Tag Archives: raspberry

Rugelach Cookies – Raspberry Pecan and Apricot Walnut

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I was thrown a challenge. I had to make Rugelach (a jewish cookie) based on the description my friend Vidya gave me. She had eaten these amazing cookies in New York, and wanted me to reproduce them. I cheated a bit. I used Ina Garten’s Rugelach recipe. I love Ina’s recipe for sweets, and this one was no different.

Notes

- Rugelach dough has a lot of butter and cream cheese, so you must make sure the dough is very cold before rolling it out
- Make sure your work surface is well floured when rolling out the dough
- You can roll the dough into crescents like Ive done. Or simply roll it into a log and cut spiral discs
- Vary the filling according to taste and imagination. The basic combination is brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, raisins + jam or preserves + nuts. (Next time I want to try a fig and pine nut rugelach using fig preserves and pine nuts).
- I halved Ina’s recipe, and made each cookie larger. I also made two different flavored cookies (apricot walnut and raspberry pecan).

Rugelach with Raspberry Pecan and Apricot Walnut filling Recipe

adapted from Ina Garten’s Rugelach recipe
makes about 16 cookies

for the dough
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour

for the raisin filling
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins

for raspberry pecan filling
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons raspberry preserves, microwaved for a few seconds

for apricot walnut filling
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons apricot preserves, microwaved for a few seconds

for eggwash
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon for sprinkling

Place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Use the paddle attachment and beat till creamy. Add sugar, salt and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour. Beat until just combined. Roll the dough into a ball. Divide the ball into two. Wrap both dough balls in cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Combine all ingredients for the raisin filling in a bowl.

Take out one ball from the fridge. On a well floured surface, roll it out into a 9 inch circle. Spread raspberry preserves all over the dough circle. Then sprinkle pecans. Then sprinkle half of the raisin-sugar filling. Cut the circle into 8 wedges, like you would a pizza. Now roll each wedge. Start at the base (wider end) and roll towards the pointed end. Turn the sides inwards to form a crescent. Repeat for all wedges, Place on a baking tray and return to the fridge for another 30 minutes.

Repeat the process for the second dough ball, this time using the apricot walnut filling.

Preheat oven to 350f

Once the cookies have been in the fridge for 30 minutes, brush them with eggwash (you will use only about half the egg wash). Sprinkle a little sugar cinnamon micture on top of each cookie. Bake in a 350 f oven for 15-20 minutes orr until light brown.

Raspberry Buttermilk Sherbet

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I’m in possession of a brand new Cuisinart ice cream maker. And this fruity, tart, not too heavy and gorgeous pink sherbet is exactly the sort of frozen treat I wanted to make to  inaugurate my ice cream maker. This food network recipe is super simple and easy – only 5 ingredients!

The original sherbet recipe uses some cracked black pepperon top of the sherbet. I left this out.

This is the ice cream maker I bought:

For the price, its fantastic

Difference between sherbet and sorbet

- Sorbets never have dairy. They only contain fruit puree, sugar, water and flavorings.

- Sherbets always contain some dairy. Besides the fruit puree and sugar, sherbets will have cream, milk or buttermilk in this case.

In the UK however, a sherbet is a fizzy drink! Its the same in India where I come from; some cold drinks are called ‘sarbath’.

There is always a pile of dishes to do in my kitchen, thanks to my food blogging tendencies. But my trusty human dish washer always helps…and then he is rewarded with sherbet ;)

Notes

- Pretty much any fruit will work in this recipe – peaches, mangoes, all berries

- Make sure the sugar is superfine. If not, it will not dissolved in the liquids properly. You could put granulated sugar in a food processor to make it finer

To make frozen treats like ice cream, sorbet and sherbet without an ice cream maker:

Place the ice cream mixture in an airtight container. Freeze till it has become solid. Then remove from freezer, break it up, and put the icecream in a blender. Blend till smooth. Return ice cream to the freezer. Once it has frozen again, repeat this process once more (blend again and freeze again).

