Blackberry Shortcakes with Lemon Biscuits

I was so excited to find what appeared to be ripe, gorgeous local blackberries at the market the other today. Upon getting them home however, I discovered them to be horribly sour. Like, so sour as to almost be inedible. I assure you, my disappointment was immense… Since they couldn’t very well be eaten alone, I figured that the best thing to do was to make something sweet and delicious out of them. Inspired, I decided to do a spin on the classic strawberry shortcake. I love citrus in desserts, and berries with citrus are one of my favorite flavor combinations, so I decided to add lemon zest to the biscuits. The result was a bright, and surprisingly light dessert, and incredibly easy to make.

Ingredients:

Yields 6 Shortcakes

Berries:

– 5 c. blackberries

– 2/3 c. powdered sugar

– 2 Tbsp. water

 

Biscuits:

– 3/4 c. chilled buttermilk

– 2 Tbsp. lemon zest

– 2 1/4 c. flour

– 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

– 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

– 1 tsp. baking soda

– 1/4 tsp. salt

– 6 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter (3/4 stick)

– 1 Tbsp. raw or demerara sugar

 

Directions:

Berries:

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan

2. Stir over medium heat until berries soften and become syrupy — about 10-15 minutes

3. Remove from heat and let cool. Berries should be served at room temperature. Can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.

 

Biscuits:

1. Preheat oven to 425F

2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper

3. Combine buttermilk and lemon zest in a small bowl

4. In a large bowl mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. Be sure to break up any large clumps of sugar

5. Cut butter into small cubes and add to four mixture

6. Rub butter into flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs

7. Add the buttermilk mixture and combine with a fork until just blended. Dough will be sticky and may seem “loose” but don’t add more flour!

8. Transfer dough to a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead 4-5 times, but be careful not to overwork (over-handling will make your biscuits tough)

9. Pat dough out until about 3/4” thick

10. Using a 3” cookie cutter (you could also use a greased drinking glass or mug if you don’t own a cookie cutter), cut dough into rounds

11. Combine dough scraps, pat out, and cut into rounds until no dough remains. You should have 6-7 in total

12. Place rounds on your lined baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar

13. Bake biscuits at 425F for 15 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean

14. Cool slightly — about 15 minutes

15. Using a serrated knife, cut each biscuit in half. Spread blackberry mixture over each bottom-half, dividing equally. Place top half of biscuits on blackberries, then top each with an equal portion of the remaining blackberry mixture.

16. Top shortcakes with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Serve and enjoy!

Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2009

Mint-Chocolate Icebox Cake

Imagine if a box of Thin Mints and fresh whipped cream had a baby….delicious, yes? You need not merely imagine it, this recipe for a Mint-Chocolate Icebox Cake is not only insanely delicious, but ridiculously easy too.

Sort of an old-fashioned version of ice cream cake, icebox cakes are not as common or popular as they used to be, but have seen a renewal in popularity in recent years as many other retro things have become en vogue again. I had always wanted to try icebox cake — traditionally made with Nabisco Chocolate Wafers layered with plain whipped cream and left in the refrigerator or icebox overnight so that the cookies soften and the cream becomes firm– it is right up my alley. For all of the time that I prattle on about the benefits of eating seasonally/locally/organically it is only fair that I confess something here. I love Cool Whip. Notice I did not say whipped cream. No, I adore the completely artificial, terrible-for-you stuff that comes in a flimsy plastic tub. Specifically I like it semi-frozen, and I am both ashamed and completely serious when I say that I have been known to eat an entire tub by myself. Like a family-size tub. In one sitting. With a spoon….Yeah. So, like I said a whipped cream and cookie cake: totally my wet dream.

What finally inspired me to try making an icebox cake however, was watching The Barefoot Contessa in the waiting room at my doctor’s office. Ina Garten made a Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake that looked absolutely killer. I decided to make my own more kid-friendly version to celebrate my stepson, Ethan, coming to visit us. The Mint-Chocolate version I made has received rave reviews. It was a little bit messy and runny at first, but after sticking it in the freezer for a bit it was absolutely to-die-for! And this is just about as easy as it gets — especially if you buy the chocolate wafers from the store.

Ingredients:

– 2 packages store-bought chocolate wafers, or, try my recipe for  homemade ones

For mint whipped cream:

– 4 cups heavy whipping cream

– 3 Tbsp. sugar

– 1 tsp. peppermint extract

– Green food coloring (optional)

– Chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, or chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine cream, sugar, and peppermint extract. Beat on high speed until thick and stiff peaks form

2. In a spring-form cake pan make one layer of chocolate wafers. I like to break up a few cookies to fill in the extra spaces

3. Cover wafers completely with a layer of the mint whipped cream

4. Make a second layer of wafers

5. Continue layering whipped cream and wafers until you reach the top of the cake tin, ending with a layer of cream

6. Cover with cling-film and chill. For a more traditional icebox cake leave in the refrigerator overnight, but my preference is to stick it in the freezer until firm

7. Once thoroughly chilled remove cling-film, remove from pan and decorate

8. Slice and enjoy!

Chocolate Wafer Cookies Recipe (Vegan)

These cookies are fantastic for making ice box cakes, like the Mint-Chocolate one in the following blog entry, but they are also sublime on their own. This recipe is vegan but I will include options for a non-vegan version as well. Adapted from     The Joy of Baking.

