Berry Good Desserts

Berries always seem to be a good snacking choice: tasty, healthy, and easy to eat. Add desserts to the mix, you end up with Berry Good Desserts.

To that end, here are six yummy berry desserts that are sure to please, including Easy Cherry Cobbler and Mascarpone Berry Bowl. Enjoy!

FRESH BERRY TART WITH TOASTED NUT CRUST

This recipe is from the July 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times. The recipe, which serves 8, begins, “A crumbly homemade nut crust sets this tart apart from other berry pies. It can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.”

Ingredients

Crust

1/4 cup each almonds, pecans, and hazelnuts

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. chilled unsalted butter, diced

1 large egg yolk

Filling

1/2 cup light sour cream

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbs. light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. grated orange zest

1 cup blueberries

1 cup raspberries

1 Tbs. orange juice

Ingredients

To make Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch tart pan with cooking spray. Spread nuts on baking sheet, and toast in oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until browned.

Pulse nuts, flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until nuts are ground to powder. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk, and pulse until moist clumps form. Press dough into bottom and sides of prepared pan, about 1/4-inch thick, and pierce with fork. Freeze 30 minutes.

Adjust oven temperature to 400°F. Bake Crust 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden. Cool.

To make Filling: whisk together sour cream, yogurt, brown sugar, vanilla, and orange zest in small bowl. Toss berries with orange juice in separate bowl. 
5. Spread sour cream mixture in Crust with spatula. Spoon berries over top a little at a time, until sour cream mixture is evenly covered. Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes before serving.

nutritional information Per Slice: Calories: 288; Protein: 6 g; Total Fat: 19 g; Saturated Fat: 9 g; Carbohydrates: 26 g; Cholesterol: 58 mg; Sodium: 87 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 13 g

BLACKBERRY CRISP WITH CARDAMOM CUSTARD SAUCE

This is from David Tanis in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this yumminess, David wrote, "You could use a combination of berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries in equal parts) in this crisp, but it especially sings with just blackberries. (Wild blackberries, if you can find them, are even better.) Cardamom perfumes the accompanying rich custard sauce. The warm, musky spice adds a flavor that’s perfect with berries. The crisp needn’t be served piping hot straight from the oven; it’s delicious served at room temperature or just slightly warm."

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes; Yield: 6 servings

This was featured in "This Vegetarian Menu Brings Home the Best of the Market," and can be viewed online at This Vegetarian Menu Brings Home the Best of the Market. While you're at it, you might also consider signing up for The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Great food, guides, and more.

Ingredients

For the Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup salted butter, cold and thinly sliced

Pinch of ground cardamom

For the Crisp

6 cups blackberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the Sauce

2 cups half-and-half

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cardamom seeds, or 6 green cardamom pods, smashed

4 egg yolks

Preparation

Make the topping: Put flour, sugar, butter and ground cardamom in a medium bowl. Using your fingertips, work ingredients together until the mixture resembles wet sand with a few stray pebbles. (The topping can be made in advance and refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the blackberries with 1/2 cup sugar and transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish.

Sprinkle topping over berries loosely, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the topping is well browned. Let cool for 10 minutes, or serve at room temperature.

As the crisp bakes, make the custard sauce: Put half-and-half and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cardamom seeds and bring to just under a simmer, stirring. Put yolks in a bowl and whisk until smooth, then whisk in 1 cup of hot half-and-half mixture. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan and cook, whisking, on a very low flame until the mixture barely thickens, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Serve sauce hot, or let cool and refrigerate until ready to use. (Sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance.)

To serve, scoop large spoonfuls of crisp into individual shallow bowls. Ladle the sauce around each serving or pass the sauce at the table.

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

This was posted on the Vegetarian Times web site on MAY 1, 2017, and is from the June 2016 issue (page 35). It begins, “You can mix and match fruits for different fillings.”

Makes 4 servings. This can be viewed online by clicking here.

Note: The website was missing part of two of the topping ingredients (the “2 Tbs. sugar, plus more for sprinkling, if desired” and “1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, plus 2 Tbs. for brushing top”). Fortunately, I had a June 2016 issue of Vegetarian Times next to me when I pulled this up from the website.

Ingredients

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbs. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

6 cups (2 lbs.) blueberries, fresh or frozen and thawed

1 tsp. melted margarine or coconut oil, optional

Topping

1/2 cup white or brown rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum or oat flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch

2 Tbs. sugar, plus more for sprinkling, if desired

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, plus 2 Tbs. for brushing top

3 Tbs. turbinado sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

To make Filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in large bowl. Add blueberries and margarine or oil, and stir to coat. Set aside.

