..."Considering the ingredients I used, I was a little afraid it wouldn't be fit to eat.. It ended up being a really good jam with a fruity, nut-like flavor. I'll definitely be making this one again!" JD
JD's New Years Jam 2 cups blackberry juice and pulp 2 cups sliced strawberries 1/4 cup dry red wine 1/4 cup maple flavored bourbon 6 sprigs spearmint (leaves only, minced) 3 cups sugar 1 pkg pectin 1/4 tsp butter In small bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar with pectin, set aside. Dump fruit, wine, bourbon, mint and sugar into large saucepan, add butter to reduce foaming. Bring to rolling boil, adding in the sugar/pectin mixture, bring back to rolling boil and boil a full 1 minute. Reduce heat and ladle into prepared, sanitized jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Water bath process 15 minutes, adjusting for your altitude. Makes about 5 half-pints. Recipe & Photo by: JD for Canning and Cooking at Home
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As easy to making pancakes or waffle batter, this classic French dessert involves pouring the simple batter over fresh berries and baking until puffed and golden brown. The fruit rises to the top, leaving a soft layer whose texture falls somewhere between cake and custard and reminds me of flan. You can use any berry or but, the most traditional are cherries (other fruits like pear work great too!) This is best baked/served in a pie pan, tart pan or even small ramekins. This dessert is easy and elegant. I used vanilla bean paste with my strawberries - and I think if using cherries, I'd use almond extract or paste. You can mix it up all you want. There are even chocolate clafoutis (cla-flew-tee) with nut toppings (a mix of chunk and melted chocolate with toasted nuts on top) oh my!
~Enjoy! Diane Strawberry Clafoutis Ingredients:
Directions: Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and butter until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into a cast iron skillet or pie pan. Now sprinkle in your favorite fruit and paste or extract flavoring. Bake until the clafoutis is beautifully puffed and golden, 35–40 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6. Searching for a 'lite' dessert this Summer that will still provide a sense decadence but, not leave you wobbling away from the table? This is IT! This entire dessert can be fashioned to your liking! Tone it down using sugar-free, fat-free pudding, you can omit the whip cream or not (I prefer to add it in because I love the mousse texture/taste) you can use carob chips to melt and drizzle over top instead of melted chocolate or leave off entirely and sprinkle heart-healthy nuts over top...fresh berries are best in this but, I also like using up my homemade preserves... and you can mix the berries up too! my favorite combination is raspberry, blueberry, blackberry! Today I assembled some strawberry minis using fresh berries. This dessert is easy to make and a showstopper every time! I've been making these for some time now and each and every flavor combination has been a hit with my guests - the most unusual being lime pudding with pineapple and kiwi fruit dusted with coconut. Oh man! that one I need to make again! ~Enjoy! Diane
{Mini} Strawberry Napoleons Napoleon Filling/Assembly: 1 Puff Pastry Sheet 3 oz Vanilla Pudding, instant 1 Cup Milk 2 Cups fresh fruit, cut up 1 Cup Chocolate Chips, melted Whipped Cream: 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream *cold 2 Tbs Powdered Sugar 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or extract) Directions: Preheat oven to 400 Chill Mixing Bowl and Beater/Whisk in fridge for at least 15 mins. First, you are going to take one sheet of puff pastry and lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet, cut the pastry into 3 equal strips, then cut each strip into 4 smaller pieces. Bake according to directions until golden brown (usually 400 degrees for 15 minutes) Let the pastry squares cool about 10 minutes and then carefully slice each into two (separating the tops and bottoms from each other) You will have 24 squares now to work with, each layer takes 3 pieces: making 8 napoleons total. I do make sure to set aside 8 "tops" to top as the final top layers. Next, you want to make your pudding and store in refrigerator. I use vanilla instant pudding (3oz) and mix with only 1 cup of milk. Vanilla works best with all berries that you would want to use but, even here you can use a pudding that you might like that may be different (think of lime pudding with kiwi fruit napoleons! or even chocolate pudding with bananas!) Since you are making more of a mousse then a pudding, you need to make some fresh whipped cream to fold into pudding - don't worry, it's super easy to do (and you can always skip this step and use store bought as well.) Take chilled mixing bowl/whisk from fridge and pour in heavy whipping cream and start mixer, let whisk/beat for 2-3 minutes before adding in powdered sugar and vanilla, continue