Blueberry Streusel Cake

Blueberry Streusel Cake

Blueberries are a staple in my house. We eat them plain of course and with yogurt. But I also bake with them. There are always some muffins or scones, crisps or pies in the freezer because, as my mother used to say “just in case you get unexpected company.” And also, I like to give food away if there are workmen in the house or our mailman or UPS delivery guy comes to the door.

This cake, chock full of blueberries and topped with a crumbly streusel crust, is a favorite with everyone.

Blueberry Streusel Cake

Streusel:

• 6 tablespoons butter, margarine or solid coconut oil

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup quick oats

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon zest

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup orange juice

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil

• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 cups blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-1/2-inch springform pan (or 9-inch cake pan).

Make the streusel: Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Place the flour, quick oats, sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Mix to distribute the ingredients. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbs form. Set aside.

Make the cake: place the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and lemon zest in a bowl and mix to distribute the ingredients evenly. Set aside. Beat the eggs, orange juice, vegetable oil and vanilla extract together on medium for about 3 minutes, or until thoroughly blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix for 2-3 minutes or until a thick, uniform batter has formed. Fold in the berries.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel on top. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings

Strawberry-Rhubarb (+) Pie

I love rhubarb! My mother used to make it as a side dish all the time, mostly with chicken.

She made strawberry-rhubarb pie too with the berries straight from the garden. Those were some delicious days!

I make strawberry-rhubarb pie too, alas, no garden stuff. And supermarket and even most farmers’ market strawberries just ain't what they used to be. 

So - once I included some blackberries and that was really delicious. I like this fruit pie filling with a bit of orange zest, but lemon zest will do just as well.

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Here’s the recipe:

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB-BLACKBERRY PIE

DOUGH: 

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup chilled vegetable shortening

• 4-5 tablespoons orange juice

FILLING:

• 3 cups sliced (1/2-inch pieces) rhubarb, about one pound

• 2 cups strawberries cut in half

• 1 cup blackberries

• 1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 5 tablespoons flour

• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into chunks

Combine the flour, salt and orange zest in a food processor. Add the butter and shortening in chunks and process on pulse about 24 times, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add as much of the juice as is needed to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Cut the dough in half, flatten into disks and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough into circles to fit a 9” pie pan. Place one circle inside the pie pan.

To make the filling, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, blackberries, sugar, salt, flour, orange peel and cinnamon. Add the filling to the pie pan. Cut the butter into chunks and place on top of the filling. Cut strips from the second dough circle and place them in a lattice design on top of the fruit. Seal the edges where the strips meet the bottom crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes one 9-inch pie

Pie for the 4th

Strawberry-Rhubarb-Blackberry Pie

I love rhubarb! My mother used to make it as a side dish all the time, mostly with chicken.

She made strawberry-rhubarb pie too with the berries straight from the garden. Those were some delicious days!

I make strawberry-rhubarb pie too, alas, no garden stuff. And supermarket and even most farmers’ market strawberries just ain't what they used to be. 

So - once I included some blackberries and that was really delicious. I like this fruit pie filling with a bit of orange zest, but lemon zest will do just as well.

Here’s the recipe:

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB-BLACKBERRY PIE

DOUGH: 

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup chilled vegetable shortening

• 4-5 tablespoons orange juice

FILLING:

• 3 cups sliced (1/2-inch pieces) rhubarb, about one pound

• 2 cups strawberries cut in half

• 1 cup blackberries

• 1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 5 tablespoons flour

• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into chunks

Combine the flour, salt and orange zest in a food processor. Add the butter and shortening in chunks and process on pulse about 24 times, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add as much of the juice as is needed to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Cut the dough in half, flatten into disks and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough into circles to fit a 9” pie pan. Place one circle inside the pie pan.

To make the filling, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, blackberries, sugar, salt, flour, orange peel and cinnamon. Add the filling to the pie pan. Cut the butter into chunks and place on top of the filling. Cut strips from the second dough circle and place them in a lattice design on top of the fruit. Seal the edges where the strips meet the bottom crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes one 9-inch pie

Blueberry Pie with Streusel Crust

Summer blueberries? 

Pie came to mind first. It's always pie first for me.

My mother, who was a master pie baker, never baked blueberry pie because she said the insides were either too thick and gloppy or too runny. I experimented with the fruit, sweetener and thickening agent a few times before the filling consistency was right.

Here it is! Perfect for summer. Good stuff for July 4th!

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BLUEBERRY CRUMB PIE

CRUMB CRUST:

• 3/4 cup flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 6 tablespoons butter

Combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter in chunks and work it into the dry ingredients with fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse meal. If you use a food processor, add the ingredients to the work bowl and mix using 18-24 quick, short pulses (enough for the mixture to resemble coarse meal). Set aside.

FILLING:

• 6 cups blueberries, approximately

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1 unbaked pie crust bottom

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice in a large bowl. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Cover the top with the crumbs. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until  golden brown.

Note: you can use 3 “1-pint” boxes of blueberries. Although a liquid pint equals 2 cups, a dry pint of blueberries from most markets has a bit more.

Makes 8 servings

Sugar Crusted Blueberry Muffins

Last week I forgot about the blueberry muffins I was baking in the oven.

By the time I remembered the muffins were black, hardened fossils that reminded me of the mummified pharaohs in the museum in Cairo, Egypt.

