Strawberries x3 . . .

Hi peeps. I’ve got some truly fab recipes for you today that I am excited about, all of which feature strawberries in one form or another. And guess what? Any - or all - of them would be perfect for Memorial Day weekend. So, if you are wondering about what to make for the first warm weather holiday coming up right around the corner, and are thinking that Strawberry and Cream Scones on Saturday morning, followed by Angel Food Cake with Strawberry Jam Whipped Cream on Saturday night and finally Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp for Monday’s BBQ/potluck, sounds like the direction you’d like to go in, well lucky you, as you are in the right place. 

She’s My Cherry Pie Podcast Update . . .

But before I give you all the recipe scoops, I did want to mention that I had the absolute pleasure of speaking recently with Benjamina Ebuehi on my baking podcast, “Shes My Cherry Pie,” and it was such a treat.

Benji has a new book out, “I’ll Bring Dessert,” and we talked all about that as well as - wait for it - her time on the Great British Bake Off! She was the pod’s first GBBO guest and I loved hearing all the inside scoops. Please give our chat a listen, as we also talk about her DELICIOUS Plum Tarragon Cobbler - yum. 

An event worth mentioning . . .

I also wanted to mention (as I have done so previously) that I am going to be in Napa at Cookbook Fest from June 21st to 23rd and perhaps some of you are from Napa? Or live near Napa? Or are dying to visit Napa? And want to hang out with me?

The Fest is going to super cool with lots of great food peeps, cookbooks, podcasts, panels, cooking and baking demos and more. All the info is here. Would be cool if you were there . . . 

Salty Cheesy Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes . . .

Also, I think it is worth mentioning (in case you forgot) that my 4th baking book, Salty Cheesy Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes, is hitting shelves on September 24th and is available for pre-order (in case you missed the memo . . .). 

And if you want exclusive behind-the-scenes scoops on the book, as well as never-before-seen salty cheesy herby crispy recipes, please consider subscribing to my paid newsletter.

Recipes . . . 

But in addition to waiting patiently for my next book to come out, I’ve also been whipping up a few strawberry-forward sweets and I’d love to share them with you. Starting with one for angel food cake!

This is an Angel Food Dream Cake with Strawberry Jam Whipped Cream that I developed for the Washington Post. An angel food dream cake is an old-fashioned recipe in which an angel food cake is sliced in half horizontally and filled and frosted with whipped cream. Here the whipped cream is flavored with strawberry jam and is just gorgeous to behold and also incredibly tasty. Make now, peeps, and thank me later. Next up are my Strawberry and Cream Scones. 

I developed these for the Today Show and they could not be easier to assemble, as the recipe does not call for cutting butter into flour. Instead the heavy cream is substituted for the butter, resulting in the most tender and rich of scones. And yes – you can substitute other fruit for the berries. They’re excellent with blueberries and with rhubarb, chopped to the size of a berry, and are also fab straight up with nothing added. Finally, how does a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp sound to you? 

Crisps are so easy and I might just prefer them to pies (don’t tell). The filling here is tart and sweet, but not too sweet and the crunchy topping is the perfect crispy contrast to the soft, fruity filling. 

Finally, some non-food related thoughts . . . 

In addition to developing recipes, recording podcast episodes and waiting for my new book to hit shelves, I have also been reading and watching TV (my two fave things besides writing newsletters for you all (💗). I just read the latest by one of my all-time fave writers, Tana French: The Hunter.

It actually might be one of my faves of hers, which is saying a lot, because I love ALL of her books. It takes place in a tiny town in Ireland, and it’s a mystery of sorts, as well as being a sequel of sorts, to her last book, The Searcher. But you do not have to have read The Searcher to enjoy The Hunter. French is an absolute master when it comes to writing dialogue, FYI, and I am so sad to have finished the book and to have had to say goodbye to all the characters. But even though I am sad, luckily I recently watched two excellent shows starring (and I believe produced by, as well) Sharon Horgan (an Irishwoman, no less; so yes there is a theme here) - Catastrophe and Bad Sisters.

Catastrophe is actually a few years old and I loved it so much. Susan Horgan and Rob Delaney are fantastic and hilarious and it was fun to watch something so sitcom’y about dating and family and marriage. I also adored Bad Sisters.

The acting is superb, the plot keeps you guessing in all the best ways and it is straight up hilarious, but also a great portrayal of family and sisters and marriage (both good and bad ones) and I was so into it.

Alrighty, that’s it for today’s letter. See you in June!