Interns around the world, take note: offices enjoy baked goods. Our ultra j'adorable web intern Paris brings in goodies on the reg, bless her heart. Once we discovered her secret talent, we quickly dispatched her to create a special baking blog. We hope, selfishly, that it will be the first of many.    

This weekend while in the Hamptons I stopped off at a farmers' market to pick up some vegetables, but when I saw all of the gorgeous fresh fruit I knew I had to bake something. I bought my favorite fruits: peaches, strawberries, and blueberries. After much thought I decided to make a mixed berry crisp with a cinnamon basil whipped cream.


Paris's Summer Crisp with Cinnamon Basil Whipped Cream

Cinnamon basil whipped cream:
1 cup of heavy cream
6 large -12 small fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon - 3/4ths of a teaspoon of cinnamon

The fruit:
2-4 ripe large peaches
1 pint of fresh strawberries
1/3 - 1 cup of blueberries
1 - 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of cloves
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
(To decide on how much to use of each fruit just judge on what looks freshest and which fruits you like the most)

The topping:
2 sticks of salted butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
(adapted from Ina Garten's crisp recipe)

1. Put the heavy cream in a pot and set on the stove. Heat the stove to medium high, occasionally stir the cream until simmering. While the cream is heating put the basil leaves in a paper towel and bruise using a hammer/rolling pin/or crumple with hands. When the cream starts simmering turn off heat and throw in basil, submerging it into the cream. Cover the pot and let rest for 20 minutes. After steeping the cream pour it into a bowl and strain out the basil leaves. Put in the fridge and let chill for 3 hours before continuing with the crisp.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

3. Peel the peaches. To do this you'll most likely need to cut an X on the bottom of each peach, then put the peaches in a pot of boiling water for 30-45 seconds. Once cooked immediately take them out and immerse them in a bath of ice water so that they stop cooking. Peel off the skin starting from the X on the bottom of the peach. Cut each peach into about 8 slices. Then start cutting the strawberries by cutting off the tops and slicing in half. Finally, add the blueberries.

3. Put the sugar and spices in a bowl and mix together until combined. Pour over the berries and add vanilla. Mix the berries together with a spoon or toss with your hands. Let sit and macerate while making the topping

4. Put all the ingredients for the topping in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed or in a food processor until all the ingredients are mixed and almost all the butter is crumbled to the size of Dippin' Dots.

5. Go back to the berries and pour out about 3/4 of the juices, leave the rest of the juice with the berries and pour into a pre-greased 9x9 pan. Add about 1-2 to 3/4 of the topping (keep the rest for another time or put it on a greased baking sheet and bake it, it's great on top of ice cream or just by itself). Put the crisp in the oven for about 40-50 minutes until the juices are bubbling, then turn up the oven to about 400 degrees for about 5-10 minutes so that the topping is browned. Take the crisp out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

6. While the crisp is in the oven continue making the whipped cream: put the steeped heavy cream in a large bowl, add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Beat on high until whipped to the consistency you like, then chill in the fridge until the crisp is done.

7. When the crisp is done cooling spoon it into a bowl or plate and add a dollop of the whipped cream.

FILED UNDER: interns , the hamptons , baking , cooking , mini martha , paris starn