Walk Widely. Eat Wisely. Live Gratefully.
We East Coasters like our shortcake a certain way. First, it doesn’t really involve cake. It takes biscuits. We make fresh, hot tea biscuits. We top them with sliced strawberries that have been sprinkled with a spoonful or two of sugar (no more!) and allowed to make some juice.
Then we give each shortcake a dollop of delicious, cool whipped cream with vanilla and just a hint of sugar. Summer on a plate!
A week or two ago I was lamenting the lack of local strawberries. Frankly it’s a bit early for most of the province but they could be found in a few places – there were apparently some for sale at the Brickworks market. But this past week East Lynn Farmer’s market had a few. And my grandmother’s rhubarb (transported far and wide across the country, into various family gardens) was ready for the pulling.
What to make? Pie or crisp? The guys made the decision. Much to my surprise, they chose the crisp! Mix the fruit in the pan and sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of sugar.
For the topping, about 1/2 cup (125 ml) butter. Relax, it’s crisp! Then a bit of brown sugar, some oats, and a little whole-wheat flour. Mix it together til it’s crumbly. Sprinkle over the top.
Bake at 350F for about half an hour. Check it. If it’s not golden, give it another 10 or 15 minutes.
You can serve it warm, by itself. Ice cream is nice. Or you can eat it the next morning as leftovers, with a little plain yogurt from your favourite organic dairy.
For our family, it wouldn’t be Easter dinner if there weren’t a bunny cake. Long after kids aren’t really kids any more, they aren’t willing to dispense with this cake, in all its ’50’s style glory.
It starts as two round cakes (8 or 9 inches in diameter). Make a carrot cake (traditional) or use a mix – any flavour will do.
One cake is cut into sections, with two ears, leaving the centre of the circle to make the bow tie.
The whole thing is iced with Italian Meringue Frosting, tinted appropriately. Each year there’s an argument about whether the bow tie should be pink, or mauve, or green, or yellow. Mauve or pink are easiest, since the pink frosting for the ears can be prepared, and then a little blue food colouring added as necessary.
The candies are Smarties(TM) but other small round candies such as M&Ms (TM) would work as well. The whiskers are made of shoelace-style red licorice. The fur is coconut, preferably the long-shredded variety.