DESSERT

blueberry Shortcake

When the summer months come, I find it almost impossibly hard to resist buying fresh blueberries by the double basketful. Thank goodness they're such good brain food! (These days my brain needs all the help it can get.) My twelve year old nephew is in town which is perfect excuse to make shortcake of any variety. Unlike with strawberries, where all you have to do is cut them and sprinkle them with sugar, to get the blueberries juicy enough for shortcake it works well to cook them, just a little, with sugar. This way more juices are released. This recipe makes a lot of blueberry topping. If you find you have leftover, it's great over ice cream, or better yet, pancakes.

Blueberry Shortcake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Berries

• 5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 pinch cinnamon

Biscuits

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 7/8 cup (1 cup minus 2 Tbsp) heavy whipping cream
• 1 large egg*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Heavy cream for whipping

*The egg is optional. Including the egg will result in a less crumbly shortcake biscuit, but either way, with or without egg, is good.

METHOD

1 Place blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cinnamon into a medium saucepan. Heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture is just barely coming to a simmer. Use a potato masher to mash up the berries a bit, to release the juices. Remove from heat and let come to room temp.

2 Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl stir together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the small cubes of butter, and use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with pea-sized pieces of butter still intact.

3 In a small bowl mix the egg, whipping cream, and vanilla extract. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into it. Stir with a fork just until the dough barely comes together. Do not over mix or your biscuits will be tough.

4 Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a large pancake shape, about 3/4 to 1-inch thick. Using a pastry round (or the lightly floured ridges of drinking glasses) cut into biscuit forms and place 1 1/2-inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat. You can also cut the biscuits into squares if that's easier. The the dough is too soft to work with, put it in the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes first.

5 Put the biscuits in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they have risen and are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack.

Serve the berries spooned over biscuits that have been broken open, and top with whipped cream.

Serves 6-8.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

"I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill..." While I'm pretty sure this song isn't about blueberries, every time I hear it all that comes to mind is a huge mound of them waiting for me to dig in. (Like Rock Candy Mountain, but made of blueberries.) During the summer when they're in season, I can't get enough of them. I'll buy baskets of blueberries just for me to eat, all by myself. No guilt. No justification needed (though if you do need a reason, they're great for your brain and are considered a superfood). Half a basket gets dumped into the morning's cereal, the rest nibbled throughout the day. We keep bags of frozen blueberries around forpancakes or smoothies; fresh ones are usually just eaten straight. With this blueberry frozen yogurt recipe, you can use either fresh or frozen blueberries, though you might want to lean to the frozen as you are going to freeze them anyway, and the frozen berries are usually cheaper. The tartness of the yogurt seems to just intensify the flavor of the blueberries, and a little cinnamon adds a touch of spice.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe

Frozen blueberries work great for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (about 1 1lb)
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet your blueberries are, and how sweet you want the result to be)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups full fat plain yogurt (full fat yogurt is preferred, if you use low-fat or non-fat yogurt, substitute 1/4 cup of it with heavy whipping cream)
• 1/2 cup whole milk

METHOD

1 Place the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until all of the sugar has dissolved. While the mixture is heating, use a potato masher to mash up the blueberries. When all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

If you want a smooth result, you can process the cooled mixture in a food processor, or skip, in which case you'll have pieces of blueberries which can add flavorful texture to the frozen yogurt.

2 Stir in the yogurt and milk until completely incorporated. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until completely cold.

3 Process the blueberry yogurt mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (usually about 25 minutes). Serve immediately (it will be soft) or let it firm up a bit by freezing it for several hours.

Make about 1 quart.

Blueberry Pie

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It's blueberry season! From the recipe archive. ~Elise

When blueberries are in season, what better to do with them (other than eating them straight from the basket) than make blueberry pie? Blueberries have been found to be a "superfood", so good for you that you should go out of your way to eat them. They neutralize free radicals, protect your heart, improve your vision, and protect against degenerative brain diseases. (See the whole story at The World's Healthiest Foods website.) Yet another good reason to make and eat blueberry pie.

Blueberry Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

• One double recipe for all butter pie crust dough

Filling ingredients:

• 6 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed and stems removed (if using frozen, defrost and drain first)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for thickening)
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into small pieces

Egg wash ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

METHOD

1 Prepare the crust. Roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle on a lightly floured work surface, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit the dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges to a 1/2 inch over the edge all around the pan. Put into the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.

2 Gently mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot with butter pieces. Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Place on top of the berry filling. Tuck the top dough over and under the edge of the bottom dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to chill until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425°F.

3 Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash.

4 Remove the unbaked pie from refrigerator. Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with 4 cuts (so steam can escape while cooking). Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven with a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking pan positioned on the lower rack to catch any filling that may bubble over. Bake for 20 minutes at 425°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until juices are bubbling and have thickened. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Berry Cobbler with Coconut Walnut Topping

Not much that grows in our garden is available for picking in the spring. The first sign that the summer season is upon us and that the parade of glorious fruit is about to begin is when the boysenberries ripen on their vines. The berries are ripe and juicy now, and the deepest shade of purply black. With a berry mix from Trader Joe's, our boysenberries, and some fresh strawberries from the market, my father whipped up this crunchy berry cobbler. Pretty, isn't it? Summer weather has arrived; let the good times roll.

Berry Cobbler with Coconut Walnut Topping Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Filling
4 cups mixed berries (i.e. blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, strawberries), fresh or frozen
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp instant tapioca
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9x9 inch baking dish.

2 In a large bowl, mix together the filling ingredients - berries, sugar, tapioca, and lemon juice. Pour into the baking dish.

