In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering.

Spread remaining frosting in a thick layer over top and sides of cake.Garnish with blueberry-coriander jam, blueberries, kumquats, lemon, mint, and edible flowers.. Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis.

You can substitute store-bought jam and lemon curd for equally beautiful results.. "It has such a great pillowy consistency, but it's very stable," says Sasha Piligian, of the simple Swiss meringue she uses to lighten the buttercream frosting."I can manipulate it in endless ways, folding in curd, tahini, jam — the possibilities are endless."Use high-butterfat (82% to 84%) butter, such as Kerrygold or Plugrá, for the richest taste.. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen.

The addition of beaten egg whites to the batter keeps the lemon chiffon cake layers light and airy, and, for a final flourish, Piligian embellishes the frosted cake with edible flower petals, mint leaves, pools of glistening jam, fresh berries, and sliced citrus.. Toasting coriander seeds before grinding them enhances their earthy, lemony flavor, adding dimension to the homemade berry jam.Use it as a sensational breakfast spread, or do as Sasha Piligian does, and work it into the buttercream frosting.. Make ahead.

The Blueberry-Coriander Jam (which yields 1 3/4 cups) can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

The Meyer Lemon Curd (1 1/2 cups) can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container..It was just green chiles, salt, and andaliman, the juicy green local relative of numbing Szechuan peppercorns, pounded together.

This sambal was powerful and almost overwhelmingly refreshing—an ideal complement to a fatty marinated pork dish beloved by North Sumatra's Batak tribes.The 8.5 million indigenous Batak people are a mix of Christians and Muslims, but many retain traditional religious beliefs, with a special emphasis on the power of the number three: three primary gods, three primary colors (red, white, and black), and three flavors—spicy, salty, and sour.

"These three flavors are fundamental to our society," said Rahung Nasution, a Batak chef and adventurer who led me through the region.I ate this sambal over and over again, nowhere more satisfyingly than with breakfast at a market stall on the shores of Lake Toba, where a man grilled slabs of pork belly, basting them with butter from a can.