With the abundance of local blueberries in season and available locally, I try to maximize my use of them. So, today, I am introducing my recipe for Blueberry Barbeque Sauce made with high bush blueberries picked at Tryon U-Pick Blueberries in North Tryon, PEI. Continue reading Blueberry Barbeque Sauce
There are so many ways to use blueberries, including an endless stream of desserts.
Today, I am featuring Blueberry Buckle using high bush blueberries that I picked at the Tryon Blueberries U-Pick in North Tryon, PEI.
Blueberry Buckle consists of three parts: A cake base, a sprinkle of fruit, and a streusel topping. The origin of the name “Blueberry Buckle” is not definitively known. However, it seems it may have something to do with the cake base rising up around the blueberries and meeting with the streusel ingredients that, together, form a crumpled or buckled looking appearance on the dessert top. Whether that’s truth or fiction, this is a tasty dessert!
A Blueberry Buckle is very similar to a coffeecake. It is a dense cake with a moist crumb that can be served either warm or cool (i.e., at room temperature). It can also be served plain, just as it is, with its streusel topping or, alternatively, dressed up with ice cream, whipped cream, and/or drizzled with a sauce. I often serve it with brown sugar sauce or sometimes with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with blueberry sauce, as I have today. I call this blueberry overload! I maximize the use of fresh local blueberries when they are available.
While Buckles can be made with other fruits, the most common one is made with blueberries. This dessert also freezes well so it’s a handy one to have on hand in the freezer. When I am using it from its frozen state, I take the buckle out of the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperature, then heat it for just a few seconds in the microwave. Tastes like it is fresh from the oven!
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup flour
½ tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter
Cake Batter:
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 extra-large egg
2 tbsp orange juice
¾ tsp vanilla
1½ cup all-purpose flour
2¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
1½ tsp grated orange rind
½ cup milk
2 cups high-bush blueberries
Method:
Grease or line an 8” square pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare the streusel topping by mixing the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal. Set aside.
In large bowl, cream the butter and add the sugar. Beat until mixture is smooth.
Add the egg, orange juice, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
In separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and grated orange rind. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture along with the milk in three parts, starting and ending with the dry ingredients (i.e., three additions of the dry ingredients alternated with two additions of milk).
Spread batter in prepared pan.
Sprinkle mixture evening with the blueberries.
Sprinkle the streusel topping over entire mixture.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Do not overbake as cake will become dry.
Serve plain or add a dollop of ice cream and, if desired, drizzle with blueberry sauce.
Yield: 9 servings
Here is my recipe for the blueberry sauce I used over this Blueberry Buckle.
Ingredients:
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
Pinch salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated orange rind
2 tbsp orange juice
1/3 cup water
2 cups high bush blueberries
1½ tbsp butter
¼ tsp vanilla
Method:
Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange rind, orange juice, and water in medium-sized saucepan. Heat to boiling point then add blueberries and reduce heat to medium low. Cook mixture, stirring regularly, until thickened to desired consistency. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm over ice cream or pudding. Refrigerate unused sauce.
Yield: Apx. 1¾ cups
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Blueberry Bread Pudding
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
Peach Blueberry Crisp
Mini Blueberry Bundt Cakes
Blueberry Grunt
Yield: 9 servings and apx. 1¾ cups blueberry sauce.
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
It’s summer berry pie time and that means it’s Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie time!
As I write this post in August, the raspberries are in full swing on Prince Edward Island so today’s posting is all about raspberries!
I never mind picking raspberries because there is no bending or crouching involved so it’s not hard on the legs or back.
These glorious and perfectly-shaped tasty red berries are versatile and can be used in many ways.
One of my favorite ways to use raspberries is in a raspberry cream cheese pie. It’s a cross between a pie and a cheesecake – the best of both worlds.
This pie is not difficult to make although it does take a bit of time. It’s also the type of pie that is best eaten the day it is made. I like to use the real whipping cream for the topping but Cool Whip works just fine, too. Sometimes, I like to just pipe the whipped cream around the outer edge of the pie because it allows the rich red raspberry filling to show which, of course, doesn’t happen if the entire top of the pie is completely covered in whipped cream. Alternatively, I sometimes don’t put any whipped cream on the pie top, preferring instead to simply drop a dollop of whipped cream on each pie serving as it is plated. Any of the three versions works just fine.
