Must Be Time For Berry Pie

We are enjoying the time with Raine and he seems to be enjoying the conversations, being on our 'farm' and the cooking and baking I'm doing with him, plus the woodworking that Sweetie is doing with him.

Yesterday he picked some more blackberries so that we could make a pie for dinner using the Food Processor Pie Crust dough we made the day before. To those blackberries we added some frozen raspberries and a few blueberries for a three berry delight.

Raine and I have baked freeform pies like galettes before, but this was our first pie in a pie pan together. He easily rolled out the dough for the pie bottom, seeming to know instinctively to keep the thickness even across the circle. He used a small knife to even out the overhang after I showed him how to fold the circle into quarters and then unfold that in the pie pan. Then, forgetting that we were planning to do a two crust pie, I showed him how to form the edge by folding the excess under, sort of rolling it, then fixing it to the edge and making it decorative with his fingers. By that time I remembered the two crust notion, so we changed course and decided to top it with streusel instead. Fortunately the book we're using for the pie recipe also has one for streusel.

The pie turned out pretty well. Because the frozen raspberries had a lot of juice, the filling was a bit loose, even with both flour and cornstarch added before baking, but it was still delicious and the pastry was excellent. I liked the streusel crunch as an contrast to the soft filling. We all agreed that the filling was nicely tart, even with the sweet streusel.

Triple Berry Pie with Streusel Top Crust

based on recipe from Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott

1 recipe Food Processor Pie Dough (see below), using half the recipe - reserve the other half for another use

6 cups (680-900 grams), about one and a half pounds, equal parts blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, fresh picked or unthawed-frozen (We used about 3 3/4 cups frozen raspberries,1/4 cup fresh blueberries and 2 cups fresh blackberries)

3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar

Small grating fresh nutmeg (OK to use a pinch of ground nutmeg instead)

1 teaspoon (5 grams) fresh lemon juice and a few gratings of lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (73 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

1 recipe Streusel topping for pie (see below)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Roll out the half recipe of pie dough, fit it in the pie pan (9-inch, deep dish), fold under excess dough to create a raised edge, then flute. Place pie pan in the freezer while you make the filling.

Put the berries, sugar, nutmeg, lemon juice, zest, salt, flour and cornstarch into a bowl and mix just to combine. If there are few juices, mash slightly with a wooden spoon to create a small amount of juices.

If not already done, make the Streusel to top the pie with.

Pour the filling into the chilled pie dough lined pan. Gently smooth with the back of the wooden spoon to make level. Filling should come up to about 1/2 inch BELOW the edge of the pie.

Top the filling evenly with the Streusel (Crumble Topping).

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for another 25-35 minutes. Check after 15 minutes and cover streusel with aluminum foil, loosely, if topping is looking too brown. Pie is done when the filling at the edges of the streusel is bubbling and the pie crust is golden brown.

Set the pie on a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before serving so that the fruit filling can set up.

Food Processor Pie Crust from Martha Stewart Test Kitchen

makes 2 disks

2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup ice water

Freeze 3/4 of the butter pieces in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet until hard, at least 30 minutes. Refrigerate the other 1/4 of the pieces. The frozen pieces stay chunky after being pulsed, creating steam pockets when baked (the key to flakiness) and the refrigerated bits get worked into the pastry, giving it a tender texture.

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor work bowl. Add refrigerated butter (the smaller amount of the butter bits). Pulse to combine, about 10 times. Add frozen butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some blueberry-sized clumps.

With the processor off, add the ice water. Immediately pulse until water is just incorporated, about 10 times. Squeeze a small amount of dough to make sure it holds together. Pulse a few times more if needed. When you squeeze the dough it should remain crumbly, but come together. Don't pulse it so long that it forms a ball. Adding water while the processor is running  and over-pulsing are bad ideas... could lead to tough dough.

Lay out 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Empty half the dough onto each piece. Bring edges of wrap together to gather dough and form a round mass. Press the dough this way to form a rough round mass, and press on top of the wrap to form a disk. The processed dough should resemble uneven crumbs. When you empty the mixture from the processor bowl out onto the plastic wrap, some pieces will be tiny, others will be in clumps. That is perfect! The gathered plastic wrap method of forming the disk simultaneously has you gathering the crumbs into a cohesive dough and shaping it.

Roll out disks, still wrapped in plastic, to 1/2 inch thick rounds, about 8 inches in diameter. Rounds this size will chill more quickly that hockey-puck sized ones and will soften more uniformly when removed from the refrigerator.

Refrigerate at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month. 

Streusel (Crumble Topping)

1/2 cup (110 grams) brown sugar, packed

1/4 teaspoon salt (a pinch)

1/2 cup (73 grams) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups (144 grams) whole oats, rolled

8 tablespoons (112 grams) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (60 grams) chopped nuts, optional - We used walnuts, but pecans are great, too

Put the brown sugar, salt, flour, and oats in a bowl and stir to mix.

Dice the chilled butter into small dice and scatter in the bowl. Cut the butter in with a pastry tool or two crossed knives, or use you fingers to smear the butter into the dry ingredients.  When you are done, the mixture should look crumbly. Take about a 1/4 cup in a clean hand and squeeze - it should stick together. If that works, add the nuts and mix in. If it doesn't stick together when squeezed, add another tablespoon or so of butter and work that in, then add the nuts.

