Razzleberry Lemon Custard Tart

How about a recipe?  It’s been awhile.  :)  I found this gem at Lick the Bowl Good. I’m certain most of you have taken a gander at Monica’s blog but if you haven’t yet you are missing out on a delicious blog! 

I pretty much followed the recipe as written. I did have to use a 10 springform pan instead of the 9 inch as I didn’t have one. Or it could just be that my baking pan situation is out of control and I can’t remember that I have one.  My other change was swapping out the blueberries for raspberries and blackberries. If you’ll notice from my photo I probably should have gone with a smaller pan.  Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until after I had already pre-baked my crust and poured in the custard.  It also didn’t help that my blackberries were HUGE!

Razzleberry Lemon Custard Tart, adapted from Lick the Bowl Good (printable recipe)

• 3 cups fresh or frozen berries (1 pound, I used a combination of raspberry & blackberry)

Shortbread Crust:

• 1 stick plus 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Lemon Custard:

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup juice)
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Drain the blueberries in a strainer set over a bowl. Preheat the oven to 400°.

For the shortbread crust:  Using your fingers, combine the butter, 1/2 cup of the sugar and 1 & 1/2 cups of the flour and blend together until coarse crumbs form (You can use a pastry blender to incorporate the ingredients or a food processor works well too). Pour the mixture into an ungreased nonstick 9-inch springform or cake pan (If you do not have a 9 inch I suggest going with a slightly smaller pan and baking for a little longer.) and press down evenly to form a crust. Bake the shortbread crust until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.
Remove the shortbread from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325°. Scatter the drained berries evenly over the baked shortbread.

For the lemon custard:  Beat the eggs with the 3/4 cup of sugar until thick and pale yellow. (Here’s where I always stray from the recipe.  I mix the zest with the sugar, giving it a stronger lemon flavor.) Whisk in the lemon zest, the lemon juice, and the 1/4 cup of flour. Pour the lemon cream over the berries.
Bake the tart until the custard is set, about 30 minutes. (See note below) Let cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar. (I forgot to.)

NOTE:  It may take longer than 30 minutes to bake.  The top of the custard doesn't brown much so it's hard to tell if it's done, but it shouldn't be wet and liquidy. The custard is done when it firms up in the center. I gave my pan a gentle shake to check.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the four of us might have polished this off in one day. Maybe……  :)

Raspberry Lime Snack Cake

You guys have probably seen the blueberry version of this that went around a couple of weeks ago.  If you haven’t check out Monica’s. It nudged me into the kitchen.

With all the beautiful berries that can be found right now I definitely recommend trying this cake.   It’s very good, especially if you don’t bake it in a dark colored pan and forget to adjust the oven temperature 25 degrees.  I managed to “save” it by making a powdered sugar lime glaze.  :)

Raspberry Lime Cake, adapted from Southern Cakes

• 1  2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1   1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar (reserve a TBSP) 
• 1 egg, room temp
• 1/3 cup milk, room temp
• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (do not thaw)*
• the zest of 1 lime**

Heat the oven to 375F and generously grease a 9 inch square or round pan.  (I used a round 9” springform pan.)

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and stir with a fork to mix well. In a medium bowl, rub the lime zest into the sugar. Then add in softened butter and beat with a mixer at high speed until well combined.  Add the egg and beat well for 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl, until the mixture is light and smooth.

Stir in half the flour mixture then half the milk, mixing just enough to keep the batter fairly smooth and well combined. Add the remaining flour, then the rest of the milk, mixing gently. Gently stir in the raspberries.***

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread into corners The batter will be thick.  I wet my fingertips and gently spread the batter towards the edges of the pan as best I could.  Sprinkle reserved sugar over the top and bake at 375F for 25 minutes or until the cake is golden, springs back when touched gently in the center, and is pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Serve a square of cake right from the pan, warm or at room temperature. If its round, let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack or folded kitchen towel for 10 minutes and then turn it out to cool, top side up.

*I used fresh raspberries and set them in the freezer on a sheet pan while I waited for the butter, egg, and milk to come to room temperature and prepped everything else. 

**Whenever zest is needed for a recipe I always rub it into the sugar and allow it to sit while everything comes to room temp.

***Next time I will try pressing the berries into the batter after I have spread it into the pan. 

Cookies

In my last post I mentioned it had been years since I baked cookies but that I ended my cookie boycott this Christmas and baked some with my mom.

When I found out my parents were going to be in town for the holidays, I quickly told my mom that I would take a day off so we could bake some Christmas goodies together.  I guess I should have been more specific about what we would make as her mind went straight to cookies.  Her and my dad’s favorites, Raspberry thumbprints and Mexican wedding cookies.  I didn’t have the heart to tell her I didn’t want to make cookies but I did whine a lot about how much work they are.  

