Raspberry Chocolate Tart

A few weeks ago I pinned this recipe from www.rightathome.com onto my "recipes to make" board at Pinterest. My husband sure was glad that I did! I made it for our dessert last evening, and for the next four days, and he loved it. My husband's favorite fruit in all the world is raspberries, coupled with chocolate, and he was in heaven. This tart is nothing more than a thick layer of chocolate ganache over a layer of fresh raspberries and a chocolate cookie crust. So rich and delicious! Blessings...

Recipe:

Crust
1-1/2 cups Oreo Cookie Crumbs or chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp. melted butter
10" tart pan with removable bottom or 9" pie plate

Filling
16 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
2 pints fresh raspberries
whipped cream for garnish, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together the cookie crumbs, melted butter, and sugar and press evenly into tart pan or pie plate.
3. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack before filling.
4. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until very hot, but not boiling.
5. Add the chocolate chips and corn syrup; cover pan a let sit for 4 minutes until chocolate is melted.
6. Whisk mixture until cream and chocolate are combined, and mixture is shiny and smooth.
7. Spread one pint of the berries over the cookie crust.
8. Gently pour the chocolate over the raspberries, and smooth out the top, if necessary.
9. Refrigerate for 2 hours until ganache is set.
10. Decorate the top with the other pint of raspberries.
11. If desired, top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Yield: 10 servings
460 calories per slice
6 gms. fiber
Note: The crust is easier to cut, because the butter softens, if the tart sits at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour before serving.

Perfect Chocolate Cake

This beautiful cake has been my husband's favorite cake for as long as I can remember. It is deliciously rich. He would quickly tell you that there is no such thing as too rich, but a little of this cake goes a long way for me. It is chocolate upon chocolate. One layer is split and filled with a rich chocolate ganache and the other two layers are filled with raspberry cream, then it is iced with butter- cream that reminds me of See's chocolate buttercream candy. The original recipe comes from The New McCall's Cook Book. I changed the filling from vanilla to raspberry, my husband's favorite fruit, and add the chocolate ganache, a recipe that I clipped out of a Woman's Day magazine many years ago. This special cake has been a birthday tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. Blessings...

Recipe:

Cake:
1 cup unsifted unsweetened cocoa
2 cups boiling water
2-3/4 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, combine cocoa with boiling water, mixing with wire whisk until smooth. Cool completely; this takes a few hours.
2. Sift flour with soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Grease well and lightly flour three 9 x 1-1/2-inch layer-cake pans or line pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
4. In large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, scraping bowl occasionally, until light - about 5 minutes.
5. At low speed, beat in flour mixture (in fourths), alternately with cocoa mixture (in thirds), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Do not overbeat. Divide batter in pans making one layer a little thicker than the other two. This layer will be split for the ganache filling.
6. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the two thinner layers together for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time, until toothpick comes out almost clean. Bake thicker layer for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time, until toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Carefully loosen sides with spatula; remove from pans; cool completely on racks.

Raspberry Filling:
1 12-oz. pkg. frozen, thawed raspberries
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup whipping cream

1. Puree thawed raspberries in a blender and put through a mesh sieve to remove seeds. Push the puree with a wooden spoon or rubber scrapper to speed up the process.
2. Add a small amount of the puree to the tablespoon of cornstarch and stir until smooth. Stir the purees together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir one minute or  until thickened. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
3. Whip the whipping cream until stiff; blend in the raspberry puree until completely incorporated. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) whipping cream

1. Place the whipping cream in a small saucepan and slowly heat to scalding (there will be small bubbles forming around the edge of the pan when this happens), being careful not to scorch the cream.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate chips; cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Cool completely in the fridge, stirring every 15 minutes until mixture is thick enough to spread. This will take about 1 hour. If the mixture gets too thick, just heat it for a few seconds to loosen it.

Frosting:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup light cream or milk
1 cup butter
2-1/2 cups unsifted confectioners' sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate chips, cream, butter; stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in the confectioners' sugar.
3. Place the saucepan in a bowl of ice and some water and beat with an electric hand mixer until the frosting holds shape. It will only take about 5 minutes to set the frosting.

