chocolate-berry ice cream cake

the goods:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup fresh or thawed frozen blackberries (5 ounces)

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

1 pint raspberry sorbet, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Lightly coat an 8-inch springform cake pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in egg yolk, buttermilk, 1/4 cup warm water, oil, and vanilla. Pour batter into pan and bake until cake pulls away from sides and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on wire rack, 1 and 1/2 hours.

Cut one or two pieces parchment paper 1 inch taller than pan side and place between cake and inside of pan, overlapping if necessary (parchment should fit snugly around entire circumference of cake).

Place blackberries in a medium bowl and lightly mash with a fork. Stir in vanilla ice cream. Working quickly, spread ice cream mixture in an even layer over cooled cake. Freeze until ice cream is very firm, 2 hours. In a small bowl, stir sorbet until spreadable. Spread in an even layer over ice cream and freeze until set, 1 hour.

To serve, unmold cake and peel away parchment.

strawberry-pistachio tart

the goods:

all-purpose flour, for rolling

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1/2 cup unsalted, shelled pistachios

2 tablespoons sugar

5 cups thinly sliced strawberries

1/4 cup apricot jam, warmed 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out puff pastry to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Transfer to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and trim to make a neat rectangle. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes. With a fork, prick pastry all over. To prevent pastry from rising, top with a sheet of parchment paper and stack another rimmed baking sheet on top. Bake until light golden, 13 minutes.

Meanwhile in a food processor, combine 1/4 cup pistachios and sugar and process until pistachios are finely ground. Sprinkle mixture on pastry, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Bake until pastry is deep golden and pistachio mixture begins to turn golden, 10 minutes.

Roughly chop remaining 1/4 pistachios. Remove sheet from oven; arrange strawberries on pistachio mixture, overlapping slices. Brush berries with jam and sprinkle chopped pistachios on border.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

citrus-glazed pound cake

the goods:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a loaf pan. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 7 minutes. Scrape down bowl and beat 1 minute more. Add vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, and orange juice. Then gradually add eggs, beating well and scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed.

Transfer batter to pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 1 hour. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack before glazing.

Make glaze by whisking together confectioners' sugar with lemon juice and orange juice. Pour over cooled cake. Slice to serve.

easy strawberry icebox pie

the goods:

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice

2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced, a couple of small strawberries reserved for garnish

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

prebaked graham cracker crust (store-bought - that's the "easy" part)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 3/4 cup sugar, cranberry juice, 2 cups strawberries, cornstarch, and salt. Gently mash strawberries and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in remaining sliced strawberries and pour into crust. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until set, 6 to 8 hours or up to 1 day.

Beat cream until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar and beat until soft peaks return, and additional 30 seconds. Spread whipping cream over pie, leaving a 1 and 1/2-inch border. Garnish with strawberries.

raspberry crumble bars

the goods:

3/4 cup natural almonds

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

10 ounces frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides. In a food processor, pulse almonds until finely ground. In a large bowl, whisk together ground almonds, cornmeal, flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and stir until dry ingredients are evenly moistened.

Press about two-thirds the dough into dish. Scatter raspberries over top and crumble remaining dough over raspberries.

Bake until top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool in dish on wire rack before cutting into 9 bars.

peach crumble pie

the goods:

crust:

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1/4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

filling:

3 pounds peaches, halved, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch slices

2 tablespoons light-brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

crumble:

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and granulated sugar until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time); do not overmix. Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to overnight).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, Lightly flour a rolling pin and work surface and roll out dough to a 12-inch round. Place in a 9-inch pie plate, fold overhang under, and crimp edges.

Make filling: In a large bowl, toss together peaches, brown sugar, and flour until combined.

Make crumble: In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, and oats; using your hands, work in butter until large clumps form.

Transfer peach filling to pie shell, then sprinkle crumble evenly over top.

Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until juices are bubbling and topping is golden, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack 1 and 1/2 hours before serving.

citrus bars

the goods:

crust:

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water

filling:

1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice (from 1 grapefruit)

2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest, plus 1/2 cup orange juice (from 1 orange)

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1/2 cup lemon juice (from 3 lemons)

1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Make crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse just until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add 1/4 cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix. Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle (patch any hols well). Place in a 10-by-14-by-1-inch rimmed jelly-roll pan with dough going up the sides; trim overhang. Prick dough all over with a fork and freeze until firm, 20 minutes. Line dough with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all sides. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are dry, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; bake until bottom is dry and flaky, about 10 minutes.

Make filling:

In a medium bowl, whisk together citrus zests and juices, granulated sugar, and eggs until well combined.

Pour into crust and bake until custard is just set in center, about 15 minutes.

Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. To serve. dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into squares. Keep refrigerated.