Tag: raspberry

November 17, 2014

Gingered Raspberry Pavlova

Sometimes the classics really are the best.

Pride & Prejudice. Chanel No. 5. Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Roast Chicken. The Beatles. Tootsie Rolls.

White Christmas. Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Macarons.

Ballet flats. Herbes de Provence. Berries and cream.

Classics. Things that never truly go out of style. Flavors that just work.

Friends, meet the Pavlova.

The Pavlova is a dessert that was invented in the 1920’s to honor famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova in New Zealand. The meringue is crispy on the outside and fluffy like a marshmallow on the inside. Traditionally it is topped with cream and fresh fruit – making it a blank canvas ready to be explored.

If you’ve never made one of these classics for yourself, you should add it to your list.

Let’s be real. It’s the gingers that have the most fun.

So it would make sense that a little bit of ginger could spice up this classic. It might seem a little fussy, but it is really pretty simple to make and once you get all the components together, you have an impressive dessert.

Gingered Raspberry Pavlova

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 20 mins

Serves: 6 servings

The meringue base and coulis can be made several days in advance and the cream whipped shortly before assembly. The moisture from the whipped cream and the coulis will be absorbed by the merengue and the mix of soft and crunchy textures will be lost.

Ingredients

For the meringue base
150 grams egg whites (this is about 5 large whites)
300 grams (1 1/2 cups) sugar, preferably super fine
For the coulis
2 6-ounce packages fresh raspberries (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup [url href=”http://frannycakes.com/recipes/baking-basics-simple-syrup” title=”Baking Basics: Simple Syrup”]Simple Syrup[/url]
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon tapioca starch, arrowroot or cornstarch
For the whipped cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
To finish it off
1 6-ounce package (about 1 cup) fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

Make the meringue

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and if it will help, trace a 9″ circle and then turn it over so the marked side is down – you should still be able to see the line through the paper.
In a very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (I wipe mine out with a wee bit of vinegar or lemon juice to make sure there is no grease or oil residue), add the egg whites.
Starting on low and slowly raising the speed when bubbles cover the surface, raise the speed to high and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Add the sugar slowly – about 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure that you get back to stiff peaks after each addition.
Dab a small amount of merengue under each corner of the parchment to hold it in place on the sheet.
Scoop your merengue mixture into the circle and use an offset spatula to create a slight well.
Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The merengue is done when it lifts away from the parchment easily. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Make the coulis

In a medium sauce pan, combine the raspberries, simple syrup, lemon juice and fresh ginger. Over medium heat, bring the ingredients to a boil and cook until the raspberries soften.
Sprinkle the starch over 1 tablespoon of water and stir to remove any lumps. Add this to the raspberry mixture and cook the sauce until it starts to thicken (about 3-5 minutes).
Strain the coulis through a fine-mesh sieve and allow to cool.

Whip the cream

Either by hand, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream and tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form.

Assemble the pavlova

Immediately before serving, spread the whipped cream over the top of the merengue.
Gently pour the coulis over the top.
Sprinkle with the fresh raspberries and sliced almonds and serve immediately.

3.2.2807

May 27, 2013

The three best cures for anything

There is an Irish proverb that says “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”

My ancestors got that mostly right.

Sure, there is nothing like curling up in your bed, wrapped in a comforter with squishy pillows to make you feel better. Bed is a great place to recover from colds, surgeries and broken hearts.

As for laughter, it is a scientific fact that laughter is good for you and might even cure what ails you. There is nothing like a good, belly-punching laugh. You know the kind. You get them when you are talking to your girl friends about that night in college. You get them from I Love Lucy. And they make you feel better. Each and every time.

But they forgot something very important.

Cupcakes.

How could they forget cupcakes? Cupcakes cure a good deal of things.

They are effective treatment for the times you get dumped because you bought a pair of designer shoes. They can also be used to help ease the regrets you have for kissing someone you shouldn’t have. Conversely, they are an excellent way for you to take time and over-analyze your interactions with that guy you like.

