One of my favorite times of the year … blueberry pickin’ time! I love blueberries … doesn’t everyone! When my children were very young, each summer we’d each gather whatever plastic buckets or tin cans we could find and climb the hills near our home. All along the trails grew wild blueberries. Wild blueberries, unlike cultivated blueberries, are much smaller and can be a challenge to pick. Small and sweet, we’d eat as many as landed in the buckets, puckering up when we got a sour one. And, of course, the competition was on to see who could pick the most. Once home, I’d make blueberry pancakes, blueberry syrup and, of course, blueberry muffins.
Well, the only one doing blueberry picking now is me. But that’s ok … it’s still an annual tradition. My recipe collection has grown from just pancakes and muffins, but I have to admit, they are still my favorites. Today, in addition to the big pot of blueberries gurgling away on the stove for jam, I’m making a Blueberry Galette. A Galette is a fancy name for a free-form French tart. In Italy, it’s called a Crostada. Same recipe … different name. And, honestly, nothing could be easier.
For the crust, you can take the time to make a classic pie crust, but if you want an easier solution, buy a package of pie crusts from the grocery store, or use frozen puff pastry … which is what I’m using. And, if you don’t have blueberries, you could substitute just about any fruit … apples, strawberries, peaches, plums.
BLUEBERRY GALETTE
Bake at 400º – 30 minutes – serves 4 to 6
1 sheet puff pastry – thawed
3 cups fresh blueberries
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg – beaten
Turbinado sugar
1 pat butter
I am all about ‘mis ‘en place’ which is French for ‘putting in place’. All my ingredients are assembled, prepped and ready to go before I even preheat the oven. Mis ‘en place is a good discipline which I try to apply to every project I start. So, with all the ingredients prepped … preheat the oven to 400º.
In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, salt, zest and juice of a lemon. Pour over the blueberries and let sit while you prep the pastry.
On a lightly floured board, smooth out the pastry. Make sure there are no cracks or the filling will ooze out and make a sticky mess. The classic galette is round, but I’m not wasting any of this pastry, so I am making a rectangular one. Place the pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Leaving an inch or so around the perimeter, pile the blueberry mixture into the center. Fold up the edges over the dough, pleating and pinching where necessary. Again, do not give the blueberries a place to escape.
Brush the beaten egg over the edges. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar (or plain sugar). I like the large crystals of the Turbinado sugar. It adds a bit of crunch. Place a pat of butter in the center. Bake in a hot oven for approximately 30 minutes. The crust should be nicely browned and the filling bubbly and hot.
Let the galette cool for at least 15 minutes when you take it from the oven. I know you’ll want to dive right into it, but its worth the wait. Meanwhile, whip up some heavy cream or get the ice cream out of the freezer. This is soooooooo good!!
Side note: the blueberry jam is ready and its to die for!
_____________________________________________________________________________
* I used Old Fashioned oatmeal, which is very coarse. To break the oats down a bit, I pulsed the oatmeal for a few seconds in a food processor. If you use ‘fast cooking’ oatmeal, you don’t need to do this.
Put the molasses, golden syrup, brown sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan and heat until the butter is melted. Then take it off the heat and cool until lukewarm. Beat in the eggs.
Add the liquid ingredients from the saucepan to the dry ingredients. Stir in quickly and beat until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased 9″ x 9″ pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or til it pulls back from the sides and is cooked through. A tester should come out clean from the middle. Cool in the pan for a few minutes and then turn it out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.
To serve, I dusted on the powered sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice . . . folded the ‘pancake’ in half and then folded it over again . . . with another dusting of powdered sugar. Honestly, they were delicious!! But were they pancakes?
He explained the different varieties of apple trees and their location in the orchard, handed us a couple of paper bags and off we went. Picking didn’t take long, as the trees were heavy with fruit … Empire, Macouns, Macintosh, Golden Delicious and Cortland … all red, ripe and ready. After picking … and eating as many as we could … we managed to find our way back to the shed, where the owner weighed our bounty and offered us a slice of pie. Pie? Yes, every day his wife bakes an apple pie for anyone who, after a day of picking, would like to sit, relax and enjoy a slice of homemade apple pie. Needless to say, it was one of the best apple pies we’ve ever had.
Into a high-sided saucepan, place the entire can of sweetened condensed milk. Completely cover the can with water and bring to a boil. Then cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let this simmer, covered, for at least two hours, while you make and bake the pudding. Check it every now and then to ensure the can is completely covered with simmering water. Refill water as needed.
