Fresh Blueberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

     School is out, berries are in, and my cast is off! Does picking up plump blueberries one by one between my thumb and forefinger and purposefully dropping them into my mouth count as physical therapy? Whether it does or doesn't, that's what's been going on here in my kitchen. Blueberries are gorgeous and fresh at the market right now, and hard to resist. I'm glad they're a good snacking option, because I've eaten my share along with someone else's too I'm afraid. (Hope it wasn't yours!)

     Some of my berries were lucky enough to find their way into this buttery pound cake that is currently tempting me from the confines of its cake dome. Those beautiful bursts of blue make each slice of it just as hard to resist as the berries themselves. I'm taking it to my Mom's tomorrow for Sunday dinner- hope I can wait!

Fresh Blueberry Sour Cream Pound Cake
recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated (room temperature)
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
3 cups all purpose flour
8 oz. (1 cup) sour cream
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (may use frozen- do not thaw!)

Instructions:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add extracts and butter flavoring.

2. Combine flour and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition.

3. In a separate bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Toss blueberries with about a tablespoon of flour. This keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the pan as the cake cooks. Fold blueberries into batter.

4. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan to a rack to cool completely.

Very Berry Jam - Make Your Biscuits Smile!

     Blackberries are finally ripe for the picking in our parts, and I didn't waste time getting to my favorite little berry patch to pick some of those deep purple gems. There were a few raspberries left hanging on the canes as well- right next door to the blackberries- and they just happened to find their way into my mouth basket when I wasn't looking.  I love picking berries, especially when there are no thorns to contend with. And I love making jam. If you've never had homemade jam, you don't know what you're missing. One taste of this sweet and tart delight on your biscuit or toast will definitely spoil you- you'll never want the store bought kind again.

     I picked several quarts and headed home with berry stained fingers and my tooth set for some delicious, berry jam! Jam just makes a biscuit smile, and this jam is the easiest ever. It's really more of a method than a recipe, and you can easily adapt it to whatever (and however many) berries you have. No pectin needed- just berries, lemon juice and sugar. You can make a big batch and can it, or if you just want to make a little bit you can store it in your refrigerator for a couple of weeks- if it lasts that long!

Very Easy Very Berry Jam
Ingredients:
Berries- I used a mixture of Blackberries and Raspberries
Lemon juice- I used 1 Tablespoon for every cup of berry juice/pulp
sugar- I used 1 cup for each cup of juice/pulp.

To make the jam, I used the guidelines for making jam without pectin from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. If you're planning to can your jam, first prepare your jars.

Wash berries and place in a large saucepan. Mash berries and gently heat over low heat (do not boil) to release juice. I heated mine for about five minutes. If you don't want seeds in your jam, you can strain this mixture through a sieve or through several thicknesses of cheesecloth. I like the pulp and a few seeds in my jam so I ran mine through a Foley food mill to remove most- but not all- of the seeds. Measure the juice/pulp and put it into a large pot. (Don't try to cook more than 5-6 cups of juice/pulp in a batch.) Stir in 1 cup of sugar and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice for each cup of juice/pulp.

Bring to a boil and boil rapidly, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Use one of the following methods to determine when your jam is ready.

• Boil until the mixture reaches 220F on a candy thermometer. (See this chart for altitudes other than sea level.)
• Boil until the mixture falls of the spoon in a "sheet" rather than a stream.
• Drop a spoonful of the mixture on a cold plate and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Take it out and see whether or not it is thick enough. (The jam will thicken as it cools.) 

Remove from heat, skim off foam (if there is any) and pour jam into prepared jars. If you are canning your jam, follow instructions here. If you are not canning your jam, it will keep in your refrigerator for about two weeks.

Red, White and Blue Strawberries: Memorial Day Rewind

Are you picnicking this weekend? Do you need to bring a treat?  I don't know about the temperature where you are, but here in VA it's hot, and heating up the kitchen doesn't thrill me. These strawberries, however, do. I posted them last year, but a treat as quick, easy and summery as this one deserves repeating.

I saw these red, white and blue beauties on Baking Bites a while back and immediately thought of all of the occasions they'd be perfect for. Memorial Day? Fourth of July?  Any holiday that calls for a festive touch of red, white and blue would benefit from these luscious berries.

Make some to share while strawberries are still in season- I guarantee they'll be appreciated.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend- have fun and keep safe!


