Pear Berry Cake

Hey there– Don’t you love using up leftovers in a way that doesn’t taste like–well– leftovers??  We had some pears and berries languishing in the fridge from the weekend.  Mixed them into a little cake for friends.  I’d say the berries were much improved by a wrapping of sweet tender cake!

PEAR BERRY CAKE
1  1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. amaretto or almond extract*
3/4 cup canola oil
2 pears, peeled, cored and cut to bits
2 cup mixed berries**
1/3 cup sliced almonds

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Then mix in the vanilla, amaretto and oil.  Stir in the pears into the stiff batter and then gently fold in the berries.

Then scoop the batter into a 9″ or 10″ springform pan (or cake pan). Sprinkle the almonds on top and then bake it in a 350 fahrenheit oven for 25 to 30 minutes more until the cake is cooked through and a sharp knife inserted to the cake comes out clean.

*I use amaretto because I can buy a big bottle for $7 at the market (so much less than almond extract.)
**I used leftover strawberries, blueberries and blackberries from a breakfast we had here a few days ago (see the Books & Breakfast post! )

Simple Spring Salad

Hi all– This was the salad on our Easter table–bright and fruity and just right with ham and Aunt Lu’s marvelous potatoes!  It was a good day with grand-girls and their great grandparents around the table.  Hope you have a lovely Easter with people you hold dear.

SIMPLE SRPING SALAD

Salad:
6 cups greens
3 cups strawberries, sliced
2 cups blackberries
2 cups mandarine oranges, peeled and sliced
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tab. tarragon vinegar (or your favorite mild vinegar)
1 tab. honey
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Layer the greens on a platter.  Then pile on the strawberries, blackberries and oranges.  Sprinkle on the feta.

Pour the olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt & pepper into a container with a tight fitting lid and shake until it’s thoroughly combined.  Drizzle over the salad.

Mixed Berry Cobbler

Hello all–  Wonderful time with friends last night– went to dinner at IL Amerikano for dinner, sort of Mexicanish-American food.  I took full advantage of their spiced French fries with cilantro ranch dressing!!  And then we all headed back to our house for this berry cobbler– warmed in the oven with a plop of vanilla ice cream — accompanied by good conversation.  The best kind of Saturday night!

MIXED BERRY COBBLER

Berries:
6 cups mixed berries
(I used blueberries, blackberries & strawberries)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tab. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt

Biscuits:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tab. cornmeal
2  1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup buttermilk*
6 tab. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl stir together the berries, 2/3 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Nestle the berries into a 9″ square (or deep round) baking dish.  Pop them in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.

While they are baking, make the cobbler (biscuits) to set on top.  Mix together the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.  Then stir in the buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla.  Mix it up to make a stiff dough.

Drop the the dough by spoonfuls onto the hot berries and turn up the oven to 400 degrees.  Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until the cobbler is golden.  Serve it warm with ice cream.  Perfect!

*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, pour a tablespoon of cider vinegar in a measuring cup and fill to 1/3 with milk.  Let it sit a couple minutes to thicken.

Blackberry Avocado Salad

Hello there– We had another important celebration at our house last week– Larry’s folks came in to celebrate their 69th anniversary!!  It’s a joy to watch them together.

So we made toasts and ate lasagna (Stu’s favorite) and Larry’s cheery sister brought in a magnificent cake. It was a great time together.  Stu & Helen, you’re the best!!

Oh, and with our supper, we dug into this bright salad– sweet berries, creamy avocado, crunchy almonds, salty feta– tossed with a mustard & maple dressing.  Just fine on the plate with our lasagna.

BLACKBERRY AVOCADO SALAD

Salad:
6 cups salad greens
2 small Persian cucumbers, sliced
2 avocados, cut into chunks
6 oz. carton of blackberries (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup roasted salted almonds, coarsely chopped
1/3 cut feta, crumbled

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tab. tarragon veingar
2 tab. maple syrup
1 tsp. seedy Dijon mustard
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Layer the salad ingredients in a shallow bowl.  When you are ready to serve it up, shake together the dressing ingredients in a container with a tightly closing lid until they are all blended and drizzle over the salad.

Chocolate Cream Cake with Ganache Frosting

Hello there–  We are gliding into Christmas here.  Ani sent out an all family spread sheet– with arrival, exit dates for everyone.  Larry is off to do his shepherd part in the church’s Bethlehem walk for the next four nights.  Charlotte just came in the door from shopping with her dad, clutching a bag of Christmas gifts.  And I’m baking (of course!).

