honey poached strawberries

& the chocolate & coffee torte too, ofc!

May 22, 2024

a lot of people messaged me, after my @canyoncoffee pop-up, asking for the honey-poached strawberries recipe. and indeed, that is going to follow later on in this post.

but first, we need to talk about the strawberries themselves, and how insanely delicious they currently are—in all of the LA farmers markets, at least.

i met my new friend bryan (@bshnuez) at the santa monica farmers market for a little stroll and see what was poppin’ in regards to fruit.

bryan was visiting LA for work purposes and to see family, so we wandered through the market together and talked about our background in food, and also talked a lot about what food means to us both. we talked about our families, the food we grew up eating, and indeed the online food community we are both a part of.

i knew i was going to make a chocolate & coffee torte as i wanted to incorporate coffee into the evening, of course. i had collaborated with canyon on this particular dessert a year or so ago, for their journal. that part was a no-brainer, so to speak.

so, i was originally on the hunt for rhubarb. rhubarb is one of my most favorite fruits/vegetables? what is rhubarb?

regardless— and much to my dismay, we could not find rhubarb anywhere.

i then bumped into my good friend, and fellow chef matt (@mmmtastebuds). i expressed to him, my deep sadness about the lack of rhubarb. he pointed me in the direction of tamai family farms, and their overwhelming abundance of glorious, actually sweet, sun-ripened, and incredibly juicy strawberries. i think the picture below, speaks for itself—doncha think?

i then remembered that while on my road trip back up to the bay (SF) a few months ago, i picked up a farm-fresh jar of pine and orange blossom honey, that would go unbelievably well with these beautiful strawbs. the decision was made—honey-poached strawberries it was!

after a quick lunch with bryan at one of my favorite places in LA, gjusta—i made the drive back across town to the eastside (where i live) to grab a few extra things for prep that day.

i got home and processed the strawberries (washed and removed the green leaves). and of course, had a little chefs snack along the way. again—i could not get over how insanely delicious these strawberries were! i found myself hovering over the sink, biting into the sweet berries and letting the juice drip down my face. it was a little animalistic, i will admit. but also very pure and true.

chocolate & coffee torte with honey poached strawberries and whipped soured cream

ingredients

honey poached strawberries

2lbs of fresh strawberries, cleaned and cut into quarters

3 cups of water

1 cup of good-quality honey

1/4 dark brown sugar

1 tbsp flaky salt

chocolate & coffee torte

2 sticks of salted butter

1 cup + 2 tablespoons cane sugar

1 cup @canyoncoffee hot espresso

2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 large eggs, at room temperature

6 large egg yolks, at room temperature

honey poached strawberries

first begin with the honey-poached strawberries. in a large pan with a lid (like a dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed, deep saute pan) combine the strawberries, water and honey and set the heat to medium. we want a nice rolling simmer on these.

after approximately 10 minutes, the strawberries should be very soft, but not breaking down just yet. using a spider or slotted spoon, remove all of the strawberries and set aside.

add the sugar into the strawberry-honey syrupy liquid left behind and continue to simmer over medium heat. as the liquid reduces you will see a true syrup form. once the syrup coats the back of a spoon, pour over the strawberries and let everything cool. once at room temp, pop the honey-poached strawberries into the fridge until it is time to serve.

chefs note—this would be gorgeous with raspberries, cherries, blackberries, or an assortment of stone fruit too.

chocolate & coffee torte

preheat the oven to 325F and either butter or oil a 9-inch springform cake pan as well as line the bottom with parchment paper. set aside for now.

next, make your espresso and set aside.

in a saucepan, over medium heat begin to melt the butter. once the butter is melted add in the sugar and stir to combine. next add in the espresso and continue to stir until all of the sugar has dissolved.

add in the chocolate and stir until fully melted and incorporated into the coffee, butter, sugar mixture. take the pan off the stove and let everything cool for at least 10 minutes.

meanwhile, in a mixing bowl add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk until very fluffy and frothy. now whisk in the slightly cooled chocolate / coffee mixture.

pour everything into the lined and greased springform pan, and then I like to place the cake pan on another baking sheet for extra security.

pop everything into the preheated oven for an hour (or sometimes a little longer). keep an eye on it. you want the edges to be slightly puffed and cracked and the middle to be just set, with a slight wobble. it will continue setting as it cools.

make sure the torte is fully cooled before serving. when you are ready to serve, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to release. i served this with some whipped sour cream and the honey-poached strawberries, and it was truly divine!

this is just as lovely cold, as it is at room temp. oh and this recipe is completely gluten free!

some more photos of the torte & strawbs by @emferetti