Upside-Down Berry Crostada

Every year, about the time that you realize fall is definitely, inexorably turning into winter, I get this undeniable urge to bake. There is something almost luxurious about coming inside from a windy day, when the mercury pokes above freezing - but only while the sun is shining, to something hot and sweet, fresh from the oven.

 Usually the case with me, is that I *attempt* to bake, and many phone calls to my sister later, and picture messages of my failures, she has diagnosed my problem and I am off and running with a working recipe (usually one completely different than I started with). Truly, I really am that rubbish at baking. I hate measuring thing so precisely, and trying to make things cookie cutter perfect, I'm a free-form kind of girl! This is why this recipe is so perfect, everything about it is approximate, and works with whatever fruit and berries you have on hand. The original is from Giada De Laurentis' show "Everyday Italian" and can be found here. An excellent alternative to the berry version here is to make a peach crostada with 5-6 cups fresh peaches.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 Tbsp sugar, divided (2 + 2)
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1 Tbsp pieces
• 3 Tbsp ice water
• 10 oz frozen blueberries, thawed
• 20 oz frozen blackberries, thawed
• 10 oz frozen strawberries, thawed
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 8 oz marscapone cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp honey

Prepare the crust 1 hour in advance. Combine flour, 2 Tbsp sugar, lemon zest and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until a coarse meal is formed. Add ice water t 1 Tbsp at a time, until dough comes together. Remove from food processor bowl, form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate ~1 hour.

Stir together the berries, lemon juice, 2 Tbsp sugar, and cornstarch. Place in approximately 10 inch baking dish (round or square).

Roll the crust out so that it will be ~2-4 inches larger than your baking dish. Place the crust over the berries and tuck the edges in so that it fits just inside the baking dish. Cut a slit in the center of the dough. Bake 50-60 minutes at 400F, until the crust is golden and the berries are bubbly.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. While cooling prepare the marscapone whipped cream.

Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks from with an electric mixer. Add the marscapone and honey, continue to whip until nice peaks form.

Serve the crostada in bowls topped with the whipped marscapone.

Tiramisu Cheesecake (Lia's birthday cheesecakes, part deux)

As promised, here is Lia's second cheesecake recipe, and I think I would eat this one once a week if I could!

Tiramisu Cheesecake

For the Crust:

• 1 12 once package lady finger cookies *
• 4 Tbsp salted butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp coffee flavored liqueur

For the Filling:

• 2 Tbsp coffee flavored liqueur
• 24 ounces cream cheese
• 8 ounces marscapone cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven.
2. Crush the ladyfingers into fine crumbs, mix in the meld butter and moisten with 2 Tbsp coffee liquor. Press into an 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, marscapone, and sugar until very smooth. Add liqueur and mix. Add in the eggs and flour, mix slowly, just until smooth. Because the consistency of the mascarpone can vary, if the battery is too thick, slowly add in a little cream if necessary. Do not over mix. Pour batter into crust.
4. Place on middle rack of oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or just until set. Open oven door and turn off heat. Allow cake to cool in oven for 20 minutes. Remove to cooling rack and allow to finish cooling. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight.
5. Grate semisweet chocolate over the top just before serving.

*Use the hard ladyfinger cookies, not the sponge ones, they will be too soft for this recipe, even if stale.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

Robert sent this recipe for blondies along with the previous post's banana bread recipe, and I kind of wish that you could e-mail baked goods, because as I read his email, and looked at the photos he sent along with my cravings grew exponentially. And now, for your enjoyment:

'Yeah... Not sure why, but butterscotch-type things sound good to me in the fall. And I have no idea why I've been in a muffin shaped mood this week either. Here is a Williams-Sonoma recipe, with a few comments and tweaks (and photos) by me.'