We had this cake with friends recently.  And I’m here to convince you to give it a try if you are responsible for dessert at a Christmas gathering ahead.  It’s deeply richly chocolate.  And the the cream filling is heavenly!  The berries are a nice little sweet touch on top– a cake fit for a Christmas celebration!!

CHOCOLATE CREAM CAKE WITH GANACE FROSTING

Cake:
1 chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 packet instant coffee

Filling:
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup powdered sugar

Frosting:
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tab. butter
1 1/3 cup chocolate chips
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 package), room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Garnish:
blackberries
mint leaves

Make the chocolate cake according to the directions on the box (mine used 3 eggs, water & 1/2 cup oil).  Add the instant coffee as you mix it up (for a little richness). Bake the cake in three 8″ or 9″ cake pans.  Cool them completely before adding filling or frosting!

To make the filling, whip the 2 cups of whipping cream, pudding mix and 1 cup powdered sugar with an electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks.  Set it into the fridge to set up firm for about 15 minutes (0r more).

To make the frosting,  pour the 1/2 cup whipping cream and butter into a saucepan.  Heat it on the stove top until it starts to simmer and the butter is melted. Take it off the heat.  Drop in the chocolate chips and whisk it all together until the chocolate chips melt.  Set it aside to cool completely.

Then take the cooled chocolate mixture (ganache) and use an electric mixer to beat it together the cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar and vanilla.

To put the cake all together– Set one of the cake layers on a pretty plate.  Top it with half of the whipped cream filling.  Add the second later and top with the rest of the filling.  Add the third cake layer and the frost the top and sides with the chocolate frosting.

Set it into the fridge until to set it all up.  Take it out about 30 minutes before you want to serve it and garnish with berries and greenery (I used mint leaves because it grows like a weed in our yard).  So pretty!!

Blackberry Shortcake

Hello all– Is is summer where you are??  School ended here yesterday.  The grand-girls and I had a water squirting adventure in the front yard this evening.  We’ve been eating dinner out back under the maple trees.  And there are mounds of berries at the market here.  We’ve made it to summer!

So Monday night when friends came in for dinner, this is what we had for desert.  Sweet tender little cakes, just a bit crispy around the edges — with cream and ripe black berries.  What’s more summery than that?!

BLACK BERRY SHORTCAKE

Shortcake:
1  1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup buttermilk*
1 tsp. vanilla

Toppings:
12 oz. blackberries (2 small cartons)
2 tab. sugar
1 point heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. powdered sugar
2 tsp. instant vanilla pudding mix**

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, 1/3 cu sugar, baking powder and salt.  With a pastry blender (or 2 forks), cut in the butter until it resembles pea size lumps.  Then stir in the buttermilk and vanilla.

Drop mounds of dough onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray (makes about 8 medium shortcakes).  Bake them in a 400 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes until they’re nicely browned and crispy around the edges.

While they are baking, wash the berries and mix them with the 2 tab. of sugar.

With an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla pudding mix.  Set it into the fridge to firm up until your ready to serve the shortcake.

Set each shortcake on a pretty place and top with berries & cream.

*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (like me), pour a tablespoon of cider vinegar in with whole milk  to make 2/3 cup.  Let it sit a couple minutes to thicken.
**The instant pudding stabilizes the cream, so it will stay firm when you serve it.

 

Blackberry Up Side Down Cake

Hello Cake Lovers–  We have blackberry vines on the side of the house, out the kitchen door.  But they are far from yielding any fruit this year. So when I saw boxes of blackberries on sale, piled high at the market, I had to bring some home, anticipating summer berries yet to come.

I love this old fashioned cake.  Simple to slip into the oven and the juicy fruit and tender cake served up still warm are the best!  There are crispy sugared edges and with a scoop of ice cream, you can pretend it’s summer outside.  I hope you try it!

BLACKBERRY UP SIDE DOWN CAKE
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
12 oz. blackberries (about 3 cups)
1  1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1  1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Spray a 9″ or 10″ cake pan with cooking spray.  Melt the butter in the microwave and pour evenly to cover the bottom of the cake pan.  Sprinkle the brown sugar to cover the butter.  And then place the blackberries evenly over the brown sugar.  Set that all aside.

