Raspberry Recipes

This week's column will be almost all recipes. I'm using up my remaining raspberries without just freezing them 'as is'. Save these winners for next summer. They'll be worth it, I promise! I'm in between Whole Life Challenge sessions (the next one starts the day after Dennis' birthday, yay), so I'm back to using regular flour and real sugar for the next six weeks. No need to look for almond flour or fake sugars.

First up, I made these bars, but I'll warn you right away, where it says "ungreased 9x13 pan," you'd better grease that baby up. Other than having to work a little too hard to get a piece out of the pan, these were great. If you don't want to wait for raspberry season, I think you could sub in blueberries. I'll try blackberries in it next summer.

Raspberry Crumble Bars

2C flour

2C rolled oats

1 1/2 C brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 C melted butter

2 pints raspberries

1/2 C sugar

2 Tbl flour

2 tsp lemon juice

Heat oven to 350°. Mix first four ingredients together, then mix in butter to a wet crumble stage. Put 2/3s of that mix into an ungreased 9x13" pan. Mix the berries with the last three ingredients until well coated. Spread evenly over the base. Sprinkle the remaining crumble mix evenly on top. Bake 30-40 minutes. Cool pan on a rack. Cut into bars.

Next are these cupcakes. I'm sure they'd be great without the berries in the middle, but those berries add to the wonderful chocolatey-ness. And keep them from being dry. Store in the fridge, if they last beyond the first day.

Dark Chocolate/Raspberry Cupcakes, with Chocolate Truffle Icing

No-stick spray

1/2 C butter, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature

1 2/3 C flour

1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 C sugar

2/3 C packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C buttermilk OR sour milk*

2 C raspberries

Heat oven to 350°. Lightly spray 24 muffin cups. Mix flour with next four ingredients in a bowl. Mix the sugars together and set aside. Beat the butter on high 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla. Alternately add the flour mix and milk on low until just combined. Beat on high 20 seconds. Divide half the batter into prepared muffin cups. Divide the raspberries on top of the batter (4-5 berries/cupcake), then spoon the remaining batter over the berries. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack 5 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on racks. Glaze cupcakes upside down with the icing. Chill 20 minutes or until the glaze sets (it will run over the edges). Garnish with more berries.

*Sour milk: put 1 Tbl vinegar OR lemon juice in measuring cup, then add milk to make 1C. Let stand 5 minutes before using.

Chocolate Truffle Icing

1 C whipping cream

2 Tbl white corn syrup

1 1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 tsp vanilla

In medium heavy saucepan, combine cream and syrup. Cook and stir over medium-low heat to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the chips and vanilla until the chocolate melts. Cover and chill until thick but pourable, stirring occasionally.

I didn't have any whipping cream on hand (my body doesn't like much dairy), so I ate the first cupcake bare. Delicious! Then I made the following frosting, and it's fantastic, making the cupcake even more wonderful. This frosting is also great slathered between graham crackers. (Just ask Dennis about these quick snacks I whipped up.) Icing on graham crackers is one of my quick "cookie" substitutes.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

1 heaping cup raspberries

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 C salted butter, room temperature

2 3/4 - 3 C powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Puree the berries, then force through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds and some pulp. You should have 6-7 Tbl puree. Heat in a small pan over medium-low heat until reduced by half (3-3 1/2 Tbl). Speed chill in the freezer until cool. Whip butters until pale and fluffy. Add 1C powdered sugar. Add cooled puree and vanilla until well incorporated. Add the rest of the sugar until light and fluffy. Store air tight.

To round out the recipe collection this week (I had a LOT of raspberries to use!), I made a cake-like dessert. The excess raspberry concoction works as a jam. I had too much, I thought, for my pan of batter. Next time I make this recipe, though, I plan to puree the berries and run them through the sieve to remove the seeds first, as I did with the frosting recipe. I used fresh berries instead of frozen.

Most of these desserts are portioned out in the freezer to use during our wheat harvest, which is rapidly approaching. I did have to taste-test them before sharing the recipes! Plus I shared a bit of the crumble with mom...

Raspberry Butter Bars

3 C frozen raspberries

1/2C sugar

2 Tbl cornstarch

1 Tbl butter

1 3/4 C butter, soft

5 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 C flour

1 1/2 C sugar

Cook the first four ingredients over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring. Remove from heat to cool.

Heat oven to 325°. Grease a 9x13" pan. Beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add the flour. Spread dough in prepared pan. Top with dollops of the berry mix. Swirl gently into the batter. Bake 40 minutes or until edges are light brown and set. The center may look underdone. Cool on a rack.

I can't completely ignore reporting on the garden: flea beetles have invaded and are decimating all the turnip greens. Those tiny, black, jumping pests have exploded in number. I've dusted with Sevin as a stopgap measure, but need to mix up some Tempo to attack them before they spread further. They love radishes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale... probably cabbage as well.

The tomatoes are finally giving me some ripe fruits. The corn will soon yield fully ripe ears to enjoy. (I'm sprinkling cayenne pepper liberally around the perimeter of that patch to deter raccoons. Thank you Jason for that tip.) And there are beans to pick.