since changed my mind.

Meringue is actually very easy to make. The key? Room Temperature Eggs. And I mean it, people. Take your eggs out at half an hour before starting the process. If your eggs are fresh out of fridge, you will fail. (If you’re unsure of what “Room Temperature” actually is– it is between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit.)

I learned this the hard way.
It was early evening; Alex was beginning to prepare dinner and I was feeling quite impatient, even though Susan Semenac, the author of the recipe, clearly outlined the singular requirement.

What ended up happening?
I dumped the egg whites into the food processor, put it on medium low speed, and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And then nothing– it was just liquid egg whites. How could this be?!
I finally surrendered and let the egg whites reach room temperature.

Guess what: it worked!
Another change I made (which Alex recommended) was to increase the speed. Medium-low will not get you there.

I got very excited when I achieved the famous “stiff peaks”:

Once you get this result (and after you do your victory dance), shape the beautiful meringue into a circular mound on a baking sheet. Make sure to dig a little pocket in the middle, like so:

You then will bake it at a low temperature, around 225 degrees Fahrenheit, for 1 hour or until you see a light crispiness and browning.

Once out of the oven, it will look like this:

Once cooled, you can add the whipped cream and fruits!

I say this without trace of exaggeration: this dessert is exceedingly sweet and amazing.
Can you recall the taste and consistency of cotton candy? How you feel the crisp, sweet sugar melt on your tongue? Combine this subtle crisp with a fluffy internal texture equal to marshmallow fluff, and whapow! You have pavlova.
The whipped cream and fresh fruit adds layers of flavor to the otherwise tasteless crunch.

What makes this ideal for summer is the weightless, cloud-like sweetness which can be paired with fruits of the season– peaches, blueberries, strawberries… the possibilities are endless!

I think the recipe itself is, for the most part, accurate.
The one criticism I have is in regards to the times allocated for the baking: while recipe says 45 minutes, the meringue was still very soft and rubbery at that point. I would replace it with at least 1 hour as mentioned above.

I hope you enjoyed this post and can learn from my mistakes!
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend, friends, and much love.