After surgery, cupcakes are an essential part of the recovery process.

They work wonders for friendships. (I bribe people to be my friends with cupcakes. It’s a thing. And I’m ok with it.)

Sometimes, cupcakes can even be a force for good and help end childhood hunger.

These particular cupcakes were made for for the Chicago Blogger Bake Sale hosted by My Daily Find Chicago and the 900 Shops on Michigan Avenue. Proceeds from the event went to benefit No Kid Hungry as part of the Great American Bake Sale campaign.

These are some serious gluten-free cupcakes. A lemon vanilla bean cupcake filled with raspberry jam and topped with a lemon merengue buttercream. They manage to be light and decadent at the same time, a balance that is hard to find in cupcakes.

Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 36

These cupcakes are a little bit sturdier than some white cakes, but that is because you need to make sure they don’t fall apart when you remove the centers.

Ingredients

For the cakes
1½ cups (360 ml) milk at room temperature
7 large (210 grams) egg whites (pasteurized are fine), at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste OR 1 vanilla bean scraped OR 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons lemon extract
460 grams ( 3¼ cups) gluten free all purpose flour*
2 teaspoons xantham gum**
450 grams (2¼ cups) granulated sugar
7 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
1½ sticks (170 grams) butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
85 grams (6 tablespoons) vegetable shortening
Zest from 1 lemon finely minced
To assemble
1 recipe Lemon Merengue Buttercream (recipe follows)
approximately 1 cup raspberry jam

Instructions

Make the cakes

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 3 cupcake tins with papers, grease the tops of the pans and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup of the mil, the egg whites, egg and vanilla
extract.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients including the sugar on low speed for 30 seconds.
Add butter & shortening and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the remaining milk and stir untill just moistened. Increase the speed to medium and mix for a
minute and a half.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg/milk/extract mixture in 3
groups, scraping down the sides before each addition.
Gently stir in the lemon zest.
Using a large ice cream scoop, divide the batter evenly among the cupcake papers,
making sure that none of them are more than ⅔ full (or you could have a little bit of
a mess).
Bake 2 cupcake trays at a time for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the
center comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Assembly

While the cupcakes bake, make a recipe of Lemon Merengue Buttercream.
Remove the centers from the cupcakes using a cupcake corer or a paring knife, making sure you don’t go all the way to the bottom of the cupcake.
Fill the wells with raspberry jam. I find that it is neatest when you use a pastry bag and a large, plain tip.
You can replace the tops on the jam wells if you only fil them 2/3 full.
Pipe the buttercream on top.

Notes

*I use [url href=”http://www.cup4cup.com/”]Cup4Cup gluten-free flour[/url] in almost all of my recipes. I find that it gives me the most consistent results. You can also use Jules’ Nearly Normal flour, Better Batter or the King Arthur gluten-free flour (this one requires the xantham gum). Baking mixes or bean flour based mixes will not work. **If your mix contains xantham gum, guar gum or expandex, leave this out.

3.2.1337

Lemon Buttercream

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Ingredients

8 large egg whites (30g each–total 225g, or 1 cup)**
400 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
The peel of 1 lemon
560 grams (5 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened but cool, cut into cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract
¼ tsp salt
Yellow Gel Coloring

Instructions

Combine the egg whites, sugar and lemon peel in a small pot until they reach 140 degrees fahrenheit.
Strain your sugar syrup into a clean stand mixer bowl, you want to make sure that the lemon peel doesn’t make it into the bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat until light and fluffy (soft peaks) and the temperature is neutral – the bowl should not be warm to the touch.
Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter one chunk at a time until it is all combined.
It might look like it is starting to curdle, don’t panic! It should all smooth out by the time you add the last bit of butter. If it is getting too loose, you can pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes to help it set up.
Add small amounts of yellow gel coloring until the buttercream is the color you desire.

3.2.1337

August 19, 2012

Remarkable life. Whiz-bang cupcakes.