Pour the mixture into a bowl or plastic bag and chill in the freezer while you make the filling.

Let's Hear It for the Chocolate Version

 

Sweetie isn't usually a cake person, but he really liked the Warm Buttermilk Vanilla Cake that I made in May and then again, in a larger version, in June. Monday night we had guests for dinner and we also had some raspberries from the Hwy 12 farm stand, so I decided to see if I could make the same cake in a chocolate version. A square of the chocolate cake, some whipped cream, a handful of fresh raspberries and another dollop of whipped cream not only looked pretty, but it was delicious! Now I want to share that chocolate version with you so that you, too, can try a yummy, moist chocolate cake that is easy to make. On Wednesday I made the same dessert, but used a cherry compote I made, plus ripe, sweet, pitted dark red cherries. I liked that version better. 

Probably the most unusual thing about this recipe, in either the vanilla or the chocolate versions, is that you melt some butter and then add buttermilk to that. The buttermilk combines with the butter and also gets warm.  I does mean that you have a pot to clean along with the mixing bowl and beater(s), but the results are worth the extra effort...you'll see.

I was planning on serving this cake with some fresh cherries on Monday, but ran out of time, so the raspberries worked well. The only thing that I wished I had done was to have a sauce...or even some raspberry syrup...to add along with the berries and cream. It would have tied it all together and added some extra juiciness. Good without, but probably better with. Next time!

The cherry version (which I took photos of...but no photos of the raspberry version...sorry) benefited by the cherry compote being added. It not only offset the slightly dry chocolate cake, but it really carried the cherry flavor throughout the dessert.

To make this dessert place a square of cake on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Top with the warm Cherry Compote (about 1/4 cup per serving if serving 4), top the compote with a large dollop of whipped cream, then top the whipped cream with about 1/2 cup of the fresh cherries. It's fine that the cherries fall off the cake and down to the plate or bowl. Serve at once.

Warm Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

!/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla on high until thick and lemon-colored, about 4 minutes. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and sift together twice; add flour mixture to egg mixture. Beat on low just until combined. Melt butter in a small saucepan until butter melts. Remove from heat and stir in the buttermilk. Add to batter; beat thoroughly (the batter will be thin). Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 20-25 minutes or until cake tests done. If top browns too quickly, tent with foil. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 9 squares.   

Warm Cherry Compote

1 cup cherries (I used about 1/4 Rainier cherries and 3/4 Bing cherries), pitted and cut into quarters
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup water

In a small pot combine all the ingredients, stirring well so that all the cornstarch is mixed in. Place the pot over very low heat, cover, and cook for 1 minute. Uncover, stir, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover, stir, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and cherries are warmed through. It is now ready to serve or store until needed. Rewarm over low heat to bring out the cherry flavor and to have the sauce be more liquid.

Whipped Cream

In a chilled mixer bowl pour 1 pint heavy whipping cream. Attach the whisk attachment. Start on low and gradually increase speed to highest setting. Beat until the cream is thick enough to dollop. Use at once.

Cherries

Pit and chunk 2 cups of fresh ripe Bing cherries. Use at once on top of the dessert.

A Spectacular Spring Pie

A dear friend of mine grows rhubarb. I probably should grow it myself since I really enjoy the tart deliciousness of it and it grows well here in Sonoma County. Since I don't, I was OK with asking her yesterday if I could have a stalk of it so that I could make Sweetie a pie. She actually had some already prepped in her freezer and insisted that I take that...so I did.

This morning the rhubarb had thawed, the pastry disc was softened from sitting on the counter overnight, and I prepped all the other ingredients. Morning pie is a rare and wonderful thing around here. While Sweetie enjoyed reading the Sunday Press Democrat paper, I first blind baked the pie crust. While that was in the oven I mixed together the filling. The wonderful part of that is that I was making up the filling as I went along! I started with 8 oz. of ricotta cheese, then added two eggs and some vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and a couple of tablespoons of flour. After whisking that together until smooth, I added 1/4 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 and whisked that in. I now had a cheese based custard, so I folded in the rhubarb and berries. It looked perfect.

Once the blind baked crust cooled a bit and I removed the pie weights (which in my case are lentils that I keep just for blind baking purposes), I added the filling, smoothed it out, then sprinkled sanding sugar around the edges and about 2 inches into the middle of the pie, just for fun and a bit of texture. Amazingly, the filling filled the pie perfectly! I guess years of baking paid off.

Once baked the pie still had to cool a while so that I could slice it. Hot custard tends to slump and I wanted nice slices. The photo at the top is one of the first ones I cut...looks great, doesn't it?

The pie was truly wonderful...not too sweet, soft and tender filling with the nice mixture of fruit in every bite, enhanced by the crisp pastry crust. I hope you make this during the spring when the berries and rhubarb are fresh and at their peak. You can make this with all rhubarb if you like, using 4 cups, but if you do, I would increase the sugar by 1/4 cup. You can also make it with only rhubarb and strawberries, using 2 cups of each. I wouldn't recommend making it with only strawberries because they need the tartness of the rhubarb to really shine, but if all you have is strawberries, add up to 1 tablespoon of lemon zest to the sugar before adding the sugar to the custard. Rub the zest into the sugar until it looks like moist beach sand. That way the oils in the lemons zest will be distributed throughout the filling and that zing will complement the strawberries.

