Tag Archives: raspberry

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Raspberry Lemonade Ice Pops

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I spent much of last week and the weekend in Nevada with my girlfriends. One of my nearest and dearest was getting married and there was MUCH celebrating. Celebrating for us often means many, many toasts and drinks. With many drinks, comes a very tired body and mind in the days after. I spent much of Monday lounging on my brothers couch, playing make-up with my niece, and wishing I had these ice pops I concocted before I left Michigan.

Perfectly refreshing and not shy in flavor, Sean managed to devour most of them before I even came back home. Though that means there were less for me, it’s all good because that’s how I know they were a hit. Booze-free and bracingly tart, these ice pops are a frozen, lemon-berry treat on a stick.

Raspberry Lemonade Ice Pops

These pops are VERY lemony and tart. If you like a less tart lemonade add more sugar to taste or dilute with a bit more water to taste. 

1 pint raspberries

3/4 cup sugar plus 2 Tablespoons, divided

3 cups water

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Puree the raspberries in a blender with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing to extract as much puree as possible, discard seeds.

In a small saucepan combine 1 cup of the water with the remaining sugar (1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons) to dissolve, bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl combine raspberry puree, syrup, lemon juice, and remaining 2 cups water, stir well to combine. Divide the lemonade mixture between 12 ice pop molds (I use this one). Freeze for 30 minutes, insert sticks, continue to freeze another 6-8 hours until frozen solid.

 

 

 

 

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Coconut Crumble w/ Summer Fruit & Vanilla Ice Cream

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Even though I complain about the heat and humidity for the entire summer–I’m a fun housemate–there are still times that I HAVE TO turn on the oven. If I didn’t, there wouldn’t be pies and crumbles made with the bounty of summertime fruit that I just can’t resist buying.

While pies take a touch more time and care, and though they are always worth the effort, a crumble is an easy, laid back reminder that summer baking can be done without much fuss and with ingredients that are often already on hand. You can really use any fruit you like for the filling and the topping can take any number of mix-ins, or can be kept simple with just flour, sugar, salt, and butter. I love a crumble topping with lots of texture and this one delivers with chewy oats and toasty coconut. The warm richness of the topping pairs so nicely with the off-tart flavors of plum, raspberries, and blueberries.

Coconut Crumble w/ Summer Fruit

Feel free to use any mixture of fruit, I had about 4 1/2 cups and only sweetened it lightly, as the topping and ice cream are both a sweet compliment to the tartness of the fruit. 

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 Tablespoons butter, cubed

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and work butter into the mixture with fingertips until you have coarse crumbs–some sandy bits and some that stick together in chunks. Set in refrigerator while you assemble the filling.

2 plums, seeded and sliced

8 ounces raspberries, rinsed and dried

12 ounces blueberries, rinsed and dried

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 375*F.

Combine all ingredients for the filling in a large bowl. Toss gently to combine. Scrape the fruit mixture into a 8-inch pie dish and top with refrigerated crumble. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the top is golden and the juices are bubbling.

Vanilla Ice Cream

adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

If you don’t have a vanilla bean, use 2-3 teaspoons of extract. 

2 cups milk

1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 Tablespoons (1/5oz) cream cheese, soft

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of milk with the cornstarch, set slurry aside. Set the cream cheese in a large bowl with a mesh strainer over the top. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan heat remaining milk with the cream and vanilla beans + pod. Heat to a simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Let steep for 30 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk mixture and add sugar, corn syrup, and salt,  reheat to a low boil. Quickly whisk in the cornstarch slurry and continue to boil, whisking, until thickened. Whisk a ladleful of the hot mixture into the cream cheese, before straining the remaining hot mixture into the cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine. Prepare an ice bath and pour the hot ice cream base into a large plastic bag. Chill bag in ice bath until cooled and process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.

 

 

 

 

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Raspberry Goat Cheese Ice Cream

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So, I have this thing where I LOVE goat cheese. I love it on salads, in quesadillas, scrambled with eggs, on a cheese plate, with this conserve…love it.

I know a lot of other people who feel the same and we can dine happily together, eating all the goat cheese we want. There are others who hate it though and won’t touch it, not even nut-crusted and fried sitting atop a pile of greens (deeeelish!). It seems to be a very divisive cheese, this goat variety.