Ingredients:
9” baked pie shell
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp sugar
1½ tbsp milk
½ tsp vanilla
3½ tbsp cornstarch
¾ cup granulated sugar
Dash salt
2½ cups fresh raspberries
3 tbsp pineapple juice
1½ tsp lemon juice
½ tbsp butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp sugar
Method:
In small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Spread over bottom of pie shell. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
In small bowl, combine the cornstarch, sugar, and salt together. In medium-sized saucepan, combine the raspberries, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and cornstarch-sugar mixture. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Let mixture cool to room temperature then spread over chilled cream cheese base. Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow pie to set.
Beat whipping cream and vanilla until soft peaks form then slowly beat in the sugar. Pipe on to pie in decorative design or, alternatively, completely cover chilled pie with the whipped cream. Refrigerate until use. This pie is best eaten the day it is made. (Note: Cool Whip can be substituted for the whipped cream, if desired.)
Yield: One 9” pie.
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A delectable and flavorful raspberry pie with a layer of cream cheese and a topping of whipped cream. Always a showstopper.
Ingredients
Instructions
One of the most popular salads in PEI in summer is the traditional potato salad. There are several variations to this salad and, of course, the jury is still out on whether the potatoes should be diced or mashed! While the quantities of ingredients may vary somewhat and certain different seasonings may be added to potato salad, the same basic essential ingredients in most salads will be potato, egg, celery, onion, salad dressing, salt and pepper. So long as you have these common ingredients, you can make a basic potato salad. Of course, I think PEI potatoes make the best salad (but, then again, I may be just a wee bit biased on that front)!
I like to use a combination of homemade and bought salad dressing as I find the flavors play well off each other – I use about 50/50 of each. However, I have made the salad with just one type of salad dressing and it turned out fine. I also like to add a bit of sour cream, sweet pickle relish, and prepared mustard. The latter two ingredients give a bit of ‘punch’ to the salad. The key, of course, is not to over-do the addition of any seasonings because the potatoes need to ‘star’ and we don’t want to do anything to detract from their flavor. In summer when I have fresh herbs in the garden, I like to add just a tiny bit of chopped fresh dill and some parsley.
The traditional style of potato salad is to cube/dice the potato and egg as shown in the photo below.
However, my preference is to mash the potato and egg, particularly if I am looking for good plating presentation. This is because the mashed potato salad fits well into the bowl of an ice cream scoop and, therefore, looks lovely on a plate. However, if you are looking for a more rustic style potato salad, then the cubed/diced potato style is the way to go. This is purely a personal preference because, let’s face it, if you use the same ingredients, it will all taste the same! All that will be different will be the texture and appearance.
As to how much salad dressing to use, this will depend on several factors so the amount I have given in my recipe below is a guide. For example, the quality of the potatoes (how dry or moist they are), the thickness of the salad dressing, and/or the consistency of the sour cream can all influence how much salad dressing is needed. As well, you may find that cubing/dicing the potatoes may take a different amount of salad dressing than do mashed potatoes. Lastly, it is personal preference as to how moist the salad should be. It should not be ‘soupy’ but there should be enough salad dressing to hold/bind the salad together. I tend to like my potato salad quite moist. I recommend starting with a good one-half of the salad dressing called for in the recipe and then adding more to reach the consistency you desire.
Plan to make the potato salad several hours ahead of when it is needed. Refrigerate it for at least three hours or more to allow the flavours to blend.
Potato salad is very versatile. It often is served as a traditional side dish for picnics and barbeques. It goes great with cold cuts, lobster, grilled pork chops, barbequed chicken, sandwiches of all kinds, and the list goes on. In my household, potato salad always has to accompany a feed of PEI lobster!