In a large frypan, over medium heat, melt the butter and add the cubed apples. Sprinkle on the dark brown sugar, the cinnamon, nutmeg and the cornstarch. Mix gently. Cover and let it cook down for about 15 minutes or until the apples are softened and a sauce forms. If needed, add a bit of water. Stir gently.
While the apples are gently cooking, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and brown sugar. Add the melted butter and vanilla. Beat in the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Mix well, but don’t overbeat.
Spoon the apple filling into the pudding batter. With a wooden spoon, gently mix all together. Then spoon the batter into the buttered ramekins. Not too high. They will rise a bit. Sprinkle with toasted nuts, if you’d like.
Place the ramekins on the towel-lined baking pan. Then fill the baking pan with hot water until the water comes halfway up the sides of the dishes.
Cover the entire baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350°. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes (depending upon the size of the ramekins). No peeking. Puddings take a bit longer to bake than cakes.
When done, remove the baking pan from the oven and let the puddings rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, take the can which has been bubbling away on the stove top, and holding it with a towel, carefully open it. It will be very hot. With a spoon, mix the thick, sweet sauce to smooth it out. Then spoon the toffee sauce into a serving bowl or pitcher.
To serve, either pop the pudding out of the ramekin and plate it or serve it right in the ramekin … and spoon a generous dollop of toffee sauce on top. For a little extra treat, you might want to have ice cream or whipped cream on hand. This is an absolutely rib-sticking, old fashioned dessert, hearty, sweet and full of chunky apples with a creamy toffee sauce … perfect for a cool Fall evening. i hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did!!
magazine and newspaper clippings – with pictures, of course, so that I would know exactly what the finished dish was suppose to look like.
Separate 8 large, room-temperature eggs … put the whites aside.
Beat the egg yolks until thick and lemony-colored. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar. Beat until gloriously thick. Combine the freshly-squeezed orange juice (freshly-squeezed gives the best flavor) with the orange peel. Add this to the egg yolk mixture alternately with the cake flour. Set aside.
Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt until the soft peak stage. Very gradually add the other 2/3 cup sugar. Beat on high until stiff peaks form … but do not overbeat. The egg whites should be stiff but not be dry.
Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.
Pour into the ungreased 10″ tube pan (or whatever pan you’d like to use). Angel food cakes do not need to be baked in a specific pan. Loaf pans are fine. Bake in a 325° oven for about 50 to 60 minutes.
When done, a tester will come out clean, the sponge should spring back when touched and the color will be a delicate golden brown.
Invert the tube pan to cool the cake. Yes, that is what the ‘feet’ are for. After approximately 20 minutes, the cake should easily come out of the pan. Turn right side up. Frost when cooled.
Is it a “show stopper” as Mary would’ve liked to have seen? No … but I’m very happy with it. The cake is feathery light with just a subtle hint of citrusy orange. I made a quick seven-minute frosting and decorated it with candied orange slices.
In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar til light and fluffy. Add the additional wet ingredients and blend well. Yes, I added a bit of green food coloring for dramatic effect.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and pour into a well-greased baking pan. A square pan, loaf pan, cake pan … it doesn’t matter. Bake time, however, will depend upon which pan size you use.
Bake for 30 to 50 minutes (loaf pan will take longer – cake pan will take less). When a toothpick tested in the center comes out clean and the sides pull away from the pan, it is done.
Be sure to put the kettle on and get your tea ready. The nutty texture from the pistachios combined with the perfume from the cardamom will warm your tummy and your spirits. If you want to splurge and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream. Go right ahead! This is an easy-to-prepare, homey, quick cake (or bread) and, hopefully, you will love it as much as hubby and I. Happy sipping!!
but I LOVE fruit cake. There I said it! And this Scottish classic is one of my favorites. Why? Because it is made with sweet, thick orange marmalade, giving it a wonderful orangey flavor. And to be an ‘authentic’ Dundee cake, the marmalade should be made with Seville oranges from Spain. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Seville, you can’t help but gaze in wonder at the over 40,000 orange trees which line the streets. At times, the trees are bursting with so much fruit, the streets are just littered with these brightly-colored orbs.
How did the oranges end up in Dundee, Scotland? Because of a storm at sea! A Spanish cargo ship carrying goods and produce crashed into the rugged coastline in Dundee. Among the many goods on the ship were oranges. The oranges were ruined and couldn’t be sold, but a local merchant, James Keiller, bought the load at a discounted price. Keiller already sold jams in his shop and incorporated the oranges, fruit, pith and peel, into the recipe. Food historians say it was his mother, Janet Keiller, who then took the marmalade and used it in a fruit cake, now known as the Dundee cake.