I’ve spent a lot of time doing what is expected.

Playing it safe.

Being nice.

I always thought that I was nice. And that I should be nice. I thought that it was exactly right. Recently, someone told me that they didnt think nice was the right word to describe me. Someone else said that I was better when I wasn’t being nice.

So.

I am going to not be nice. Since that isn’t the right word anyway. And since it is kind of a dirty word, let’s not use it any more.

~~Nice.~~ Passionate. Caring. Full of heart. Those are better words.

They describe the person I am. The person I want to be. The journey I am on.

I am going to make mistakes. Say things I shouldn’t. Do things that I might think better of later.

I am going to keep listening to the silly pop music that makes me happy. I am owning my Spice Girls ringtone (oh yes, I totally rock that). So, call me. Maybe?

I am going to use my heart more than my head. I want to see where it is going to take me.

I am going to stop and smell the flowers, particularly when they are left in the bathroom in a public place.

I want to do things. See things. Make things. Change things.

I am going to do as much as I can. Some things I should, some I shouldn’t.

I don’t want a small life. In any way. I want to be epic. (Kind of like my summer has been).

I am going to keep making cupcakes. The kind with real sugar, and butter and eggs. I’ve said it before, cupcakes are therapy. And don’t you forget it. And I am going to keep feeding them to others so that I can maintain my girlish figure.

Speaking of that girlish figure, I am going to keep swimming when I can. Walk when it is possible and not beat myself up over the size of my pants.

I am going to be silly and splurge on crazy shoes (YOLO!). Be it shoes with red bottoms because, frankly, if you don’t buy them today, tomorrow you will have a much more practical use for that money or shoes with 5″ heels because that seems sensible. I am going to make no apologies for getting something that makes me happy.

I am going to go on dates with boys. I might end up kissing a few frogs (the world tells me this is going to happen). Maybe I’ll get a prince (the world says I should dream about this moment). Maybe I already did. Maybe I messed that up. Maybe I didn’t.

Maybe one day, my hair will be pink. And maybe I’ll get a tattoo.

I am going to live. Live passionately & fully. Be optimistic. Be a dreamer. Make no apologies for anything. Be me.

What I am most definitely not going to do is be nice. I am not going to apologize for being me. I am not going to do something just to make someone feel better. I am not going to cave or change just to make someone happy. I’ve done that plenty. It isn’t who I really am, or even who I want to be.

Here’s to being more than nice. Here’s to living more than just a nice life. Here’s to good things.

Before I get to the cupcakes I know you want, I want to make sure that you know about Leggings Solidarity Day! I am asking everyone I know to wear leggings, tights, shorts, skirts – (mostly leggings though!) in support of invisible illness awareness. (You know, since I have a kind of major one). Also, if you haven’t seen it, the quotes pulled in from above are from a personal design project of mine. Making posters with positive thoughts. If you have any suggestions for positive quotes, email them to me!

The Whiz-Bang Cupcakes

(Or cupcakes to make an impression). These cupcakes were epic. Well, that’s what I told Dan they were. He asked for something chocolate and fruity. They took about 6 hours from start to finish (with lots of resting, showering an cleaning mixed in). Dan has had both my cupcakes and Mammacakes’ cupcakes. I had to make them extra special.

Chocolate cupcakes. Filled with a tart raspberry jam. Topped with two kinds of merengue buttercream and finished off with a fresh raspberry. This is what I call winning.

Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with raspberry and swiss merengue buttercream

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 90 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 1 hour 50 mins

Serves: 30

The cake part of the recipe is adapted from Perfect All-American Chocolate Butter Cake from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes
63 grams cocoa (1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons)
1 cup boiling water
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
235 grams (2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) GF AP flour*
300 grams (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
15 grams (1 tablespoon) baking powder
5 grams (3/4 teaspoon) salt
227 grams (12 tablespoons) butter, softened.
For the Frosting
8 large egg whites (30g each–total 225g, or 1 cup)**
400 grams (2 cups) granulated sugar
560 grams (5 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened but cool, cut into cubes
30 ml (2 tablespoons) pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
300 grams (about 1 1/2 cups of discs) high quality chocolate
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
For Assembly
1/2 pint jar of raspberry jam or preserves
30 fresh raspberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the cupcake tins with papers & grease the tops.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the boiling water and cocoa til smooth. Let sit for a couple minutes to come to room temperature.
In a second bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, 1/4 of the cocoa mixture and the vanilla.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir on low to combine.
Add butter and the remaining cocoa mixture and mix on low speed until all ingredients are moistend. Increase speed to medium for a minute and a half to develop structure.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the cocoa & egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for about 30 seonds after each addition.
Use a scoop and fill the tins 1/2-2/3 full. You should end up with exactly 30 cupcakes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. The cake should spring back when lightly pressed, or a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, and then move to a cooling rack until completely cool.

For the frosting

While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. If this process intimidates you, Sweet Apolita made a pretty [url href=”http://sweetapolita.com/2011/04/swiss-meringue-buttercream-demystified/”]sweet tutorial[/url].
Combine the egg whites and sugar in a small pot until they reach 140 degrees fahrenheit.
Transfer to a clean stand mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat until light and fluffy (soft peaks).
Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter one chunk at a time until it is all combined.
Remove half of the frosting and set aside. Melt the chocolate in the micorwave on half power, heating it first for 30 seconds, and then in 15 second intervals after that, always stirring after each burst of heat. Let the chocolate cool a wee bit – you don’t want it hot so that it melts the butter, and then add it to half your frosting.
Set this frosting aside. Add the vanilla bean paste to the reserved half of the frosting.

Assemble

When the cupcakes are cool, remove the cupcake centers (I used a cupcake corer), and pipe in the raspberry filling. Replace the cupcake tops.
Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes – I did half of the cupcakes in chocolate, half in vanilla, but you can get creative and use both on each cupcake if you want.

Notes

*I prefer Cup4Cup as a pre-made blend. Please don’t use a bean based flour.
**You can use the pasteurized whites if you prefer, since you cook the eggs anyways, but it will be slightly less fluffy.

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2.2.8

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday on Simply Sugar & Gluten Free.

September 4, 2011

Raspberry Truffles

I really want to tell you an amazing story about something going on in my life. But really, this week was fairly uneventful. I only saw Blondie for a couple of hours on Thursday night (he brought me some Pei Wei!). Except for the part where I was in Chicago to be hooked up for a neurostimulator trial. Basically. I now have some electrical leads in my spine and get to keep them for a week to see if the big surgery where they implant the whole contaption will work.

But, that is not a fun and exciting story. It only explains why I am only comfortable lying down or standing up. For some reason, I can’t get comfortable while sitting. (It might have something to do with the multiple stitches in my back holding things in place). So, I am baking. I made lemon-thyme shortbread, these truffles and the yeast starter for raspberries & cream doughnuts.

Tomorrow, I will be baking a brown sugar spice cake to do my time arts class homework.

That’s a lot of desserts. Too bad Blondie went to South Bend for a Notre Dame football game and skipped out on coming to Champaign to take care of his invalid girlfriend. No baked goods for him until next weekend.

Maybe Emily will have a cookout tomorrow, and there will be people around to eat all these goodies. Or else I am going to have to hunt down my art class instructor and bribe him with baked goods to give me an A.

Raspberry Truffles

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 90 mins

Total time: 1 hour 40 mins

Serves: 40

Truffles are deceptively easy, decadent and elegant. This recipe makes about 25 truffles and can be scaled up or down. There really is only about 10 minutes of prep, but there is an hour or two of waiting time.