In a mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Then mix in the milk, oil, egg and vanilla.  Pour this in the baking dish to cover all the blackberries.

Pop the cake into a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

While the cake it still hot from the oven, invert it on to a plate large enough to hold the cake.  If some of the topping/berries stick in the baking dish, scrape them out onto the hot cake.

Here’s the cake hot from the oven, waiting to be flipped upside down onto a plate.

Blackberry Almond Galette

Hi all– When I saw this luscious dessert on the cover of the Bon Apetit magazine as I pulled it out of my mailbox, I knew this had to be on my “to-bake” list!  The crust was tender and crisp around the edges– and the berries sweet and juicy.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it’s the perfect summer dessert to pass around the table to friends.

BLACKBERRY ALMOND GALETTE

Crust:
1/2 cup almond meal*
1 cup plus 2 tab. flour
1 tab. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2  cup cold butter (1 stick), cut into chunks
4 tab. ice water

Berry filling:
12 oz. blackberries, about 2 /12 cup
1 tab. cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
more sugar for sprinkling
2 tab. milk or cream

In a food processor pulse together the almond meal, flour, 1 tab. sugar, salt and butter until it is in coarse “pebbles” about the size of peas.  Then pour in the water and continue until it forms a ball.

note: You can do this by hand with a pastry blender, but it seems like the food processor makes a better dough for me.

Wrap the dough in saran wrap and store it in the fridge for an hour.  Or if you make it ahead it can sit up to 24 hours in the fridge.

Pour the berries in a large bowl.  Mix the cornstarch and sugar together in another bowl and then pour them over the berries, turning them gently to cover the berries all with sugar.

Roll out the crust to a 12″ circle on a counter that has been well sprinkled with flour–so it doesn’t stick.

Then carefully (really carefully!) fold the dough into quarters and lift it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Mound the berries in the middle of the crust and fold the outside 2″ of the crust up over the berries.

Brush the folded over crust with milk or cream and sprinkle it with a little more sugar.

Pop the whole thing into the over for 40-45 minutes until the crust is perfectly golden.

Warning:  It will smell delicious when you take it out of the oven!!  Best eaten warm with ice cream!!  so dig in!

Blackberry Cheesecake

Hi friends– We have some fledgling blackberry vines tentatively pushing up in our side yard, thanks to our “farmer” neighbor Mr. Wicks.  (thanks Bob!)  But it will be a good while before we harvest any berries off of those things.

So when I saw some beautiful berries on sale at the grocer’s this week, I scooped them up!  And here’s where they landed –on a birthday cake for Betty’s birthday surprise party.  I’m happily sampling a leftover slice as I type this up.  Creamy, berry good.

BLACKBERRY CHEESECAKE

crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tab. sugar
1/3 cup margarine (2/3 stick), melted

filling:
2 cups blackberries (2 6oz. containers)
24 oz. cream cheese (3 packages), at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup sour cream

topping:
1 cup sour cream
2 tab. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups blackberries (2 6 oz. containers)
1 tab. sugar
mint leaves (optional)

To make the crust, crush the graham crackers in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin (takes about 8 crackers).  Then in a springform pan, mix together the cracker crumbs, 2 tab. sugar and the melted butter.  Press it down into the bottom of the pan and set aside.

For the filling, first cut the blackberries in half (if they are nice large berries) and set aside.  Then with an electric mixer beat together the cream cheese and sugar.  When they are well blended, mix in the eggs and 1 1/2 cup sour cream.

Finally carefully fold in the berries with a wooden spoon.  Then spoon the whole mixture into the pan over the crust.

Put the cheese cake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes (it will still be pretty “jiggly”).

For the topping, mix the 1 cup sour cream, 2 tab. sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla together and carefully spoon it over the hot cheesecake.  Pop it back into the 350 oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese cake is a little more set — It will still be a little jiggly, but will firm up as it cools. I like to let it cool a couple hours at room temperature and then pop it into the fridge for a couple hours to get cold.

Just before you are ready to serve it up, mix the blackberries with 1 tab. sugar.  Then mound them over the cooled cheese cake and decorate with mint or any garnish-y leaves you might have around.