The recipe below is my own personal potato salad recipe. I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients:
1½ lbs PEI potatoes
2 hard boiled eggs
¼ cup celery, finely chopped
2½ tbsp onion, finely chopped
⅔ cup salad dressing (apx.)
2 tbsp sour cream
3 tsp. sweet relish
2 tsp. prepared mustard
¼ tsp sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ tsp fresh dill, chopped (optional)
1½ tsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Method:
Cook potatoes, skins on, in pot of boiling water just until potatoes are fork tender. Drain. Let potatoes cool enough to handle. Peel. Cube or mash potatoes, as desired, into medium-sized bowl.
Mash or dice eggs. Add to potato.
Add the celery, onion, mustard, sweet relish, sour cream, salad dressing, and sugar.
Note – Add about ½ the salad dressing to start, then continue to add enough salad dressing to reach desired consistency. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
Add fresh dill and parsley, if desired.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to allow flavors to blend. Serve salad on a bed of lettuce. Refrigerate unused salad immediately.
Yield: 5-6 servings (2 scoops salad per serving)
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A moist and tasty potato salad that is the perfect accompaniment to any lobster feed, barbeque, or picnic
Ingredients
Instructions
This is one of my most favorite squares! I have been making this recipe for years. It’s good any time of the year and is often found in my summer picnic basket. With its rich, gooey chocolate center and a slightly crunchy topping, it’s a real treat for sure, especially for chocolate lovers.
Ingredients:
Base:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
⅓ cup butter, softened
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
2 egg yolks
10 oz. chocolate chips
Topping:
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
⅛ tsp cream of tartar
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup macaroon coconut
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Prepare 9” square pan by lining with tin foil and spraying with cooking oil.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Base:
In small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and brown sugar together. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add dry ingredients and stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
Evenly press dough into prepared pan.
Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the dough. Set aside.
Topping:
In clean mixer bowl, beat the two egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
Beat in the brown sugar, adding a tablespoon at a time.
Add the vanilla.
Fold in the coconut.
Spread the topping evenly over the chocolate chips.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until topping is browned. Remove from oven and place pan on wire cooling rack. Let cool completely. Lift tin foil and square from the pan and cut into squares.
Ingredients
Instructions
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I love to develop summertime drinks! This recipe for Rhubarb Slush uses rhubarb as the base for this tasty slush drink. The addition of a mix of freshly squeezed citrus juices, sweet pineapple juice, and frozen lemonade concentrate make this a flavorful beverage. Continue reading Rhubarb Slush
I am always developing ideas for ways I can make use of rhubarb. We have a long-established rhubarb patch at the end of the garden that always produces large beautiful red stalks. It was planted circa 1993-94 and is the German Wine variety. Because of its rich red color, it lends itself to colorful dishes. While we freeze lots of rhubarb for winter usage, I try to make good use of it while it is fresh. There’s just something so satisfying in being able to go to the garden to pick a few stalks of rhubarb just as I need them for a dish I am making.
Today, I am sharing the recipe I developed for Rhubarb Salsa. As you know, there has to be some kind of base for the salsa – something that gives it its bulk, if you will. For example, in many salsas, that tends to be a tomato base. In my recipe, which is a sweet salsa, I am using rhubarb as the base. Use young, thin rhubarb stalks for this recipe. Continue reading Rhubarb Salsa
Strawberries and rhubarb are always a winning combination as their flavors and textures play off well against each other. On PEI, there is a very short window of opportunity to have both fresh rhubarb and Island strawberries available at the same time. So, if you are lucky enough to have both available, now is the time to make this delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!
While it is possible to use frozen rhubarb in the strawberry rhubarb pie recipe I am sharing, the strawberries do need to be fresh, not frozen, since frozen berries will release too much moisture into the pie filling.
Lightly spiced, this pie is a summertime treat, especially when served with a scoop of high-quality French vanilla ice cream. This is a double crust pie and you can find my pastry recipe by clicking here.
Ingredients:
Pastry for two-crust 9” pie
3 cups rhubarb, cut into ½” pieces
1½ cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1¼ cups white sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger
Pinch nutmeg
1½ tsp grated orange rind
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp butter cut into pieces
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Grease 9” pie plate. Roll out pastry and line pie plate, trimming pastry to fit.