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 c. flour

– 1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

– 1/4 tsp. salt

– 1/4 tsp. baking soda

– 1/2 c. sugar

– 2/3 c. light brown sugar

– 10 Tbsp. Earth Balance or other butter substitute, or butter

– 4 Tbsp. almond milk, or regular milk

– 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda

2. In a separate bowl cream together butter (substitute) and sugars

3. Add (almond) milk and vanilla to sugar mixture

4. Fold dry mixture into wet

5. Stir until well integrated and batter comes together

6. Flip batter out onto a dry surface and knead briefly

7. Form batter into a log shape and roll in wax paper. Place in refrigerator to chill overnight, or for a minimum of 1 hour

8. Once batter has chilled, preheat oven to 350F

9. Unwrap dough and slice into 1/4” – 1/2” disks. Personally, I like thicker wafers for ice box cakes, and thinner wafers for snacking…

10. Line cookie sheets with wax paper, place 9-12 cookies per tray, and bake for 11-13 minutes

11. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, remove from trays to finish cooling. Recipe makes 28-36 cookies, depending on width. Enjoy!

Stone Fruit Pie with Lattice Top

On Sundays I always like to bake something for us to enjoy throughout the week. Today at the market I found the loveliest plums, apricots, and cherries. Normally so expensive, when these fruits are in season I try to use them as often as possible. Today they looked so good I bought plenty so that we will be able to snack on them throughout the week and so that I could also make a wonderful stone fruit pie.

I love making pies, and make them often, especially in the summer. However, someone — I won’t say who — is trying to watch their cholesterol so today I tried making a vegan version of this pie and substituted half of the white flour in the pie crust with whole wheat flour. Substituting the butter in the pie crust proved not to be as much of an issue as I had feared it might. The wheat flour on the other hand was. I usually prefer wheat — I think it has a more robust flavor. I guess that’s just the thing though: you don’t want your pastries to be “robust” — you want them to be light, and flaky, and decadent. Don’t get me wrong — the crust was still quite good, but it wasn’t nearly as indulgent and delicious as a white flour crust… This pie filling is to-die-for though — just the right balance of sweet and tart — but you can use this basic recipe for a pie with any summer fruit (berries, peaches, etc.) My philosophy with fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables is to do as little to them as possible: simpler is always better with quality ingredients!

Stone Fruit Pie

Ingredients:

– 1 Pie Crust (See my preceding blog entry — “Perfect Pie Crust”)
– 2 cups pitted quartered cherries
– 2 cups pitted sliced plums
– 2 cups pitted sliced apricots (fresh, not dried)
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 3 Tbsp. cornstarch (this is what will bind the sugars from your fruits so that your pie isn’t runny and your crust doesn’t get soggy)
– 1 egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Make pie dough

3. While dough is chilling, remove pits from fruits and slice. Put fruit pieces in a large bowl

4. Add sugar and cornstarch to fruit and mix well

5. Let fruit sit

6. Roll out one half of your pie crust and fit into a 9” pie pan

7. Make the lattice top for your pie (See preceding blog “How to Make a Lattice Top for a Pie Crust” for detailed instructions)

8. Your fruit should now look a bit syrupy — in other words, it should look like pie filling 🙂

9. Pour filling into pie crust

10. Place lattice on top of pie

11. Tear excess ends from lattice

12. Fold overhanging pieces of bottom crust over lattice ends

13. If you’d like to use an egg wash (I did not since I was making vegan pie today) simply beat an egg with a little bit of milk or water and coat lattice using a pastry brush. This will add a little bit of shine to your crust but is purely aesthetic and does not affect the taste.

14. Bake in oven at 400F for 50 minutes. Check after 35-40 minutes — if crust looks too dark cover with aluminum foil and continue baking

15. Remove from oven

16. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

17. Slice, top with ice cream of whipped cream if you desire, and enjoy

And about 30 seconds later….

Perfect Pie Crust Recipe

Here is my recipe for perfect, flaky pie crust. It is simple to make, and easy to remember as it is all 1s and 3s. You can easily make it vegan by substituting the butter with butter substitute or vegetable shortening.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 cup butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup ice water

Directions:

1. Place flour in a large bowl

2. Add sugar and salt and mix well

3. Cut butter into small pea sized pieces. I do this by “shaving” the butter with a knife

4. Work the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs, as seen below:

 I used half white flour and half whole wheat flour here, which is why it appears a bit dark

5. Slowly add ice water while mixing with a spoon. As you add the ice water you will see your crust begin to come together. It may seem a bit dry to you after all of the water has been added, but that is normal! Here’s what mine looked like after all of the water was added:

6. Now pack your dough together using your hands and divide into two equal parts. It is very important to touch your pie dough as little as possible. You want those bits of butter to stay as in tact as they can — that’s why we use ice water here. Those bits of butter are what’s going to make your pie crust flaky and rich. Shape each part into a fat disk, like so:

7. Cover and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

8. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin.

9. Roll one disk at a time, starting in the middle and working your way outward. Flip after every four rolls so that crust does not stick to your work surface.

10. Roll out until it is 1-2 mm thick

11. Gently transfer to your pie pan

12. Roll out your second piece of dough to use for your pie top. If you are making a “topless” pie (for example, pecan) this dough freezes really well. Or you can always just halve the recipe….:)