So I made another batch and these were perfect.

SUGAR CRUSTED BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek style

• 6 tablespoons avocado oil (or use vegetable oil or melted, cooled butter)

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1-2 tablespoons crystal sugar (or use turbinado sugar)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place muffin liners inside a muffin pan or lightly grease the hollows. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, avocado oil, eggs and vanilla extract and whisk them together until well blended. Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and mix the ingredients until they are well blended. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon equal amounts of batter into each muffin pan hollow. Sprinkle the tops with some of the crystal sugar. Bake for about 22 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 10

Roasted Fruit Cocktail

Roasted Fruit Cocktail

After a huge Passover Seder meal (or any big dinner), Roasted Fruit Cocktail is an excellent choice for dessert. Roasting brings out the fruit sugars in a tantalizing way with hints of rum and molasses. The chopped mint adds color and a really fresh, perky finish.

ROASTED FRUIT COCKTAIL

• 1 ripe fresh pineapple

• 2 fresh mangos

• 3/4 cup orange juice

• 1/4 cup honey

• cinnamon

• 18-20 strawberries, hulls removed

• 1 cup seedless red grapes

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

• sorbet or ice cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a jelly roll sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.Remove the leaves and hard outer shell of the pineapple. Cut the pineapple lengthwise into 1-inch thick strips. Discard the fibrous core. Place the remaining strips on the parchment-lined jelly roll pan. Peel the mango and cut the flesh into strips. Set aside. Place the orange juice and honey in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat slightly and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the liquid is slightly thickened. Generously brush all surfaces of the pineapple strips with the orange juice mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Roast for 4-5 minutes. Turn the strips over. Add the mango strips, strawberries and grapes to the pan. Brush with the remaining orange juice mixture. Roast for another 6-7 minutes or until fruit is soft and lightly caramelized. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool. Cut the pineapple and mango strips into bite size pieces. Place all the fruit and accumulated pan juices in a bowl, sprinkle with the mint and toss. Place into serving dishes. Serve plain or with sorbet or ice cream.

Makes 8 servings

Summer Salad with Blueberries

Whether it’s the hot weather or a meatless Monday, a good salad always comes in handy. This is one of my summer favorites:

BLUE SALAD (WITH GREEN)

1 head leaf lettuce or 6 cups mixed greens
1 cup blueberries
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
3 tablespoons chopped chives or scallion tops
1/3 cup olive oil (or use avocado oil)
3-4 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds, optional
Tear the lettuce into smaller pieces and place them in a salad bowl. Add the blueberries, cheese and chives and toss the ingredients. Pour in the olive oil and toss the ingredients again. Add 3 tablespoons of the Balsamic vinegar, toss and taste, add more Balsamic vinegar to taste. Serve and garnish with the toasted almonds if desired.

Makes 4-6 servings

Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp II

My grand daughter and her friend decided to make my Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp recipe this weekend, but had to change it somewhat to make it gluten free. I told her what to substitute and how to change quantities. They said it was amazingly delicious, the top came out nicely browned and the fruit and sauce perfect! I say bravo! Here is the gluten free version:

NECTARINE AND BLUEBERRY CRISP

1 cup gluten free flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter (or use margarine, solid coconut oil, vegetable shortening or a combination of these)
3 large ripe nectarines or peaches
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the 1 cup GF flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and work into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside. Cut the nectarines into chunks and place them in a bowl. Add the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch and toss ingredients. Spoon into a baking dish. Top with the crumb mixture. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Makes 8 servings

#glutenfree #glutenfreecrisps #glutenfreeblueberrycrisp #blueberrycrisp #blueberrycrumble #glutenfreeblueberrycrumble #blueberrynectarinecrisp #fruitcrisp #fruitcrisps

Mascarpone Dip for Strawberries

You know that Christmas carol “Joy to the world?” That’s what I started humming when I spotted these strawberries at a local market today. I bought a lot of them. The ones in the bowl are my portion! They are so perfect they don’t need anything. No sugar or sauce or whipped cream or anything. But if you insist, here’s a lovely dip for strawberries: MASCARPONE DIP
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (or use cream cheese at room temperature)
2 tablespoons dark rum, orange flavored brandy or orange juice
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
Beat the ingredients together until well blended

Strawberries Romanoff Shortcake

What would you do with these fabulous strawberries? Me? Just eat them as is. Because these days it’s almost impossible to find strawberries that actually taste like strawberries. Certainly not in a supermarket and even at a Farmer’s market it’s hit and miss. But, I’m thinking — it’s also nice to make something a bit special when you have berries this good. So maybe Strawberry Shortcake (using homemade biscuits - I posted a recipe a few days ago) and whipped cream (or sorbet) on top. But even better - Strawberry Shortcake with Strawberries Romanoff! Winner!

STRAWBERRIES ROMANOFF SHORTCAKE

• 2 pints strawberries

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/4 cup orange flavored brandy

• 3 tablespoons orange juice

• 8 biscuits

• whipped cream or sorbet

Wash the berries and slice them into a bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar and pour in the brandy and orange juice. Toss the ingredients and let rest for at least one hour, tossing the ingredients occasionally. Cut the biscuits in half. Place the bottoms of each on dessert plates. Layer with equal amounts of berries and whipped cream. Cover with the biscuit tops. Makes 8 servings #strawberry #strawberries #strawberryshortcake #strawberriesromanoff