Red, White and Blue Strawberries
recipe from Baking Bites
You'll need:
Strawberries- As many as you plan to dip
1 pkg.white chocolate chips or white dipping chocolate (bark)- found with baking supplies
Blue sanding sugar or sprinkles (The kind you decorate cookies with)
Directions:

•  Wash your strawberries and let them dry thoroughly. Pat dry if necessary. Set aside.
• Line a baking sheet or tray with wax paper or nonstick foil.
•  Pour about half of the sanding sugar into a small bowl.
• In another small bowl, melt white chocolate according to directions on package. I usually melt it in small increments in the microwave on low power until about 80% of it is melted. I then stir it until it is completely melted. If it is too thick, add about 1/2 teaspoon shortening (like Crisco) and stir until melted and smooth.
• Holding a strawberry by the leaves on the stem end, dip into the white chocolate to cover about 2/3 of the berry. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. (If there's a "glob" of chocolate on the end of the berry, scrape it off onto the side of the bowl.)
• Dip the bottom third of the chocolate covered berry into the blue sanding sugar.
• Carefully place each berry onto the prepared tray or baking sheet to set.  (They will set quicker in the refrigerator.) Refrigerate until time to serve. These are best served the same day they are prepared!

Seedless Blackberry Jam

"Quickberry! Quackberry! Pick me a blackberry!"

 Can you name that book?  It's Jamberry, by Bruce Degen. I only read it hundreds of times when my boys were small. It sure came back to me yesterday when I saw the rows and rows of loaded blackberry canes stretched out in front of me, loaded with plump ripe berries.

Twelve pounds I picked. One dozen pounds of shiny purple berries. And I had a hard time stopping at that! On my way back to my car I kept seeing berries I had missed, berries that I just couldn't leave on the canes. But I did. Just so there would be some left for you. So you could make this.

I picked my berries with the idea of making jam with no added pectin, but when I got home with my gorgeous haul, I read that slightly under-ripe berries were the ones I needed. Not enough pectin in the fully ripe ones. (I guess I should have researched a little bit before hand, but that would have been too logical.)

Looking further, I found a lovely recipe that uses fully ripe berries but adds a little bit of tart apple to supply enough natural pectin. It set perfectly! Not only scrumptious for your morning toast or scones, it would also be a lovely filling for your favorite layer cake or thumbprint cookie.

Seedless Blackberry Jam (no added pectin) printable recipe here
Recipe from Fancy Pantry by Helen Witty, and found on astray recipes
yield: about 6 half pint jars

Ingredients
6 cups ripe blackberries, washed
2 1/2 cup tart apples, coarsely chopped- include skins and cores (I used small "not quite ripe" apples from our tree) The pectin is found mainly in the skin and the core of the apples.
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I doubled this)
5 cups sugar (approximately)

Directions

• Prepare jars and lids (per manufacturer's instructions) for canning- 6 half pints

• Put half of the blackberries in a large pot and crush with a potato masher. Add the rest of the berries and crush. Add apple pieces and water to the crushed berries.

• Cook mixture over medium heat until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Stir often to prevent sticking. You may add another 1/2 cup of water if the mixture gets too thick.

• Once fruit is very soft, run through a food mill or press through a fine sieve, using a large spoon or spatula. Discard the skins and seeds that are left.

• Rinse out your pot. Measure the fruit pulp and put it back into the pot. You should have about 5 cups.

• Add enough lemon juice to make the mixture pleasantly tart. Heat over medium high heat, dissolving sugar.

• Increase heat and cook rapidly, stirring often. Cook until mixture reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the mixture falls in a sheet off of your spoon. You can also try putting some of the mixture onto a cold dish to see if it is jelling.

•  Once mixture is ready, remove from heat and ladle into hot prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headroom at the top of each jar. Position lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

• Remove from boiling water bath and set aside to cool and seal.

 This post is linked to:

Very Berry Pie

Pie crust intimidates me. I don't know why it does, but I've always been insecure about making my own crusts. I have to admit to all that in the past, I've relied on the little Poppin' Fresh guy to do my dirty work in the pie department. But this month I have decided to try to overcome my pie crust phobia. I am determined to make a good pie crust, and make it I will!

My first attempt was this Very Berry Pie. Blueberries, blackberries and raspberries all together in a thick luscious filling. It was magnificent. This filling was so good in fact, I was afraid that it would all be eaten out of the pan before it got into the pie crust! The pie crust? It was okay, but nothing to write home about. I guess I'll just have to keep trying.  Any volunteer pie testers out there? It's a rough job, but somebody's got to do it!

Very Berry Pie
Pastry for a double crust pie (Use your favorite- I haven't found mine yet!)
1 quart fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh blackberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup cold water
egg wash: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tblsp. half and half

For filling:

• In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add water and lemon juice and stir until combined.
• Add blueberries and stir gently. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Gently cook until thickened and mixture is no longer cloudy with cornstarch.
• Gently stir in blackberries and raspberries. Allow mixture to cool while you make your crust.
• Line a deep-dish 9 inch pie pan with a bottom crust. Add filling.
• Cover with top crust or lattice. (If you're not making a lattice, cut several holes in your top crust.)
• Seal and crimp edges of pie.
• Cover edges loosely with foil or pie crust protector.
• Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and remove foil. Bake 40 minutes longer or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.
• Brush crust with egg wash. Return to oven for a few minutes to brown.
• Cool completely before serving.