Tea Party for One

Occasionally I will feel exceptionally British and decide to have afternoon tea.  Today was one of those days.  A spot of tea was wonderfully warming and relaxing on a rainy afternoon.  

On a completely different note, I spent at least two hours cleaning my room today.  And by cleaning I mean actually cleaning and organizing, not just shoving stuff in the closet like I have been doing for the past month or two.  It is quite refreshing to see so much free space around me.  I also had the chance to arrange my newest vintage dishes for jewelry and other accessories.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Margaret

Raspberry Pudding Cakes

My week in glorious Charlevoix, Michigan ended last Saturday with a long drive home.  We packed up the car with our clothes, books, and (as it luckily happened) some leftover goodies.  The day before we left we stocked up on some extra fudge and taffy and went berry picking a second time.  Luckily the berries survived the long trip home, and I was able to bake with them!

I chose this gorgeous-looking raspberry pudding cake that I came across while searching for recipes on foodgawker.  I had originally planned on making it in my first batch of raspberry treats in Michigan, but my mother suggested that we wait until I was home where we could make individual servings in our smaller dishes.  I agreed, and thus the mini raspberry pudding cake was born.

It was a really interesting dish to make.  I have never made a pudding cake before, so I was unsure of what to expect in the intermediate steps.  Isabelle's directions were spot-on though; she reassured you at each step that the batter should look this way or that, even if it wasn't what you were used to with a cake.

I was so excited to try these when they came out of the oven that I could barely wait the suggested 15 minutes before plunging in.  When I did, I was rewarded with a moist cake that gave way to a layer of oozing pudding underneath.  It was quite spectacular, although I probably should have waited a bit longer as the pudding was still a bit too hot!

Bon Appétit!

Margaret

The Most Wonderful Pie

Raspberry pie is the most wonderful kind of pie, in my opinion at least.  It is a perfect balance between sweet and sour with an irresistibly flaky crust.  Still not convinced?  Just wait until you smell the black raspberries bubbling in the oven.

Since I had just about two cups of black raspberries left, I decided to make a mini pie.  In fact, I prefer the mini pies to the larger ones.  They are easier to make and are the perfect size for four.  Plus, it's best when the pie is eaten up the same day it is made.

So here is the recipe for the pie crust followed by the pie recipe.  The crust recipe is enough for the top and bottom of one mini pie, so if you are making a full pie with a top and bottom crust you will need to double the recipe.  Similarly, if you are making a full pie, double the filling recipe.

Enjoy!
Margaret

Pâte Brisée

From Gourmet

1 1/4 cups flour

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into bits

2 tablespoons shortening

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients together until they form a coarse meal.  Add 2-4 tablespoons of water, a bit at a time, until the dough sticks together enough to form it into two equally sized pieces.  Individually wrap the dough pieces and refrigerate while making the filling.

Berry Pie Filling

makes 1 mini pie

2 heaping cups berries

1 tsp lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

1 heaping tablespoon corn starch

several bits of butter for dotting the top

Sprinkle berries with lemon juice and mix in a bowl.  Add the sugar and the corn starch and mix completely.  Let sit for several minutes (or while you are rolling out the dough).

When you are rolling out the dough, make sure to dust it with enough flour so that it doesn't stick.  If it becomes to sticky you can put it back in the fridge for a few minutes to let the butter harden up a bit.

When cutting out the strips for the top, I find that it is much easier to use a pizza cutter or similar style tool rather than a knife.  I was using my grandma's cutter here that had an adorable ridge design.

When my mom made pies for me, she always made a point of properly weaving the top crust into a basket weave, rather than just placing the strips down.  This was the part I would always help out during, weaving under and over with the next strip.  I think her insistence on always perfecting the top crust rubbed off on me, because I have to make sure my basket weave is done right!

Before I baked it I should have added the bits of butter to the top of the completed pie before putting it in the oven, but I forgot that step.  It isn't detrimental to the pie, but the top will be a bit drier without the butter.