Spring Strawberry-Rhubarb-Raspberry Custard Pie
My own recipe - Serves 6-8

For the pie shell:
1 disc pie dough - I use Pillsbury ReadyCrust, but a 1 crust pie dough rolled into a 12-inch circle from your favorite pie dough recipe is even better
parchment paper
pie weights
9-inch pie pan

For the filling:
8 oz. ricotta cheese - I used Kite Hill non-dairy ricotta, but use what you like. If the ricotta has a lot of extra moisture, drain it for at least 1/2 hour in a colander or fine mesh strainer before using
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2 or non-dairy creamer (not milk)
2 cups rhubarb, washed & dried and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, green tops removed and sliced, or, if large, diced
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, washed & dried
about 2-3 tablespoons sanding sugar (optional)

Prepare the pie dough by lining the pie pan with it, rolling out first if non 12-inches in diameter. Roll under excess dough at the edges and then flute to secure to the edge of the pie plate. Line with parchment and add pie weights. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes, until very light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Remove parchment and pie weights.

For the filling, while the pie shell bakes, whisk in a large bowl the ricotta, eggs, flour, vanilla and sugar until smooth. Add the 1/2 & 1/2 or creamer and whisk to combine well. Fold in the prepared berries.

When the pie shell has cooled and the oven is preheated to 350 degrees F., place the filling in the pie shell, smooth with a spatula, and, if desired, sprinkle the sanding sugar in a band on top of the filling near the outer edge of the pie.

Bake in the preheated 350 degree F oven for about 45 minutes. Finished pie will have dark golden brown crust and filling will be firm and slightly puffed at the outer edges.

Let cool completely (or cool in the fridge) before cutting. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

More Blackberries

We've been lucky this year. A number of the mornings have been foggy, so getting out early and picking blackberries has worked and saved me from picking them in the blazing sun. Too much time in the sun isn't good for me anymore, so 'Yay!' for foggy mornings. I used some blackberries picked this morning to make a cake to take to a celebration dinner.

Blackberries always remind me of our son Max. When he was tiny he would go with Sweetie to walk our black lab, Shogun, around the block in the morning. When the blackberries were ripe, he would return home with his face and hands stained purple with the juices, having eaten his fill from the community garden that was in the first part of the walk. Later, when we moved north, he and his friends would make 'feasts' on grape leaves, with ripe blackberries, the first Gravenstein apples, and any walnuts that had ripened, although there were few of those and even less walnut meat once they had broken the shells by stomping on them! Max would have been 41 today. Happy Birthday Max!

This recipe is a variation of one I tried a few years ago. It's for a fruit upside-down cake baked in a skillet. Last time I baked it in the early spring with rhubarb and strawberries. Now we are in late summer, so the berries are mostly local blackberries plus some raspberries from Costco. The last time it seemed like the recipe was skimpy on the cake part, so this time I adjusted it to work in a 10-inch cast iron skillet, but kept the original ingredients in the recipe below because this time there was too much cake...although it's good cake! You can bake this up fairly quickly...about 25 minutes in the oven. The key is to have room temperature butter and eggs for the cake so harder to do spur of the moment.

You can use any kind of fruit for the topping. At this time of year you might want to use figs, or plums, peaches or nectarines, late fresh apricots or early pears, plus any kind of berry...they would all be delicious! There is also nothing stopping you from including chopped nuts as part of the topping, or even un-chopped nuts as part of the design you make with the fruit. Get creative!

No fresh fruit? Frozen berries would work, too, although they might break down a bit more. Canned peaches or apricots would work, too, as well as the old standby, pineapple. I didn't get a photo of the cake cut, but I can tell you that is was delicious with the two kinds of berries.

You can always leave a comment with a URL linking to your own post if you try something wonderful and want to share!

Double Berry Upside Down Cake

recipe by Elle - sponge recipe from The Baking Explorer

Serves 8

Topping:

4 oz. butter or margarine, melted 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Most of 1 pint fresh blackberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries

Cake:

8 tablespoons or 107 oz. butter or margarine, soft 
107 oz. (about 3/4 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
107 oz. (about 1 cup) self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1/4 teaspoon lemon oil or extract

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or grease a 8 or 9-inch cake pan, line the bottom with parchment and butter it lightly OR use a seasoned cast iron skillet as is.

Place the melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon corn syrup in the bottom of the pan and stir gently to combine. Place the berries in a nice arrangement on top of the butter mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat until light in color and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. This can be done by hand, with a hand held or stand electric mixer or in a food processor. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated. Scrape beaters (or spoon) and bowl often. Add the flour and vanilla and lemon, if using, and beat gently/on low, just until incorporated. If you beat too much you might make the cake tough.

Dollop the batter over the arranged fruit in the pan and use a small offset spatula or the back of a large spoon to smooth the batter into an even layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, turning 1/4 turn about half way through the baking time, until golden brown. Center will spring back if lightly depressed with a finger. Sides of cake may be starting to pull away from the pan. As you can see in the photo below, because I used a wide skillet, the batter barely covered the fruit in some places.

