This week has flown by. I'm gonna tell you the truth...I don't really like going to work. It's not that I don't enjoy working, it's just that I enjoy working for myself...doing things
I choose,
when I choose. I know most people would...but I actually know some people who don't mind going to work
for the man. I suppose it's just that I'm a free spirit...and I don't like to be caged. HA HA HA...okay, I'm making myself laugh now. I mean, it's totally true...but why am I telling you? Probably because it's been an insane week at work which means I haven't had much time to peruse all of
your tasty blogs and really immerse myself in them. Luckily I had a few posts half done, so I finished them at the beginning of the week and "scheduled" them to post automatically (love this feature). But, I hadn't picked a Tyler recipe yet, and Friday was closing in.
Fast. Too fast!
So yesterday, which was actually my only day off this week I started flipping through some Tyler cookbooks and found a fairly quick recipe...that I had the ingredients for,
bonus, so I started. But, as days off sometimes go, we decided to surprise the kids by hustling them into the car and going out to eat (
Mexican, imagine that...Milanesa de Pollo Torta, yum!!) and to see a movie (
UP!...so, so, so good-go see it now). So, I stopped mid-recipe and finished hours later...but it was okay, it's the kind of recipe that allows for such folly.
Yes, sometimes I pretend I live in the days of Jane Austen.
Strawberry-Lemon Puddings
from Dinner at my Place p. 81 by Tyler Florence
serves 4
2 c. strawberries, hulled & halved
1 Meyer lemon, juice only (personally, I think this fruit is made up..I've never been able to find one. I used 1/2 lemon, 1/2 orange)
2 Tbs. powdered sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 c. powdered sugar, plus 1 Tbs. for garnish
1/2 c. store-bought lemon curd although I'm pretty sure you could use homemade ;)
1 store-bought pound cake ditto on the homemade
Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 Tbs. of powdered sugar in a small saucepan; place over medium heat. Cook and stir for 4 - 5 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Remove 4 strawberry halves from saucepan and reserve for garnish.
Whip heavy cream in a large mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Fold in the 1 c. powdered sugar and the lemon curd, a little at a time, until combined. Set aside in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. I actually used the toaster oven for this...it worked beautifully and I didn't have to use any gas or heat up the kitchen. Cut pound cake into 1/4" thick slices. Using an inverted 6 oz. ramekin, carefully cut out 8 rounds. (The rounds should fit snugly inside of ramekin itself). My pound cake wasn't big enough, so I put two slices together and cut with a jar the size of the ramekin. No need to worry about it being in 2 pieces, because you can't actually see them once it is assembled.
Break the remaining scraps of pound cake into coarse crumbs and toast on a baking sheet in preheated oven or toaster oven for about 5 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant.
To assemble, start with a layer of lemon cream on the bottom of each of the ramekins, followed by a pound cake round.
Next add some strawberries and lemon cream.
Add another layer of cake. Drizzle the final cake layers with syrup from the strawberries.
Top with a swirl of lemon cream.
Sprinkle with toasted pound cake crumbs and garnish with a reserved strawberry half. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve!
And there you have it...a lovely, fluffy, sweet and dreamy whipped thing for this Tyler Florence Friday. And believe me when I say that this was divine. I think I'll make this for a special occasion or a party next time, because it
looks like a lot of work, but it's
not a lot of work...and a taste makes you roll your eyes back into your head. So...
Don't forget to head over to
Tyler Florence Fridays to see what everybody else cooked up with Tyler today.