Blackberry Iced Tea

Hello there–  Looking for a summery drink for our bridal shower last week and wandered across this fruity iced tea.  After a little smashing, steeping and blending, we ended up with pitchers full of slightly sweet, summer fresh tea.  We set out sugar and sweetener for those who wanted it, but I liked it just as it was–with lots of ice and a few berries and a sprig of mint to top it off.

BLACKBERRY ICED TEA
3  black tea bags
4 cups water
2 cups blackberries*
1/4 cup sugar
1 tab. mint leaves, chopped
2 cups cold water
more berries & mint leaves for garnish

In a large heat proof bowl, put in the blackberries, sugar and mint leaves.  Blend them with a stick blender (or in a regular blender–or smash them to bits with a lot of pounding with a wooden spoon!  — and then pour them in the bowl).

Then bring the 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add the tea bags to the heated water and let them steep for 5 minutes.  Then remove the tea bags and pour the tea over the berries.

Let the tea-berry mixture sit for 1 hour.  Then pour it through a strainer to strain out the uncrushed berry bits/seeds.

Add 2 more cups of cold water, cover the bowl and set the whole thing in the fridge to chill.  Serve the berry tea over lots of ice and garnish with each cup with a couple berries and a sprig of mint.

Makes about 8 glasses of very tea.  Hope you like it!

*2 cups of berries is about 12 oz. (2 6 oz. packs)

Peach & Blackberry Clafoutis

Hello all–  Peaches.  They are so so sweet and juicy right now and I picked up 3 juicy ample ones at the market.  So Jobay (my 2 1/2 year old assistant in the kitchen) and I mixed up this fruity dessert for after dinner tonight.

I loved all the sweet fruit and warm custard– but the 3 grand-girls were most interested in how to whip cream.  “How do you know how to do that Grandma Rhonda?”  “How does it turn “hard” into whipped cream?”  “Can I hold the mix we too so I can make whipped cream?”…

PEACH & BLACKBERRY CLAFOUTIS
1 1/2 pound yellow peaches
6 oz. blackberries (a little more than a cup)
1 tab. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cream*
powdered sugar to dust the top

Slice the peaches (no need to peel them) into a bowl.  Add the blackberries and stir in the 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Then in another bowl, with an electric mixer beat together the vanilla, eggs, milk, flour, salt, sugar and cream.

Transfer the fruit into a 2 1/2 quart baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Then carefully pour the cream mixture over the top.

Pop it into the oven at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes until the custard is set.  Let it sit at least 5 minutes and then dust with powdered sugar through a sieve.   Spoon it out into bowls and enjoy!

If you have whipping cream left in your carton– whip it up to serve along with the clafoutis–and top with a couple berries.

–and the secret ingredient in whipped cream is to add 1 tsp. of vanilla instant pudding dry mix.  It stabilizes the cream to stay stiff and beautiful until it’s time to serve it up.

P.S.– did you spot the photographer in the bowl of the spoon?

Blackberry Cornbread Muffins

Hello Baking Buddies–  I’ll tell you, I’m having more fun cooking with the grand-girls staying here!  When I launch into dinner making, usually one of them will wander through the kitchen and pull up a chair to help.

So last week, I enlisted Charlotte to collect a few blackberries from the side yard and to help stir up these blackberry corn muffins to go along with a Taco-ish salad.  We had a grand time mixing and talking…

BLACKBERRY CORNBREAD MUFFINS
1  1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2  1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4  tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar*
1 egg
3 tab. oil
1 cup milk
1  1/2 cup blackberries**

 

Stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Then mix in the egg, oil and milk.

I cut the blackberries in half because they were a little large– you can do that or leave them whole.  Carefully fold them into the cornbread batter, so they don’t stain the batter.

Spoon the mixture into 12 muffins papers set in muffin tine.

Bake them up at 250 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until they just start to brown and are firm to the touch.

Serve them up warm with lots of butter*** and honey or blackberry jam…

*Larry likes less sugar in his cornbread. I like more.  Either measurement 1/4 or 1/2 works just fine.
**You can use any berries in place of blackberries–and 1 1/2 cups can be more or less…
***And did you read the cover story in the Time magazine this week– “Eat Butter!”  It looks like butter isn’t quite at bad for us as I’ve been thinking all these years. That makes my butter loving self happy!

Blackberry Yogurt Bread

Hi friends– I wish I could tell you I picked a large bowlful of blackberries out in our side yard to make this berry bread.  But those vines are just starting to bloom– weeks away from turning over their berries.

