The Summer Solstice is almost here and my mind turns to what recipe I’ll create to celebrate the longest day. I love honouring Midsummer. It’s a beautiful time of the year in Melbourne. It can be warm and muggy or cold and windy or both in the same day. You don’t know what you’ll get and that is part of the pleasure.
The Summer Solstice follows Beltane (and Halloween if you’re me) and is a sign that the really hot days of summer are on their way. Summer can be brutal in Australia as we prepare for floods, bushfires and almost unbearable heat. While we look forward to summer, we know it is our most dangerous time of the year. In many ways we mirror the coming winter darkness that is both honoured and feared in the northern hemisphere. It is no surprise that many Winter Solstice legends feature a cast of fearsome and scary characters.
When I think of the Summer Solstice I think of strawberries. Plump, ripe red berries with a delightful green stalk beautifully showcase Summer Solstice colours for me. They are also delicious. In Sweden they have a stunning strawberries and cream cake called Midsommartårta (Midsummer Cake). Inspired by the idea of a strawberries and cream cake, I decided to make a strawberries and cream sandwich!
I’ve always thought (and hoped) that the combination of fresh fruit, whipped cream and white bread would be a tasty combination. After a quick internet search I discovered Fruit Sando, a Japanese fresh fruit sandwich. These sandwiches feature delicately sliced fresh fruits which are decoratively placed in the whipped cream making them look like colourful works of art. They are definitely on my “to make soon” list!
I wanted my Summer Solstice fresh fruit sandwich to look like a cake so I layered circles of white bread with whipped cream and strawberries marinated in grenadine. I also made a “darker” Winter Solstice version by using fruit bread instead of white bread and marinated the strawberries in a “devilled” dressing of balsamic vinegar and black pepper. So whether you prefer your tasty treats served on the light or dark side, there is a sandwich cake for you.
Solstice Sandwich Cakes
for the marinated strawberries
125g punnet of strawberries hulled and roughly chopped
1/2 tablespoon grenadine syrup
1/2 tablespoon sweet balsamic vinegar
pinch of black pepper
for the whipped cream spread
120g cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the sandwiches
3 slices of white bread
3 slices of fruit bread
Place half the strawberries in a bowl.
Add the grenadine syrup and gently stir until combined.
Place remaining strawberries in a separate bowl.
Add the balsamic vinegar and black pepper and gently stir until combined.
Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
Using a wooden spoon, beat the cream cheese until spreadable.
Add the icing sugar and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until soft peaks form.
Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Add the cream cheese and whisk until stiff peaks form.
Put half the whipped cream mix into a piping bag.
for the Midsummer Cake
Cut a large circle out of each piece of the white bread (I use a cookie cutter)
Pipe a layer of whipped cream onto the bottom of the first slice. You should use approximately 1/5th of the cream.
Top with 1/3 of the grenadine strawberries.
Pipe on another layer of cream.
Add the second layer of bread and repeat the cream, strawberry and cream layers.
Add the final layer of bread.
Pipe on the remaining cream and top with a final layer of strawberries.
for the Midwinter Cake
Fill the piping bag with the remaining whipped cream and repeat the above process using the fruit bread and the balsamic vinegar strawberries.
vsomethingspeaks 