Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

So all summer long I've basically just been stealing off Smitten Kitchen, and particularly earlier in the summer I got on a kick of making her raved about snacking cakes-- the rhubarb snacking cake, the blueberry boy bait, and most recently the dimply plum cake-- only to be an ungrateful beggar and go on to say how ho-hum I felt about them. Two more of her standards remained in my box of recipes to try, and I don't know that I would have tried this one except that we had a) raspberries and b) buttermilk and c) the need for an easy dessert for dinner with friends. Even with that alignment of stars, it was still with begrudgement that I made this cake. And then--- then! It was actually really good. All she said it would be. All worthy of starting the snack cake craze. So I guess I am reconciled to Smitten Kitchen and her snack cakes and after all, and who knows, I might go about trying the strawberry snacking cake before this summer is through after all. That is, if I can get away from this one. We still have raspberries and more buttermilk, and the Robber, with his big Robber eyes, has been asking for more.

Originally from Gourmet Magazine 2009, adapted by Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/05/raspberry-buttermilk-cake/

Ingredients:

1 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 C. plus 1 1/2 T. sugar, divided

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (or the rind of one smaller lemon)

1 large egg

1/2 C. well-shaken buttermilk

1 C. (about 6 oz.) fresh raspberries 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. 

3. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 C. sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

4. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. 

5. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter (see note) raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 T. sugar (I used cinnamon sugar.)

6. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

Note: All the raspberries are downward will be swallowed by the batter and sink to the bottom. The ones where the o is upward stay empty, like cups, and swim closer to the top. Both are delicious.

Raspberry Custard Pie

I tagged this recipe maybe last year, maybe the year before and because it was sitting there-- albeit among better pie recipes-- I felt obligated to make it. I have a problem these days with feeling pressure from my self-created recipe file. Ah, well. I made this on the pretense of feeding it to KK, our friend who is coming over for dinner tomorrow. But then the Robber and I couldn't wait and got tempted to eat a piece of it tonight... and well... maybe I will have to make another pie for tomorrow. As for this pie, it's good. It's good. It tastes good. It's simple. It's so easy to make. The raspberry is paired well with the custard. It's a good summer pie. But there are better. Ah, but my standards are too high these days. Le sigh.

From Martha Stewart:

http://www.marthastewart.com/343295/raspberry-custard-pie?czone=food/produce-guide-cnt/summer-produce-recipes&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/raspberry-recipes#slide_7

Ingredients:

One half pie crust of your choice, baked blind in shallow pie plate

2 T. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out crust

3/4 C. sugar, divided

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 C. heavy cream, at room temperature

1 lbs. (3 1/2 C.) fresh raspberries, plus more for garnish

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Whisk flour and 1/2 C. sugar in a medium bowl. Add egg and cream, and whisk to combine.

2. In separate bowl, toss raspberries with remaining 1/4 C. sugar and the salt. Allow to stand at least 15 minutes, then drain in colander to remove excess fluid.

3. Spoon berries into pre-baked crust, then pour in cream mixture, filling to just below rim.

4. Bake at 350F until custard is set, but still a bit wobbly in the center (45-60 minutes.) Let cool in a dish on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Serve cold with fresh raspberries. 

Raspberry, Almond, and Goat Cheese Empanadas

This was another recipe where I told the Robber what I made and he made a face at me and I wanted to say well then, you can't have any, but then he ate one and decided it was the best thing ever and I am a sucker when the Robber likes what I make and I get all happy, but maybe I would be happier if I hadn't told him and then I could just eat these all myself! So good!

I didn't have the time or energy to make 20 small empanadas, so I made 8 big ones which threw the filling-to-dough ratio quite off, with not enough filling, so I threw in some Ghiradelli chocolate chips and almonds into my leftover dough and it was delicous! I might just use this dough and put anything into it, but trust me if you have the goat cheese, go that route. So good.

Note: I also did not put the almonds in the filling but rather opted just sprinkle the tops generously with almonds (after brushing them with egg so the almonds would stick), which allowed the filling to remain creamy and smooth on the inside. I mixed the raspberries into the filling directly also instead of adding them separately to each empanada.

Note: If you make 8 empanadas, use about 1/4 cup of filling per empanada.

From a Hint of Honey:

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/05/raspberry-almond-and-goat-cheese.html

Ingredients:

For the basic sweet pastry dough:

3 C. all purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat)

1/4 C. sugar

Pinch of salt

2 sticks butter (16 T.), cut into 16 pieces

2 eggs

2-4 T. cold water

For the raspberry goat cheese filling:

12 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)

11 oz. plain goat cheese, room temperature

½ C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T. orange zest

½ cup sliced almonds

1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked

¼ cup demerara or Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Prepare basic pastry crust dough as follows:

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.

