Late summer berries

September, the best month of the year - perfect blue sky with beautiful fluffy white clouds
- and lots of wonderful raspberries in my garden for breakfast, snacks, pie and jam:)

Soft fruit jellies

Pâté de fruit – Homemade soft fruit jellies

In Denmark we call them FLÆSK meaning bacon – because of the stripes.
It takes some patience - but really they are very easy to make – and there is still lots of time to Christmas.

This recipe contains only natural ingredients – NO artificial flavors and NO artificial gelatin or pectin is added!

The natural pectin in the apples combined with sugar – and the time of boiling (to get rid of the liquid) does the TRICK.

1/2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 pound peeled apple slices
1/3 cup white wine or water
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP lemon juice
Citrus:
1 TBSP finely grated rind + 1/3 cup juice of lemon or lime
1/2 cup sugar
Berry:
1/2 pound fresh or frozen berries f.ex. Raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
Decoration:
sugar

Line a pan (4 by 10 inches) with parchment paper (baking paper) brushed with oil.
Place apple slices and wine/water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered until the apples are very tender (25 min.).

Process fruit and liquid until smooth in a food processor. Press through a strainer and divide into two saucepans. Add citrus rind, juice and sugar to one portion. Process berries in the food processor and add with sugar to the second portion.

Boil the fruit purees over moderately high heat, stirring often, until they thicken and any excess liquid has evaporated, about 30-45 minutes. Let them cool to room temperature.

Layer the two mixtures in the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Let it sit on the kitchen table 12 hours.

Unmold the “pâté” onto a flat dish with parchment paper. Cover with a clean cloth and let it “dry” at room temperature for 5-8 days.

Cut the “pâté” in slices or cubes and roll the pieces in sugar to coat.
Arrange on a platter and serve. Or refrigerate covered; they will keep for several weeks. Dab with paper towels before coating with fresh sugar.

Tip: Also try pure apple jellies spiced with a little cinnamon and/or ginger.

Fresh Raspberry Pie

I have these wonderful raspberries, which ripen rather late (October) and there are plenty, so I made this luxury pie.

Fresh raspberry pie

(Serves 8)

Crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (350 g)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter (150 g)

1/2 cup cool water (1 1/4 dl)

Filling:

4 cups fresh raspberries (600 g)

1/2 cup sugar (100 g)

1/2 cup flour (75 g)

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon or ginger

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 Tablespoon milk or cream for brushing the top

1 Tablespoon sugar for dusting

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Do NOT knead the dough as in bread making. Divide dough in half, and shape into discs. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for later, or use now.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).

Roll out 1 disc of dough and place it in a pie pan.

Toss raspberries, sugar, flour, nutmeg and lemon juice gently in a large bowl. Fill into prepared pie crust.

Use the other dough disc for a double crust or lattice crust. Brush with milk or cream and dust with sugar. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling. Remove to cool on a rack for 30-60 minutes.

Serve the Raspberry Pie with ice cream, whipped cream or sour cream (crème fraiche).

Party with Red currants

This week I used the last red currants in my garden. I couldn't quite decide whether to make a cake or a tarte - so we made both:)



Spiral cake with red currants
The cake is made as a spiral, so the layers become vertical. It´s fun to make – my daughter Mathilde made this one.

For 1 cake for 8-10 persons:
Berries:
1 pound red currants
3/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP potato starch or corn starch

Cake:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
Cream:
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Crème fraiche /sour cream 38% (or just use 2 cups whipping cream)
4 TBSP icing sugar
1/2 vanilla pod

Remove the stalks from the red currants, wash and drain. Place them in a pot. Add sugar and 3 TBSP water, bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for about 3 minutes - stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove the pot from the heat and thicken with the potato flour stirred into 3 TBSP cold water. Let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until it increases in volume, stiffens slightly and becomes pale yellow, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Sift the flower, cinnamon and baking powder together.
Very carefully, fold in the sifted flour with a rubber spatula until the flour is no longer visible. Spread the batter onto 2 or 3 pans with baking parchment paper - about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake the cakes 8-10 minutes and turn them over on pans or towels dusted with sugar. Place damp towels on top of them and let them cool.

Beat cream, crème fraiche, icing sugar and vanilla seeds together until it is light and fluffy.

Remove the baking paper from the cakes and cut them in 6-9 stripes about 4 inches wide. Spread the red currants on the stripes and on top of that spread the thick vanilla cream. Roll one strip around itself and place it in the center of a round serving platter. Now, one at a time, wrap the remaining strips around the center strip until all is used. Put the cake in the fridge at least 1 hour.

Decorate with washed red currants dusted with sugar and fresh mint leaves.



Tarte with red currants and raspberries

Crust:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 stick cold butter (1/2 cup)
1 egg yolk
1-2 TBSP cold water

Berries:
10 oz red currants
7 oz raspberries
Cream:
2 eggs
5 tbsp cane sugar
1/2 cup cream

icing sugar for decoration

Crust: Mix the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add the butter and let it run until it forms small crumbs. Add egg yolk and cold water and form the dough to a disc. Cover it with foil and let it rest in the fridge for one hour.

Roll the dough out about 1/4 inch thick (dust board with flour as needed) and press into a pie pan. Poke holes across the bottom, line with parchment paper and add pie weights or dried beans. Prebake the crust in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Take the crusts out, remove the baking weights and let it cool.

Filling: Remove the stalks from the red currants, wash and drain. Arrange red currants and raspberries on the dough. Beat eggs together with sugar and cream and pour over the berries.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!

Summer berry jam

Summer berry jam

A friend of mine taught me years ago, that the best way to harvest currants, is to cut the branches with the berries on – and then find a nice and shady place to sit and string the currants.

This summer, I have got huge amounts of both red and black currants as well as yellow and red raspberries in my garden.

I have made a lot of RØDGRØD – the favorite Danish summer pudding cooked on red berries, a little water and sugar. It is served cold with cream.

And then I made a lot jam of red currants, black currants and raspberries.

3 pounds berries (1 of each)
3/4 cup water
11/2 pound sugar
1-2 tsp pectin

Prepare 6-7 half-pint canning jars and lids. Place a small plate in your freezer.

Place the red and black currants in a large pot. Add water and bring the mixture to a hard boil and let it boil for about 3 minutes - stirring with a wooden spoon.
Add the sugar and let it boil - stirring with the wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved. Ad the raspberries and let it boil for about 3 minutes.
Add the pectin according to the package.
Test the jam by placing a small amount on the chilled plate. Allow 30 seconds to pass and then run your finger through it to see what the cooled consistency will be.
Ladle the jam into hot, sterilized canning jars. Wipe the rims of the jars clean with a dampened paper towel and seal them with the sterilized lids.
Store a cool and dark place.
Enjoy on bread, scones or in cakes or on your morning yoghurt.

Raspberry slices

Another recipe for left-overs. I almost always manage to make too much pie dough when I am making a pie.
With left over pie dough, you can make these delicious slices called Hindbaersnitter in Danish.

Raspberry slices

Roll the dough out thin and cut it in two identical rectangles. Prick them with a fork and bake them in the oven at 200 degrees C/400 degrees F for about 12 minutes. Take them out of the oven and spread raspberry jam on one of them while they are still warm. Put the other one on top of the jam and let them cool. Mix some powder sugar with a little boiling water to a glaze, and spread it over the top.
Cut in slices.