Berry Dessert Recipes – It’s Cool to be Hot!

Late spring into early summer is the best time for berries and though they’re wonderful out-of-hand or fresh with a bit of cream, they shine in recipes that really feature them. Seasonally, with summer on the doorstep we begin to think in terms of menus with recipes for chilled food, so it seems a contradiction that some of the best berry desserts are cooked, and served warm or at room temperature. Of course, we can fix that by serving them with ice cream on top, but the fact remains that they aren’t refrigerated   Actually, the tolerance of these dessert dishes for warmer temperatures makes them perfect for outdoor summer parties and picnics when the weather is hot. If the situation doesn’t permit providing a chilled topping like ice cream, simply substitute a shaker of powdered sugar for garnish. Sprinkling chopped nuts over the tops before baking is another way to garnish.

Of course pies are the first thing that comes to mind when discussing cooked berry deserts.  They are the all-time favorites and can be sooo good, but can easily become disasters. Whether you buy or make the crust dough, always be sure to have enough berries to really fill the shell, even to the point of having them mound in the center. Berries contain a lot of water, and using too few makes the filling watery and the crust soggy. I like to bake pies with fresh fruit simply tossed with a tablespoon or so of cornstarch, about the same amount of sugar and dotted with butter, .but some recipes call for pre-cooking the fruit.  If using one of those recipes make sure you have Fruit prepared this way can also be used to make the Crumble Cake recipe given below.

Strawberries are an exception. They contain so much water they need another fruit to give them body when cooked. A couple of specific solutions to ways to use them are listed below. The other recipes listed are traditional, some quite old, and most out of fashion for decades. Call them the forgotten winners. Some recipes were calculated to be made in individual baking crocks, which I would estimate to be about 1 ½ cup size. I’ve indicated pan sizes to make them in one dish.

Also, please note that though all the recipes use fresh seasonal fruit not all have berries in their titles.  However, berries are an accepted substitute in everything but the Kutchen, and the pandowdeys. As for those dishes, I would like to experiment because I think a few strawberries could be added to the Kutchen and that a pandowdey could be made from blueberries. Perhaps. If you try those desserts and like them, you could try those options on your own. In any case, all the desserts are delicious and provide a change from the usual summer ones.

 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie:

• Crust for a covered pie
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup flour
• 2 pt. strawberries
• 1 lb. rhubarb – chopped
• 2 Tbs. butter

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Gently toss sugar, flour and fruit together  and let marinate 30 min. Line a 9 inch pie plate with one layer of crust. Pour filling into shell and dot with butter. Cover with second layer of crust with holes cut to vent steam. Bake in a preheated 400 deg. oven for 35 – 40 min until bubbly and brown.

 

Blueberry-Strawberry Buckle*

• ¼ cup butter-room temperature
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ egg
• ½ cup blueberries
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup sliced strawberries
• ¾ cups flour
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease crocks. Cream ½ the butter with ½ the sugar. Blend in egg and vanilla. Stir together ½ cup flour, baking powder and salt then add alternately

to the egg mixture with the milk Divide batter among crocks, top with fruit. In a small bowl combine remaining sugar, flour, and spices. Cut in the remaining butter until it looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the fruit in the crocks. Bake for 35 min. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

• * Can be doubled and baked in a 9 inch square pan.

 

4 Berry Brown Betty*

• 3 cups soft breadcrumbs (sourdough is good)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 6 Tbs. butter – melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• ¾ cup + 2 Tbs. sugar-divided
• 1 cup fresh blackberries
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp. zested lemon peel
• 11/2 cups fresh strawberries
• ¼ tsp. salt

Butter a casserole or 9 x 13 inch baking dish. In a bowl whisk together bread crumbs, butter, 3 Tbs. sugar and nutmeg until mixture is very moist. In another bowl stir together the fruit, lemon peel, salt and the rest of the ¾ cup sugar .Divide 1/3 of the crumb mix between the crocks, top with half the berry mix. Repeat the layers ending with the crumbs. Sprinkle with the 2 Tbs. sugar. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven @ 40 – 45 min. until toping is golden and filling bubbles. Allow to stand at least 30mins. Serve at room temperature with ice cream, or cream if desired.

• *Any fruit can be substituted in equal quantity for the berries. Dryer ones, like apples, may need ¼ cup of liquid to make sufficient juice. Substitute, or add appropriate spices

 

Apple Crisp*

• 6-8 apples-peeled and sliced
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼-1/2 cup juice or water
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• ½ cup butter – melted
• 1 cup flour OR ½ cup mixed with
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts(optional)
• ½ cup rolled oats (not instant)
• Confectioner’s sugar

Mix first three ingredients. Divide among crocks. Toss all the other ingredients, except the confectioner’s sugar, until coarse crumbs form. Spread the crumbs evenly over the tops of the apples, and bake in a 376 degree oven about 30 min until apples are tender and top is golden. Dust with Confectioner’s sugar. Serve warm with whipped cream topping.