2. Add the butter, eggs and water until a clumpy dough forms.

3. Knead the dough for a few minutes.

4. Form dough into 2 balls, flatten into thick discs, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

5. Divide dough and roll out into as many thin disks as desired.

2. Combine the goat cheese, sugar, vanilla, orange zest in a bowl, mix well.

3. To assemble the empanadas place a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture, a couple of raspberries and a few almond slices on the center of the empanada disc.

4. Brush the edges of the empanada disc with the egg whites.

5. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.

6. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when baked.

7. Sprinkle the almond slices on the top of the empanadas, do this immediately after you brush them with the egg yolk, it will help the almond slices stick to the empanada.

8. Sprinkle each empanada with a little bit of the demerara sugar.

9. Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake, this will help them seal better.

10. Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven at 375 F for 15-20 minutes (longer if making bigger empanadas) or until golden. Serve warm.

Yield: 8-20 empanadas.

Raspberry Chocolate Tea Scones

So while it is true that a) I haven't baked a scone since September and was well over my scone fest and b) I have come to believe all you need is a few good scone bases to use and then you just throw whatever you want IN the scone, I have still come to this. I am still trying new scone recipes. Not that I don't have a few great bases-- I do-- and eventually I'll record which of the recipes I've blogged are the best and which are duds. But there is something still so tempting to me about new scone recipes. Maybe this one will be amazing! I say, and I fall for it all over again.

Sad to say, however, that this Eggs On Sunday recipe (like the other raspberry chocolate recipe on this blog) was a disappointment in terms of the scone base. Raspberry and dark chocolate, always a good idea and especially redeeming in January, but the scone underneath couldn't quite pull it off and ended up being too chewy and bland for my taste. So why blog this? you ask. Because this blog isn't meant to be life changing, it's meant to be life recording.

Note: I used Hershey Bliss dark chocolate cut up into small chunks (divine) instead of mini chocolate chips, and I also used fresh raspberries cut in half that I threw in the freezer for ten minutes or so before putting into the batter. And I omitted the egg wash, of course.

Which all that I present to you the recipe found online here:
http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/raspberry-chocolate-tea-scones-recipe/#more-3286

Ingredients:

2 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 T. sugar
4 T. unsalted butter, chilled and chopped into small pieces
1 C. miniature chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
1 C. frozen raspberries, chopped (keep frozen until you’re ready to add them to the dough)
3/4 C. heavy cream
1 egg, separated
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Add the chopped cold butter and rub with your fingers into the flour until the bits of butter are roughly the size of peas. Stir in the chocolate chips/chunks.

3. Separate the egg; reserve the white for later use (you’ll use it to brush on the tops of the scones before baking.) In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cream, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.

4. Add the chopped frozen raspberries to the flour mixture. Pour in the cream, and using light, quick strokes, stir with a fork until just moistened (there may still be some flour on the bottom of the bowl.) Use your hands to gather the dough into a ball and knead it lightly a few times, just to gather it together. Don’t worry if there’s still a little flour remaining on the bottom of the bowl.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into two balls. Gently flatten each ball into a 1-inch high disk, and cut each disk into 6 wedges (for 12 scones total-- I made 8.) Place on baking sheet and brush the tops with the reserved egg white; sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and scones are cooked through.

Raspberry Lemonade Bars

A really good lemon bar is like heaven on earth to me. I love them so much! I came to Stanford for graduate school partially because at recruitment weekend they fed us lemon bars, seriously. But I have not met with much luck in making them for myself. They always turn out runny or taste too much like eggs. But when I saw this recipe and knew that raspberries were still in season, I thought I would give it a try (especially as it would allow me to use my new kitchen toy, the immersion blender/food processor thingy.) I made a half batch in a 9x9 pan and they came out perfect! Tangy and sweet and delicious. The Robber and I ate the whole pan in two days. These are super easy so I will definitely make them again when raspberries are back. Now what to do with six egg yolks...

From Annie: http://annies-eats.net/2011/09/02/raspberry-lemonade-bars/

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2¼ sticks (18 T.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ C. sugar

2 C. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

For the raspberry-lemon layer:

3 C. sugar

1 1/3 C. all-purpose flour

3 T. lemon zest

¼ tsp. salt

3 C. frozen raspberries, thawed (I used fresh)

6 large egg whites

2 large eggs

1 1/3 C. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used a wee bit of lime too)

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour and salt just until incorporated.

3. Add the dough to the prepared baking pan. Press into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven, maintaining the temperature.

4. While the crust is baking, make the top layer. Combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add the raspberries to a fine mesh sieve and press through, mashing with a spatula, to extract as much juice and pulp as possible, straining out the seeds.

5. Add the egg whites and eggs to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk well to blend. Whisk in the raspberry puree and lemon juice until smooth. (Or you can just add everything into a blender and blend it around without the sieve part, we didn't have a problem with seeds using fresh berries.)

6. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake until the center is just set and not longer jiggles when gently shaken, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

7. Cover and chill well in the refrigerator, at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, use the parchment paper to lift the bars from the pan. Place on a cutting board and slice into bars.

Dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar if desired.

Post-edit: Made some of these with strawberries and they didn't set up as well as the raspberry kind. Don't know if it is the strawberries themselves or something I did differently, but I like the tangy-ness of the raspberry kind more anyway.

Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones

Ohhhhh yes! Another scone recipe! This one actually came to me from my dear friend A., who, knowing of my recent scone obsession, was thoughtful enough to send me this one. And unbeknownst to her, it just so happens that the ingredients languishing in my dwindling pre-move fridge are yes: whole wheat flour, raspberries, ricotta cheese, and heavy cream! Does the baking world get more cosmic than this? I would argue: it does not. Thanks A!

I broke with my scone habits and baked these fresh. I didn't have quite enough raspberries, but I did have an arbitrary pear. So I mashed up the raspberries so they were throughout the whole dough, not in pieces, and used the pear for the "chunky" fruit. So for me they were really more pear scones than raspberry but I think the raspberry would be delicious too in larger quantity. Pear really should be used more often! I loved these warm with the pear. And the ricotta cheese was wonderful with the wheat, unlike buttermilk-wheat which I have turned against.

This recipe comes from the Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/07/whole-wheat-raspberry-ricotta-scones/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+smittenkitchen+%28smitten+kitchen%29

Ingredients:

1 C. whole wheat flour

1 C. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder, preferably aluminum-free

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. table salt

6 T. cold unsalted butter

1 C. fresh raspberries

3/4 C. whole milk ricotta

1/3 C. heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first) and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in raspberries and use the blender again to break them into halves and quarter berry sized chunks.

Without a pastry blender: Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries on a cutting board and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.

Both methods: Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl. Don’t fret if the raspberries get muddled and smudge up the dough. This is a pretty thing.

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more.

Do ahead: Scones are always best the day they are baked. However, if you wish to get a lead on them, you can make them, arrange them on your parchment-lined sheet and freeze them. If you’re prepping just one day in advance, cover the tray with plastic wrap and bake them the day you need them. If you’re preparing them more than one day in advance, once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Bring them back to a parchment-lined sheet when you’re ready to bake them. No need to defrost the froze, unbaked scones, just add 2 to 3 minutes to your baking time.

Raspberry Chocolate Scones

These I also made fresh this morning and even baked one of them without any freezer time at all. The good news is that I think freezing the scones (at least overnight) works just fine, no worries. This scone was also among my favorites-- I think the fresh juicy raspberries just do it for me, and since the chocolate adds a contrasting flavor, I am happy. I would have to make it again and sample it all by itself though to offer suggestions on how to improve. Definitely a scone that tastes like a treat! I omitted the egg wash and just brushed the top of the scone with a little half-and-half and sprinkled on some turbinado sugar, which was just fine.

From the Joy of Eating by way of Annie's Eats:

http://annies-eats.net/2007/07/10/raspberry-chocolate-scones/

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

~1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

¾ cup fresh or frozen raspberries

½ cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

For egg wash:

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp. milk or cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chunks (chips) and raspberries. In a small measuring cup, whisk together the yogurt, vanilla extract, and egg. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.

3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut the dough into eight triangles. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. (Again, I just pressed it into a floured a pie plate and cut that into 8 pieces, I think this is the easiest way!)

4. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Oatmeal Raspberry Scones

So I made these fresh this morning and then had half a scone at the little picnic R. and I had at Ontario Beach. It was terribly windy and we huddled on the floor of a gazebo to eat. The convicts were out, tearing down a fence, and it soon became apparent that their work place was going to be primarily right in front of us. We stayed for a little while, but after so many offers to join our party, decided to leave. The adventure at least afforded me the opportunity to try out little tastes of all the scones I have made thus far, and I have to say that this was one of my favorites. The oatmeal and the raspberry work well together, the texture is nice, the scone filling, and the nutmeg gives the scone the little extra kick I so dearly love.

From Joy the Baker, originally from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, by way of Annie's Eats:

http://annies-eats.net/2010/03/12/oatmeal-raspberry-scones/

Ingredients:

1 large egg

½ C. cold buttermilk

1 2/3 C. all-purpose flour

1 1/3 C. old-fashioned oats

1/3 C. sugar

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

Pinch of nutmeg

10 T. cold unsalted butter, grated on a large grater or cut into small pieces

¾ C. fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. Combine the egg and buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup. Stir together; set aside.

3. Whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and toss. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture so that the mixture is crumbly. Pour the egg and buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork just until incorporated (the mixture will be sticky). Fold in the berries just until incorporated (be particularly gentle if using fresh berries).

4. Gently knead the dough 6-10 times, just until it comes together into a sticky dough. Portion the dough out into 8-12 scones, depending on the size you prefer, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. (A large dough scoop is a good tool, but not necessary.) (I just pressed the dough into a floured pie pan, cut it into eighths, put it in the freezer for 30 min., baked one, and froze the other seven individually in plastic wrap.)

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.