Almond Pavlova with Strawberries

(8-10 servings)

This almond pavlova with whipped cream, chocolate and strawberries is pretty easy to make. You can bake the meringue the day before so that everything assembles quickly on the day you plan to serve it.

I experimented a bit with the meringue. The traditional version uses twice the weight of sugar to egg whites. I tried this and found the resulting pavlova too sweet. I ended up decreasing the amount of sugar the second time around with good results. The second pavlova was still a bit sweeter than I like, but I doubt most people would complain about that.

The strawberry season is almost over here in Sequim. I might be able to head out and pick one more time, if I'm lucky.

almond pavlova
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup egg whites at room temperature
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 cup *fine sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Trace an 8 or 9 inch circle onto a piece of parchment paper and place that onto a cookie sheet. Set aside.

Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake them in the middle of the oven for about 5-8 minutes or until they are fragrant and lightly browned.

Remove from oven and cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

Place about 3/4 (reserving the remainder) of the toasted almonds into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have a fine meal. Set aside.

Place the eggs whites into a clean glass or metal bowl and begin to beat until they are frothy. Add the lemon juice and sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the surface and resume beating.

Add a tablespoon of sugar at a time until you have used all of it up and the meringue is stiff.
* I used evaporated cane juice which I processed in a blender to make it finer. I didn't do this with my first batch and noticed my meringue was grainy because the sugar didn't completely dissolve.

Sprinkle the almond extract over the surface and fold the meringue a few times using a spatula. Add the ground almonds and carefully fold those in taking care not to over mix. The almonds don't need to be perfectly blended.

Empty the contents of the bowl onto the circle you drew previously and using the back of a spoon, spread the meringue to fit the circle. Sprinkle with the reserved sliced almonds and place into the middle of the oven.

Reduce the oven temperature to 250°F from 300°F. Bake the meringue for about 40 - 50 minutes. It will be ready when the outer portion has hardened and the middle still feels a bit soft to the touch.

Remove from oven and cool.

**whipped cream
1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat at high speed. Reduce the speed of your beaters when the cream begins to get thick and watch the whipped cream carefully. It can go from thick, to stiff, to butter really fast. You want it to be quite thick and spreadable, like frosting. Set aside.

**If the pavlova sits for more than an hour or two before serving you might consider stabilizing the whipped cream. To do this you will need:

1 tbsp water
3/4 tsp unflavored gelatin

Place the water into a very small pot and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over that. Gently heat until the gelatin has dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Don't let it thicken.

When you begin to whip the cream, add this mixture while the beaters are going. The rest of the instructions above remain the same.

to assemble
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp heavy cream
the vanilla whipped cream you prepared earlier
1 1/2 pints strawberries (about 3 cups) washed and dried

Carefully heat the chocolate and stir until it has melted. Gently heat the cream and stir this into the melted chocolate. Set aside.

Place the baked pavolva onto a serving plate. Spread the whipped cream over the pavolva and place the strawberries over the cream. Drizzle with the chocolate.

Serve.

Blueberry Crumble

(3-4 servings)

The blueberries here are magnificent. They are large, plump and juicy. I've gone picking a few times now and will probably head out at least one more time before the season is finished. I can't seem to get enough of them.

This is the fourth crumble I've made. Each one has been a bit different. I've experimented, adding fresh lemon zest, cinnamon and almond extract. I prefer this crumble. It's plain, with a small amount of sour cream. The sour cream provides a subtle tang, allowing the blueberries to shine.

For this recipe I used a small baking dish which holds about 3 1/2 cups.

filling
3 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp sucanat or brown sugar
2 tsp rice flour or unbleached flour
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine the sour cream, sucanat and rice flour. When they are thoroughly mixed, add the blueberries and toss until they are evenly coated.