I have tried to translate my love of goat cheese into an ice cream before and it was a disaster. Not only did I try to serve it to friends that were in the latter party mentioned above, but I also over-did it on the cheese. It was not sweet enough and far, far too…goat-ish? Yeah, just too much goat cheese, not enough ice cream. This time, I dialed back the goat cheese and stirred in some raspberry puree–making a pale pink ice cream with the tart berry flavor of rasberries and the creamy tang of chevre. There’s enough sugar here to bring the goats cheese from cheese-plate to dessert plate–the flavor is reminiscent of cheesecake, but with the tangy assertiveness of goat cheese.

Raspberry Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Adapted from Jeni’s Spendid Ice Creams at Home 

2 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 Tablespoons (1.5 oz) cream cheese, softened

5 ounces soft, plain goat cheese (like chevre), softened

raspberry puree–made from 2 containers of raspberries blended with 1/4 cup sugar and sieved to remove seeds

In a small bowl whisk together 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch. Set the slurry aside. Place cream cheese and goat cheese in a large heatproof bowl, set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a low boil and quickly whisk in slurry. Continue whisking and bring the mixture to a boil, to thicken, continue to cook and whisk for an additional minute. Mixture should be thick enough to leave whisk tracks behind. Whisk a ladleful of the hot mixture into the cheeses to combine, pour in the rest of the hot mixture and whisk well to combine. Whisk in the raspberry puree to combine well and pour the mixture into a large zip-top bag and cool in an ice bath. Once cooled, process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Scrape into a container, cover, and freeze to set.

 

 

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Raspberry Cornmeal Crumble Bars

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It really feels like spring has sprung around here. We’re having lots of sun with a little chill in the air, the days are getting longer, flowers are blooming, and it all has me craving berries and dreaming of summer.

Though berries aren’t really at their peak this early, I can’t help but daydream about tart/sweet berries nestled in crisp, textured crumbles. These bars make use of always-at-their-peak frozen berries. The easy crumble acts as both a base and topping, and with the addition of cornmeal and ground almonds, makes for the best sandy texture.

These bars are unassuming at first, but I find myself sneaking a corner here and there, the tartness of the berries next to the pleasant grain of the cornmeal and almonds works some sort of magic that keeps me coming back. I’ve been snacking on these with a cup of tea or coffee, but they are elevated even more served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream–taking these treats from a humble bar into the realm of a real-deal dessert.

Raspberry Cornmeal Crumble Bars

Adapted from Martha Stewart

I added lemon and vanilla to the crumble mixture, these additions aren’t necessary, but play nicely with the tart raspberries. 

3/4 cup natural almonds OR 1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

zest of 1 lemon

1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

10 ounces frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on 2 sides.

In a food processor, if using whole almonds, pulse until almonds are finely ground, you should have about 1 cup. In a large bowl rub lemon and vanilla into sugar until fragrant and combined. Whisk in the ground almonds, cornmeal, flour, and salt. Stir in the melted butter and mix until the crumble is evenly moistened. Press about 2/3 of the crumble mixture, evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Scatter raspberries over the top and top with remaining crumble. Bake until the top is golden–about 35-40 minutes. Cool on a rack before cutting.

 

 

 

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Nectarine + Raspberry Hand Pies

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Hey! It’s Pie Party Day!

Through the magics of Twitter, a few bloggers decided we all need not fear pie, that we should all make pies and collectively post them on the internets on July 5th.

Which is today.

Glorious.

Honestly, I L-O-V-E pie. Especially in the summer with all the juicy, fruity, bounty that is available.

I made some hand pies because I love the individual portions and the fact that you can freeze half of the batch for emergency pie needs.

Sometimes a girl has a pie emergency and nothing but a homemade pie will do. Fact.

I like an all butter crust, but I’m certain I’d be okay with a mixture of butter + shortening, or even lard. Some people swear by lard pie crusts and I don’t doubt that they’re probably on to something. It should be said that I almost NEVER feel like my crust is perfect, but in the end it’s always delicious. I have never made an inedible pie crust. Honest. They may come out a little dry, too wet, crumbly, a little overworked, but never inedible. I think you’d be hard pressed to make one that was a complete and utter disaster.

What I am trying to say is that perfect is overrated and you should just get over any pie-fear you may have and make one.

The effort is well worth the reward.

All-Butter Pie Dough

Adapted from Martha Stewart

This recipe makes 1-double crust, 2-single crust, or 10 hand pies.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) COLD butter, cut into cubes

1/2-1/2 cup ice water

Using your food processor, clean fingers, or a pastry blender, cut butter into dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (if you aren’t using a processor), until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Begin to add icy water  a few tablespoons at a time just until a dough forms. Divide the dough in half, pat out into a disc and cover well with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator about 15 minutes before rolling out.

