Raspberry Streusel Muffins

I'd been threatening to make a raspberry yogurt cake this week- but when Saturday rolled around and I still hadn't made it...muffins it was. This is a recipe that I got from The Silver Palate cookbook. I've revised it considerably. My version below uses less sugar, butter, and white flour. It makes 6 jumbo muffins.

Batter:
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. sugar (scant less)
1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar (scant less)
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 c. apple sauce
1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. raspberries (slightly frozen or frozen)

Streusel Topping:
3/4 c. chopped pecans
1/8 c. packed dark brown sugar


Preheat oven to 350. Mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium size bowl. Make a well in the center.

Place the egg, melted butter, applesauce and milk in the well. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Gently stir in the berries. Fill each tin about 3/4 full. (12 regular or 6 jumbo)

Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the muffins. Bake them until nicely browned and firm for 20-25 minutes.

**Very nice and easy to make.

Fig and Raspberry Crostata

After my huge canning effort of raspberry jam from the raspberries I picked at Salmon Ranch in Mora, I discovered that I had a few raspberries leftover. Then we got fresh figs from Los Poblanos! Bonus! Here is the recipe I decided to try- it is from another blog site called Tiramisu. It starts with the almond tart...

Almond Tart Dough
9" lattice tart

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup unbleached almonds
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
Zest of one lemon
6 oz cold butter, cut in 1/2" cubes

Whisk the eggs together with the vanilla extract. Process the almonds with a tablespoon of sugar until they are finely chopped. Add the remaining sugar, flour, salt, and zest and mix just to combine. Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg mixture and mix only until the dough is uniformly moistened, 15 seconds. Fully blend the ingredients by hand mixing gently a couple of times. Divide the dough in two unequal pieces (the smaller will be used for the lattice top). Press the bigger piece into the tart mold and freeze. After the rest of the dough has chilled for an hour, roll it in between two pieces of parchment paper until 1/8" thick. Freeze until ready to use.

Fig Raspberry Filling

12 oz. Figs, quartered
12 oz. Raspberries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon butter

Put half of the fruit in a heavy bottom sauce pan and cook with the rest of the ingredients until bubbly. Turn the heat off and add the rest of the fruit. Chill completely before adding it to the tart.

To assemble the tart:
Add the filling to the frozen tart. Cut the frozen rolled dough in 1/2" strips, and use them to make the lattice top. Sprinkle with crystal sugar and bake at 350F until bubbly, rotating once.

** Quite delicious! Not super sweet. Great with vanilla ice cream... This was all pretty easy to do.

Rhubarb Berry Jam

Two things prompted this event- rhubarb in the garden and a canning class coming up. I had never made jam before I tried this and I am now a believer! I found this recipe online at another blogger's site: David Lebovitz.
You can get his original recipe there- I have modified this one already.

Rhubarb-Berry Jam

9 one cup (250ml) jars

Berries like raspberries, black and red currants, blueberries, blackberries, and diced strawberries and frozen berries work.

Because rhubarb doesn’t have much pectin, and I don’t use commercial pectin, I added apple juice to help the jam to set nicely.

3 pounds (1.25kg) rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 1/2-inch (2cm) pieces
2 cups (250g) packed mixed berries, fresh or frozen
1 cup (250ml) apple juice
5 1/2 cups (1kg, plus 100g) sugar
juice of one lemon
pinch of salt
optional: 1 tablespoon kirsch

1. In a large pot, mix the rhubarb, berries, and the apple juice. Cook, covered, stirring frequently over moderate heat, until the rhubarb is cooked through and thoroughly tender. It should take about 15 minutes.

Put a small plate in the freezer.

2. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and cook, uncovered, skimming off and discarding any foam that rises to the surface, until the jam is thick and passes the wrinkle test.

To do so, place a small spoonful of the jam on the frozen plate. Return it to the freezer and check it a few minutes later; if the jam wrinkles when nudged, it’s done. You can also use a candy thermometer; jam jells at approximately 220F (104C). 

3. Stir in the kirsch, if using, then ladle the jam into clean jars, cover, and store in the refrigerator OR water bath can them.

Rhubarb and berries cooking (I used half blueberries and half raspberries)

Jam trying to reach 104. Barely reached 100 when I gave up and decided I could settle for runny jam.

Filling the jars.

Getting ready for their 10 minute water bath.

Finished product. I ended up water bath canning 8 jars. I had half a jar left that I put in the fridge. It was perfectly jelled and absolutely delicious!

Chocolate Raspberry Shortcakes

This is one of my all time favorite recipes when raspberries are in season. You can get great organic raspberries right now (June). The recipe can be found at Epicurious. Please note that this recipe only serves two, so you'll need to adjust. I tripled it and it made 6 shortcakes- although be prepared- they are more like crumbly biscuits.

For the shortcakes

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1 1/2 cups raspberries
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon framboise, or to taste
• 1/3 cup well-chilled heavy cream
• confectioners' sugar for sprinkling the shortcakes
• mint sprigs for garnish if desired

Make the shortcakes:
Into a bowl sift together the cocoa powder, the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the cream and stir the mixture with a fork until it forms a dough. Divide the dough in half, arrange each half in a mound on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake the shortcakes in the middle of a preheated 425°F. oven for 12 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centers comes out with crumbs clinging to it. Transfer the shortcakes to a rack and let them cool.

In a bowl mash 3/4 cup of the raspberries with a fork, stir in 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar and the framboise, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and stir in the remaining 3/4 cup raspberries. In a small bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream until it holds soft peaks, add the remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks. Carefully cut the shortcakes in half horizontally with a serrated knife and with a metal spatula transfer the bottom half of each to an individual plate. (The shortcakes are delicate and crumble easily.) Top each bottom half with half the raspberry mixture, divide the whipped cream between the 2 shortcakes, and with the spatula carefully top each serving with the top half of a shortcake. Sprinkle the shortcakes with the confectioners' sugar and garnish the plates with the mint sprigs.

**I've never used the framboise. My shortcakes spread, so they looked like thick cookies. I didn't cut them in half! I tripled the recipe and got 6 shortcakes. I think the shortcakes need a bit more sugar- I used 8 T instead of 6. I also added vanilla into my whipped cream and used powdered sugar (since raw sugar doesn't melt nicely in whipped cream). Delicious!