In small bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, spices, and grated orange rind.
In separate bowl, beat egg with orange juice. Blend in dry ingredients.
Add rhubarb and strawberries and stir gently to mix.
Transfer filling to prepared pie crust.
Dot with butter.
Dampen edges of pie pastry with a finger dipped in water.
Roll out remaining pastry for top crust. Place over filling and trim to fit. Crimp or press edges of pastry together with fork tines to seal.
Cut slits in top of pastry and prick with fork tines in several places to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes.
Circle edge of pie with a collar of tin foil to prevent over-browning. Remove this collar after 35 minutes of baking to allow edges to bake and brown.
Place pie on rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake 15 minutes at 425°F then decrease temperature to 375°F and bake for approximately 45 minutes longer or until pastry is golden brown and fruit is cooked.
Remove pie from oven and cool completely before slicing and serving.
Yield: One pie, apx. 8 servings
A lightly spiced double-crusted pie that combines two of summer's best flavours.
Ingredients
Instructions
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One of the first local veggies to appear in PEI each year is asparagus. This vegetable is very versatile and is often used not only for its earthy flavor but also for its presentation. With its long straight stems with a texture tip end, asparagus turns a bright green color when cooked so it plates well and makes a meal attractive.
This year, I created an Asparagus Quiche that can be eaten warm or at room temperature which makes it a good buffet or picnic food. Pair it with a good green salad (perhaps dressed with my Rhubarb Vinaigrette) and it is suitable for brunch, lunch, or an informal supper. Continue reading Asparagus Quiche
Do you love the smell of tea biscuits baking in the oven? It’s one of my favorite kitchen scents.
My first recollection of biscuits dates back to visiting a grandmother. She made the best biscuits, added a good slather of peanut butter to the warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuits, and served them with a tall glass of cold milk to a wee gal patiently sitting on a high stool at her elbow by the cupboard. I suspect her biscuit recipe was just made from memory and wasn’t written or recorded anywhere. Isn’t it funny how some foods remind us of certain people and bring back great recollections!
Biscuits are not hard to make and they require only pantry staple ingredients — essentially, flour, leavening, salt, shortening/butter, and liquid – usually dairy (i.e., milk, whipping cream, or buttermilk). What makes biscuit recipes differ is usually the quantity of ingredients used, the type of dairy used as liquid and, sometimes, there will be some additions to the basic ingredients – for example, some recipes call for cream of tartar, a small amount of sugar, or even an egg.
I often hear people say they can’t make biscuits because they always turn out hard as bricks. I suspect this is quite likely due to over-kneading the dough. Biscuit dough should be kneaded as little as possible, just enough to gather up the dough and have it hold together to cut out the biscuits. Usually, only 8-10 kneads is all that is required. I have published lots of tips and hints for making biscuits in a post containing my Buttermilk Biscuit recipe which you can access by clicking here. If you are new to biscuit making or have experienced issues with making satisfactory biscuits in the past, you may find some of the hints and tips in that post useful.
The dough can be rolled out with a rolling pin or simply patted to the desired thickness, which is what I do. I find about 1″ thick dough yields a good depth of biscuit. I use a 2″ crinkled-edge cookie cutter for mine but a straight edge cutter works just as well.
Over the years, I have tried many biscuit recipes, some yielding good results, others not so much. As the old saying goes, if you can’t find something already suitable, develop your own so that’s what I have done to create my own biscuit recipe that has come from many kitchen testing trials to arrive at the right selection and amount of ingredients to yield the flavour and texture I was looking for.
[Printable recipe follows at end of post]
Ingredients:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
⅔ cup whipping cream
¾ cup whole milk
1-2 tbsp milk for brushing on top of biscuits
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar.
Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the ingredients.
In large measuring cup, mix together the whipping cream and milk. Pour into well in dry ingredients. Mix together just until flour mixture is incorporated. Do not overmix. Mixture will be a soft, moist batter.