Place the coated blueberries into a small baking dish. Set aside.

crumble
2 tbsp rice flour or unbleached flour
2 tbsp sucanat or brown sugar
2 tbsp rolled oats (gluten free, if you are avoiding the regular flour)
2 tbsp cold salted butter, cut up

Place all of the crumble ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times taking care not to over-process. The mixture should be quite coarse in texture.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the blueberries. Place the dish onto a cookie sheet to catch any drippings and place both into the oven.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until the crumble has browned and the berries are hot and bubbling.

Remove from oven and cool. Serve while still slightly warm.

Chunky Fresh Loganberry Coulis

(about 5 cups sauce)

My mum lives very close to a large berry farm on the Olympic Peninsula. You can pick your own or grab boxes of already picked berries. At the moment they have a nice selection of raspberries, blueberries, loganberries and boysenberries.

Last week I headed to the farm for my first time and picked over 7 pounds of loganberries. I hadn't planned on that many and I mistakenly picked the ripest berries. By the time I got them home some had already begun to get mushy.

They weren't going to last much longer, so I washed and froze about two thirds of them. The rest of the loganberries became a tasty coulis. A delicious dessert sauce, great over ice cream, yogurt, crepes or waffles.

6-7 cups fresh loganberries
1/4 -2/3 cup agave syrup or honey, to taste

Pick over the berries and wash them in water.

Place about half of the loganberries into the food processor with 1/4 cup of sweetener to start. Process until you have a sauce. Taste and add more sweetener if the coulis is too tart. Pulse a few more times. Strain the sauce through a sieve, if desired. Loganberries have less seeds than raspberries. I left them in.

Stir in the remaining berries. Leave the whole, or pulse once or twice to chop them up a bit. Store in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze.

Tangy Lemon Yogurt Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis

(4-6 servings)

This lighter version of the classic Italian dessert can be prepared a day or two ahead, if desired. Just keep it covered and chilled.

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup honey, or to taste
1 envelope gelatin
1 2/3 cups Greek yogurt or labneh
zest from 1 medium lemon
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup heavy cream

1 lb fresh strawberries
1 tbsp honey

Combine the water and honey and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top. Set aside for at least 5 minutes.

Gently heat the honey and gelatin mixture, then stir until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Set aside.

Combine the Greek yogurt, zest and lemon juice in a bowl until the mixture is smooth.

Stir the cream into the gelatin mixture, then slowly mix that into the yogurt mixture. Taste and mix in more honey if you prefer your panna cotta sweeter.

Spoon into small individual ramekins or into a single larger bowl. Place into the refrigerator and chill, (preferable overnight) until set.

When you are ready to serve the panna cotta, wash and hull the strawberries. Place half of them into the bowl of a food processor along one tablespoon of honey. Pulse until you have a smooth sauce. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve if you'd like to remove the seeds (I don't bother).

Slice the remaining strawberries and add them to the coulis.

Run a sharp knife along the edge of the panna cotta. Dip the outside of the ramekins or bowl into hot water for 5-10 seconds to loosen. Invert the onto serving plate or plates. Serve with the chunky strawberry coulis.

Mango & Blueberry Sour Cream Crisp (Gluten free)

(4-6 servings)

This crisp is similar to the nectarine pie I made last year. The sour cream cream mixture forms a custard of sorts as it bakes; it's very nice with a variety of fruits or berries.

Serve this crisp warm or at room temperature.

fruit filling
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt
3 cups mango, diced (2 large mangoes)
1 cup blueberries, washed and sorted

streusel topping
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tbsp sucanat or brown sugar
3 tbsp cold butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Butter an 8 inch square baking dish and set aside.

Whisk together the sour cream, egg, honey, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add the mango and blueberries and toss until they are evenly coated. Set aside.

Combine the almond flour, rice flour, sliced almonds, sucanat and butter in a small bowl with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of petite peas.

Spread the fruit and sour cream mixture evenly  in the prepared baking dish. Top with the streusel mixture.

Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F and continue to bake another 35-45 minutes or until the top has browned nicely and the filling is bubbling hot.