I’d like to say this foray into cookie baking changed my opinion but it didn’t.  It confirmed it.  Cookies are time consuming and a lot of work.  Bars ARE better!  :)  Were they good? Yes!  They were very good but for the amount of work I really didn’t get many cookies.  And you know, no one eats two or three slices of cake at one time but two or three cookies?!  That’s just getting started.  Every time some one went into the kitchen they grabbed one (or two), well with seven people in the house  those 36/40 cookies just didn’t last.  As a matter of fact there were only a few of each one left by the end of the night.

Click here for the thumbprint recipe I used from Land o Lakes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t  find the wedding cookie recipe that we used and none of the ones I saw on the web looked familiar.  Sorry.  The good news is while the recipe was good it wasn’t “oh, my gosh this is the best cookie recipe I’ve ever had in my cookie eating life.” good so you’re not missing out.  :)

Here’s a picture of the official cookie ball roller, my Mom, Linda. 

See that photo below?  I made a pan of cranberry crumb bars while waiting for the cookie dough to chill.  We’ll talk about their yumminess in a later post along with a couple of other things I made.

Raspberry Lime Tea Cakes

If you’ll remember Monica and I have been baking our way through Martha Stewart’s Cupcake cookbook.  Our previous two cupcakes were a cookies and cream cheesecake and a black forest cupcake. 

This go round was Monica’s choice and I couldn’t have been happier when she chose the Strawberry Jam Tea Cakes.  I was worried she’d go for something chocolaty and I’d had my fill of chocolate with the black forest cupcakes.  The original recipe called for a strawberry filling and orange flavored glaze but I chose to go a different route.  One of the first blogs I started reading was Elle’s New England Kitchen. If you’ve read her blog a time or two you might have picked up on her love of raspberry and lime together.  Until these tea cakes I’ve had it lingering in the back of my mind.  I’m thrilled to say that raspberry and lime taste great together though I don’t think it beats my blackberry and lemon combo.

Notice anything about the above photo?  The raspberry preserves SUNK!  What the heck is going on?  Everything keeps sinking on me!  Monica said I should rename my blog, “my fruit sinks”!  :)

A lot of you have Martha’s cookbook so I’m not going to give you the recipe.  You can find it on page 117  if you’re interested in trying  it.  (My changes were to use raspberry preserves for the strawberry jam and to use lime zest and juice instead orange.) The recipe makes more than what it said it does.  I got 18 tea cakes and I overfilled my muffins tins.  So, if you’d like to make the recipe but not the whole thing here’s the link to the online recipe at Martha’s. The online recipe says it makes only 6 tea cakes but that has to be wrong as it’s half of the book’s recipe and the book says it makes 16 tea cakes.  I’m thinking the magic number is 10.  Another thing to be aware of is my tea cakes baked in less than 3o minutes. More like 20 though I only baked one pan at time.

If you wanna see some terrific photos of these tea cakes hop over to Monica’s, blog!  Not only will they be better but she usually has some interesting ones.

Technorati Tags: raspberry,lime,tea cake

Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns

I made these the weekend of Mother's Day for my raspberry lovin' Mom who was visiting that weekend from NC. Whenever I see raspberries they make me think of my mom.  So it was a given that these would make an appearance during her visit home after I had seen them on Bake or Break.

Both my Mom and Dad loved these!  I thought they were very good as well but I might have gone a little overboard with the jam, dolloping a few more times than the recipe stated to.  :)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns

Recipe from The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook.

• 1 cup + 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a large (1-cup capacity) 12-cup muffin tin.*

Combine 1 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar on low speed of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Add dry ingredients, alternating with milk. Add remaining 3/4 cup flour and mix until combined.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. Top with 3 small dollops of preserves and swirl into the batter using a small knife.

Bake for 20-25 minutes,* or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Makes 12 buns.*

*For regular sized muffin tins, decrease baking time by 2-3 minutes. Makes about 20 buns. (I made 18 and had just a wee bit of batter left over.)

Don’t ask me why I didn’t pop out one of the buns and take a photo of it and its yummy jam filled belly.  :(

Katie from Salt and Chocolate made a blueberry version of these.

Technorati Tags: cream cheese,raspberry,buns

Triple Berry Ripple Tea Cake & Thanks

****The original photos that go along with this post are HERE!

THANK YOU for all the sweet comments you left on Babygirl's post. I forwarded on the comments to her email (she emails our out of town family). She was so excited and happy to read each one. She sent me this email for you....

Dear mommy,

Please tell them for me thank you and I really appreciate the the things they said.

Love,

McKenna

What to make when you have berries that are on their last leg? Here is, Mixed Berry Ripple Tea Cake. It could also be blueberry ripple or blackberry if you have blackberries that need to be finished up. I'm pretty certain that, which ever berry you use you'll be pleased. This was originally supposed to be a raspberry ripple tea cake but I didn't have enough raspberries, so in went some blackberries and for good measure a few strawberries to get me to the required 12 ounces.

