Raspberry Almond Tort

(Market Street Style)

Sponge Layer
5 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch of salt

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until thick. Continue beating while slowly adding sugar and beat until stiff and shiny but not dry. Set aside.

5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ cup melted cooled butter
½ cup finely chopped, lightly toasted almonds

Beat yolks, sugar and salt together until thick and creamy (at least 10 minutes). Add cornstarch and mix until well combined. Fold in melted butter and chopped almonds. Fold this mixture into egg white mixture. Divide batter between two 9" cake pans that have been lined with parchment and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in the pan.

Pastry Cream
3 cups milk
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup milk (additional)
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
4 egg whites
¼ cup sugar (additional)
1 pint container of fresh raspberries

Place 3 cups milk in a saucepan and sprinkle unflavored gelatin over top. Let set for 5 minutes for gelatin to soften. Add sugar and salt, place over medium high heat and stirring constantly, bring to a simmer. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks, flour, cornstarch and ½ cup milk. Whisk until well combined. Whisk some of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture, and then return all to the saucepan. Whisking constantly, bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Add butter and extracts. Beat egg whites and ¼ cup sugar until will hold soft peaks. Fold hot mixture into egg whites until well combined and let cool.

To Assemble:
Place one of the sponge layers on a serving plate. Spread a ½ inch thick layer of pastry cream over top, to within ½ inch of edge of layer. Place a ring of raspberries around edge of pastry cream and sprinkle remaining raspberries equally in the center. Add another layer of pastry cream over raspberries, spreading evenly. Place second layer, top-side up, over pastry cream and press gently. Sift powdered sugar over top, serve and enjoy!

Raspberry Bread Pudding

1 ½ loaves white bread (dried and cubed) 3 c. sugar

1 qt. heavy cream 1 t. vanilla

3 eggs

Mix cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry bread cubes and soak for 30 minutes.

Raspberry Sauce:

5 c. raspberries

1 c. sugar

½ c. apple juice

Spray a 9 x 13 pan. Put ¾ of bread/egg mixture in pan. Top with raspberry sauce.

Top with remaining bread/egg mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Butter Cream Sauce: 1 1/3 c. butter (melted)

5 T. flour

3 c. cream

2 t. vanilla

½ c. sugar

Melt butter and wisk in flour, then cream. Add vanilla and sugar. Stir and cook

until thick.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

This recipe is delicious! It was a strong competitor last night in the midst of about 8 pies. Rather than posting the entire recipe here, let me direct you to the page on Smitten Kitchen. I'll just leave you with a picture to get your mouth watering. Yum! (And I don't even like cooked fruit usually.)



**Note - You will see in the recipe that it makes a few suggestions for add-ins, etc. I used honey instead of molasses (mostly because I thought others might enjoy the lighter flavor better). I also added a couple dashes of cinnamon and about a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cake batter before baking. She also makes a note of how her cake cooked really quickly (like 30 minutes instead of 45). Well, mine took about 50 minutes and was overflowing the pan. I think you could use a large cake pan. Finally, no parchment was necessary. The cake will come right out of the pan. Enjoy!

Raspberry Cream... a spin on cottage cheese and yogurt

Seriously tasty ladies... it's a good change from the run of the mill cottage cheese, though probably slightly less healthy due to the added sugar.

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN of the New York Times

This simple dessert is a perfect destination for frozen raspberries, which throw off a lot of juice when they thaw. Serve it as a dessert, a breakfast, a topping for toast or a snack.

1 12-ounce package frozen raspberries

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest

1 1/2 cups low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese (I used nonfat)

1/3 cup plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt (I used nonfat greek yogurt)

1. Empty the frozen berries into a bowl. Toss with the sugar, and place in the refrigerator for several hours to thaw. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, and stir together.

2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the cottage cheese until smooth. Add the yogurt, and continue to blend until there is no graininess. Stir into the berries. Serve at once, or chill in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.

Yield: Makes 3 cups, about eight servings.

Advance preparation: This dish will keep for two or three days in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving (using 2 percent low-fat cottage cheese): 77 calories; 1 gram fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 5 milligrams cholesterol; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 147 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 6 grams protein

Nutritional information per serving (using fat-free cottage cheese): 71 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 2 milligrams cholesterol; 12 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 169 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 6 grams protein

Another Muffin Recipe

These muffins are real winners. Probably my favorite muffin recipe to date (though I LOVE the lime/lemon flavor of the last muffins I posted). These are pretty sweet, but definitely muffiny, not cakey, just the way they ought to be. :)

Blueberry Apricot Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup fresh apricots, thinly sliced (about 4 medium)

-Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
-In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
-In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until mixture is almost fully combined, then add in the blueberries and apricots – reserving 12 small, thin slices of apricot – and give the batter a few more stirs, just until no streaks of flour remain visible.
-Divide batter evenly into muffin cups (cups will be very full) and garnish each one with one of the small reserved slices of apricot.
-Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean.
-Turn muffins out of the pan onto wire rack to cool.
-Store leftovers in an airtight container when muffins have cooled completely.

Makes 12

Blackberry Lime Muffins

These are quite possibly my new favorite muffins... you MUST MAKE!!! (Recipe courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 2 limes
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blackberries
Turbinado sugar-for sprinkling on muffins before baking (I used regular granulated sugar and it was great)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 9 paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.

3. In a small bowl, add the sugar and lime zest. Rub sugar and zest together until fragrant. Add sugar and zest to the flour mixture. Whisk ingredients together.

4. In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, mix canola oil, egg, buttermilk, lime juice, and vanilla extract together.

5. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture. Slowly stir together, the batter will be thick. Don’t over mix. Gently fold in the blackberries.

6. Fill 9 muffin cups with the batter. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar.

7. Bake muffins for 17-20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool on a cooking rack.

*Note-you can use frozen berries, but try to use fresh blackberries. They make these muffins extra special. This recipe only makes 9 muffins, feel free to double it.

Makes 9 regular size muffins