to mix on med-high speed (not too high - you don't want splattering) Most whipped cream takes time to turn from a liquid state into a semi-solid of soft peaks, usually 6-10 minutes. Keep a watchful eye as over-whipping can turn your whipped cream into a grainy looking mixture (if that happens add a bit more whipping cream to bowl and lightly whip in until graininess is gone (1-2 Tbs should do it.) Fold your whipped cream into your pudding very gently and keep refrigerated until ready to assemble final dessert. Lay 8 "bottom" pieces of puff pastry on a plate, dollop with approx 2 Tbs pudding mousse, and 1-2 tbs of fresh fruit, followed by another layer of pastry. repeat filling again with mousse and fruit, and finish by topping with a "top" of pastry. sprinkle all with a light dusting of powdered sugar and drizzle of hot, melted chocolate (I microwave my chocolate chips until melted and use a fork to drizzle over each finished napoleon.) and remember - you can use homemade preserves in place of fresh berries or even in addition to fresh berries in each layer. It's another great way to use your Canning into Cooking at Home Enjoy! Diane Recipe Adapted from: Phyllis Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home Strawberries are starting to look good this time of year. I snagged a few cartons at my local store the other day and had to make something special with them. I decided on a coffee cake. One of my favorite ingredients in any cake is sour cream. Why? because it adds moisture to the cake. It's dense, creamy and moist all at the same time. The hint of lemon and fresh berries lend themselves well to the overall taste too. My husband said that this recipe is now his favorite. I think next time that I may add a hint of cinnamon to the crumb topping and see how that flavors the cake... Enjoy ~ Diane Strawberry Lemon Coffee Cake Bars Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tablespoon lemon zest 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup sour cream 1 cup fresh strawberries *sprinkled with 1/4 cup sugar, see below Topping Ingredients: 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup melted butter Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" square pan with butter or spray with non-stick baking spray. *Place cut up strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let set for at least 45 mins. until the sugar turns into a syrup, stir to coat. (this is an optional step but, preferred if your strawberries are not super sweet to being with) Beat the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined. Add half of the dry ingredients (flour & baking powder) to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream, mix again, and add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Pour the strawberries into batter and sprinkle berries with a bit of flour. Gently fold in the strawberries into batter and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the flour and sugar for the topping in a small bowl and add the melted butter. Stir lightly with a fork to combine. Sprinkle the sugary crumb topping over the batter in the pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Let cool before slicing. Enjoy! Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home Strawberry Vanilla Jam
Ingredients: 1 quart strawberries ( 4 cups of chopped berries) 3/4 Cup of honey 1 Cup of Sugar (you can use 2 Cups sugar and leave the honey out) 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped (or add 2 tsp vanilla bean paste before jarring) 1 lemon, zested and juiced Commercial Pectin (*I used 4Tbs Pamona Commercial Pectin Powder) Instructions: Wash, hull and chop berries. Toss them with the 1 cup of sugar and the split vanilla beans and place in a large jar or bowl. Allow the berries to macerate for at least 1-2 hours (cover with saran and placed in fridge). When you're ready to make the jam, prepare two to three pint jars. Pour macerated strawberries and vanilla beans into a large pot and add the honey. Add commercial pectin of your choice. *follow your pectins instructions on when to add to jam mixture. Bring to a boil and cook until the jam reaches 220 degrees, stirring often and regularly. Add the lemon zest and juice in the final 5 minutes of cooking and remove the vanilla beans. Once the jam has reached 220 degrees, remove the pan from the heat. Pour jam into your prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in your canner for 10 minutes. (or according to your altitude) When time is up, remove jars from canner and let them cool on a towel-lined counter top. When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and check seals. If any jars are not sealed, store them in the fridge and use them first. Store washed, sealed jars in a cool, dark place. (In this recipe - I added my pectin (Pamona) before the final rolling boil.) Pinterest Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/68727975039/ Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home |