This was one of those desserts that was not only good but left me with a sense of accomplishment. I admit. I really, really like those quick and easy recipes but when there's time it's nice to get into the kitchen and make something that's a little more involved. With that said, please don't be put off. This IS easy, just not the easiest or quickest but if you're fond of berries, don't mind moist, delicately flavored cake, and you're not pressed for time, give this a try.

Raspberry Ripple Tea Cake (my changes)
for the filling
1 (12 ounce) package frozen raspberries (I used fresh raspberries, blueberries, and a few strawberries totaling 12 oz. I did use more raspberries though.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
for the batter
2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cold butter, sliced into thin pats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10″ round tart (I used two 4" springform pans) pan that has a removable bottom; set aside.

To make the raspberry filling: in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine raspberries, sugar and cornstarch over medium heat; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Push raspberry mixture through a fine, mesh sieve, discarding seeds and pulp. Set filling aside to cool slightly; alternatively you may store airtight, refrigerate and use within 3 days.

To make the tea cake batter: in a large mixing bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. *Measure and set aside 1/2 cup of this flour-crumb mixture and reserve for crumb topping. To remaining flour mixture add baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir well to combine. Make a well in the center of flour mixture to accept wet ingredients.
In a small mixing bowl, beat egg; stir in buttermilk until combined. Add all at once to the well you just created in the center of the flour mixture. Stir gently until just moistened; batter will be thick. Spread two-thirds of this batter over the bottom and up 1″ of the sides of prepared tart pan, using fingers to pat into place if necessary. Next, carefully spread the prepared raspberry filling on top of this batter. In small, irregular mounds, drop remaining batter on top of filling, spreading ever-so-gently with fingers or back of spoon if necessary. Allow mounds of batter to rest atop raspberry filling without pressing into bottom layer of batter. Sprinkle entire cake with the *reserved flour-crumb topping.

In the center of a preheated oven, baked tea cake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30-35 minutes (I checked mine at about 25 minutes and they were done. Use your best judgement if you're not using the 10" tart pan) or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (filling will turn toothpick red). The cake should appear lightly browned (baking times may vary from oven to oven, so keep a close eye on your cake after 30 minutes). When tea cake is properly baked, remove tart pan from oven and allow to cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. When time has elapsed, remove cake from tart pan and place on cake stand or serving plate.

Oops, I almost forgot to tell you I initially saw this beauty on Buff Chickpea and followed the link over to Sandies' Inn Cuisine which is where Hayley first saw it. Please be certain to both blogs. They have both wonderful foods and photographs.

Today my blog is one year old. Hard to believe it's been a year. I wanted to do a special post with a giveaway and all that but things have been so hectic. Stay tuned....I'll be reading and commenting more and will announce a giveaway to celebrate 3B's b-day!

***Please see my previous post that has the photos that go along with this one. For some reason Windows Live Writer does not like those photos. Weird! Go figure!

Technorati Tags: blackberries,blueberries,raspberry,tea cake

New Year's Eve goodies

I volunteered to make desserts for a New Year's Eve party we were attending at a neighbor's house.  For me that was rather daring as I'm very leery about making anything to bring to an adult function.  I have found that adults are much more critical and down right picky.  On the other hand I LOOOOOVE baking for my children, their friends and teammates.  Everything I bake for them is always well received and if someone doesn't like something (rare) they are always very polite when telling me so!  By the end of the night everything was gobbled up which I'll take as a sign of success!

The first dessert I made was one the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars which I blogged about earlier this week. 

The next dessert I made was one I found over on My Baking Addiction.  Jamie made her Chocolate Toffee Trifle in stemless wine glasses which I thought would translate well into minis. I figured after eating and drinking so much no one would have room for a full sized dessert.  Also if everything was bite sized it would be easier for everyone to try a bite of all three desserts with limited waste.  My minis were good in theory but in practice, I was beat and didn't have the patience to pipe everything into my shot glasses.  Instead they got the trifle in a large trifle bowl...self serve style!

Have I admitted to not really liking "plain" brownies or chocolate pudding? Have I also mentioned that for me cool whip and toffee are just okay BUT in this dessert something magical happens with these ingredients!  I couldn't get enough (didn't want to look like a piggy) of it.  I loved the the various textures and the taste of everything combined!

The last dessert I made was one I found on the inside of the wrapper of Ghirardelli's white chocolate bars.  On the wrapper it was called Ghirardelli Classic White Blondies. I found the recipe online under the name Classic Blondies.  Which ever name you chose to call it by it was very good and was the first to go.  (I think it helped that you didn't need any serving utensils, plate, or napkin!) It's texture was more cakey than fudgey (sp?) but not overly so as I have found that I don't care for cakey blondies or brownies.  I didn't make any changes to the recipe other than baking mine in a 11x7 inch pan.  I also lined it with nonstick foil before greasing it.

Here's a photo of the three desserts displayed in all their glory (ha-ha)!  The food wasn't  set out yet  so the table looks kinda bland but once they placed the food, the table looked very nice.

LiveJournal Tags: white chocolate,raspberry,cream cheese,blondies,chocolate,toffee,trifle