I happened by these at the produce store and they were pretty irresistible (and on sale).  So they ended up in the friendly quick bread for a breakfast with friends.  Wish you could have dropped in for a slice…

BLACKBERRY WALNUT BREAD
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 rounded tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup walnuts, chopped (or pecans)
8 oz. blackberries (more or less)

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Then mix in the oil, eggs and yogurt.  Add in the nuts and finally gently fold in the blackberries–trying not to mash them as you stir.

Spoon the batter into a standard loaf pan (or two smaller pans) sprayed with cooking spray.  Pop it into the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a tiny knife inserted comes out clean.

I love this warm from the oven with a swath of butter across the top.  And so good toasted for breakfast the next day.  Hope you like it!

Berry Cheesecake

Hi all– With berries ripening outside the kitchen door and a whole gaggle of people coming in for Matt and Andrea’s rehearsal dinner this weekend, it was the perfect combination for Berry Cheesecake.  Creamy, cool, fruity on a summer’s evening…

BERRY CHEESECAKE

CRUST:
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tab. sugar
1 1/2 cup graham crackers crumbs

Put about 8 graham crackers in a heavy plastic bag and smash them with a rolling pin.  Then stir them together with the sugar and melted butter and pat them into the bottom of a springform pan (or pie dish).  Refrigerate while you make the cake.

FILLING:
3 8oz. blocks of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup sour cream

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together thoroughly with a mixer.  Then beat in the eggs and sour cream.  Spoon the whole thing over the crust and bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes until the cheesecake is lightly browned and just a bit jiggly in the pan (it will firm up more as it cools).

BERRIES:
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup blackberries (or frozen blueberries out of season)
2 or 3 tab. strawberry glaze (sold in tubs in the produce section)*

Mix them all up and spoon onto the cooled cheesecake.

My sister taught me the trick of putting a pan of water on the bottom rack of the stove while the cheesecake is cooking to help prevent some cracking on top as it cools.

*At first I pureed my own strawberries and cooked them with cornstarch etc. to make the glaze, but it never came out as beautiful as that gooey stuff you get at the store.  Plus one carton of that stuff lasts forever (almost) in your fridge.

Blackberry Cake

The blackberries are coming ripe on Larry’s bushes outside the kitchen door.  It’s best just to eat them warm from the sun right off the vine, but this week there were enough to put a blackberry cake in the oven when the kids were here.  Add some barely sweetened whipped cream, a few extra berries and it’s just right.

BLACKBERRY CAKE
5 tab. canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk*
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
2 cups of blackberries (save a few for garnish)
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

Mix up the oil, sugar, eggs and buttermilk.  Then stir in the baking powder, salt, vanilla and flour.  Gently fold in the berries and nuts.  Then scoop it into a 9″ or 10″ cake pan that has been sprayed with Pam.  Bake it up at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until it is pretty and a bit browned on top.

*I use regular milk with a big splash of cider vinegar to replace the buttermilk.  Let it sit 2 or 3 minutes to thicken and it will do the job.

Top with whipped cream and more berries for a pretty dessert.  I like to toast the leftovers for breakfast the next morning…   Hope you like it!

Blackberry Scones

Hello friends–I’ve been to a few tea parties at Sue’s house.  Her scones are the tenderest, the butteriest– just begging for a slathering of lemon curd.  So when the kid’s were home last weekend, I pulled out her recipe for Saturday morning breakfast. And I thought you might like to try them too…

BLACKBERRY SCONES
2 3/4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cubes of butter (room temp.)
rind of 1 lemon (or orange)
1 1/2 cups of firm blackberries
1 cup buttermilk*

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  With a pastry blender, cut in the butter.  Mix in the lemon rind and blackberries.  Then gently stir in the buttermilk.  Divide the dough into two balls and flatten a bit.  Then cut each into 6 wedges.  Dust them with a sprinkle of sugar.  Put them on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam and bake them at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Best to each these crumbly things with spoonfuls of jam and a mug of hot tea when the first come hot out of the oven.  But they were good toasted up in the toaster later in the day as well.  Enjoy!

Sue’s original recipe called for 3/4 cup of currants in place of the blackberries.  You could also use dried cranberries, blueberries, fresh peach…

*In place of buttermilk, I use a a couple tablespoons of cider vinegar added to regular milk to make one cup.  Let it sit 5 minutes or so until the milk thickens.