Let batter stand in bowl for just a minute or so then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead dough 8-10 times, just until it holds together enough to cut out the biscuits. Do not over-knead.
Roll or pat to desired thickness – I suggest about 1” thick will yield a good depth of finished biscuit.
Using a 2” round floured cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Dip the cookie cutter in flour before cutting out each biscuit.
Gather up remaining dough, pat down to about 1” thick, and cut out the rest of the biscuits.
Using a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to prepared baking sheet, placing them about 2” apart. If desired, prick tops of biscuits with fork tines and lightly brush with milk.
Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
Yield: Apx. 16 – 2” biscuits.
Ingredients
Instructions
Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits
Rustic Oat Bran Biscuits
Whole Wheat Biscuits
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Posting was last updated October 13, 2023
I can find endless uses for cranberries – they are one of my favorite berries. The berries in today’s recipe came from Mikita Farms in Farmington, near Souris, PEI. You can see the photos of them wet harvesting the cranberries last fall by clicking here. I bought a huge bag of cranberries because they freeze really well and I make a multitude of recipes with them throughout the year.
In this recipe, I use the cranberries in pancakes. I have combined and blended four key ingredients in this recipe to give the pancakes a rich flavour – eggnog, mashed banana, grated orange rind, and cranberries. The berries can either be fresh or frozen. I simply chop the berries in half before stirring them into the pancake batter.
Ingredients:
1 extra large egg
2½ tbsp cooking oil
½ cup eggnog
½ cup whole milk
½ tsp vanilla
2 tbsp mashed banana
1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2½ tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp nutmeg
1½ tsp grated orange rind
¾ cup chopped cranberries, fresh or frozen
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
In medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, eggnog, milk, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and grated orange rind.
Whisk the dry ingredients together to mix thoroughly.
Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients. Stir just until combined.
Stir in cranberries.
Let batter sit for apx. 5 minutes before cooking pancakes. Batter will be lumpy.
Heat non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Use paper towel to lightly grease pan with oil.
Pour apx. ⅓ cup of batter into hot frying pan and cook pancakes until surface bubbles appear and the top appears dry and set. Gently lift the edge of a pancake – if it is lightly browned, flip the pancakes over with a wide spatula. Cook 1-2 minutes until pancake is lightly browned underneath.
Transfer pancakes to a heatproof plate or cookie sheet and place in oven set to warming temperature to keep pancakes warm while cooking remaining pancakes.
Serve with a pat of butter, maple syrup, or your favourite topping and fresh fruit.
Yield: Apx. 8 – 5” pancakes
Ingredients
Instructions
Today, I am sharing my recipe for Maple-Orange Sauced Chicken Breasts. Continue reading Maple-Orange Sauced Chicken Breasts
Today, I am sharing a sweet treat with you. In fact, it’s so sweet, it’s almost more like candy than it is a square. This No-Bake Marshmallow Square is one of the easiest squares to make and it requires few ingredients and no cooking or baking. Continue reading Marshmallow Squares
National Tartan Day is celebrated each year on April 6th which coincides with the signing of the Scottish Declaration of Independence — the Declaration of Arbroath — in 1320. It is a day of observance to recognize and celebrate the Scottish heritage and the contributions of the Scots and their descendents to Canada’s history, development, and culture. You can read more about Tartan Day and its origins here.
I wondered what the focus of my posting would be for this year’s Tartan Day. Lo and behold, didn’t I find bow tie pasta in shades of the Prince Edward Island tartan – red, green, and ivory! Mind you, the colors are not an exact or perfect match but I think they are close enough to work in a colorful pasta salad with herb dressing. Continue reading Pasta Salad in Shades of the PEI Tartan
There is something so homey and cozy about homemade bread and rolls! And, of course, the scent throughout the house of them baking makes the taste buds jump in anticipation of a hot roll, or slice of bread, fresh from the oven and slathered in melting butter. Continue reading Pan Rolls
I grew up with jelly rolls being regularly made in my home. They’re a quick dessert, best eaten on the day they are made. This is because a jelly roll is really a sponge-type cake and, when the jam or jelly is spread on it, it tends to seep into the cake and after several hours can become somewhat soggy. Jelly rolls don’t take a lot of ingredients. So long as you have basic baking supplies and some jam or jelly, you can make a jelly roll.