I used some of the extra pie dough to make Mr. Darcy a little dog treat.  I just rolled some shredded cheese in the dough and shaped it (as well as I could) into a mini dog bone.

He hasn't tried it yet, although I'm pretty sure he will like it.  He would have probably preferred for me to add some bacon bits too though.

Splendid Shortcakes

Raspberry desserts are my favorite, but raspberries and chocolate are even better.  Since we went berry picking a few days ago we had plenty of raspberries to use, we just had to decide on a recipe.

On my mom's suggestion, I made these Chocolate Raspberry Shortcakes.  They turned out to be quite excellent and different from other desserts I usually make.

You start out by mixing up a dough similar to that of a scone. Like a scone, it doesn't use too much sugar and is mostly butter and flour.

I really had to work it together with my hands to get the dough to stick so I added an extra splash of cream in order to form the balls of dough.

Since the recipe only makes two servings, I doubled it but made six shortcakes.  They turned out to be a pretty good size this way.

They came out of the oven wonderfully light, although a bit more cracked then I would have liked.  For this reason I decided not to cut them in half and serve the berry sauce inside.  Instead, I just spooned it on top and added some whipped cream.

And voila- a fancy (but actually very easy) chocolate raspberry dessert- Chocolate Raspberry Shortcakes!

Margaret

Raspberry Heaven

I am always in Michigan around the same time each summer- late July or early August- which just so happens to be right in the middle of raspberry season up north.

Raspberries happen to be my favorite fruit, but unfortunately for me they are often the most expensive of the conventional grocery store berries.  So when I am in Michigan I make a point to take one afternoon or morning and spend it at the farm, picking several quarts of delicious raspberries.

The farm that we visit, Kiteley's, grows red, purple, and black varieties of raspberries.  My favorites are the black and the red; we usually skip the purple.

We picked red first and had pretty good luck finding some gorgeous berries, although they were a bit scattered.

The black were easier to pick, since the berries grow in little clusters, but the thorns are a bit trickier to navigate on the black raspberry bushes.

In total we ended up with two quarts of red raspberries and one quart of black raspberries- enough for making several desserts and/or breakfasts.

 The morning after visiting the farm I made some pancakes using a mix my grandma had on hand.  I decided to throw in some raspberries, which made for an excellent breakfast.

The pancakes were bursting with berries and didn't need any syrup.  A sprinkle of powdered sugar combined with the juicy berries was a perfect complement to the pancakes.

We also managed to make a pie and raspberry shortcakes with the berries we had left, but now they are all gone.  I guess that means another trip to the farm!

Margaret

Charlevoix The Beautiful

For every summer since I can remember my family and I have spent several weeks each summer in Charlevoix, Michigan where my grandma lives.  Charlevoix is an absolutely marvelous little town in the northern part of the lower peninsula situated right between Lake Michigan, one of the big beautiful great lakes, and Lake Charlevoix, a smaller but still beautiful lake.

We spend most of our days in Charlevoix at the beach, but we also love to wander down Bridge Street which is Charlevoix's main street.  Bridge Street, named for the drawbridge which separates Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix, is sprinkled with cute shops and cafes stocked with the most delicious treats.

Our first stop was The Taffy Barrel, a local candy shop that carries old fashioned candies and salt water taffies.  What makes this shop so special is their presentation of the candy; the Taffy Barrel uses actual barrels do display the taffy!

Our next stop was Murdick's Famous Fudge.  This fudge shop has always been one of my favorite parts of Charlevoix; they make the fudge in the same rooms it is sold, so it is always fresh.  When I was little I loved watching the fudge being formed on the big, white marble tables right across from the display cases filled with delicious already-made fudge.

Finally, we visited an adorable little shop called Cherry Republic.  At Cherry Republic you can find everything from cherry salsa to chocolate covered cherries and cherry dog treats.  The store had an old-fashioned look to it and offered samples to nearly every product- delicious!

Even though there wasn't any sun, it was a beautiful day on Bridge Street in Charlevoix, and now we have lots of goodies.  It is hard to go wrong with delicious, old-fashioned taffy, fudge, and cherries.

Margaret