To make Topping: Whisk together rice flour, sorghum or oat flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch or potato starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in coconut milk. Let stand 10 minutes, until dough firms into spongy consistency.

Spread Filling in 2-1/2- to 3-quart baking dish. Scoop 1/4 -cup dollops of Topping over Filling with ice-cream scoop, leaving space between each dollop. Brush dollops with coconut milk; sprinkle Topping with turbinado sugar. Bake 1 hour, or until Filling is thick and bubbly and Topping is golden brown. Cool 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

EASY CHERRY COBBLER

This is from Leah Maroney at the Spruce Eats. For this yummy recipes, Leah wrote, "Cherry cobbler is a quick and easy cherry dessert. It’s a delicious dessert that's somewhere in between a cake and a pie and easier to make than both. Canned cherry pie filling is spooned on top of a quick and easy batter before it’s all cooked in a cast-iron skillet in the oven. You can use fresh cherries if they're available, making your own pie filling. The cherries sink to the bottom as the batter bakes and creates a cobbler.

"It’s quick to mix up and bake and everyone will love this easy dessert any time of year. It’s especially tasty served warm and topped with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream."

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 45 minutes; Total Time: 60 minutes; Makes 6 to 8 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/upside-down-cherry-cobbler-recipe-304727.

Ingredients

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) salted butter, more for the skillet

1 cup milk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup sugar, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

Directions

Gather the ingredients.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375 F. Generously butter a medium cast-iron skillet, cake, or pie pan.

Melt the butter in the microwave. Combine the melted butter with the milk, egg, and vanilla extract.

Add 3/4 cup of sugar, the flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg-milk-vanilla mixture. Whisk to combine and make a fairly smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared skillet.

Pour the cherry pie filling all over the top of the batter.

Bake until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar over the top of the cobbler.

Continue baking until the sugar is crisped and the filling is bubbly, another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm.

Tip

If you decide to make your own filling and you have fresh cherries, check out the best way to pit fresh cherries.

Recipe Variations

You can make this recipe with cherry pie filling (as we did above) or you can try your hand at making your own cherry pie filling using fresh cherries.

You can also make this recipe using other pie fillings; try a strawberry filling or blueberry filling.

How to Store and Freeze

This cobbler can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to two days. Or store it in the refrigerator for up to four days.

You can freeze this recipe in an aluminum pan (which can be the same one you cooked the cobbler in). Just cover with foil once cooled and freeze. Reheat in a preheated oven until warmed through and serve.

What's the difference between cherry pie and cherry cobbler?

Both cherry pie and cherry cobbler contain cherry pie filling. Cherry pie has at least one thin, flaky crust and often has two, the second being a lattice crust on top. Cherry cobbler contains cherry pie filling and then is topped with a cake-like batter that bakes up fluffy and golden brown. Cherry cobbler takes less time to make, but they both are delicious cherry recipes.

RASPBERRY CHILL

This is from the May, 2004 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 26. It begins, "This snappy, user-friendly recipe comes together in just minutes, providing a cooling bite for a heated main course. To gild the lily, garnish this sweet with fresh raspberries since they are coming into season. Offer this with a fruity herbed tea and vanilla cookies." Makes 4 servings

You can view this online at https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/raspberry-chill/.

Ingredients

2 cups frozen raspberries

1 1-lb. pkg. lite silken tofu

1/4 cup vanilla soymilk

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

1 pint fresh raspberries for garnish

1/2 cup crushed pecans for garnish

Directions

Put frozen raspberries, tofu, soymilk and brown rice syrup in blender, and process until smooth. 2. Pour or spoon into serving dish or individual compotes, and garnish with raspberries and pecans before serving.

MASCARPONE BERRY BOWL

This is from Ree Drummond on the Food Network.

Active Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 10 minutes; Yield: 2 to 4 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/mascarpone-berry-bowl-12343050.

Ingredients

1 cup mixed berries, such as blueberries, blackberries and raspberries

1 lemon, zested and juiced

5 tablespoons honey

One 8-ounce container mascarpone

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Splash of vanilla extract

Fresh mint leaves, for serving

Biscotti, for serving

Directions

Mix the berries, lemon zest and juice and 2 tablespoons of the honey in a bowl; set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the mascarpone, heavy cream, vanilla and remaining 3 tablespoons honey. Using a hand mixer, whip together until light and fluffy.

Divide the sweetened mascarpone among 4 serving bowls. Use the bottom of a spoon to create a well in the middle of each mascarpone mound. Spoon the berry mixture into each well. Garnish with a sprig of mint on top of the berries and a biscotti on the side.

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