Raspberry Cobbler with Lattice or Biscuit Topping

We tried to limit the raspberry picking this year.  It has been amazingly hot here for a long time, so I only made myself pick berries once.  I also still have a lot of jam from last year and made blueberry jam earlier this year, so I only had the one cobbler this year.  In order to make the most of it, I made a extra and made two toppings.  That way I got two desserts for the work of one.  The way I wrote the recipe, though, you pick one make that. I recommend using a large casserole dish for the lattice topping or biscuit topping, but making the biscuit topping if you use ramekins.

Serves 6

Filling:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
8 cups raspberries

Lattice Top:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons cold water

Biscuit Top:
1 1/2 cup flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold butter
1/3 cold buttermilk, plus more as needed

1. Grease a deep 2-quart casserole pan or 8 8-oz ramekins. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place casserole pan or ramekins on it.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. To make the filling, mix all of the filling ingredients except raspberries and set aside.
3. To make Lattice Topping: Mix the flour and the salt together in a small bowl.  In a measuring cup, mix water and oil together until frothy.  Stir oil and water into flour mixture, mixing until well-blended and mixture forms a ball.  Roll out between two sheets of waxed paper until roughly the shape and size of your casserole dish opening.  Remove one layer of the waxed paper and set to the side.  Cut topping into strips and space half of them evenly on the other sheet of waxed paper.Weave remaining strips through the first grid, spacing evenly.
4. To make the Biscuit Topping: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fingers until the mixture looks like course crumbs.  Stir in buttermilk until mixture comes together and is sticky.
5. Once you have made your topping, stir the raspberries into the rest of the filling ingredients.  Pour filling into prepared dish, then top with topping.  For Lattice Topping, flip lattice onto casserole dish and and press ends of strips down.  For Biscuit Topping, drop filling by heaping spoonfuls on top of filling, spacing evenly.  Sprinkle topping with sugar.
6. Bake cobblers in prepared oven for 30-40 minutes for ramekins or 45-55 minutes for casserole dish.  Cobbler is done when the topping is golden and the fruit juices are bubbling.  Allow to cool to a warm temperature before serving.

Raspberry Curd

I had made lemon curd before, but not really any variations on it.  The idea for this raspberry curd came about as a cake filling, but it would also be good on cookies or other baked goods like scones.  It might seem like a lot of work but I think it's worth it.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

8 oz red raspberries
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 tablespoons butter
Red food coloring, optional

1. Crush berries with a potato masher.  Line a strainer with two layers of cheesecloth, layered crosswise like a +, and place strainer over a measuring cup or bowl.  Pour crushed berries into cheesecloth in strainer, bringing cheesecloth up over berries.  Apply pressure to the bundle of berries.  Increase pressure, squeezing cheesecloth bundle any way you can, until 1/3 cup of raspberry juice has been extracted from the berries.
2. In small heatproof bowl, beat eggs until integrated.  Set aside.
3. In small saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch.  Stir until cornstarch is integrated into sugar.  Mix in raspberry juice and butter.  Place saucepan on medium heat and stir constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles.
4. Using a whisk, stir eggs constantly in bowl.  Stirring constantly, pour half of the hot raspberry mixture into the eggs.  Whisk quickly until eggs are incorporated into mixture.  Pour egg mixture back into saucepan with remaining raspberry mixture and stir very quickly until incorporated.  Return saucepan to heat and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in food coloring, if using, to make the curd a pretty pink color. Pour curd into a container with a lid and place in refrigerator until cold.

Crepe aves Ganache et Conserves

This dessert might not look like much, but it is really really rich.  I made it in honor of Bastille Day, which was today, and because I made crepes for dinner.  The chocolate is pretty strong, so it is good for the super-chocolate-tolerant among us.  The crepes recipe I used can be found in this book (Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home) but you can feel free to use your own favorite crepes recipe or prepackaged crepes.