Let sit about 2-3 minutes on a wire rack, then cover pan with serving plate and, carefully, turn plate side down. Let the pan sit over the plate a minute, then remove the pan. If any of the fruit stuck to the pan, use a small spatula to scrape it off the pan and return it to the fruit pattern. Serve warm or let cool to room temperature to serve.

Another Galette For Summer

 With so many kinds of fruit available now that stone fruit are coming in and strawberries and other berries are beginning to be available in lavish amounts, it was time for Sweetie to have one of his favorite desserts...the freeform pie I call galette...although that might not be the correct spelling.

The great thing about these pies is that they are easy, go together quickly, and are a great way to showcase whatever is ripe now.

For this one I combined strawberries and apricots from the farm stand on Hwy. 12, just east of Sebastopol, and some raspberries from Costco. I did toss the prepared fruit with a mixture of cornstarch and sugar, but I guess I should have used more cornstarch. When it first came out of the oven this freeform pie had juice all around it. Of course Sweetie just waited until the juices cooled and then scooped them up and ate them, but it did make the bottom a bit...oohhh nooooo...soggy. Next time, more cornstarch when the berries are this juicy.

On the health front, my back is finally better and I again have some energy, so I've been pruning a bit, deadheading the roses, and cleaning the fridge...plus doing plenty of reading of trashy summer vacation books. Fun!

For those of you who keep up with our homemaking and projects, we had tree trimmers come and cut back a few trees, mostly for safety and fire prevention issues and we have a new window on order to replace a single pane one that is original to the house. With the current cost of windows, it will be a while before we replace any more of them!

Apricot-Berry Galette

2 apricots, cut into slices, then halved
2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries, washed and patted dry
1 prepared pie dough round (I use Pillsbury ReadyCrust)
1/4 cup sugar (less if fruit is very sweet)
zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon cornstarch (this was too little...try at least 2 tablespoons, maybe even three)
sparkling sugar/sanding sugar (optional)

Put the fruit together in a large bowl. 

 Roll out the pie dough to a 12-inch diameter circle and place on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. I used a pizza pan and parchment. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a smaller bowl put the sugar, add the lemon zest and rub together with your fingers to soak the sugar in the lemon oils from the zest. Mix in the cornstarch. Add the cornstarch mixture to the fruit and toss gently with your clean hands until coated and no more cornstarch is visible. Total amount of filling is about 4.5 - 5 cups. 

Mound the fruit mixture in the center of the dough and pat it down, then fold the edges of the pie dough over the berry mixture (about 4 for my galette), brush dough with some water (about 1 tablespoon) and sprinkle on some sanding sugar (optional) and you have the makings of a delicious dessert that is almost a pie, but easier and rustic looking. Gently pat the folds to keep them together, which holds in the filling.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake until golden brown and cooked through.

Let cool on a rack 10 minutes so you don't burn your tongue. Serve in wedges on plates. Softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is optional but nice.

A Muffin To Welcome 2021

Happy New Year! 

I try to bake with seasonal foods, I really do. But sometimes there will be an item at the market that just calls out to me. That happened when I passed the produce section of Whole Foods on my way to get some non-dairy ricotta filled tortellini (they are the only local store that carries this item as far as I know). The fresh raspberries were so beautiful and red and juicy looking that I couldn't resist.

To make up for failing to use seasonal, I did use lots of Meyer lemon zest and juice, along with the raspberries and  non-dairy ricotta cheese (Kite Hill makes a delicious ricotta), to make these light and bright muffins. You can, of course, use regular lemons and regular ricotta cheese. That dollop of sweet lemony creaminess hidden toward the bottom is such a joy to discover as you eat the muffin! The fragrance is amazing, too. The raspberries are a bright color note and provide natural sweetness, too. By putting them into the top batter, it helps them not sink to the bottom. Try them yourself and see if you don't agree that straying from seasonal now and then is delicious.

Raspberry and Meyer Lemon Muffins
Makes 12

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
finely grated zest of one Meyer lemon (or regular lemon if Meyer unavailable), divided

2 eggs, beaten 

1/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted and cooled

juice of 1 Meyer lemon, seeds removed

1 cup soy creamer or whole milk or buttermilk

1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon milk or soy creamer
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

1 heaping cup fresh raspberries, washed and drained
about 1 tablespoon clear sparkling or sanding sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with baking spray (I used a six pan oversized muffin pan). Set aside.

In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add half the lemon zest and stir to distribute.

In a second bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, lemon juice and milk or buttermilk.

Prepare the filling by stirring together the ricotta cheese, milk, powdered sugar and the remaining half the lemon zest in a small bowl until completely combined. Set aside.

Add the wet ingredient mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir together with a fork, just until all the dry ingredients have been moistened. Don't overmix.

Scoop enough of the batter into the prepared muffin tins to cover the bottom. Dollop about a teaspoon of the ricotta mixture on top. Stir the raspberries gently into the remaining batter, then top the ricotta mixture in the pans with the berry-rich batter, distributing evenly. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired, distributing evenly.

 Bake in preheated oven for 17 - 25 minutes until tops are golden brown and the center springs back when pressed down with a clean finger. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack 3-5 minutes, then removed carefully from the muffin tin and serve.

