Although strawberries scream “summer” to most people, to me they carry a lot of BSE: Big Spring Energy. That’s because growing up in the South, the first strawberries of the year hit markets in early March. And while those early-season berries weren’t as sweet as those that came at the start of summer, I always loved them more. Their slightly sulphuric, sour flavor made them ideal for baking since it helped to cook them down with sugar so as to make them as candy-like as their late-season siblings.
I mostly refuse to eat strawberries throughout the rest of the year, waiting for those first berries of spring to kick off the season that lasts until the last super sweet berries leave in the summer. And right now, all I want to do is bake things with these new berries.
My current baking project is a cold pie that incorporates the cooked-down strawberries into a “Black Forest” flavor profile, a request from my partner. Instead of using cherries, which I often find need a lot of help to coax that enticing “red” flavor from within, early-season strawberries have the robust, tangy flavor I want – when cooked and condensed, the acidity balances all the sugar and allows for an exponentially greater berry-full flavor.
To complete the inspiration, I spread a layer of chocolate pudding over the jammy berries, followed by a layer of whipped cream to cut all the richness. In that last layer, I use cornstarch and gelatin to help set the whipped cream and prevent weeping – when water separates from the dairy fat – which can happen as it sits. It’s a technique – to help set the whipped cream on the outside and keep it stable, sliceable and soft – I learned from making a traditional Black Forest cake.
First you make a pudding by cooking a small amount of milk with cornstarch and sugar, then you dissolve gelatin into the pudding and, finally, fold it into the whipped cream to stabilize it. It may seem unnecessary, but when you work so hard on a pie like this, you want to ensure it sets up and comes out looking beautiful with each slice – now is not the time for those fashionably floppy pie fillings.