The school year is upon us and you should know that my kids handle this transition far better than I do. I pout a fare amount and pine away for a little more time. And every year you will hear me say the same dreadful phrase: “what happened to summer?” So I am nothing if not consistent. I always rally though; I can eek out a bit more summer, tomato by tomato and berry by berry. Though the peak of strawberry season is behind us, I am still in hot pursuit of these red beauties - throwing them in cakes, muffins, salads, and even donuts. If you’ve stopped by Cherbourg Bakery or Cherbourg Cyprus, chances are you’ve eaten (or been tempted to eat) one of our Strawberry Buttermilk Donuts. They are as good as they sound. In fact, I believe the Strawberry Buttermilk glaze to be the best donut glaze we’ve ever produced (you can’t beat the freshly grated strawberries).

We’ve made the Strawberry Buttermilk donut in whole and mini sizes almost every day this summer. But thanks to the good folks at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, we now have the Strawberry Buttermilk Donut Hole! I was asked to do a live cooking demonstration at the market and needed a small sample to give away, thus the Strawberry Buttermilk Donut Hole was born! No donut hole pan? This batter works well in any size donut pan and could probably even work in muffin form (never tried, but it very well could!). Please join me in Full-on Fall-Is-Coming denial and whip up these perfect little gems. I’ll be back with a tomato recipe or two in the next few weeks as a full salute and grand finale to Summer, and then glorious fall will be upon us, and you know what that means….

Be Sweet &

see you soon,

Geri

Strawberry Buttermilk Donut Holes

Ingredients for the DONUT:

• 1 1/4 C. Cherbourg flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 C. low-fat buttermilk

• 3/4 C. granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 egg yolk

• 1/4 C. olive oil

• zest of one lemon

• 1/3 C. strawberries shredded (on larger holes of box grater)

for the GLAZE:

• 3 oz. cream cheese and 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, melted

• 2 tsp. zested strawberries (approx. 2 strawberries, small hole of grater)

• 2 C. confectioner’s sugar

• 1 Tbsp. hot water (more as needed)

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 C. granulated sugar (for rolling)

Donut Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Coat donut pan with butter and flour and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk Cherbourg flour, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, sugar, egg, and olive oil until smooth. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, add lemon zest. Fold in strawberries.

3. Fill donut hole cavity to the very top* and bake for 6-8 minutes, until donut holes spring back when lightly pressed.

4. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then turn out directly onto rack to cool. Dredge each donut hole in granulated sugar.

   • I didn’t fill the donut holes pictured to the very top and they are a bit flat. Learn from my mistake and don’t skimp!

Glaze Directions:

1. Melt cream cheese and granulated sugar in pre-heated oven (approx. 4 minutes), take out and whisk until well incorporated. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar, hot water, vanilla, and strawberries.

2. If consistency is too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar. If too thick, add more water.