1. To assemble the cake, place one of the thin layers on a serving plate. Top with half of the raspberry cream.
2. Split the thicker layer and place one layer on the raspberry cream layer. Top with the chocolate ganache and top with the remaining split layer.
3. Top this with the remaining raspberry cream and then the remaining cake layer. Frost the cake and enjoy. This cake must be stored in the refrigerator. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least two hours before serving to bring it to room temperature.

Yield: 16 servings (or more)

Raspberry Dream

When I was growing up my mom would regularly make this dessert for our family. I never thought much about the recipe until many years later when I came across it in the church cookbook, that was created by the ladies of the church, where we were attending. I decided to make the recipe to see if my husband and son would like it as much as my siblings and I did. This dessert became a favorite, and again, over the years I forgot about it until I was looking through the cookbook and I saw my notes about how much my son liked it. I share this recipe today as a kid-friendly dessert to counter-balance the dark chocolate cheesecake of yesterday that most kids probably would not care for. Blessings to all the special kids in our lives!

Recipe:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts, I prefer pecans
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen raspberries, partially thawed
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

1. In a small bowl stir together first four ingredients. Spread evenly on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
3. Spread 2/3 of the mixture in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Reserve remaining mixture.
4. In large mixing bowl combine egg whites, sugar, raspberries and lemon juice. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 10-12 minutes.
5. Fold in whipped cream and spoon over nut mixture in pan. Top with reserved crumbs. Freeze.
6. Cut into squares and serve.

Yield: 12-16 servings

Fresh Raspberry Crisp

Tis the season for fresh raspberries! The markets in our area are selling  beautiful, full-flavored berries at great summertime prices. The time is perfect for eating them to your hearts content, which includes beautiful raspberry desserts like this crisp.

In this crisp, there is a layer of cooked and fresh raspberries sandwiched between rich, buttery, brown sugar and oatmeal layers of crumb mixture. Goodness, it is yummy served warm with a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream. This dessert would work great for a 4th of July celebration, with or without the ice cream, depending on where you are celebrating, of coarse. This is a real family treat. Blessings...

Recipe:

4 cups fresh raspberries, divided
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps. cornstarch
1-3/4 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter

1. Crush 1 cup of the raspberries; add enough water to measure 1 cup.
2. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in raspberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and cool while you wash the remaining 3 cups of berries needed. Add the berries to the raspberry sauce.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 2 cups of the crumb mixture for topping.
4. Press remaining crumb mixture into a greased 9-inch square baking dish. Spoon cooled berry mixture on top and gently spread to cover; sprinkle with the remaining crumbs. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Yield: 8 servings
This lovely recipe comes from Taste of Home 2001 Annual Recipes cookbook.

Fresh Raspberry Pie, Yummy!

Fresh raspberries bake up beautifully in this delicious pie. The crust recipe presented here is a good one, but certainly would not have to be used. I found that I had to gently work the crust  ingredients with my fingers to get them to combine completely, but do use a light touch so you don't toughen the crust. When the raspberries are combined they will break up some, but this process doesn't hurt the pie or its appearance at all. This is a very simple recipe using one of summers best fruits in a wonderful way. If your family loves raspberries as much as mine does, they will love this pie. Blessings...

Recipe:

Crust:
2 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsps. ice water
1 tbsp. white vinegar

Filling:
1-1/3 cups sugar
2 tbsps. quick-cooking tapioca
2 tbsps. cornstarch
5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed

Glaze:
1/2 - 1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. sugar (I use sugar decorating crystals because they don't melt into the crust, but leave a beautiful crystal appearance on the crust)

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Combine egg, water and vinegar; stir into flour mixture to combine. You may need to gently work with your fingers until combined.
3. Divide the dough in half so that one ball is slightly larger than the other; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or until easy to handle. This may take up to an hour, which is great since the fresh raspberries need to be washed.
4. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, tapioca and cornstarch.
5. Wash fresh raspberries, drain on paper toweling and place them in a large bowl. Stir the sugar mixture into the berries and let them sit for 15 minutes.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger ball of dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Transfer the dough to pie plate; trim the dough to about 1/2-inch over edge of plate. Add the raspberry filling.
7. Roll out the remaining dough to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top. Brush with milk; sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 6-8 servings
Note: Cool pie completely so the filling will set. If you want to warm the pie for dessert, heat individual pieces for 15-20 seconds in the microwave, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and dig in!