Raspberry Buttermilk Sherbet Recipe

Adapted from this Food network recipe
serves 4-6

6 cups raspberries
1/4 cup 100% grape or apple juice
1 cup superfine sugar
1 1/2 cups whole buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt

In a blender, puree the raspberries, fruit juice and sugar. Pass through a strainer (with a bowl below), reserving the liquid and discarding the solids that remain in the strainer.  Stir in buttermilk, cream and salt.  Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Then process the mixture in an ice cream maker according manufacturers instructions. Then scoop the churned sherbet into an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Thaw the sherbet for about 5 minutes before serving.

See notes above on how to make this recipe without an ice cream maker.

Summer Triple Berry Sangria with a hint of Ginger. A Red Lobster Copycat Recipe

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Lets kick off the summer with a sweet, refreshing, berry sangria, shall we? This is a red lobster copy cat recipe — there isnt much vegetarian food at Red Lobster restaurants (not that im expecting any!), but I can eat their buttery biscuits and drink their triple berry sangria all day long.

The berries soak up the vodka and wine, and get all boozy and yummy. But dont let the berries sit in the wine too long, they can discolor. You must serve the sangria as soon as youve made it.

 

La Grange Winery, VA

Virginia’s wine country is nearby; so our summers are filled with wine tasting, winery hopping, and picnics at the vineyards. We bring home lots of wine when we go on there day trips. But I dont use the good wine for sangria. Whatever wine is on sale at the grocery will do.

We collect wines from around the world, but our local favorite is Narmada Winery, VA  which has an Indian touch

 If you prefer, you can use white wine in this sangria recipe. Also, change up the ingredients as you like – orange juice instead of blueberry juice, triple sec or brandy instead of vodka, club soda instead of ginger ale..the possibilities are endless.

Summer Triple Berry Sangria with a hint of Ginger Recipe

makes 1 large pitcher

1 cup strawberries hulled
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 teaspoon sized knob of fresh ginger, peeled and lightly crushed
1 1/2 cups berry flavored vodka (I used Absolut raspberry)
1 1/2 cups berry flavored juice (I used Ocean spray blueberry juice)
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
one 750 ml bottle of red wine (I used Barefoot Merlot)
1-2 cups gingerale
ice cubes
mint sprigs for garnish

In a large pitcher, place the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, ginger, vodka, fruit juice, and sugar. Mix well. Cover the pitcher and let the berries macerate in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Fish out and discard the ginger piece. Just before serving, stir in the wine, gingerale and ice cubes.

Rhubarb Raspberry Polenta Cake

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Its rhubarb season! Grocery store shelves are brimming with these beautiful red stalks. I couldnt let spring roll around and not make anything with rhubarb! Usually, rhubarb is used along with strawberries in pies (because rhubarb and strawberry seasons coincide). This recipe features rhubarb, along with raspberries in a polenta or cornmeal cake. If you like corn cakes, you’ll certainly love this dessert version!

Andrea, from Cooking Books blog says its the Scandinavians who know how to best enjoy the tartness of rhubarb. Andrea says,

“I’m not sure anyone appreciates rhubarb the way the Scandinavians do. In the US, it seems like you rarely find rhubarb without strawberry to mellow it’s tartness. But in Norway, rhubarb stands very much on its own. In fact, R remembers as a child being given stalks of raw rhubarb with a small bag of sugar for dipping and munching.”

Tart rhubarb, tart raspberries, in a sweet, cornmeal cake. Just delicious! And I love the ‘corny’ taste and texture of this cake too.

I adapted the recipe from this recipe for raspberry and lemon polenta cake  by Jane Hornby. Jane’s recipe is for a layered polenta cake, filled with a cream cheese filling. I left out the filling all together and simply made a single cake, adding rhubarb.

Add most the fruit to the batter and bake half way. Then sprinkle more berries on top of the half-cooked cake and continue baking.

Ever baked a cake with fruits in it and all the fruits sink to the bottom? Jane has the solution! Its a great trick for getting this cake to look beautiful too. Reserve some of the berries and then sprinkle them on top of your cake half way through baking. The cake should still be jiggly when you do this. Gently press the berries into the batter like the picture above and return cake to the oven. The batter will bake around the berries and when its done, you’ll have a perfect, berry studded cake!