*Crisps can be made from any fruit, even rhubarb is an option, just regulate the amount of added liquid according to the juiciness of the fruit. They shouldn’t be runny. Recipe can be doubled and made in an ovenproof dish.

 

Cherry Cobbler:*

• 3 cups pitted cherries (11/2lbs)
• ¼ cup buttermilk(or milk)
• 21/2 Tbs. sugar
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• ½ Tbs. honey
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tbs. butter – melted
• ½ tsp. lemon juice
• 1 cup + 2 Tbs. flour OR
• 1 Tbs. flour
• ½ cup flour+1 Tbs. and ½ cup ground almonds
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract

Grease crocks. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together first 5 ingredients, then stir in flour and salt. Divide among crocks and bake10 min. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to350 degrees. Mix the remaining dry ingredients. Stir in the butter to form crumbs. Stir in buttermilk and extract until combined. Drop batter by spoonful’s in a cobblestone pattern over the fruit. Bake 25-30 min until browned and bubbly. Let stand 30 min. Serve warm.

• *Cobblers are good with berries and the juicier pitted fruits, just adjust spices for flavorings. Again recipe can be doubled and baked in a 9×13 dish.

 

Peach Pandowdey* Recipe Pre 1890

• 1qt peaches peeled (3 cups sliced)
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter melted
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1/.2 cup sugar

Melt the butter and use some to grease the crocks. Cut the peaches  about ½ inch thick slices. Mix sugar, salt and flour and gradually add milk to make a smooth batter. Add the remaining butter and peaches. Pour into the crocks and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven30-45 min until brown. Serve warm.

 

Plum Pandowdey* Recipe After 1890

• 4 cups stoned and halved plums
• 1 cup flour
• 6 Tbs. brown sugar
• 2 .p. salt
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• ½ tsp. lemon juice
• 6 Tbs. milk
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• ¼ cup butter
• Sugar for topping
• Cinnamon for topping

Grease the crocks. Prepare the first 6 ingredients in column I as if for the Cobbler, by stirring them in a bowl, and then dividing them equally between the crocks Whisk the dry ingredients in column II, then cut in the butter until it resembles peas. Last stir in the milk until well blended. Kneed the dough slightly on a floured board, separate it into balls and

pat each into a circle that will just fit inside the top of a crock. Lay the dough rounds on the crocks, but do not attach to the crock edges. Sprinkle the dough circles with the extra sugar and cinnamon. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven about 30-40 min until top is golden and filling bubbles up all around and slightly over it. Cool 20 min. Serve with cream.

• *Pandowdeys do well with apples, pears and all stone fruit—not berries. In the first version ¼ cup juice may be added to apples. Pre made buttermilk biscuits can be used in version II, just use confectioner’s sugar, instead of flour, on the board used to pat them out. Rhubarb is also an option in this version.

 

Rhubarb Kutchen

• ¾ + 2 Tbs. flour
• 2-3 cups rhubarb in1 inch pieces
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• *Meringue*
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 egg whites
• ¼ cup butter
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs. chopped nuts
• 6 Tbs. sugar
• 1 egg yolk beaten lightly
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 drips cider vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup flour

Stir together the first 3 dry ingredients in column I. Cut in butter. Stir in nuts and 1 egg yolk until well mixed. Press into the bottom of a 8 x 12 inch pan.. Beat other egg yolk well, stir in next 2 ingredients, add rhubarb, and pour mixture into the pan… Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 45mins.  Remove from oven, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Meanwhile, have made *Meringue* by beating room temperature egg whites until soft peaks form, add vinegar and  beat to incorporate, likewise with vanilla. Gradually add sugar and beat until whites are stiff and glossy.  Spread Meringue over fruit, return to oven and bake until delicately brown-about 10 min. Serve at room temperature.

 

Crumble Cake

This was a popular dessert in the “70s and ‘80s but somehow got lost during the ‘90s It’s  intended to be made with canned pie filling but fresh can be substituted if tossed with cornstarch and sugar as directed under pies above and simmered until the juice renders and thickens. Then proceed as below.

• 2 cans pie filling—of choice
• 1 box cake mix—to fit the above choice
• ½ cup butter – melted
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbs. sugar

Preheat oven to 350degrees. Pour pie filling into a 9×13 inch pan. Sprinkle cake mix over. Drizzle with melted butter. Top with sprinkled sugar and cinnamon. DO NOT STIR. Bake for 30 min or until light brown   Serve warm or cold, topped with ice cream or whipped topping.