Dump Cake

 

There are quite a few recipes for dump cake. And who can deny the sweet simplicity of creating a scrumptious dessert using seasonal fruit or whatever fruit you have in your pantry. Resembling a cobbler or streusel and quite possibly a crisp or a crumble too without the oats, this versatile cake does store beautifully covered in the refrigerator and is moreishly appetizing cold. Whether using fresh fruit, frozen or canned this a luscious layered dessert already on repeat in our house.    

Dump Cake 

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4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 cup (150 - 170 g) fresh or frozen blueberries

2 cups (240 -  340 g) fresh or frozen mixed berries, such as strawberries, raspberries or cranberries

1/2 cup (100 g) sugar

2 tablespoons (20 g) cornstarch

pinch of salt

Cake Topping:

1 1/4 cups (175 g) unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cups (150 g) sugar

1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder

1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC).

Combine the diced apples, blueberries, mixed berries, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl or a 9x13 inch baking dish, stirring to coat the fruit in the sugar and cornstarch. (If using frozen fruit, it does not need to be thawed before baking.)  

Spread the fruit mixture evenly throughout the baking dish. 

In another bowl combined the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk together. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the fruit and drizzle with the melted butter. Gently swirl the baking dish or using the back of a spoon to spread the butter the best you can over the flour mixture.  

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden and crisp. If you notice a few dry patches of the cake mixture before the baking time is up just carefully push them down with a spoon so they will cook.  

Serve warm with French vanilla ice cream, whip cream, Greek yoghurt or custard.  

Mixed Berry Loaf Cake

 

A surprising burst of berries before summer in this humble moist crumb cake. A touch of lemon adds a nice bit of zing and the almond flavour connects the two with a sweet comforting nutty flavour. You can choose to dust with icing sugar, as I often do, or drizzle a wee bit of icing over top however, if you just can't wait like me, I think this cake is just as luscious without too.       

Mixed Berry Loaf Cake

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2 cups (250 g) unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (250-300g) fresh or frozen mixed berries

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (50 g) dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 cup (250 ml) milk 

1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil 

2 teaspoons almond extract

zest and juice of 1 lemon or 1 orange, optional 

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). 

Lightly grease and flour a 2lb. loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.

Place the mixed berries in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of flour. This helps prevent them from sinking in the cake. 

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Then add the floured mixed berries. 

In a medium bowl whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, milk, olive oil, almond extract and the zest and juice of 1 lemon, if using, until well combined. Carefully pour the now wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Gently stir until just combined and moist. Do not over mix. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tin.

Bake for about 55 - 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, a few moist crumbs are fine. If you find that the cake is browning too quickly loosely cover the top with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before carefully removing from the tin and then place the cake directly onto the wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes: Ovens vary so do check the cake at the 30 minute mark. If you are using frozen fruit, defrost and drain off any excess juice.  

 

Beltane ~ May Day ~ Strawberry Crisp

 

Beltane/Beltain is a Celtic festival celebrated on May 1st, May Day, with some celebrations beginning on the night of April 30th, May Eve, in the Northern Hemisphere. Beltane is a fire festival and traditionally bonfires were lit to honour the sun and the Celtic Sun God, Bel (Beltane, Belen or Belenos), who is associated with healing, light and fire. Beltane is honoured around the world in numerous ways by various groups or individuals including non-wiccans.

Lighting bonfires wasn't the only way to celebrate, visiting wells, feasting and making May bushes were considered other activities. The maypole is a familiar image of May Day and Beltane, and tying colourful ribbons to trees and branches is another popular activity. Beltane marks the peak of Spring and signifies the beginning of Summer... think renewal, growth and abundance. Daylight continues to lengthen and strengthen as we move towards Summer and there is a return of vitality to both the earth and sun, with the May King, the Green Man, and the May Queen, Flora Goddess of Spring, symbolizing the union of earth and sky. 