Ingredients

225 grams (8 ounces) dark chocolate, the better the chocolate the better these will taste
1 cup heavy cream (or So Delicious cream will work for vegan truffles)
2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
1/2 cup cocoa

Instructions

Finely chop the chocolate and put into a mixing bowl.
Heat the heavy cream in a small sauce pot on medium until it is about to boil.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
Stir the chocolate and cream until you have one smooth mixture.
Add the liquer.
Put in the fridge to set up for a couple of hours.
Scoop ganache with a cookie scoop (or a spoon if you don’t have a scoop) and roll into balls.
Roll in cocoa and allow to set up before serving.

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1.2.4

June 29, 2011

Raspberry Crisp

Fruit crisps are one of the easiest desserts to whip up.

You know, when you find raspberries at the farmer’s market (or you find a bag of frozen raspberries in your freezer that you didn’t know you had). Or someone drops by for sangria on the porch and you want to serve something yummy.

This is a dessert that I learned from my mother, and is more of a guideline than a recipe. It can be thrown together in a couple of minutes, popped into the oven and left alone. It uses ingredients that we always have on hand, and can be adapted and changed to use what ever is in your kitchen. Just don’t melt the butter, or you will end up with a mushy crust.

Boys, if you need to do something sweet for a girl, this dessert, topped with a wee bit of vanilla ice cream is a winner. (You hear that Blondie? Even you could make this).

Raspberry Crisp

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4

Really, this could be breakfast.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries*
1/8 cup sugar (if a sweeter dessert is desired)
1 cup gluten free oats*
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Grease a small baking dish (8in square-ish).
Pour in berries and sprinkle with sugar. (I didn’t use it, but if your berries are extra tart, you can add it in).
In a mixing bowl add softened butter, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
Mix with your hands until combined.
If the mixture is too crumbly, add a little butter. Too loose? Add some oats. Not sweet enough? Add a little more brown sugar.

Notes

If you can’t eat oats, quinoa flakes will work here. Also, make sure they are gluten free.
You can swap out the berries for any fresh or frozen fruit.

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1.2.4

Oats, sugar, butter, vanilla, fruit and complimentary spices. Mix the crust with your hands. Not enough? Mix some more.

April 24, 2011

Raspberry Surprise

I have a bad habit, and that bad habit is baking. Where so many people open a pint of ice cream or pour a glass of wine to unwind, I find a comfort in pulling flours from the cabinet, fitting a mixer with the paddle & bowl and whipping up a batch of something warm and soft. I have always known exactly where I got it. My mother. I went home for Easter this weekend and my mom made quite a spread. She wouldn’t let me cook at all (she says I am a messy cook, I say I was a messy cook when I was a kid) but, she made these fantastic cupcakes. She even said I could share her recipe.

Raspberry Surprise

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 24

Gluten free yellow cupcakes with a raspberry filling adapted from <a href=”http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-yellow-cake-recipe” title=”Yellow Cake Recipe from King Arthur Flour”>King Arthur Flour</a>

Ingredients

3 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour Blend
2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if not already in your blend)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon gluten-free raspberry liqueur
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
1 cup milk, at room temperature
Raspberry jam for filling (about 1 teaspoon per cupcake)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Using an electric mixer beat together the sugar, butter, salt, liqueur and baking powder till smooth. Add 1 egg, and beat for several minutes, until fluffy.
Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, scraping between each egg.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and xantham gum (if needed).
In the bowl of the mixer, beat in the milk alternately with the dry ingredients, adding about 1/3 of each at a time, and ending with the dry ingredients.
Measure batter into prepared cupcake pan. Bake for 18-25 minutes, and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out of the pan to cool on a rack.
Once the cupcakes are cooled, use a pastry bag fitted with a filling tip, squeeze a teaspoon of jam into each cupcake.
Frost with raspberry cream cheese frosting.

Mom frosted them with a cream cheese frosting (here is a similar one from King Arthur Flour). This time she replaced the vanilla and some of the milk with the raspberry liqueur, adjusting liquids and sugar as she went until she got the consistency that she wanted. The liqueur added a hint of raspberry flavor and a pink tint. The butter in this recipe keeps the frosting from the full amount of tang you get with normal cream cheese frosting.