Raspberry Clafoutis - #TheCakeSliceBakers

A Raspberry Clafoutis is a rustic French dessert with a creamy, custard-like texture and sweet bites of raspberry throughout. 

Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with a dollop of whipped or vanilla ice cream for the perfect dessert.

Raspberry Charlotte ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

Cake is for life, not just for birthdays.

Sticky Mango Shortbread Bars ~ #CreativeCookieExchange

Spring is in the air, birds are singing,  April showers have given way to May flowers, and amazing produce is showing up at the Farmer's Markets.  It makes perfect sense that our theme this month for #Creative Cookie Exchange is Seasonal Spring Baking.

Mini Mincemeat Tarts

Contrary to how it sounds, mincemeat tarts contain no meat, well at least they don't these days but at one time they did.  Typically it would contain chopped dried fruit. liqueur, and some spices.  One day I will make my own mincemeat, and David Lebovitz has a great recipe on his site, but for now I have a few large jars that I picked up on sale.

Tropical White Sangria

Sangria is a fruit-based wine punch predominately from Spain and Portugal, and it is just the thing on a hot summer's day.  Not only is it very refreshing but there are so many different ways to make it.  Both white and red versions are very popular.

We decided to go with a white version, or sangria blanca, for our July 4th celebration.  We love sangria because it is not too heavy and you can adapt it to any fruit you may have on hand. You can also add as much, or as little alcohol as you want, and you can vary the soda to make a completely different taste.  We used seltzer water but you could also try club soda, lemon-lime soda, ginger ale, a flavored mineral water, or even an orange-based soda.  Like I said, the possibilities are endless.

After mixing up the basics we placed it in the refrigerator overnight.  You can serve it straight away over ice, but I prefer to let the flavors muddle a little.  Once we were ready to serve we added the additional fruit and the soda.

Tropical White Sangria

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 x 1.5 liter bottle of white wine - I used a moscato 
• ½ cup white sugar, dissolved in a little hot water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup pineapple
• 3 oranges, sliced  
• 2 lemons, sliced into wedges
• 2 limes, sliced into wedges
• 10 strawberries, cut in half
• 6 lychee, peeled, seeded, and cut in half
• 3 x 355 ml cans club soda or spritzer water

Preparation

1. Pour wine in the pitcher.
2. Lightly squeeze the juice from the lemon and lime wedges by hand into the pitcher.
3. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and orange slices and add sugar.
4. Add the orange juice and pineapple juice - stir.
5. Chill overnight.
6. Add strawberries and lychee.
7. Add club soda or seltzer just before serving. 
8. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled white wine and serve over lots of ice.  
9. Addition ideas - peaches, handful of fresh blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, a shot of cointreau, brandy or rum, a cup of citrus-flavored soda.

Recipe adapted from a sangria recipe on About.com

Bircher Müesli

 

Oatmeal is a popular breakfast in our household, especially when my husband is training.  Not only does it have a multitude of health benefits, but is inexpensive and quick to prepare. It is also very filling and keeps me from snacking before lunchtime. My favorite additions are a sliced banana and a little drizzle of golden syrup.  

Once the weather starts to get a little warmer I find regular oatmeal a little heavy for breakfast so I start thinking about Bircher Müesli.  It is based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit, and nuts and was developed by Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a Swiss physician around 1900 to help improve the health of his patients.  I have heard a few different pronunciations of "Bircher" - BIR-ker-, BIR-chur, and BEER-chur, but I don't know anyone who is Swiss to confirm which one is correct.

The first time I ever tasted this müesli was at Bill Granger's restaurant, Bill's in Surry Hills (Australia) and I immediately fell in love with everything about it. Actually it isn't hard to love everything on his menu, but this just seemed so rich and creamy, but healthy at the same time.  At the restaurant the ingredients change with the season, and right now it is served with apples, dates, and almonds. 

For my müesli I decided to add half apple juice and half pear juice.  I really like the Kern's brand of nectar and usually have a few different flavors in my pantry.  This müesli is so versatile and can be adapted to whatever is in season, or just use the fruits and nuts that are your favorites.  I love the tartness of Granny Smiths so they were my apple of choice in this recipe.  I also had blueberries and almonds on hand so these provided my toppings.  Dried fruit or even a trail mix would be good too.  The varieties of this recipe are endless, all you need is your imagination.

The recipe below made about six servings.  It really depends on the ratio of the oat mixture you serve to the fruit you use on top.  It also lasts longer if you don't keep grabbing a spoon during the day for just another little taste.  I kept mine covered in the refrigerator for three days.

Bircher Müesli
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• ¾ cup pear juice
• ¾ cup apple juice
• 1½ Granny Smith apples, peeled and grated
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ½ Granny Smith Apple, skin on and julienned
• ½ cup blueberries
• ¼ cup flaked almonds
• honey to taste

Method

1. Place oats and apple/pear juice in a bowl and soak for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
2. Add grated apple and yogurt to oat mixture and mix well. 
3. Spoon into serving bowls and top with blueberries and apple.
4. Sprinkle with almonds and drizzle with honey. 

Recipe adapted from Bill's Food by Bill Granger

Fantastic Fruit and Nut Bars

I don't know about everyone else but I have bookmarked over 50 recipes that I want to try since the beginning of the year.  There are so many talented cooks and bakers out there that make everything they make look so good.  One recipe that caught my eye was by Kate at Diethood.com for Fruit and Nut Bars.  As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to make for my husbands triathlon training group this weekend.  His group really pushes their bike rides on Saturdays and they need to refuel when they get back, so the least I can do is to have something tasty waiting for them to enjoy.

These bars had exactly the mix I was looking for - great taste and relatively healthy.  Since I am trying to use up ingredients I already had I did make a few substitutions to the recipe.  I used pecans rather than walnuts, and I added dried blueberries to the other dried fruits already listed, while reducing the amount of dates to compensate for this addition.  I think it would be great with all kinds of dried fruits.  My mix also seemed a little wet after I added the egg so I added more flour.

Make sure that you watch them towards the end of their baking time.  Some ovens run a little hot so they may not need the full 40 minutes, and can easily burn if you don't keep an eye on them.  I was conscious of this because I baked them in a 11 inch x 7 inch pan.  I think next time I might double the recipe so that I get bigger bars, mine seemed a little flat but I am sure this is because of the pan size.



Considering that the container that they were in came back empty, except for a few crumbs, I would say these were a resounding success. I think next time I might try the substitution of a banana for the egg.

Fantastic Fruit and Nut Bars

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cups dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg OR substitute with 1 (one) mashed banana
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line an entire 8 x 8 inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Stir in the brown sugar, pecans, and dried fruit. Use your fingers to make sure that all the fruit and nuts have been coated with the flour mixture.
5. If you are using the banana substitute, mash the banana with a fork real well then add in the vanilla extract. Blend it all together and mix it into the fruit and nut mixture, OR in a separate bowl, with a wire whisk beat the egg and vanilla until light colored and thick, add the egg mixture to the fruit and nut mixture and mix until all the fruit and nut pieces are coated with the batter.
6. Spread into the prepared pan, pressing to even it out.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the batter has pulled away from the sides of the pan.
8. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
9. When cooled, lift the bars from the pan by the edges of the aluminum foil.

 Makes 16, 2-inch squares.