Serves 6-8

6 crepes
10 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 cup Cool Whip
1/2 cup raspberry jam
Cool Whip, if desired, for serving

1. Melt bittersweet chocolate in microwave-safe bowl.  This will take about 90 seconds, but stir every 30 seconds to check melting progress.  Once fully melted, stir in cold Cool Whip.  Mix until smooth.
2. Place a crepe on a plate or serving platter.  Spread crepe with thin layer of chocolate, then thin layer of jam.  Top with another crepe.  Repeat layers until all crepes, chocolate, and jam are used.  Be sure to end with a crepe on top. Set aside and allow to rest at room temperature for at least one hour.
3. Cut into wedges to serve.  If desired, top wedge with Cool Whip to serve.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

I really like cake.  Any excuse to eat cake at any time is good for me, so coffee cake is great.  This cake went to work and didn't last long, even in my small office.

Serves 16

1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cold butter
-------
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups raspberries

1. Mix together 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in bowl.  Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or your fingers.  Set aside in refrigerator.
2. Grease 9x13 inch pan.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs and sour cream, scraping bowl as needed.  Sift 2 1/2 cup flour, soda, baking powder , and salt into batter.  Mix until combined.
4. Dollop half of batter into prepared pan.  Smooth until even.  Sprinkle berries evenly over batter.  Dollop remaining batter over berries.  Smooth to cover berries and to distribute evenly.  Remove strudel from refrigerator and sprinkle evenly over batter.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until it test done.  Cool completely before cutting into squares to serve.

Strawberry Raspberry Jam

For most of my jams and jellies, I just use the recipes on the inside of the pectin box.  The last week of the berry season, I didn't have enough berries for a full batch of anything.  I did, however, have a coupon for strawberries.  This came out well, for being merely convenient.  A note on the crushing: after years of making jam, I always crush my berries with a pastry cutter.  It does a better job of breaking down berries than a potato masher but leaves better berry pieces than a food processor.

Makes 9 1-cup jars

2 1/2 cups crushed raspberries
2 1/2 cups crushed strawberries
6 3/4 cups sugar
1 box pectin

1. Measure sugar into a bowl.  Set aside.
2. Prepare jars and lids.  Jars should set in hot water until ready to use (I use my sink, plugged, for this).  Sealing lids need to be soaked in boiling water (I heat 1 cup water in microwave, drop in lids, and let sit in microwave) until ready to use.
3. Measure the fruit into a heavy large saucepan and stir in pectin.  Place saucepan over high heat and stir constantly until it reaches boiling.  The fruit and pectin need to boil continuously even when stirred.
4. Pour sugar into fruit.  Heat to boiling again and boil one minute.  Remove from heat.
5. Drain jars and lids.  Line hot jars up on a towel.  Working quickly, ladle hot jam into jars and top with lids.  Seal jars.

Black Raspberry Pie

I can't even count the number of pies that I have made in my life.  Because of the number of berries collected, I usually make a number of black raspberry pies in a summer.  It was the Fourth, so there are stars on this one. (A note about pie pans: for pies like this one, I like to use a glass baking dish.  Glass browns better than most aluminum pans, so the crust doesn't tend to get soggy, and it also means that it can go in the dishwasher.  Deep-dish means more fruit and the larger lip means it's easier to take in and out of the oven.  The one I have is here 9" Pyrex Pie Plate)

Serves 6-8

8 cups black raspberries
Zest and juice of one-half lemon
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup flour
Crust for one double-crust pie

1. Toss raspberries with zest and juice of lemon.  Toss with sugar and flour.  Set aside.
2. Mix up and roll out crusts.  Fit bottom crust to deep-dish pie pan.  Roll out second crust and ensure some kind of ventilation.
3. Pour berry mixture into bottom crust.  Top with top crust and seal edges.  Sprinkle top crust with sugar.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 35-50 minutes.  Serve warm or cool.

Raspberries!!

My parents own some land that has trees, wild roses--which are a lot less pretty and a lot more irritating than they sound--and a lot of black raspberries.  The first discovery of them was before a lot of the space between the trees was cleared, when we were walking around the edge of the tilled fields.  My mom concluded that she hoped there would be enough raspberries for a pie.

Once we ventured deeper into the tree area, we started finding more and more berry bushes.  This was years ago--about 6 now, I think--and since then there hasn't been a year when we picked fewer than 10 gallons of berries.  My mom and I split them, usually, and the majority of mine turn into canned goods.  Those that don't get crushed into jam or juiced into jelly get baked into other things.  The recipes that can be--meaning those I made up--are included here.