Raspberry Gelatin Salad

My family loves raspberries, so with that in mind, I'm always looking for or creating new ways to use this wonderful fruit. This bright and refreshing salad is great alongside other salads for a light summer meal or would make a nice light dessert topped with a little whipped topping or whipped cream.

I've served the raspberry salad here with Pajaro Valley Coleslaw Crunch, recipe posted on 5/20/2013 and Hawaiian Chicken Salad, recipe posted on 6/7/2013. Have a wonderful Father's Day celebration on Sunday with your family. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 pkg. (.3 oz.) sugar-free raspberry gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
3 Dreyers Outshine Raspberry Fruit Ice bars, thawed (you will have just over 1 cup softened ice)
1 cup fresh raspberries, washed and gently dried or 1-1/4 cups frozen berries (don't thaw)

1. In a 4 x 8-inch loaf pan or in a serving bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water.
2. Stir in thawed raspberry fruit ice until combined. Stir in fresh or frozen raspberries; chill until set. (The frozen berries will cause the gelatin to set very quickly, and since they are frozen, they will not release juice to dilute the gelatin).

Yield: 8 servings
43 calories each, 1.4 gms. fiber
Note: If you prefer to use reg. gelatin with sugar, the calorie count will be 82 calories per serving. Still very low in calories!
 Note: Dreyers Outshine bars are a wonderful fat free fruit ice bar. If you have not had the opportunity to purchase them, they are a very good kid-friendly snack made with real fruit or a great low calorie dessert.

Chocolate Raspberry Bars

These chocolate-raspberry bars are a wonderful way to satisfy the sweet tooth. The raspberry layer is sandwiched between a layer that resembles buttery cookie and a cream cheese-white chocolate layer that is then topped off by the semisweet chocolate. This is another favorite recipe that comes from an older "Taste of Home" cookbook. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
Filling:
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
4 ounces cream cheese, softened (low-fat is fine)
2 tbsps. milk
1 cup (6 ounces) white chocolate chips, melted
Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsps. shortening

1. In a bowl, combine flour and powdered sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Press into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Spread jam over warm crust.
3. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add melted white chocolate; beat until smooth. Spread carefully over jam layer. Cool completely.
4. Chill until set, about 1 hour.
5. For glaze, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat stirring constantly. Spread over filling. Chill for 10 minutes. Cut into bars and chill for another hour. Store in the refrigerator.

Yield: 24 bars

Easy Raspberry Pork Chops

I made this dish last week for my husband and I and we really enjoyed it. The flavor is wonderful and the dish is simple and fast. While the meat simmered on the stove and the potatoes cooked in the microwave, I made a salad, and dinner was ready. With thoughts of Valentine's Day this weekend, this would be a terrific meal to serve.

Tomorrow I will post the recipe for the whole wheat bread that I mentioned in my post with the split pea soup. A loaf of warm homemade bread would also be greatly appreciated with this meal and would surely say, "I love you" to your family and friends.

Recipe:
4 boneless pork loin chops (about 5 ounces each)
canola oil for frying
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown pork chops in oil on both sides.
2. While meat is frying, whisk vinegar, jam and mustard in a small bowl.
3. Add liquid to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the meat juices run clear. I used an instant read thermometer. Be careful to not overcook and dry out the meat. Remove the pork and cover to keep warm.
4. Cook the sauce over medium-high heat to reduce by half and thicken. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the sauce so it doesn't burn. Spoon the sauce over the pork chops and serve.