 

Fruit Basket Coffee Cake

Summer certainly brings lots of kinds of fruit. Right now we have ripe peaches, luscious dark cherries, olallieberries right off the vine, and raspberries, plus green grapes and some plums that are almost ripe which are turning a lovely shade of red-gold on the tree down the hill. The plums and olallieberries are the only local fruit, but the cherries, peaches and raspberries are certainly seasonal.

Yesterday I made a lovely coffee cake to showcase the peaches, cherries, olallieberries and raspberries. It's a variation of the Nectarine Cake in Lauren Chattman's Cake Keeper Cakes book, one of the great cookbooks we baked from during my time with the Cake Slice Bakers.

I made one and a half times the cake batter because the original recipe only makes a thin layer of cake and I wanted one thick enough to absorb all the fruit juices. I also added some almond extract, while keeping the vanilla extract. For the topping I used brown sugar, pecans and ground nutmeg instead of white sugar and cinnamon...they recipe gave two choices for nuts and pecans were one of them.

I baked it in a nine-inch springform pan instead of a ten-inch one. Because I had such a wonderful choice of fruits, I used cherry halves around the outer edge, then peach slices, then olallieberries and raspberries in the middle.

Do watch this cake because the nuts might get too brown...just tent with foil if that happens. Because  the batter is deeper than the original, it took a while to bake, but came out moist with a nice crumb and browned crust. We actually enjoyed this cake for dinner dessert, so I served it with soy vanilla ice cream and that was a great choice. Sweetie added some whipped cream to his, and you can always add extra prepared fresh fruit.

I've never been a big fan of summer, but sitting outside for dinner because it's still warm by 7 o'clock makes summer a bit easier to take. All of the beautiful flowers that are blooming in the garden also are a benefit of summer. Too bad it gets so hot!

Do try this cake, especially if you have some ripe fruit on hand. You can use all one kind of fruit or two kinds, or three if four is too much. With most kinds of fruit, push them down into the batter a bit to allow the juices to soak into the cake. Enjoy!

Fruit Basket Cake with Nutmeg Nut Topping
based on Nectarine Cake in Lauren Chattman's Cake Keep Cakes
serves 8-10

For the Topping:
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

For the Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 oz.), unsalted butter or non-dairy margarine, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups assorted stone fruit and/or berries or one kind or fruit, ripe - peel plums or peaches and pit them, pit cherries, pit nectarines or apricots, wash and dry berries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease the insides of a springform pan, 9-inch or 10-inch preferred.

Combine the brown sugar, nutmeg and chopped nuts in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl or on a sheet of waxed paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape bowl and beaters as needed.

With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine the eggs with the butter mixture after each addition. Scrape bowl and beaters as needed.

Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. With mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, a 1/2 cup at a time. Scrape bowl and beaters as needed and at the end. Use scraper to give batter a final stir to make sure all is combined.

Scrape batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top of the batter. Carefully place the prepared fruit, pushing down a bit into the batter. If using more than one kind of fruit, you can create a pattern.

Sprinkle with the topping. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides, unhinge the springform and cool cake on wire rack until tepid. Remove from the springform bottom and place on a serving plate.

Serve with more fruit, ice cream, whip cream or just as is.

Store uneaten cake, if any, in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Peach Pie with a Twist

Sweetie loves pie. I think he has favorites, like banana cream pie, but he will eat any pie and he really enjoys doing so.

I'm more of a cake girl, but I really love peach pie. The flavor of peach pie reminds me of summer and since we have had summer heat the last few days, a peach pie was calling my name. It didn't hurt that yellow peaches were on sale at the market a few days ago. The first day we had the peaches I was just too hot to bake anything. I had been working down at the farmhouse, painting trim. Early in the afternoon it was just warm, but by mid-afternoon it was really hot. Fortunately our downstairs stays fairly cool if we open the windows at night and then close everything up in the morning. I retreated to the living room and skipped the baking.

The next day I baked the crust in the morning while it was cool and then did the fruit peeling and slicing and the filling making and putting it all together, plus baking, in the late afternoon when we had turned on the air conditioner. We try to only run it if the temperature outside is over 85 and since it was 90 out that qualified.

This is sort of a mash-up of a traditional peach pie and a frangipane tart. Sweetie really, really loved this one and I think you will, too. The frangipane gives a nice almond flavor that enhances the peaches and raspberries and baking the crust before filling it means that the bottom crust stays crisp. Of course it helps to watch the crust towards the end of blind baking to pull it out of the oven if it bakes too soon. I missed that part and so the crust was pretty brown on the edges even before baking the filling, so I masked the edges with foil during the final bake. I'll bet you can do better than me on that score.

My original plan was to have more raspberries but I discovered that many of them had spoiled, so I used the good ones in the center of the pie. I've resolved that the raspberries will now sit front and center in the fridge so that they get used in a timely manner, instead of being shoved toward the back and forgotten for a few days. The lessons we learn in the kitchen!

Peach and Raspberry Frangipane Pie
Serves 8

Crust:
1 single pie crust, home made or purchased (I use Pillsbury ReadyCrust - 1/2 the package)
pie weights, parchment paper

Place the unbaked pie crust dough into a 9-inch pie pan and trim as needed, then flute edges or press down on edges with the tines of a fork. Place pie shell in freezer for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the rack in the center of the oven.

Remove pie shell from freezer. Place a circle of parchment paper inside the pie shell, having the parchment go up the sides of the shell. Fill with pie weights (I use lentils that I only use for being pie weights).