-Robert

Blondies with Easter Chocolate Chips
original recipe

A cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie, blondes and thought to have evolved from butterscotch confections and gingerbread. One of the first known recipes for blondes appeared in an 1896 cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I use margarine)
• 1 3/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (light brown sugar also works, but the flavor is richer with dark brown)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 salt
• 12 oz Easter chocolate chips* (I doubt these even exist anymore - I use 2 cups of "normal" semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. (Alternately, this recipe will make about 18 muffins).
2. In a food processor, combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well combined, about 1 minute, stopping to occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, and pulse for 2 seconds after each addition.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and slat in directly onto the butter mixture and pulse 10 times, 2 seconds per pulse.
5. Transfer the batter to a bowl and fold int eh chocolate chips.
**I use my Kitchen Aid Mixer for this recipe. I cream the butter, sugar and vanilla at high speed, add the eggs all at once, and then use the "Stir" setting to mix in the dry ingredients. Yes, this includes the chocolate chips.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until the blondes are golden brown and the edges are firm to the touch, 30-35 minutes. If making muffins, these will take 20-25 minutes.
7. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour, and then cut into bars. Makes about 20 blondies.
Note: the blondies can be baked in two 9 inch square pans as well. Bake these for 20-25 minutes.

Red Velvet Cheesecake (or Birthday Cheesecakes Part 1)

What I like about this recipe is that it has the cocoa powder, buttermilk, vinegar, and red food coloring in it, just like a traditional red velvet cake, so it maintains a good degree of authenticity. In addition, this recipe features a cream cheese frosting as well. The chocolate graham cracker crust is easy and is a nice color contrast to the vivid red of the cheesecake and fluffy white frosting. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cheesecake
From Southern Living

For the Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp sugar

For the Cheesecake:

• 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 2 ounces red food coloring

For the Frosting:

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Stir together graham cracker cubs, melted butter and 1 Tbsp sugar; press into bottom of a 9-inch spring from pan.
2. Beat together 24 ounces of cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium-low speed with electric mixer for 1 minute. Add eggs, cocoa powder, sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla extract, vinegar and food coloring, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.
3. Bake at 325F for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until center is firm. Run knife along outer edge of cheesecake, turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.
4. Beat 3 ounces cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake. Remove sides of springform pan.

Raspberry Cream Cake

I told you that my sister Elizabeth was the one who you wanted to bring the cake, and this recipe is the reason why (IMHO). There is a fancy-pants bakery near her apartment that makes this divine multi-layered torte, with layers of butter cream, whipped cream and raspberries. One year for my birthday she set out to create her own version of this delicious dessert, and I think that the result is even better than the original! I strongly recommend sitting down with a slice of this cake, a cappuccino and a good book. You won't regret the indulgence.

Raspberry Cream Cake
For the Sponge Cake

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup boiling milk
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Beat eggs until very light, then beat in sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat in melted butter and boiling milk.
3. Sift together flour and baking powder, beat in to liquids quickly.
4. Immediately pour into greased and floured 9 inch cake pans (two).
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. When done, it will be golden brown and will spring back to the touch.

For the Butter Cream Frosting

• 1/4 cup Crisco
• 1/4 cup butter (unsalted)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1-3 Tbsp milk, added one at a time

1. Cream together Crisco, butter and vanilla.
2. Add sugar.
3. Add mile 1 Tbsp at a time, until frosting reaches spreadable consistency.

For Whipped Cream

• 1 1/2 pints heavy whipping cream
• powdered sugar to taste
• vanilla to tast

Beat all ingredients together until very stiff.

Raspberry topping: 1/2 jar of room temperature raspberry jam
Fresh raspberries for garnish.

Assembly:
1. Place one 9" layer cake on cake tray.
2. Cover top with 1/4" later of buttercream frosting.
3. Cover top with thin layer of raspberry jam.
4. Cover with 1/2" layer of whipped cream.
5. Place second layer cake on, and repeat steps 2 and 3 (leaving jam exposed on top of cake).
6. Completely coat the sides of the cake with whipped cream. Pipe around edge of top of cake with star tip if desired.
7. Add raspberries to top of cake for garnish.

Sorry about the lack of photos, apparently we devoured this before we could managed to take any good pics! I guess that means we'll just have to make it again soon, and I see absolutely no problem with that.