You can store this cake covered at room temperature for about 2-3 days or wrapped tightly in the fridge for about 4-5 days. Serve with icecream or homemade rhubarb-raspberry compote.

Rhubarb Raspberry Polenta or Cornmeal Cake Recipe

adapted from this recipe  by Jane Hornby
serves about 8

8 oz or 225 grams sugar
8 oz or 225 grams butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 oz or 175 grams fine cornmeal or polenta
1.75 oz or 50 grams flour(I used cake flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 cup raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 375F. Butter a 9 inch cake tin or baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a standing mixer, cream the sugar and butter together for about 3 minutes. Then add the eggs to this mixture one by one. Beat on high speed till the mixture is fluffy. Add vanilla and turn off the mixer.

Sift together the cornmeal/polenta, flour, baking powder and salt. Fold this into the egg mixture in 2 batches. Stir in lemon zest. Pour this batter into the baking dish or cake tin.

Reserve about 1/8 cup of the rhubarb and 1/8 cup of raspberries. Sprinkle the rest of the rhubarb and raspberries on top of the cake batter. Smooth out the top. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. The cake should still be jiggly, but risen. At this stage, take out the cake from the oven. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Sprinkle the lemon juice-sugar mixture all over the top of the cake.

Then arrange the reserved rhubarb pieces and raspberries on top of the half cooked cake. Gently poke them into the batter (but dont poke them all the way in — see picture in post above).  Return cake to the oven and bake another 10 minutes. Cool cake slightly before removing it from the pan.

Raspberry Mousse Tartlets with a Chocolate Surprise

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raspberry-mousse-pie2

 I had a really stressful week. When I was talking about it to my friend K, she suggested two things. Go over to her place for dinner. Or make something decadent and post it on my blog. (Notice how both involve food?!). I went with option two. What can be more stress busting than cooking (and then making S clean up)? What can make a girl happier than a luscious raspberry mouse tart with dark chocolate ganache hidden inside?! And what can make me forget my worries that reading your comments :) Stress be gone!

mousse-tart-diptych

 You can whip up this dessert rather quickly because there is no baking involved. The only time consuming step is chilling the tartlets for atleast 3 hours so that the filling sets.
 chocolate-surprise

I used store bought graham cracker mini tarts. You can use whatever pie crust you like. An oreo crust will be great too.

 The filling is raspberry jello powder or agar agar, mixed with a quick raspberry jam (recipe below), cream cheese and cream.

Whip everything together. Pour a little chocolate ganache at the bottom of the pie/tart. Then pour the raspberry mousse in and let it set.

You cant see the chocolate layer, but once you cut into the tartlet, there is a nice little chocolate surprise waiting for you.

Regular mousse involves eggs. But this recipe is eggless. You still get a wonderful, creamy yet light mousse from the addition of fruit pectin and jello powder or agar agar.

raspberry-mousse-tart

Raspberry Mousse Pie/Tart/Tartlet with Chocolate Surprise Recipe
loosely adapted from this recipe on Recipe Bazaar
makes about 6 mini tarts

6 mini graham cracker pie crust or any pie/tart shell of your choice. If the crust you are using needs baking, pre-bake it according to package directions

for quick chocolate ganache
2 oz dark chocolate bar
1 1/2 tbsp heavy cream

for raspberry mousse
6 oz fresh raspberries
1 1/2 tbsp fruit pectin powder
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

1 1/2 tbsp raspberry jello powder or agar-agar
1 1/2 tbsp boiling water
3 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream

Start with the raspberry jam. In a medium pan, heat the raspberries, pectin, sugar and salt on medium heat. Cook till the mixture is bubbling and slightly thickened. About 4 minutes. Then press the raspberries through a strainer, discard the pulp and seeds and reserve the liquid jam. Let the jam cool.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric beater, place the boiling water and jello or agar agar and mix till dissolved. Then add the cooled jam and cream cheese. Mix with a fork till well incorporated. Pour in cream. Using the beater, whip/beat the mixture on high till thick.