Bake for 25 minutes. Let crust cool. Remove the lentils and reserve for the next use. Remove the parchment and discard. Cool crust completely.

Prepare the frangipane filling:

3 tablespoons soft butter or margarine

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup almond flour or mixed nut flour

about 3 cups peach slices - used about 5-6 fresh peaches, peel them, remove the pit and slice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the filling:  Beat together the butter, salt, sugar, flour, and almond extract.

Beat in the eggs, then add the almond flour, stirring just to combine.

To assemble the tart: Spread 1/3 the filling in the bottom of the crust. cover with peach slices, flat side down. Pour in the remaining filling and spread over the peach slices. Starting at the outer edge, place peach slices, thin edge down,pushing into the filling. Continue with more peach slices, until about half full. Fill in the remaining space to the center with raspberries, pointed side up, pushing down into the filling.

Bake the pie in the preheated 350 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Filling will puff up slightly around the fruit.  Cool slightly or completely before serving. 

Pleasures of Peaches and Raptures of Raspberries

The scent is what I first notice about a ripe peach...then how soft it is when the blossom end is lightly pressed. The colors are lovely, too. This morning I peeled some ripe white peaches and enjoyed both the fragrance and the softness while peeling. Once the pit was removed the delight was in the ivory flesh with a ruby tint where the pit had been.

For raspberries I admit the color and shape are what I first notice, followed by the delightful raspberry scent. There were just enough raspberries this morning to join with the peaches in a delicious and fragrant compote to top waffles from the freezer...no not Eggos, but waffles that I had baked a few weeks ago, then frozen the leftovers for just such a morning. The toasted waffle quarters were crispy outside and moist inside and went so well with the fruit mixture. Rapturous and pleasing!

Raspberry Peach Compote
serves 1 but can be expanded

1 perfectly ripe peach, any variety, peeled, pitted, and sliced into wedges
1/2 cup raspberries, rinsed and dried with a paper towel (or leave wet...that's OK too)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
2 tablespoons water
(because fruit is ripe, no sugar needed)

In a small saucepan, combine the compote ingredients. Place over low heat and cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until raspberries have broken down. Uncover and raise heat. Cook until desired thickness is reached, stirring often. I like the sauce pretty thin, but if you cook the mixture longer, it will become thicker as the moisture boils off. Let cool at least 5 minutes so you don't burn your tongue. Serve over pancakes, waffles, ice cream, pudding, pound cake...you get the idea. Can also be eaten by itself, but it's kinda sweet for that.

Berry Blast

Dear friends, it's been hot. I know that we in California have been told that we don't know from hot or cold...you have to live in Phoenix or Minnesota for that, but yesterday it was over 100 here and 106 or so in the Sacramento area, so that is bunk.

My ancestors are from the cool and rainy west of Ireland. I'm not bred for heat. I wilt and get cranky.

Since there is nothing to do about it, a way to take advantage of the heat is to make icy drinks. Today's was a Berry Blast, but over the last 4 or 5 days there have been Berry-Banana-Nectarine Cooler, Mango Strawberry Delight (where I used mango juice instead of milk), Blackberry Vanilla Cooler and more. The blender has been getting a workout. Fortunately we started with some very ripe bananas on hand, plus lots of fresh berries since this is the season for them.

It was way too hot for actual measurements, so I'm giving approximations. You can change it up, too. If you have a different fruit handy, throw it in. Like real ice cream and milk instead of soy...go for it! The key is to have ice, fruit, and some liquid, plus a bit of ice cream, soy cream or sorbet for richness. Let the blender run until you have a nice, thick, smooth drink.

Berry Blast
serves 1-2

1 cup crushed ice or ice cubes
2 scoops ice cream or soy ice cream (I like vanilla, but use what you like)
3 cups assorted fruit. (I used about a cup each fresh strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Frozen would work, too, but fresh gives the best flavor.)
1 cup soy milk or regular milk

Place all ingredients in a heavy duty blender. Blend on low for a few seconds, then increase to medium and finish at high to make sure all the ice is blended in as tiny pieces.

Serve in a tall glass with an iced-tea spoon. Umbrella optional.

Raspberry Overnight Waffles

As long as your waffle iron works (and that you actually have a waffle iron), there is nothing as wonderfully crisp and delicious in the waffle world as Overnight Waffles. Thank you Mollie Katzen! The batter is started the night before and in the morning you add melted butter and eggs and are ready to go in no time. Because these are yeast waffles, the steam that emanates from the waffle iron as they bake smells just like freshly baked bread. In my house that means that the waffles just can't bake fast enough. On a recent morning, the waffle iron seemed to be having trouble getting up to baking temperature, so the wait seemed even more interminable.

For this venture into waffle land I decided to add fresh raspberries to the waffles before they baked. They were pretty large raspberries, so I sliced each one in half. The addition of those sweet red berries really was a great idea because they tasted wonderful, looked better than plain waffles and we had the addition of warm raspberry scent added to the warm bread fragrance. Lucious!

You can get creative and use another berry or diced fruit instead of the raspberries. Chopped nuts are also a nice addition. Topping with more berries is even better!

