Berry Cobbler/Crisp (Crispler?)
It was Sunday, so I needed a dessert. I had some blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries that were about a day away from a date with the garbage. I also had the most beautiful blueberries I had just bought at the store on sale. So a berry dessert it was. I was torn between a cobbler and a crisp, so I combined the recipes to make this. And oh, was it ever good. The crunch comes from 1/3 cup of crispy cereal. I like Wheaties, but use whatever you have on hand. If you like nuts in your desserts, feel free to chop up 1/4 cup and add those in.
So good, in fact, that when my in-laws were coming down for dinner the next day, I made it all over again. This time I was able to make some minor adjustments to the recipe to get just the right amount of crunch on top, and gooeyness on the bottom. Delish! Feel free to use any combination of berries.
Berry Crispler
2 C. mixed berries
2 T. vanilla simple syrup (or plain sugar will do)
1 C. plus 1 T flour
2/3. C Sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 C. cereal
4 oz. (half stick) butter, cold
1/4 C. milk
place rinsed berries in an 8×8 baking dish with 1 T. flour and 2 T. simple syrup (or sugar). Stir together. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, milk, cereal and cut up butter. Cut together using a fork until smooth. Spoon mixture over berries. (Mixture will be thick and sticky – similar to a cookie dough.) Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream. Be prepared to lick the bowl.
Just look at it!
Simple Syrup
It’s no secret, I can’t handle my coffee black. I mean, if I were stranded in the woods and that was my only option, I would drink it. And if I’m having a super-sweet dessert, sometimes I’ll drink it with cream only to cut the sweetness of whatever I’m eating. But really, I’m a cream and sugar kind of girl. And none of that powdered & flavored non-dairy creamer/sweetener. What IS that stuff, anyway?
Occasionally I’ll splurge and buy a small bottle of Starbucks vanilla syrup, because it really is THAT good. And when I’m lucky, I find a large bottle of Monin Vanilla Syrup
Here’s the deal on simple syrup: traditionally it’s a 1 to 1 sugar/water ratio. But most of the recipes you find online are a 2 to 1 ratio, which (stating the obvious here) makes a sweeter, thicker syrup – great for cocktails and sweetening teas and coffees where you don’t want to water down the flavors. Purists will argue that anything other than a 1 to 1 ratio syrup should be called bar syrup, or sugar syrup, rather than simple syrup. Who knew sugar water could cause such controversy! Here’s the deal, though – it’s totally up to you. Today’s concoction was a 2 to 1, but you do what your heart tells you.
Keep your syrup stored in a sealed, clean bottle. (I use an old glass bottle I got at…you guessed it… Home Goods that contained limonaide…mmm). It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month, or on your counter for a week or so. If you don’t think you’ll use it up, make smaller batches.
Add syrup to coffee, tea (great for sweetening already cold tea when granulated sugar won’t dissolve), oatmeal, fruit. Or you could just drink it straight out of the bottle. 
Finally, today I made vanilla syrup, but you can add any number of extracts or flavorings. Think almond, hazelnut, orange or lemon peels for a citrus note, cinnamon sticks, coffee beans. You get the picture.
Vanilla Syrup:
1 to 1 parts sugar to water for a thin syrup
2 to 1 parts sugar to water for a thicker syrup
1 t. vanilla per cup sugar
Add sugar to water in a small saucepan on medium-high heat.
Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Add any flavorings or infusions now, and remove from heat.
Let cool, and pour into a glass bottle using a funnel or measuring cup with a pour spout.
Enjoy!
Berries & Cream Sponge Cake
Our friends, Brittany, Jared, & Caleb, are heading to Africa for a mission trip in about three weeks, and tonight they had a big fundraiser at a local restaurant. Several people made desserts for them to sell. Since I don’t know of any traditional African desserts, I made a sponge cake. The recipe is straight from the Sweet Food book, my current favorite dessert cookbook. A few pointers:
You are instructed to sift the flour. Because I was making this cake to serve others at a fundraising event, I followed the directions. I often skip sifting. Let’s just keep that between us.
Also, you are instructed to cool the cakes before adding the berries and creme.
The recipe calls for raspberry preserves. I got triple berry, because if one is good, three is better, right?
Funny sidenote, when I finally put it all together, M. exlaimed, “It’s a cake!”
Finally, the recipe.
Berries & Creme Sponge Cake
4 eggs
1 t. Vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 T. raspberry (or triple berry) preserves
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
confectioners sugar, to dust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8″ cake pans. Beat the eggs, vanilla and sugar until pale and fluffy (about five minutes).
Sift the flour and cornstarch together, and add to the egg and sugar mixture. Fold quickly and lightly using a large metal spoon until just combined. Divide the mixture evenly between pans. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in pan for five minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
Spread one cake with the preserves and whipped cream, then place the other on top. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Garnish with fresh berries.
About the cookbook:
Good Ganache
As a girl brought up mainly on boxed cake mixes and tub icing, I’m slowly working my way out of that trap. And while I have yet to find a suitable replacement for the box mix when it comes to basic white and yellow cake mixes, nothing beats a homemade icing. What IS in the tub stuff, anyway?
So yesterday I wanted to make some yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing, in honor of my friend Brittany’s birthday. The cake mix didn’t make the cut for this post, but the icing – a rich dark chocolate ganache – certainly did. The best part – it’s pretty much the easiest thing to make. Ever. This recipe makes enough to ice 12 cupcakes, or a small (8-9 inch) round cake. I made sure to scrape every last drop out of my pan, and put the little bit that was leftover in a container to eat today with a strawberry. You don’t want to waste this stuff.
Good Ganache
3 oz. quality dark or bittersweet chocolate
1/4 C whipping creme
1 oz. butter
1 T. sugar (optional)
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. If mixture is too bitter, add up to 1 T. sugar, and stir until dissolved.
2009
Brownie For Two
The problem with making a whole pan of brownies is that you end up eating a whole pan of brownies. Now, I love the Duncan Hines Family Style Dark Chocolate brownies as much as the next girl, but who needs a whole pan? I already have a gigantic sweet tooth, which explains these last 7-10 pounds that keep hanging around (literally!). So I don’t need the remaining 3/4 pan of brownies taunting me for days just because I was having a chocolate craving on a Wednesday evening.
I did a bit of research online for some 1-2 serving brownie recipes and came up with this. It’s a generous 2-person serving, or if you’re being good, would work for up to 4. I like a fudgy brownie, and this recipe resembles the density/texture of a chocolate-hazelnut torte recipe I save for special occasions.
Brownie For Two
- 2 oz. dark chocolate – really dark
- 1/4 stick butter
- 1/5 C. plus 1 T sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1/4 t. vanilla flavoring
- 1/4 C. flour
- pinch salt
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt together the butter and chocolate. Add sugar, vanilla, and egg and combine. You get this:
Next, add the flour and salt. Stir until smooth. Mmm. (Feel free to take a little taste – you know – for quality control).
Pour into a small greased cake pan. I have a 5″ one I used, and it was perfect. If you don’t have a small pan, you can divide the batter into muffin tins. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18 minutes, or just until the middle is set.
Serve with ice cream, if you wish.