Other celebrated festivals/holidays during this month are: May Day (English/British, May 1st), Calan Mai (Welsh), Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night, German), Roodmas (Scottish) and Cétshamhain (Irish), International Workers Day (Global, May 1st), Yom HaShoah (Judaism), Lag BaOmer/Lag B'Omer/Lag LaOmer (Jewish), Shavuot/Shavuos or known as the Feast of Weeks (Jewish & Samaritan, usually in May but sometimes in June), Vesak/Buddha Day (Buddhist in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet and Mongolia), Star Wars Day (Global, May 4th), Cinco de Mayo (Mexican, May 5th), Matariki/Maori New Year (Maori & New Zealanders, late May, sometimes June or July) and Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Remembrance Day (Israelis, late April or early to mid May, based on lyar, Hebrew calendar).

Strawberries are associated with Beltane and this strawberry crisp is a sweet way to honour and celebrate festivities. Happy Beltane... May Day to everyone! 

Strawberry Crisp

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1 cup large flakes oats

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

4 cups sliced fresh or frozen strawberries

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).  Grease an 8 x 8 inch or 9 x 9 inch square baking tin. 

In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, brown sugar and walnuts. Cut in the butter  and using clean hands blend until crumbly. 

Place the strawberries in another bowl and sprinkle the white sugar over top and gently stir together. Making sure the strawberries get evenly coated in sugar. 

Spread half of the crumb mixture on the bottom of the prepared tin. Cover with the strawberries and spread the remaining crumb mixture over top. 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 to 50 minutes or until the fruit becomes bubbly and the crumb is a lovely golden brown. Serve warm or cold topped with whip cream.

Blackberry Sauce

 

This has more to do with a voluminous berry sauce than anything else. Although lavishly spread on top of a cheesecake has its advantages. With fairly minimal effort, requiring a close eye and a certain amount of stirring, it can not only be used for topping cakes but as a filling to sandwich in-between layers of cake as well, poured over ice cream or used when making homemade ice cream to create a summery berry flavour, drizzled over your morning oatmeal or spread over toast in a jam like fashion. It seems, there is nothing this blackberry sauce can't touch or be used for. I have included the recipe for the cheesecake just in case you feel the urge to whip up something special this weekend. 

 Blackberry Sauce

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3 cups blackberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Place the blackberries, lemon juice and sugar in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until it comes to a boil.

Continue to boil and stir for 10 minutes.

If you desire a thicker sauce make a slurry of the cornstarch and water and add to boiling berries and cook until thickened. 

Classic Cheesecake

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1 - 1/4 cups graham crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 packages (250 g each) Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs 

Heat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

1. Mix graham crumbs and butter together; press onto bottom of a 9 - inch springform pan. 

2. Beat cream cheese and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

3. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until centre is almost set. Run knife around the rim of pan to loosen cake; cool completely before removing rim. Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hours. 

Blueberry Scones

I have a go to recipe for scones however I do like to change things up a bit and try different recipes now and again. These blueberry scones with just a hint of lemon are perfect. I decided to make 8 larger scones as I wanted them to be a bit more substantial rather than dainty afternoon tea scones. 

Blueberry Scones

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3 1/2 cups (875ml) unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cup (175ml) caster sugar

2 tablespoons (30ml) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (2ml) salt

2 tablespoons (30ml) lemon zest

1 cup (250ml) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup (250ml) cold Carnation 2% Evaporated Milk

2 eggs

2 cups (500ml) fresh blueberries

Drizzle Glaze:

2 cups (500ml) icing sugar

5 tablespoons (75ml) Carnation 2% Evaporated Milk

1/2 teaspoon (2ml) vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC) 

Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon zest. Cut  in the butter with a pastry cutter or use your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In another bowl combine the evaporated milk and eggs. Add to the flour mixture. Gently fold in the blueberries. Careful not to over mix. 

Place the dough on a floured surface and shape the dough into a square... or rectangle that is 1" (2.5cm) thick. Cut into 16 pieces.

Arrange scones on the prepared baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 23 minutes or until lightly golden.

To Make the Drizzle Glaze:

Combine the icing sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla in a bowl. Stir until well blended.