Be sure to have a well greased iron and one that gets as hot as possible since that makes for a lovely crispy waffle and golden crust. Serve right away with your favorite toppings. Berries, jam drizzle, yogurt and/or whipped cream. Maple syrup is classic but imagine these with an apricot syrup. If your mouth isn't watering by now, perhaps you should move on to another blog.

Amazing Overnight Waffles with Raspberries

adapted from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe' Cookbook

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups milk (I used a mixture of soy creamer and rice milk)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I melted some non-dairy margarine)

1 large egg (or  ¼ cup egg substitute)

Nonstick spray

Butter for the waffle iron

1 cup fresh raspberries, rinsed, blotted with a towel, then carefully sliced in halves

Pure maple syrup – hard to resist on waffles

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl Add the milk (or rice/soy milk mixture) and whisk until blended. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature (or put in the fridge if room temp. is over 70 degrees F.)

The next morning, preheat the waffle iron. Melt the 6 tablespoons butter (or non-dairy margarine) and let cool a bit. Beat the egg is a small bowl (unnecessary if using egg substitute) then beat it into the batter along with the melted butter. The batter may be a bit thin.

Lightly spray the hot waffle iron with non stick spray, top and bottom plates, and then butter a piece of bread and use that to rub some butter on top and bottom plates.

Add just enough batter to cover the cooking surface…this varies by waffle iron…about 2/3 cup. Scatter about 12-14 raspberry halves over the batter. Lower the top and cook until golden brown. That is usually when the bread fragranced steam almost stops coming from the waffle iron...it’s OK to check now and then. It takes about 2-3 minutes, but cook longer if you prefer. I like them golden brown, but not dark brown.

Serve hot, right away, with strawberries and maple syrup, or toppings of your choice.

Note; If you have too many waffles for the number of people you are feeding, bake the leftover batter a little less than the ones you are eating, let cool on a baking rack, then freeze and store in the freezer tightly wrapped. Re-heat in the toaster.

One of the things that often keeps me from making anything more complicated for breakfast than a bowl of oatmeal  or some fruit and toast is the time it takes to put together a batter (pancake, waffle, muffin, coffee cake) and then cook/bake it and then clean up from it.

The advantage of this waffle recipe is that you start the batter the night before and only need to add the egg and melted butter in the morning. Now, it's true, there is still some cleaning up to do (although half can be done the night before) and waffles do take a while to bake in the waffle iron, but the amazing ease of finishing off the batter, plus the fact that they taste great, makes it worthwhile. An added bonus is that the house smells like freshly baked bread...hard to beat on a chilly spring morning. Add some fresh raspberries and you have a decadent way to start the day.

The ingredients for this are so simple that most people will have them handy in the pantry. That makes it so easy to whisk the first part together one evening, cover it, let the little yeasties do their thing overnight, then finish it off and enjoy the next morning. These freeze well and can be easily reheated in a toaster or toaster oven...if any are left.

Sorta Tropical

Even though we've not been having the winter we wanted...chilly and rainy every other day for months, there was enough chill and rain in January that a few sunny days are a treat. Recently it's been almost warm enough to put on a swimsuit and pretend you are in the islands. Maybe that's why the February Cake Slice Bakers recipe I chose was the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. It's sorta tropical, right?

A tender yellow cake layer with no oil or butter is served with what had been at the bottom of the pan now serving as the topping. In this case some pineapple juice was worked into the cake and that topping was sweetened by brown sugar, pecans and fresh raspberries as well as that delicious pineapple.

February is a busy month for me, especially the first few weeks of it, so I managed to rush my grocery shopping and purchase pineapple chunks instead of pineapple slices. No prob, I just make a design with the chunks and filled in the gaps with the pecans and raspberries. It looked like a jeweled mosaic and tasted great.

For such a pretty cake, this is also an easy and fairly quick one. Do allow a little time after you bake it for the topping to cool. Too hot brown sugar can really burn your tongue You can dress it up with different nuts and candied cherries are more typical in this recipe than raspberries, but imagine it with blueberries...that could be pretty delicious, too.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
(adapted from Maida Heatter's Cakes)

You will need a large cake pan approx 10" (not loose bottomed), 12-inch pie plate
or a 10" in diameter cast iron skillet, which is what I used

Ingredients:

• 2 1/3 oz (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
• One 20-oz. can of pineapple in natural juice - slices or chunks
• 6-8 glace cherries or 10-12 fresh raspberries
• 1 cup sifted plain flour
• 1/3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons of pineapple juice from the canned pineapple

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small pan and pour into the base of your pan, plate or cast iron skillet. I used margarine and it worked very well.
• Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the melted butter or margarine.
• Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice.
• Arrange the pineapple rings (or chunks in my case) in the pan on top of the brown sugar making a pretty design. You may not need all the slices. Fill in the gaps with nuts and cherries (or raspberries, blueberries, etc.).
• Now prepare the cake batter by sifting together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• Using an electric beater whisk the eggs together in a clean bowl until thick and creamy and then gradually add the sugar, still whisking until the mixture becomes thick and pale.
• Add the vanilla and pineapple juice and whisk until just smooth.
• On a low speed whisk in the sifted dry ingredients until just combined.
• Pour the batter over the fruit and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 
• Remove from the oven and immediately invert the pan, plate or skillet onto a clean plate. Wait for a minute or two to allow the topping to settle and then remove the pan. If you wish you can brush with melted apricot gaze but this didn't seem necessary. (Melt 3-4 tablespoons of smooth apricot jam to make the glaze.)
• Serve warm or at room temperature, plain as I did, or with whipped cream!