For the chocolate ganache, place the dark chocolate and cream in a pan and cook on low heat just untill the chocolate melts. Be careful not to burn the chocolate

Divide the chocolate ganache evenly among the pie crusts. Let it cool about 5 minutes. Then pour the raspberry mousse mixture into the pie crusts, over the chocolate ganache. Refridgerate atleast 3 hours to allow the mousse to set. Serve chilled, garnished with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings.

NOTE (added Oct 13 ’09): the raspberry filling was very slightly runny for me. (You can see that in the picture of the cut open tart above). You may want to use more jello or agar (3 tbsp jello/agar + 3 tbsp boiling water) to help the filling set better.

Light Chocolate Raspberry Pie. On a related note – Alton Brown, Marry Me!!

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The main ingredient in this pie is tofu.
Yes, tofu.
Take a moment to be shocked.
Now read on for a luscious, easy, and decadent recipe.

I’ve seen recipes on TV where people use tofu in dessert. I saw someone make a fruit smoothie with tofu. And my reaction was “Yuck”. And I’m someone that loves tofu. If you’ve been reading my blog, you probably know that by now! But tofu in dessert?! I wouldn’t have ever ventured in that direction if I hadn’t come across Alton Brown’s Moo-Less Chocolate Pie recipe. Now, Alton Brown can make wax taste good. I trust AB. So I tried this recipe; happily combining unlikely ingredients.

The result – a luscious mousse like chocolate filling and you’ll never ever know there is tofu in there! And the best part is, once you learn the basic method (which is super easy) you can create endless different flavors and variations. The original recipe is in the link above; below is my slightly modified version.


The above photo is my entry to the CLICK photo event hosted by Jugalbandi blog. This month’s theme is Crusts.

Pre-made store bought pie crust 9″- 1, I used a graham cracker crust.
Silken Tofu – 1 block
Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips – 1 cup scant, I used Ghirardelli.
Dark Chocolate Chips – 1 cup
Coffee Liquor – 1/3 cup, I used Kahlua.
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Honey – 1 tbsp
Raspberries – 1 cup
Almonds slivered – 1 hand full
Salt – pinch

Put both the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for about 2 minutes or until just melted. Every 30 seconds, stir the chocolate chips. Keep an eye on the chocolate, it will burn easily. If you want to melt the chips the traditional way, melt them in a double broiler.

Put the tofu, melted chocolate, vanilla, honey, coffee liquor and salt in a blender and blend till smooth. Stir the mixture well so everything is well combined

Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie shell. Decorate the top with raspberries and almonds. Or you could chop up the berries and add them to the chocolate mixture instead.

Refrigerate atleast 2 hours before serving. If you don’t have pie crust, simply serve as a mousse.

The chocolate filling tastes its best on the 3rd day and beyond. So definitely make this atleast 2 days ahead to get the best flavor!

Alton Brown, MARRY ME!!!


Some Tasty Variations

The structure of this recipe is Tofu + Flavour + Liquor + Sweetener + Vanilla/other Extract. By changing the flavor ingredient and the liquor, you can make hundreds of different fillings. Here are some ideas to start you off.

Mint Chocolate – mint liquor, chocolate chips and vanilla
Orange Chocolate – orange zest, triple sec, chocolate chips and almond extract
Strawberry Mousse – frozen strawberries, strawberry jam, sugar syrup, vanilla
Pumpkin Mousse – can pumpkin, sugar syrup, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, vanilla
Mango Mousse – mango pulp, sugar syrup, rum
Peanut Butter – peanut butter, chocolate chips and vanilla
Pina Colada – pineapple, coconut milk/dessicated coconut, sugar syrup and rum
Key Lime – key lime juice, sugar syrup and vanilla
Tiramisu – brewed espresso, chocolate, coffee liquor and vanilla
Irish Coffee – Irish cream, coffee, chocolate and vanilla
Banana Split – chopped bananas, sugar syrup, banana liquor and vanilla. Layer with banana filling, strawberry mousse filling and chocolate filling. Top with cherries.

If you dont want to use sugar syrup, try maple syrup, agave nectar or extra honey instead.

I haven’t tried any of the variations, so I cant give you exact measurements. If you try any of the variations, write in and let me know how it turned out!

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