Summer Berry Trifle

Homemade angel food cake + homemade cherry pie compote + lemon pudding (from a box of course) + fresh blueberries + fresh strawberries = one delicious, classic summer trifle! Trifle is one of the easiest deserts to make - you can save time and use storebought ingredients, go all out and make everything from scratch, or simply use leftovers you have around. Trifle can be any combination of cake, brownies, or cookies, fruit, pudding, and extra toppings!

Mini Chocolate Beet Cake

What to do when you have four layers of cake that you levelled off and have some cake scraps and ganache and chocolate shavings and berries and mint left??? Make a miniature cake by cutting out circles from the cake layers and sandwiching them together. Scraps may have been used here, but the miniature cake looks every bit as tasty and elegant as the big one. Don't ever throw away your scraps!!

Chocolate Granola Berry Tart

Step #1: Leftover chocolate granola + chocolate hazelnut spread (from the bottom of the jar) + oil
Combine until it is somewhat sticky and press into a pizza pan lined with plastic wrap. Chill until firm.
Step #2: Frozen mixed berries + bittersweet chocolate
Defrost a bowlful of frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) until they are soft and have released liquid. Stir in a few chunks of bittersweet chocolate and stir until melted, smooth, and mixture is slightly thickened. Spread over base, leave an edge, is desired.

Step #3: Leftover brittle
Find some leftover nut brittle (pistachio and candied ginger), crush it, and sprinkle it on top.
Serve now or chill until firm!
Here is how to make a really easy, yet really tasty and chocolaty dessert using only leftovers scrounged up from around the house and only one bowl! No expensive ingredients, and no big kitchen clean-ups required!!

Wild Berry Compote

Wild Berry Compote
one large  bag frozen berry blend ~ 1 kg (I used a four berry mix containing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
water
2 cinnamon sticks or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch, if needed
1 Tablespoon sugar of choice, if needed
drop vanilla extract
drop almond extract

Place the berries in a medium saucepan and just cover them with water. Add the spiced. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for an hour or so until berries are softened and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. This is one of those leave-on-the-stove-and-forget-about-it recipes, as long as it is at a low simmer.
If mixture does not become as thick as you would like it, or you are short on time, mix the cornstarch and sugar together and add, brining the mixture to a boil and stirring until it is as thick as you need it to be. Remove from heat and stir in the extract. Use warm or chill to set.

This is an easy and versatile recipe. It would probably work with any fruit blend, as long as the fruit is chopped up. Change the spices and extracts as desired. It makes a great warm sauce, pie filling, custard topping, yogurt stir-in, shortcake topper, etc.

Wild Berry Tarts

A stunning, colorful, individual-sized  wild berry tartlet featuring four juicy berry flavors, lemon, coconut, cream, and almonds!

This is a fruit tart I made as my first creation and my first lunch for the New Year. My boyfriend has been hinting at me for awhile about fruit tarts with lots of berries, and I was excited to finally make one. I will definitely make another version in the summer time when fresh berries are in season, but considering I used frozen berries, this fruit tart turned out pretty darn good. Despite being composed of 0% chocolate and 100% vegan ingredients. It's also chock-full of fruit and nuts, no-bake, gluten-free, and dare I say, healthy?

Components
CRUST (almond cookie crust)
FILLING (lemon coconut cream filling)
TOPPING (four berry compote)
GARNISH (berries)
GLAZE (maple syrup)

Procedure
Prepare the crust and press into two four inch tart pans or miniature aluminum pie plates. Freeze to firm up while preparing filling.

Prepare the filling and pour over the crusts. You can now refrigerate this until firm or freeze it so it firms up within hours. I recommend freezing, especially if you just made the crust, because if the crust is not fully set, it will become too soft in the fridge. Freezing for longer does not seem to affect the texture of the coconut milk in the cream filling.

Prepare the berry compote. Ideally cool the compote completely and chill it first, but if you are short on time like me, you can spoon it straight over the partially set cream filling and smooth it out as best as possible. It may make the filling melt a little, but it will be fine once you pop it back in the freezer. Alternately, chill it in the fridge.

Take the pretty whole berries set aside from the compote and arrange them artistically on the tarts. You want to keep the berries frozen until ready to use because they are too soft to work with (without smushing them) when thawed. However, you don't want to serve a tart with frozen berries, so keep in mind this must be done a little before serving time to allow them to thaw. The tarts can also be placed back in the freezer after topping with the berries if they are being held longer.

Heat a little maple syrup in the microwave for thirty seconds or so and brush over the fruit on top to make it shine. The tarts can be frozen again if you want to hold them, held in the refrigerator briefly, or if you plan to serve them very soon, left at room temperature to warm up a bit before eating. If frozen for more than a few hours, gently place in a container or cover with plastic wrap.

Serving
Gently unmold the tarts from the pans and place on plates. I find this is really easy if you line the tart pans with plastic wrap before filling with the crust mixture - then the tarts simply lift straight out! You can add other garnishes such as lemon wedges, toasted coconut, chocolate sauce, or (coconut) whipped cream, but I like to let these fruit tarts shine on their own.

Planning these ahead and serving them can be slightly tricky. The crust can be made as far in advance as you wish, as long as you have your dates soaked - so I recommend doing this at least the day before to ensure a less soggy crust.

The coconut custard firms up much better in the freezer and causes the crust to become a bit soggy if left for too long at lower temperatures.