Strawberry Freezer Jam Sweetened with Honey

(about 2 pints)

This year I decided to make freezer jam. Unlike regular jam, it doesn't require a long cooking time in order to thicken nor do you have to sterilize jars, or pull out the hot water canner. Once it's set you can either store it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks or you can freeze it for up to a year. This jam has a nice spreadable consistency and it's very fresh tasting. It's different from conventional jam as it lacks the denseness associated with a lot of sugar and it isn't overly sweet.

Freezer jam is really quick and easy to make once you get the hang of it. This was my first time using Ball's low or no sugar needed pectin and I was really pleased with the results. Instead of dumping in several cups of sugar to get the stuff to set, I only added about 1/4 cup of honey.

This strawberry jam is delicious stirred into plain Greek yogurt for breakfast!

2 1/2 lbs ripe strawberries (4 cups mashed)
1 tsp fresh fine orange zest
juice from 1 orange
2/3 cup apple juice
3 tbsp Ball low or no-sugar needed pectin
1/4 - 1/3 cup honey, to taste
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (optional)

Wash the strawberries and husk them. Cut them up and crush them with a potato masher, you should have about 4 cups. Stir in the orange zest and set aside.

Combine the orange and apple juice in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in the pectin until it's dissolved.

Bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Boil briskly for one minute while stirring. Add the crushed strawberries and bring the mixture back to a boil. Stir vigorously for about one minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the honey and Grand Marnier, if using.

Ladle into clean jars leaving room at the top for the jam to expand if freezing. Allow the jam to cool then apply the tops. Leave the jam at room temperature for about 12 hours and then either refrigerate up to 3-4 weeks, or freeze up to one year. Thaw frozen jam and stir before serving.

Moist Blueberry Cake

(1 small, 6-cup bundt cake)

Fresh blueberries are showing up at reasonable prices. I thought I'd try making a cake instead of muffins this year. I started off by weighing flour, sugar, butter and eggs to get an idea of the measurements for a classic pound cake. From there I made a few adjustments hoping for a moist cake.

I added the cornstarch because my grandmother used to add some to her pound cake and wondered if that was the same idea as adding pudding. I used baking soda and baking powder because whenever I've made this type of cake before without, it's been a bit denser than I like. I increased the amount of sugar from 3/4 to 1 cup.. something I hate to do, but when I looked at a few other pound cake recipes, they were using up to 2 cups of sugar for the same amount of flour. I imagine the sugar is part of what makes some of these cakes moist. I also replaced some of the egg with sour cream.

The cake turned out really well. I'm thinking of making it again with orange peel and poppy seeds instead of the blueberries and lemon.

Update: I stored this cake on a plate loosely covered with plastic wrap at room temperature. By the 2nd day it seemed even moister to me than the day I made it (moist, not soggy or anything like that). In part I suspect it's the blueberries. Thought I would mention this here.

Healthier Blueberry Muffins

(12 standard muffins)


I decided to experiment a bit with my muffin recipe. I replaced some of the flour with whole wheat flour and ground flaxseed. It seems flaxseed is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as protein and fibre. It's also rich in lignan, which has antioxidant properties. What's not to love?

I replaced the sugar with a lesser amount of agave nectar. The bottle mentioned it's 25% sweeter than sugar, as well as having a low glycemic index which prevents spikes in blood sugar.

Lastly, I replaced the butter with olive oil, and reduced that amount by using some applesauce. These muffins turned out a lot better than I thought possible; I will most likely make them again.

1 cup unbleached flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce*
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh blueberries, about 1 pint

*These are not overly sweet muffins, and I like them that way. If you prefer something sweeter, then you could use sweetened applesauce instead.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with papers, or grease and flour. Set aside.

Mix the flours, flaxseed, salt and baking powder in a bowl.

Combine the agave nectar, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla extract in a large measuring cup, mix well with a fork and pour over the flour mixture, add the blueberries and stir until just combined.

Divide equally between the muffin tins; the batter will come almost to the top of each.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until done.