Other historians say the Dundee cake is attributed to Mary Queen of Scots in the 1500s who didn’t care for traditional fruit cakes with all the glacéd fruits and cherries. To please the Queen, her royal baker then made a cake which only had raisins, almonds and the bitter Seville oranges. But the timelines vary too much for me. The Dundee cake is made with orange marmalade which seems to have been created 100 years after Mary Queen of Scots would have enjoyed it. Although marmalade has been around since Roman times, it was almost always made with quince and honey, as a way of preserving the fruit. The name “marmalade” actually originates from the Portuguese word “marmelo” or quince. Believed to be the first published recipe for orange marmalade was found in a cookbook written by Eliza Cholmondeley in 1677.
However this spice cake came to be, by the 19th century, the Dundee cake was served in tea rooms across Great Britain and was the dessert of choice for Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II. As with many ‘historical’ foods, an application has been filed by Dundee bakers for protected status for this spice cake with the EU. The bakers’ hope is to keep this centuries old cake from becoming a cheap imitation of the original. Let’s hope the rights are granted.
About an hour before you want to make the Gingerbread, combine the following ingredients in a saucepan: Cubed butter, vegetable oil, water, molasses, brown sugar, golden syrup or honey. Simmer over low heat until the butter is melted, the sugar has dissolved and everything is well combined.
Cool completely before adding this mixture to the dry ingredients. It should be just warm to the touch. If you want to cool this mixture quickly, set the pan into a bowl of ice water.
In a separate, smaller bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, milk and grated ginger.
Pour the batter into the greased pan(s) and bake. Depending upon the pan size and shape, it could take between 45 and 60 minutes. Check for doneness when a tester comes out clean.
Cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Then put on the kettle and don’t be afraid to dive in. It freezes well if you want to wrap it tightly in foil. Or it will keep nicely in the frig for a week, wrapped in cling film.
Dense, gingery and moist. I love this Gingerbread warm with a dusting of powered sugar and a big mug of tea! This is perfect for the holidays. Keep one on hand ready to serve for anyone who drops by … or just make to enjoy all by yourself!!
Make the filling first by dissolving a packet of orange-flavored gelatin into 1/3 cup of boiling water. Spray or grease a 12 count muffin tin. Into the bottom of each cup put a tablespoon of the gelatin. Put the tin into the refrigerator for the gelatin to set. When the gelatin has set completely, remove each disc from the muffin tin and place on a dish. Place the dish back into the refrigerator until its time to assemble.
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together for at least 5 minutes until delicate, pale and frothy. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Be careful not to deflate the eggs. Put 2 tablespoons of batter into the bottom of each of the greased muffin cups and bake at 350° for 7 to 8 minutes or until pale but baked through.
Remove the muffin pan from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then remove each cake/cookie and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Meanwhile, over a bowl of very hot water, melt the chocolate chips, stirring as necessary until smooth and shiny. Let cool a bit.
To assemble: take a cake/cookie and place an orange disc on top and quickly place a spoonful of the chocolate on top of the disc. Using the back of a spoon, spread the chocolate, sealing in the orange wafer. Place the cookie back onto the rack. When they are all assembled, using the tines of a fork, gently make a criss-cross pattern on each of them*.
They may not be as pretty as Mary Berry’s Jaffa Cakes, but they taste pretty darn good. Tasty little cakes with an orange filling and chocolate frosting. If you wanted to make these ahead, I’m sure they’d probably last a few days, but definitely not in our house!
First, warm the milk in the microwave (not too hot) and stir in the yeast and the sugar. Let it rest for 10 minutes until its frothy.
In a large bowl, stir together the flours and the salt. Add the warm milk mixture and stir together until a thick dough forms. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Let it mix for about 3 or 4 minutes.
No need to take it out, knead it and grease the bowl. Just cover the bowl with a towel and put it aside to rise for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
When it has doubled and will hold an indentation from your finger, it’s ready. Mix together the cup of water with the baking soda. Now comes the tricky part, mix this liquid into the dough. It’ll be difficult at first. I used a fork to break the dough up, and then beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it was somewhat smooth (but not perfect … still a bit lumpy).
Using a ladle or tablespoon, spoon equal portions of the batter into the molds. The batter will be sticky and gloppy. Don’t be concerned. That’s how it’s suppose to be. Keep an eye on the heat to be sure they don’t burn on the bottom, turning it down as necessary. They will rise and as with pancakes, they will be almost fully cooked before they need to be flipped over (about 6 minutes on the first side). When the top has lost its gloss and the sides look firm, remove the rings. The rings will be hot, so use tongs. With a spatula, flip the crumpets over and let them cook on the other side for just another minute.