Here are my tips for making jelly rolls:
1. Use cake and pastry flour as it gives a finer texture than all-purpose flour.
2. Don’t let the cake cool for too long before spreading it with jam or jelly as it may crack as you try to roll the jelly roll up. About 15-20 minutes cooling time is about right. If you put the jam or jelly on the cake when it is still too warm, though, it will cause it to seep into the cake too quickly, creating a soggy jelly roll.
3. Use a good quality jam or jelly. If using jam, choose one that does not have big chunks of fruit in it; otherwise, it will make it more difficult to slice and plate presentation will not be optimal. I prefer colorful red jams and ones that are seedless – for example, seedless raspberry jam.
4. The jelly roll may be dusted with either granulated sugar or icing sugar. However, icing sugar stands up better than granulated sugar which tends to dissolve into the cake more quickly.
Ingredients:
1 cup + 3 tbsp cake and pastry flour
1¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp almond flavouring
2 tbsp cold water
¾ – 1 cup jam or jelly
Icing sugar for dusting
Method:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Grease, or spray cooking oil on 10”x15” rimmed baking sheet, ensuring sides are well-greased. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Lightly spray parchment paper with cooking oil.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
Beat eggs until frothy.
Slowly and steadily add the sugar and beat until light-colored and slightly thickened.
Beat in vanilla, almond flavouring, and water.
Add the sifted dry ingredients to the egg-sugar mixture. Stir just until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 9-12 minutes or until cake tester inserted into cake comes out clean and cake springs back to a light touch. Do not overbake.
While cake is baking, lay a clean tea towel on counter and generously sprinkle with sifted icing sugar.
Remove cake from oven and run knife around all four edges to loosen cake from pan sides. Invert baked cake on sugar-dusted tea towel.
Peel off parchment paper, being careful not to tear cake.
Trim off outside edges of cake.
Rolling from the narrow end of the cake, roll up cake and tea towel together.
Transfer to wire rack and cool for about 15-20 minutes.
Carefully unroll the cake.
Spread cake with jam or jelly, leaving about ½” on sides of cake free of jam or jelly.
Using the tea towel as a guide, re-roll the filled cake.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Dust with icing sugar, cut, and serve.
Yield: Apx. 10-12 servings
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Yield: Apx. 10-11 servings
NOTE: Be sure to read the accompanying blog post to this recipe as it contains tips for making the jelly roll successfully as well as step-by-step photos of the method used to make the jelly roll.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly
Rosy Rhubarb Jelly
Crabapple Jelly
Lemon Curd
Cranberry Curd
Lime Curd
Clementine Curd
Rhubarb Curd
In October, I traveled to Farmington, near Souris, PEI, to watch the wet harvesting of cranberries at Mikita Farms. One of the recipes I developed with the Mikita Farm cranberries is for Cranberry-Banana Eggnog Muffins. Continue reading Cranberry-Banana Eggnog Muffins
One of my all-time favorite desserts is Baked Alaska. I first had Baked Alaska on a cruise many, many years ago and I have loved it ever since. Many people think Baked Alaska is difficult to make but I don’t find it is. It does, however, take a little planning and time since it is prepared in stages. Baked Alaska can be made as a large dessert to serve several or it can be tailored down to serve one or two. My recipe is for two individual servings, perfect for a special intimate dinner such as Valentine’s Day, or anytime as a nice treat.
There are options for the cake base of a Baked Alaska. Brownies or pound cake are my preferences and they can be either bought or homemade. I like brownies because the dark contrast is eye-appealing with a light-colored ice cream. Whatever base is used, it needs to be cut out with a 2” cookie cutter and it should have a depth of about ½” to ¾ “. Now, at first glance, this might appear to be a rather miniscule dessert but, as you’ll soon discover, the meringue adds a lot of volume to the Baked Alaska.