Nectarine + Raspberry Filling

2 ripe nectarines, pitted and sliced

1 1/2 cups raspberries

1/4-1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch or desired thickener

Toss together fruit, sugar, and thickener to coat in a medium bowl. Set aside.

To Assemble:

1 egg

1 tablespoon whole milk

In a small bowl whisk together egg and milk. This will be your egg wash for sealing the pies and brushing the tops.

Roll out your dough to about an 1/8 inch thick. Using a round cutter, cut circles of pie dough (or use a knife and make rectangle hand pies), spoon some of the filling into the center of the circle —don’t get too crazy, you still have to fold and crimp here–brush some egg wash around one half of the dough to seal, crimp with the tines of a fork. Repeat with remaining dough/filling. Brush tops with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Cut a fe vent into the top of each pie. Place pies on a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes while your oven preheats.

In a 375F oven bake pies for about 30 minutes, until golden and juices are bubbling. You may have some leakage from the vent or even the sealed edges. This is okay, it will still be DELICIOUS. Allow pies to cool at least 10 minutes so the bubbling, molten juices don’t burn you and your friends. Devour.

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Eton Mess

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Hey! It’s a HOLIDAY weekend here in the US. No doubt many of you are getting ready to spark up the grill, roast some marshmallows, and light up the sky with some fireworks.

It’s about to be Independence Day and us American’s like to celebrate in style…by lighting things on fire!

I, however, will not be lighting anything on fire…this year. I will be viewing fireworks from a safe distance, drinking some gin-spiked rosemary lemonade, nomming on some fried chicken, and hopefully taking a LONG nap.

I’m a girl of simple needs.

Food, drink, nap.

My 4th of July menu was directly inspired by Tracy because she is TOTES awesome and I didn’t even know I needed either of those things in my life right now until I saw her posts. She knows what is up!

My only addition will be dessert.

It’s called Eton Mess…which is technically British, but since America was born of some rebellious British colonists we’re going to be okay with that. It makes great use of one of my favorite summertime treats–fresh berries. You are literally 4 ingredients…5 if you macerate the berries in some booze…away from this goodness.

If you use both a red berry (raspberries! strawberries!) and blueberries it will be totally patriotic.

If you buy the meringue cookies, you won’t even turn on the oven, AND it will only take as long as it takes you to make whipped cream. No Joke.

If you macerate those berries in the aforementioned booze, you will be one popular gal (or guy)!

If you make this dessert on the 4th of July you will have plenty of time for eating/drinking/napping/lighting stuff on fire. Promise.

Eton Mess

If you want the distinct red and blue colors, don’t macerate your berries together or it ain’t gonna happen. If you don’t care, then I don’t either…definitely do whatever you want. Below are the ingredients necessary to serve 2. If you need more than 2 servings just make more whipped cream, macerate more berries, and crush more meringues. This is more a to-taste method than anything.

10-ish meringue cookies

1 cup chilled, heavy whipping cream

1-2 cups berries, any variety you like

sugar to taste

grand marnier or other booze (optional)

Place berries of your choice (I used blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries…triple berry threat) in a medium bowl and sprinkle sugar to taste, booze (if using). Stir it up to coat, cover and set aside.

In a large bowl or electric mixer, beat heavy cream to stiff peaks–don’t over do it, err on the side of a medium peak if you fear this. Crush meringues over cream and fold.

Now, you can either fold in the macerated berries at this point OR if you are like me, layer them in the glass with the whipped cream/meringue mixture to create lovely, patriotic layers. Either way, serve immediately. With a spoon. The meringues instantly begin to dissolve and the whipped cream will start to deflate if you let it hang out too long.

Meringues Kisses

adapted from Use Real Butter

4 large egg whites

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon plain vinegar, lemon juice, or cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200F. Line 2 baking pans with parchment or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat egg whites on medium until foamy. Add vinegar (lemon juice or cream of tartar) and salt, raise speed, beat until whites hold soft peaks. Gradually add sugar while mixer is running, add vanilla, and continue to beat until the meringue holds stiff, glossy, peaks.

Scoop the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip (round or star are nice) and pipe kisses onto prepared sheets. You can pipe them close together as they will not expand. Bake until meringues are dry to touch and can easily be lifted from the parchment. Try not to let them take on any color. This will depend on the humidity in your area. I made mine on a SUPER humid day and it took a full 2 hours for my meringues to dry. In drier climates it will only take about an hour. Cool meringues completely before crushing into the whipped cream.