Mixed Berry Bundt Cake

Every summer, it seems that I do most of my shopping at local produce markets. Yes, I love the comfort of winter's stews and soups and casseroles and gratins. But in the summer, I always find myself craving lighter and fresher meals. I guess the warmer weather makes me think of all the fresh fruits and veggies grown from local farms in my area. (Seriously one of my favorite things about living in the Garden State!)
 So I recently made a huge batch of bumbleberry jam, (which was FABULOUS, btw) and I had quite a few berries leftover. Hmm.. what can I make with them? Sure, I could make a pie, or a Strawberry Shortcake, but I wanted something new. Oh! How about something light and no-fuss that I could bring to an all-day rehearsal for the show I'm currently doing? A bundt cake! Yes, That's the answer. And off I go, looking for the right recipe. Well, it didn't take me long to find THIS one. It's from Williams-Sonoma, and it's PERFECT! It's simple to make, I already had all of the ingredients on hand, and it's absolutely delicious. And it was just the thing to bring to my rehearsal, no plates or utensils needed, and everyone could just grab a slice at any time throughout the day whenever they wanted. Everyone loved it! It would also be fabulous with a citrus glaze drizzled over it for any special occasion or even just an afternoon tea. Maybe next time I'll serve it with a little bit of the bumbleberry jam that I made! Boom.


5 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
20 Tbs. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room
  temperature, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs. kirsch or other fruit liqueur
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups raspberries (divided)
1 1/2 cups blueberries or blackberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)


 Preheat an oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a Bundt pan. In a large bowl, blend the eggs and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat in the butter and liqueur until fluffy. Add all but 2 Tbs. of the flour and the baking powder and salt, and beat until well incorporated and no lumps remain. In another bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the raspberries and the blueberries with the remaining 2 Tbs. flour. Toss to coat the berries evenly with the flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the berries into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold the cake onto the rack and let cool completely. Fill the center of the cake with the remaining 2 cups raspberries. Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar.

 Tips:

I listed the recipe the way Williams-Sonoma did, but I didn't do it exactly the same.
For one, I didn't have raspberries, I had strawberries. So I just diced them up to about the same size as the other berries. I also didn't serve mine with two cups of berries in the center. So be sure you only put a total of 3 cups of berries in the cake batter. I say this because I almost threw all 5 cups of berries into the cake and then realized that 2 of the cups were intended for garnish. Whew! That was a close one. Serves me right for not READING the entire recipe as I'm making it. LOL ah well. Live and learn.

Blackberry-Cantaloupe Salad

 Ok, this one is so easy and quick, you barely need a recipe. Yes, yes, I know you can throw any kinds of fruit together and call it a fruit salad, but this one has a deliciously fragrant dressing that goes with it. It's refreshing and tasty and healthy all at the same time, and it's just slightly different from the norm.
 I was in the produce market and I saw how plump and juicy the blackberries were, so I HAD to get some. Then I saw this recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and I thought "Oh! Perfect!" So here is the recipe as it was listed, but I didn't do it exactly as written. Feel free to put your own personal spin on it, just as I did. I'm sure you'll love it!


2 cups blackberries
1/2 cantaloupe, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint leaves


In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except mint. Cover and let stand 30 minutes (or refrigerate, up to 2 days). Stir in mint just before serving. 

Tips:
I  used honey instead of sugar, I used lemon balm instead of mint, and I only added half of the fresh ginger, just because I didn't want it to overpower the other flavors. Absolutely delicious!
If you're not a fan of fresh ginger, simply leave it out! The dressing will still be wonderful. Promise!
For best flavor, serve it at room temperature!

Mini Berry Shortcakes

 

 This recipe was originally called Bite-Sized Strawberry Shortcakes, (from a website called I Heart Naptime) but there were 2 things wrong with that title. Well, for one, I was using raspberries and blueberries, not strawberries. And for two, well, they didn't exactly turn out to be 'bite-sized." So I decided to change the name, just to suit my own purpose. But regardless of what you decide to call them, you simply must try them! They literally only take a few minutes to stir together, and they only bake for 10 minutes! How easy is that? 
 It's basically just a sweet biscuit dough dropped into your mini muffin tin and quickly baked in a really hot oven. Top each one with a star of whipped cream, some fresh berries, and boom, there's your dessert for July 4th! I think the next time I make them, I'll do half as much batter in twice as many mini muffin cups. Then they really will be bite-sized!
Better make extra! They're gonna disappear in no time flat!

2 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, diced
1 egg
milk (see below for amount)

1 c. heavy cream
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fresh berries

 Preheat oven to 450º.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to blend. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or forks until butter is about the size of peas. Crack egg into a measuring cup and add milk to come to the 3/4 cup line. Whisk, then pour over flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to mix gently until the flour is just moistened. The mixture should be very lumpy.
Spoon a tablespoon or two of the batter into the cups of a mini muffin pan. Flatten the tops a bit with the back of a spoon or fingertips.
Bake 10 minutes, until golden. Let cool slightly in pan then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.
Meanwhile, beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.
Right before serving, top each mini shortcake with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries.

Tips:
Use any kinds of berries you like! Strawberries, blackberries, all good!
 Instead of cutting the butter in with forks or a pastry cutter, I placed the dry ingredients in a food processor and then gave it a few pulses to cut the butter in. MUCH quicker! Then I transferred it to a mixing bowl to stir the milk/egg mixture in by hand.I also sprayed my mini muffin pan with baking spray. Why take chances?
 I'm sure this recipe was intended to be "not too sweet", but if I'm gonna have a dessert, it's gonna be sweet enough! So I added a little more than 1/4 cup sugar to the batter, sprinkled the tops of each shortcake with sugar before putting the pan in the oven, and then added a few extra tablespoons of sugar to the cream before whipping it up. More is more!

Joey's Fresh Blackberry and Mango Galette

 Have you ever heard of a galette? It's a sort of free form pie, filled with anything that your heart desires. I was first inspired to make one when I stopped by to visit my friends, Dina and Tony. Dina was cooking up a storm (as always) and she had made an apple galette for dessert, which was SO delish! I thought "what could be easier?" It kind of takes all fear out of making a pie. So, I decided to make one too, only I chose blackberries and mangoes for the filling. The mangoes were SO juicy and ripe, and the blackberries were just as plump as could be. I thought, why not? So here it is. It's my own recipe and I hope you like it!

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
2 6 oz containers fresh blackberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 heaping tbs cornstarch (plus a little extra if the fruit is really juicy)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
Tiny pinch of salt
1 ready made pie crust or half recipe for Easy Pie Crust

Heat oven to 350F.
Place fruit in a small mixing bowl. Add remaining filling ingredients. Gently toss until coated.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pie crust into a large circle. Carefully roll up the pie crust over your floured rolling pin, then unroll it onto a parchment lined baking tray. Pile the fruit mixture into the center of the pie crust. Spread it out a little, leaving a 2" border around the edges. Fold pie crust edges over the fruit. Brush the crust with an egg wash, if desired, then sprinkle with a little white sugar + a little cinnamon. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden and fruit is bubbly. Let it cool for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Tips:
You can tell if a mango is really ripe when most of the peel becomes a deep red. If it's mostly green, it's not ripe enough. But go ahead and purchase it anyway, then let it sit in a paper bag at room temperature for 2 or 3 days until it ripens.
Can't find blackberries? Use blueberries instead! Don't like mangoes? Use peaches instead!

Btw, an egg wash is simply a beaten egg with a little bit of water added to it. When you brush it onto any bread or crust, it gives a nice golden shine to whatever you're baking.