Raspberry Sauce

Love raspberries.  Besides a great mango, this is my most favorite fruit! Love the flavor and the tartness.

I recently had the good fortune of having a Driscoll coupon for berries.  I chose some luscious raspberries at the supermarket.  They looked outstanding.  As much as I would have liked to eat the whole package of berries, I decided to make something that would last and we all could enjoy.  And we did.  Over pancakes.  Wonderful.

 My husband I had our pancakes with the sauce and walnuts.

The kids had theirs with just some sauce and powdered sugar.

Raspberry Sauce

2 cups fresh raspberries ( you could use frozen too)
1/2 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon

In a saucepan, on a low flame, heat the raspberries and lemon.  Once the raspberries start to break apart add in the sugar.  Let it cook for about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and once it cools a little, blend.  Chill.

Raspberry Jam

This jam is so easy.  All you have to do is do equal parts mashed raspberries and sugar.

But I have to be different.  Only cause I made a mistake.  You see you bring the raspberries to a boil for two minutes.  Then you add the sugar and bring to a boil for another two minutes.  But, eh, I was in a hurry and didn't read the directions again.

You see my daughter had to get to the ice cream place for an ice cream cone and nothing was going to get in her way.  Mom we goin'?  Mom, when are we going?  Mom, is it time to go?  Mom, Mom, Mom.  You can only take that so many times before you are like, lets go!!!!!!  I have also said , we are not going because you bugged me one too many times.  But not tonight because I wanted Oregon Blackberry Ice Cream.  And it is all about me, right?  Cough, cough.  Hardly, when you are a Mom, you take this oath that from this day forward, it is always about your children.  Basically, until you die.  And really, I wouldn't have it any other way.  But they do also have to realize that I have needs... But I digress.  This about food, right?  Right?  It's not about the joys of parenting.  Right?

So, anyway.  I changed the recipe. Because I have some Dutch Gel.  Because I can. I get Dutch Gel from the Mennonite store that I go to.  I wanted to remember what I did for next year.

Raspberry Jam

3 cups mashed raspberries (this was about 24 ounces)
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup (generous) Dutch Gel

Mash the raspberries.  Measure equal parts sugar and raspberries.  Heat in a pot.  Bring to a boil.  When it is a rolling boil that you can't stir down, start the timer and time for 2 minutes.  Add in Dutch Gel.  Again.  Bring to a boil that you can't stir down for 2 minutes.  Pour into jars, leaving a 1/4 inch head space.  I use pints because we tend to use a lot of this kind of jelly and no sense wasting lids.

Place lids and rings on jars and turn upside down for ten minutes.  Place back in upright position.  They should seal at this point.  If they don't you can invert them again or give up and place in the refrigerator. If you don't feel comfortable with the upside down method, then process the jars for ten minutes.
 

Mini Raspberry Almond Tarts

I am so excited to share this recipe with you.  It came to me last night as I was thinking what I could make with these fabulous Driscoll Raspberries!

I was contacted through The Daily Meal by Driscoll's with an offer to come up with a raspberry recipe in exchange for some coupons on there fabulous berries. Okay!  Twist my arm, I will do it.  Nonsense.  No twisting necessary.  I love Driscoll Berries.

So here is my idea.  Since I am nearly sugar free, trying to take off, taking off some major poundage, I decided to go as sugar free as possible and up the protein content.  So many people are into low carbs and high protein.  Why not?  Now, good carbs, like raspberries rock my world.  I love raspberries!

Mini Almond Raspberry Tarts

Crust:

1 cup almond flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Filling:

2/3 cup Greek Plain Lowfat Yogurt
1 tablespoon sugar- of course you can replace it with honey or something
1 large egg

Topping:

Why beautiful raspberries of course!

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line mini muffin tins with mini cupcake liners.

With a fork combine almond flour and baking soda- then ad in egg and vanilla.  Mix until combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar and egg. Set aside.

Get a little bowl with some water in it.  Set near work surface.

Spoon a scant teaspoon of almond mixture into cup. Fill all the little tins.  THe mixture is just enough.  So borrow from one to another if you need to to make sure all 24 cups have the almond base in them.  Next, dip your finger tip in the water and smush the almond crust into the bottom of the cup.  The water will help with the stickiness.  Once you have dabbed down all those little crusts flat, wash your hands.

Pour a scant two teaspoons of filling into the cups.  Keep going to make sure all 24 cups get the filling.  Divide as evenly as possible.  You should have just enough.

Bake in a preheated over for 20 minutes. They should be lightly golden.  Remove, cool, and then chill.  Top with AMAZING raspberries!

Raspberry Hazelnut Torte for a Birthday Cake

Today I was driving in my car listening to some great songs on the radio. And that lovely feeling hit me. The feeling that you are one with everything around you. Total peace and tranquility overtakes your psyche and bathes you in this warmth. Of course, I did not have my children with me. (So much easier without the kids). One was at school and the other at my Mom's. These feelings, at least for me, are not possible with screaming children in the car. If the feeling does hit you are usually too busy listening to them sing or fight or something. What made it extra special today was that it was my birthday! How nice of a gift was that!

I even had a lovely treat of meeting my husband at his work and having a little picnic by the river and a nice leisurely stroll along the path. It was truly a beautiful day! A fantastic birthday.

And you know you are a foodie when... you make your own birthday cake. I thought and thought about this cake. Some components I borrowed from the DB July challenge with the praline paste. Other components I made myself. My piping wasn't perfect because my tip kept getting clogged with praline bits. Next time I will process it much longer.

So you know you made a good cake when your super picky brother says this tastes like it came from a bakery. This is the guy that drove to NYC last Thanksgiving for a Juniors Cheesecake (he use to live in NYC). How nice was that complement?

Swiss Buttercream4 lg. egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
2 tablespoons amaretto
2/3 cup praline paste

Place the egg whites in a large bowl of a electric mixer and whisk in the sugar. Place over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk and heat the egg white mixture until it is hot to the touch. Remove from pan and with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. Drop in the butter a half of a stick at a time. It may seem curdled for a period of time when beating but keep beating and it will smooth out. Add the amaretto and the praline.

Praline Paste1 cup (4 ½ oz.) cashews, toasted/skinless
2/3 cup sugar

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter. Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cool dry place. Do not refrigerate.


The cake was a recipe for dacquoise from Gourmet magazine, which was the whole inspiration for this cake in the first place.

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee crystals
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three 9-inch diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides with parchment. Butter and flour parchment. Combine nuts, flour, 1/4 cup sugar, coffee crystals and salt in processor. Blend until nuts are finely ground.

Using electric mixer, beat yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl until very thick, about 5 minutes. Beat in water and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold into yolk mixture in 3 additions.

Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks. Cut around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out; peel off parchment.


Raspberry Mousse

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of raspberries, run through a sieve to remove the seeds
1/4 cup raspberry jelly (no seeds)

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in jelly and strained raspberries.