3 In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, coconut, sugar, walnuts, baking powder and salt from the topping ingredients. Use your fingers to mix in the cubes of butter. Rub the butter into the other ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

4 Sprinkle the topping over the filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and crispy, and the filling is bubbling.

5 Let cool for at least an hour. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe adapted from Raley's grocery store magazine.

Baked Apples

It's apple season here in New England, where I am visiting my goddaughter and her family. We went apple picking a few days ago and came home with so many apples, we'll be cooking with them all week. Today the girls helped me make baked apples, a childhood favorite, with some lovely Rome Beauties we picked. The following recipe is based on an old recipe from the Joy of Cooking, with the addition of pecans and chopped raisins. Growing up we always had baked apples served with a generous portion of vanilla icecream, a combination I highly recommend.

Baked Apples Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large good baking apples, such as Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious, or Jonagold (seecooking apple varieties)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup currants or chopped raisins
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup boiling water

METHOD

 
 

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash apples. Remove cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. It helps if you have an apple corer, but if not, you can use a paring knife to cut out first the stem area, and then the core. Use a spoon to dig out the seeds. Make the holes about 3/4-inch to an inch wide.

2 In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, currants/raisins, and pecans. Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Stuff each apple with this mixture. Top with a dot of butter (1/4 of the Tbps).

3 Add boiling water to the baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until tender, but not mushy. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.

Serve warm with vanilla icecream on the side.

Makes 4 servings.

Apple Crisp

It's apple season! A recipe favorite, updated from the archives. First posted October 2005. ~Elise

Apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and oats? Welcome to the essential ingredients of the apple crisp, one of the most simple and easy of apple desserts. To make an apple crisp one layers sliced peeled apples that have been tossed with lemon juice and vanilla in a baking pan, then tops the apples with a mixture of brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and oats. It's the crunchy topping that makes the apple crisp "crisp".

Do you have a favorite way of preparing apple crisp? If so, please let us know about it in the comments.

Apple Crisp Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 7 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, and vanilla. Toss to combine.

2 Layer sliced apples in a 9 x 12-inch (or approximately the same size) baking pan.

3 Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and oatmeal in a bowl. Cut in the butter. Sprinkle sugar mixture over apples.

4 Bake 45 minutes or until topping looks crunchy and apples are tender.

Serves 8. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Apple Carrot Cupcake

It's as if our carrot cake and our apple cake decided to get together and have babies. (What really happened is that my father wanted to make a great 3-layer spice cake from Sunset magazine for the 3rd time in a month and I convinced him that cupcakes would be a better way to go.)

Apple Carrot Cupcake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil (light olive oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups packed coarsely grated carrots (about 3 medium)
• 1 1/2 cups packed coarsely grated tart apples, such as Granny Smith (about 2 medium)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

• 5 ounce fresh, mild chèvre (goat cheese), at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cups powdered sugar

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 350° and place rack in the center of the oven.

2 In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, spices, cocoa, pepper, and salt. Whisk to combine, then stir in oil and eggs. Stir in carrots, apples, and pecans.

3 Set aluminum or paper cupcake holders in muffin tins. Spoon the batter into the cupcake paper cups, three-quarters of the way to the top. Bake approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

4 Beat goat cheese, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until combined.
Once cupcakes are cool, apply frosting.

Makes 24 to 28 cupcakes.

Zabaglione

Zabaglione is a simple Italian dessert made of egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine. It is usually served warm, though it can be served cold, or as a sauce, or even frozen. The Gourmet Sleuth writes,"Zabaglione is said to have been invented in the 16th Century in Florence, Italy in the court of the Medici.   This dessert is classified as a "caudle" rather than a custard.  A "caudle" is a sauce used as a custard to fill pies or tarts.  The original pre-sixteenth century version was a drink made or wine or ale thickened with egg yolks.

I found the original recipe for zabaglione in the (1982) Time Life series The Good Cook Wine volume (out of print, only available on eBay). The original recipe called for 3/4 cups of sugar, which in all of our opinions here was way too much. I have since found similar recipes calling for half as much sugar. So I would suggest 1/3 to 1/2 a cup, depending on taste. This is actually quite easy to make; you just need to have a double boiler set up, or a stainless steel bowl on top of, but not touching, simmering water.

Zabaglione Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 6 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup Marsala wine
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• Ground cinnamon
• Vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
• Strawberries, raspberries, or biscotti

METHOD

1 Place egg yolks, and sugar in a large, round-bottomed stainless steel bowl. Add grated lemon peel and a pinch of cinnamon and a drop of vanilla extract to the yolk mixture. Pour in the Marsala wine. You can use sweet Vermouth as a substitute for the Marsala.

2 Half-fill a pot with water, bring the water to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Set the pan or bowl containing the custard mixture over the water; the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Whisk the custard mixture, making sure that the water does not boil. This ensures that a gentle, even heat thickens the mixture without curdling it. Whisking traps air in the yolks for a light, fluffy mixture.

3 Continue whisking for about 10 minutes, until the mixture triples in volume, froths up and becomes pale. When it reaches the desired consistency, take the container of custard out of the pot. Slightly thickened, the custard can be used as a sauce. Longer cooking will thicken the custard further, giving it the texture of mousse. Continue whisking for a minute or two to prevent the custard from sticking to its container.

4 Serve the custard while still warm, or, if you want to serve it cool, set it aside for about 15 minutes. Whisk heavy cream until it forms soft peaks; add the whipped cream to the cooled custard and use a whisk to gently fold them together. Reserve some of the whipped cream to serve on top.

Ladle the zabaglione into individual dishes. Serve with whipped cream, berries, and/or cookies such as biscotti.

Serves 6.

 

SOURCE : http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/dessert/