When the scones are done, remove from the oven and place them on wire baking racks. Drizzle some of the glaze over the hot scones and drizzle again, 10 minutes later. 

Notes: You probably can replace the evaporated milk with almond milk or milk. You may add other berries such as, raspberries or blackberries or a combination there of. If you do not wish to make the glaze then sprinkle the tops with some vanilla sugar before baking. I made a runnier glaze as I only wanted a hint of sweetness on top. Even though I decided to make 8 large scones instead, I baked them for 23 minutes however felt that they could have come out of the oven a few minutes sooner. 

August seems to have come and gone. We definitely enjoyed the summer weeks and days together. Looking forward to fall. - JD  

Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Cake

To me, this cake captures an essence of summer. Fresh blueberries with a sticky lemon tartness that will beckon those summer days. Blackberries and raspberries would be equally, just as good. 

Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Cake

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approximately 16 servings

1 cup (250ml) butter, softened

1 1/2 (375ml) cup sugar 

3 eggs

3 cups (750ml) unbleached all purpose flour

grated lemon rind from 1 lemon 

2 teaspoons (10ml) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (2ml) salt

2 to 3 tablespoons poppy-seeds

1 cup (250ml) milk

2 cups (500ml) blueberries

Lemon syrup:

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1 cup (250ml) sugar

1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice

Glaze:

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1 cup (250ml) icing sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons (30-40ml) milk

2 cups (500ml) blueberries, or a handful of edible flowers, optional

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) 

Grease and flour a 10 inch (23cm) tube pan.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until nicely combined. Add the eggs and beat well. Set aside. 

In another bowl combine the flour, grated lemon rind, baking powder, salt, and poppy-seeds. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 65 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted into the cake, comes out clean.

Lemon syrup: While the cake is baking... place the sugar and lemon juice in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Stir to combine, making sure the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

When the cake is done and removed from the oven, poke holes into the hot cake. Then pour the lemon syrup all over the cake. The cake will absorb the lovely lemon syrup. Continue to cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.

Glaze: When the cake has cooled completely and successfully removed from the pan; in a small bowl blend together the icing sugar and milk. Drizzle over the cold cake and immediately place the additional blueberries, or edible flowers, if using,  on top of the glaze. Allow to set. Serve.  

Notes: I cut the sugar down to 1 cup for the cake and 3/4 cup for the lemon syrup. The cake was completely baked at 65 minutes however ovens vary, so make sure the cake springs back when lightly touched and or a toothpick comes out. I would have added more blueberries on top however I thought I had another 2 cups but didn't so I left it as is.  

Gastropost Post

With all the comings and goings of the weekend and the beginning of the week; I forgot to share that I made it into the Newspaper on Monday. The city's paper does a food or I should say Gastropost on Mondays and the mixed berries that I posted about for my Food Photo of the Day, got selected and shared! They posted under my maiden name however a very nice surprise and a great way to start my week.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is having an enjoyable week so far. -JD     

Food Photo of the Day ~ Mixed Berries

Keeping it simple with a fabulous weekend and a wonderful bunch of berries, sprinkled with sugar and tossed with freshly grated orange rind. Served with a dollop of whip cream on top. Summer is here... 

Hope everyone had a great weekend, we did! - JD 

Strawberry Raspberry Cheesecake

All this week I made some form of chocolate treats. However this was going to be a secret for my Valentine, my husband. There was no hiding the refrigerator stacked with berries, something round hidden under sheets of foil wrap and the smell of melting chocolate. Since I had melted too much chocolate and there were left over berries I felt compelled to share an early Valentine's Day treat. Sometimes there are benefits when one hangs around the kitchen. I prefer baked cheesecakes and this one was very easy to whip up.

  

Cheesecake

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1 1/4 cup graham crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

3 - 250g packages of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

spoonful of lemon juice

spoonful of lemon zest

Combine the graham crumbs and butter together. Press into a spring form pan.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just blended. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Pour into crust. 