The other recipes this month to choose from included a poppy seed cake, a decadent chocolate cake and a coffee and cream sponge cake. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Mixed Muffins

It's been a long time since I made muffins. Hard to believe that I used to make muffins as a business when I was young and foolish. Of course those muffins were rich with butter and milk and no one even knew about gluten intolerance then, except for a few doctors. The muffins a made yesterday were made with my current restrictions in mind, but they were decadent anyway. Instead of all one kind, I decided to make two kinds...but then found that I didn't have very many raspberries left. Still, I was able to make a couple of raspberry ones since I had gotten the yen for those. The rest were apple date pecan muffins. A nice mix of flavors all around.

These were delicious when warm, but also good once they cooled off. The crumb was open but delicate and moist. I really enjoyed the dates when they were warm and I could taste the apple more when they had cooled. The raspberry muffin was eaten while still a little warm and it was outstanding! The muffin itself doesn't have much sugar, so the berry flavor really dominated.

I used yogurt instead of sour cream. Yogurt seems to be the only dairy my bod likes. For additional liquid I used almond milk and a little olive oil. Although I'll bet these could have been made just with gluten free flour mix, I decided to use half GF (Bob's Red Mill) and half all-purpose. The best part was creating the mix-ins. I used diced apple, chopped dates, and chopped pecans for 10 muffins and some fresh raspberries for two. Sounds difficult? Not if you put the raspberries in the bottom of the greased muffin tins, then add the batter 3/4 of the way up the pan. The apple/date/nut mixture was then quickly blended into the batter and the rest of the tin filled up with that.

If you need to make these gluten free, just use your favorite gluten free flour mixture for all the flour and add a teaspoon of xanthan gum for stability. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea, and you have a great mid-morning or afternoon snack.

Mixed Muffins

a variation on Sour Cream Muffins in Joy of Cooking

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup GF flour mix - Bob's Red Mill & 3/4 cup all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk (add a little more if yogurt isn't wet enough)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 medium to large apple, chopped
1/4 cup dates, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped or broken up

optional- fresh raspberries for some of the muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a medium bowl whisk together the egg, yogurt, almond milk and vanilla. Gently and quickly, with as few strokes as possible, mix the wet mixture into the dry mixture. At this point, if you are doing both apple and raspberry muffins, place about 5 raspberries in the bottom of a couple of muffin cups, then add batter to fill cup 3/4 of the way to the top.

With remaining batter, fold in gently and quickly, with as few strokes as possible the apple, dates and pecans. Put batter in prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 of the way to the top.

Immediately put the muffin pan into the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Check at 15 minutes and turn pan around 180 degrees if needed for even baking. Muffin is done when a light poke in the middle springs back.

Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes on a rack. Remove from the muffin cups and serve or serve at room temperature.

Makes 1 dozen large muffins.

Oh Baby!

Last time I was at the library they had three new cookbooks displayed that looked good to me. To start with I chose two recipes from Eating Up the West Coast, by Sunset magazine folks and combined them. The first was from the far northern California section, and it was for pancakes made with almond milk and almond flour and just a little all-purpose flour. There was no oil and they looked delicious. The second recipe was from the Washington state section, Port Townsend, Owl Spirit Cafe and it was for a blueberry Dutch baby topped with lemon curd.

Since Sweetie has been very successful with his recent diet, I decided that tempting him with lemon curd would be cruel, but that a low-cal Dutch baby with fresh raspberries would be just fine.

I decreased the almond flour from the pancake recipe because I wanted to make sure that the baby rose in the pan and I used the three eggs from the baby recipe, plus the tablespoon of sugar. I added a grating of lemon zest because I think that citrus zing brings out the best in raspberries (and no lemon curd :( ). The pancake rose up beautifully and the berries cooked and released a little juice. The texture was puffy and the flavor was extraordinary!

 It takes a bit of pre-planning to make this Dutch Baby because you need to make the batter ahead and let it sit an hour, plus the oven needs to be preheated to 450 degrees, which can take a bit of time in a cool kitchen like mine is in the morning.

To serve I went with a locally produced raspberry syrup...just a small puddle...and we didn't really need anything else.

Raspberry Baby

3 eggs
3/4 cup almond milk (I used vanilla flavored, but plain would work)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil or melted butter
1 cup raspberries, rinsed and drained on paper towel


Whisk together the eggs, almond milk, vanilla and sugar.

In a large bowl or pitcher sift together the flour, almond flour and salt. Add the zest and whisk briefly to mix. Whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients until smooth. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.

About 20 minutes before the end of the batter resting hour, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Once the oven has reached 450, put a 9" or 10"cast iron skillet into the oven to heat for 10 minutes.

At the end of the 10 minutes, carefully, with oven mitts on, remove the skillet from the oven. Add the oil to the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom and up the sides a bit. Then pour in the batter and scatter the raspberries over the batter. Carefully return the hot skillet to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Batter will puff up and the top at the edges will be golden brown when done.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven and cut into servings. Serve at once with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar, your favorite syrup, or (decadent!) lemon curd.