Choice of ice cream is important for the Baked Alaska. Choose a high quality ice cream with a high percentage cream content for this dessert because it will freeze hard. Some of the lower fat or cheaper ice creams tend to be softer and, because this ice cream is going into a 475° oven, it needs to be able to stand up for itself! Any flavour of ice cream of your choosing will work. My favorites are vanilla, coffee, or strawberry. Let the ice cream soften slightly at room temperature for 5-7 minutes before scooping it out. You want to try and get as perfectly a round scoop as you can because this is what will give the Alaska its dome shape.
It’s important that both the cake base and the scoop of ice cream be frozen super hard so plan ahead to have them frozen for at least two hours or longer before serving time. I use a couple of small pieces of wooden boards covered with tin foil on which to bake the Alaskas because the boards don’t heat as fast as a metal cookie sheet would which could cause the Alaskas to start to melt down too quickly in the oven. The idea is to keep the Baked Alaskas as cold as possible. The Alaskas are only put in the oven for 2-3 minutes solely to tan the meringue.
The Raspberry Coulis can be made a day or two ahead and kept refrigerated.
I find I have greater success with whipping egg whites for the meringue when they are at room temperature. Allow the separated egg whites to come to room temperature for about 30-40 minutes before whipping.
It’s super important to completely cover the ice cream and base with the meringue as, otherwise, heat will reach the ice cream which will simply melt and ooze out of the Alaska when placed in the oven. The meringue acts as an insulator of sorts which prevents the ice cream from melting for the 2-3 minutes it is in the oven. I have found that even the smallest gap in the meringue will cause the ice cream to melt in even the short time it is in the oven. Work as quickly as you can to apply the meringue so that the ice cream does not soften and melt.
1¼ cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
⅓ cup sugar
¾ tsp lemon juice
1 tsp water
In medium-sized saucepan, combine all ingredients.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until raspberries have broken down and released their juices.
Remove from heat and pour mixture into a fine sieve over a bowl.
Press mixture with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard raspberry seeds left in the sieve.
Cover coulis tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled.
Yield: ½ cup
2 pieces of brownie cut into 2” circles and sliced ½“ – ¾” thick.
2 round scoops of ice cream, your favourite flavour
2 large egg whites, room temperature
⅛ tsp salt
⅛ tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp almond flavouring
Line a small rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. Using the rimmed baked sheet allows for easy transport to and from the freezer and keeps the Alaska bases from accidentally sliding off. Place the brownie circles on the baking sheet and top each with a scoop of ice cream. Place in freezer for at least 2 hours, until very firm.
At the same time, cover two small boards with tin foil and place in freezer.
When ready to prepare the dessert, place oven rack about 8” from broiler and preheat oven to 475°F.
In bowl of stand mixer, beat egg whites just until frothy then add the salt and cream of tartar.
While beating the egg whites, add the sugar slowly, about a teaspoon at a time.
Continue to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form when wire whisk is lifted from the egg whites.
Add the almond flavoring and beat for 10-15 seconds longer.
Remove brownie and ice cream rounds along with the foil-covered boards from the freezer. Transfer the brownie and ice cream rounds to the foil-covered boards. Quickly cover the ice cream and brownie completely with the meringue.
With the tip of a knife, twirl the meringue into decorate tips.
Place the Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet for ease of transfer to and from oven. Bake in the pre-heated oven until the meringue browns, about 2-3 minutes.
Remove from oven and plate. Drizzle with Raspberry Coulis and garnish with fresh raspberries. Serve immediately.
Serves: 2
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Did you ever get the urge to bake (often on a storm day, for example) and realize that every recipe you look at requires a shopping trip to the supermarket? Well, here’s my answer to that dilemma. Today’s recipe is Cinnamon Quick Bread that takes no more than pantry staples. So long as you have basic baking supplies, you can whip this tasty sweet bread up in no time. Continue reading Cinnamon Quick Bread
Today, I’m sharing the recipe for a real old-fashioned vintage dessert. Some of you may remember your mother or grandmother making Raisin Puff (aka Plum Puff) dessert or, perhaps, you have made it yourself. Continue reading Raisin Puff (aka Plum Puff)