Bake at 350ºF for 45-50 minutes or until centre is almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Decorate as you desire. 

Notes - By far this is as simple as cheesecakes can get. It is pretty much foolproof. You can certainly change up the crust by using chocolate or vanilla cookie crumbs. Try digestive biscuits. Also adding spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg to the crust mixture is lovely. You can add orange or lime zest instead of the traditional lemon. Adding liqueur for a more grown-up sophisticated cheesecake. You can purée the fruit however I prefer fresh fruit. Simple things like chocolate, dried fruit, and nuts. The possibilities are truly endless. 

     

Rhubarb and Mixed Berry Crumble

Over the weekend this became a joint effort. Not that it takes two people to make a rainy day dessert. More like my fiancé went out to the garden to collect some rhubarb, came up with the idea for a dessert and I felt compelled to get my hands in there while things were coming together in the kitchen. Honestly I don't need an excuse to take over the helm in the kitchen... I just get in there! This was the best comfort food on a rainy day. The sharp tart taste was balance by the sweetness of the mixed berries and crumble. Super easy and so delicious. Enjoy! - JW   

Rhubarb and Mixed Berry Crumble

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4-5 cups of rhubarb stalks 

2-3 cups mixed berries

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 oz (125g) of butter

3/4 cup of white flour 

Pre heat the over to 200ºC / 400ºF.

Wash and cut up the rhubarb stalks into 2cm / 1 inch pieces. Making sure all the leafy parts are cut of - they are poisonous.

Melt the butter and add both of the sugars and flour. Mix well to create a crumbly mixture.

Put the rhubarb and mixed berries into a lovely oven proof dish. Cover with the crumble mixture. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until crumble is browned and crisp. 

Let cool for a bit before serving. May be served with ice cream or whip cream. 

Note: You could cut down the caster sugar a bit if you find it too sweet however that would elevate the tartness. 

London Cheesecake

As promised here is the London Cheesecake. I have never tasted a cheesecake more moist and delicious than this one! The recipe calls for three eggs plus three egg yolks. Sounds rich but oddly enough it felt light due to the fact that it melts in your mouth. This wasn't velvet... this is silk! Also the thin sour cream topping gave it a slight tartness that was more than pleasant. I believe this cheesecake is supposed to be served naked. The berries give it a nice touch and I am thinking about the possibility of adding rum to flavour it next time. Truth be known when you have a recipe sometimes it's nice to add your own touches to the dish. Stamping your signature can be most satisfying. 

I am such a tease! One picture can't possibly be enough. You can find the recipe on Nigella's website, search recipes or type in London Cheesecake in the search box, click *here*. Also Nigella Lawson viewed yesterday's blog post and sent me a short and sweet message. Very gracious! -JW    

Crêpes

Last week I was looking around the usual places for cookbooks when I found this one. The Crêpe Book by Susan Herbert; Illustrated by Dennis Redmond; second printing 1976, Owlswood Productions. So when this weekend's breakfast request was crepes I knew exactly what book to reach for. I most often, if not always, use the Nigella Lawson recipe for crêpes. This cookbook is only 64 pages and has an introduction "know how" to crêpes. Stating that "the crêpe pan is essential". I don't own a crêpe pan. I use a smaller fry pan and I make wonderful crêpes! Honestly this is the one kitchen item I have passed up many times. That being said would I like one, yes... just for the absolute frivolousness! Until that day comes the fry pan works great. This book has helpful tips on how to fold and serve crêpes. I usually roll mine. I think that is the most popular way on doing it. Other ways are to fold, pocket, wedge and mound. The recipes include breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner ideas using crêpes. Pretty much letting your imagination run wild on how you can serve up an attractive meal.

I started with the basic crêpe recipe. The recipe called for the batter to be refrigerated for an hour. I didn't do that. I used the batter straight away and as you can see from the above photo they turned out fine. Mine were filled with mixed berries and whip cream on top with a dash of cinnamon sugar. So delicious! Not bad for not having a crêpe pan. - JW