The berries place don top of the tart should be done as closely to serving as possible, still allowing enough time for them to thaw out, though I did have success with freezing the tart like this as well.

Glaze the berries last minute for optimum shine.

Ideally thaw frozen tarts only 6-14 hours before serving, and allow to come to room temperature to serve. Do not freeze for longer than a few days, and do not leave at room temperature. This will ensure optimum flavors and textures.

Berry Kissel

This is a basic Russian berry sauce that I made to serve with my sweet cheese pastries, syrniki. I had looked up a recipe for it, but just had to use the berries I had on hand, so I changed it around, then added some stuff. I ended up not measuring anything, just adding ingredients to taste. So here is the procedure.

Boil the berry juice (I used blueberry) with some fresh strawberry quarters and star anise until softened. Mix together some cornstarch and sugar, then whisk in a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid. Pour this into the saucepan. Add in some frozen blueberries, fresh lemon juice, and sambuca. Simmer slowly until thickened and alcohol is cooked out, but flavor remains. 

You can make this sauce as thin or thick as you wish, simply by adding more liquid or cooking longer. Use any berries, and any spice or alcohol you wish. I liked the combination of star anise and sambuca for a slight licorice flavor. 

Valentine Chocolate Nutella Fruit Cups

What goes better with Valentine's Day than chocolate? And of course some fresh red berries are nice too. This is the Valentine's Day dessert I made this year for my valentine. All of my valentine desserts, as least from the past three years, seem to rely heavily on chocolate, include fresh berries, and feature hearts. 

This year's dessert is quite simple - a recipe isn't even required - yet it looks pretty and elegant and seems special. First I made chocolate cups - this is done by melting a good-quality chocolate and using a pastry brush to brush it on the inside of paper muffin cups, then chilling until firm. You may need to apply several coats for structure, I did three coats and used dark chocolate. Then I piped the cups full of nutella, or chocolate hazelnut spread, which I seem to like to use quite a bit lately. I guess I didn't get a good enough dose of nutella on World Nutella Day last week. It's just a great all-purpose chocolaty spread, but alternately chocolate mousse or chocolate pudding could be used instead. Next I placed fresh raspberries and blackberries on top (as strawberries are so expensive and tasteless at this time). I gently heated some raspberry jam and brushed it over the fruit to perserve them and add sweetness and shine. Then I sprinkled the cups with some finely chopped nuts for a little crunch, and added some white chocolate heart decor.

The idea for this dessert is simple and can be used to make a wide variety of different dessert possibilities - use any type of chocolate for the cups; any type of mousse, pudding, custard, yogurt, or preserves for the filling; and any type of fruits and nuts for the topping. You may also garnish with whipped cream, icing sugar, or a caramel drizzle.

Berry Cobbler

Berry Cobbler
2 cans berry pie filling (use a single berry pie filling or a mix of berries, or mix two different cans)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425◦F.
Mix the filling, lemon juice, and almond extract together in a 9x13 inch rectangular pan. Place in the oven to heat up while preparing topping. 
Meanwhile, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough. Drop by spoonfuls over the hot filling.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until biscuit topping is golden. 

Chocolate Berry Jam Roll

I have only made a jelly/jam roll a few times before, but I never actually made it with jelly or jam. I always made a different kind of filling - such as chocolate, icing, cream, or ice cream. This is a jam roll made with a triple berry fruit jam. I cheated a little and did not actually use a jelly roll recipe. I was really busy baking for the exhibition, and since I was making chocolate cake anyway, I decided just to use that as my cake base for the jelly roll since I knew it was already an award-winning recipe that always goes over really well. Plus, I only needed a small amount of each. I whipped up the batter, than poured some of it into a five-inch round ovenproof bowl for the cake, and poured the remaining batter (which only needed to be a thin layer) into a 9x13 inch rectangular pan lined with parchment paper. Normally, a jelly roll cake would be baked in a 10x15 inch pan, but I only needed a small jelly roll. After it baked, I rolled it into a roll on a tea towel sprinkled with icing sugar, cooled it, filled it with jam, re-rolled it, and sliced it. It worked out, and the cake was delicious, but there are reasons there are certain recipes designed to be jelly rolls. i think this cake batter is a bit too moist and heavy for a really successful jelly roll. It cracked in a few places and was a bit difficult to hold together in order to be sliced, but nothing a little sprinkling of icing sugar could not hide. After I got the three slices I needed for the contest, I actually cut the cake in half vertically, and then sliced it horizontally to make smaller, less messy pieces. 

Multigrain Crêpes with Yogurt & Fruit

Crêpes from Wednesday's post, plus fruit sauce from yesterday's post, plus possibly yogurt filling in tomorrow's post, equals some really delicious crêpes. Altogether this makes a relatively quick and easy breakfast, snack, or even dessert recipe that is nutritious and tasty! And it can easily be made to look fancy. Crêpes may seem a little daunting at first, but they are really no more difficult to make than pancakes. This was actually my first time making a crêpe, and I found it quite easy. The great thing about crêpes as well, is they don't served warm, although they are good that way. They can be made in batches and set aside while others are cooking, or they can even be refrigerated or frozen for later. Here is the process to make this crêpe:
1. Prepare crêpe batter and set aside.
2. Begin the sauce, and cook it.
3. Meanwhile, mix up the yogurt filling.
4. Cook the crêpe.
5. Assemble: Spoon the filling onto the crêpe, roll it up, and serve it with sauce piled on.