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Taste the yumminess of summer before its too late |
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Written by Kathleen Purvis, McClatchy Newspapers
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Thursday, 10 August 2006 |
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L. Mueller/MCT
Summer harvest is in full swing. You want to enjoy the best of it, but it's too hot to cook. Try summer desserts like this summer fruit tart.
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Did you feel that "whoosh"?
It must be summer racing by.
If you measure summer as the 14 weeks from Memorial Day to Labor Day, it's more than half over.
If you measure summer in food seasons, that means strawberries are over. Raspberries have made their brief appearance. Blackberries and blueberries are going strong, and peaches are hitting their stride.
It all goes by so fast. Before you've eaten your fill of summer fruit, the apples and pumpkins are here. Suddenly, it will be winter, and you'll wish for just one more bite of blackberry pie.
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L. Mueller/ MCT
Summer harvest is in full swing. You want to enjoy the best of it, but it's too hot to cook. Try summer desserts like blackberry & raspberry semifreddo.
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This year, we wanted to pause, here in the middle, and give you a few ideas for summer desserts. Some take no baking at all. Others can be broken into easy steps. Make a tart crust in the morning when the kitchen is cool and fill it hours later, when you're ready to serve.
Now is the time to sink your teeth into summer, before it's too late.
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SUMMER FRESH FRUIT TART
From "The All-American Dessert Book," by Nancy Baggett (Houghton Mifflin, 2005). You can vary this to fit almost any fresh fruit. You could also save time with a refrigerated pie crust, but this crispy, almond tart shell is worth the trouble.
Almond pastry:
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, cut in chunks
2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 to 1 ½ tablespoons ice water
Filling:
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (the yellow part of the skin)
1/3 cup sour cream (not nonfat)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
11 ounces (one 8-ounce and one 3-ounce package) cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, slightly softened and cut into chunks
Fruit: Any combination of fresh fruit, including thinly sliced peaches or strawberries, whole blackberries, blueberries and raspberries, or thinly sliced fresh pineapple wedges and peeled kiwifruit
¼ cup apricot preserves (optional)
Grease a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or coat with nonstick spray.
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Sprinkle the butter and almonds over the mixture. Pulse into butter and almonds are chopped fine and mixture as the consistency of fine meal.
Sprinkle ½ tablespoon of ice water over the mixture. Pulse until the dough begins to hold together (press some between your fingers to check). If the dough seems too dry, sprinkle with ½ to 1 tablespoon more ice water and pulse.
Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Cover and freeze 20 minutes or refrigerate 40 minutes, until cold and firm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prick pastry all over with a fork. Cover with heavy-duty foil coated with nonstick spray or nonstick foil, smoothing into the sides and wrapping over the edges. Fill with dried beans or pie weights.
Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove foil and prick pastry again with a fork. Return to lower rack and bake 8 to 13 minutes, until brown on the bottom and golden around the edges. Cool on a rack. Crust can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored airtight at room temperature.
Filling: Combine sugar and lemon zest in food processor and process until sugar is pale yellow, about 1 minute. Add sour cream, vanilla and almond extracts and process until free of lumps. Add cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Don't overprocess, but make sure there are no large lumps of cream cheese.
Turn out into the tart shell and smooth the surface. Refrigerate, covered, until well-chilled and slightly firm, at least 90 minutes and up to 24 hours.
Pat fruit dry on paper towels and arrange on top in a pattern, pressing down lightly into the filling. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate several hours. (The tart will keep several days, refrigerated, but some of the fruit may weep.) If desired, warm apricot preserves in a microwave about 1 minute and brush on fruit just before serving. Makes about 8 servings.
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RASPBERRY-STUDDED LEMON TART
Adapted from "The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook," by Christopher Hirsheimer and Peggy Knickerbocker (Chronicle Books, 2006). This unusual tart has a wonderfully tart filling topped with fresh raspberries; you could also use fresh blueberries.
Crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
Filling:
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon (yellow part of the rind)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups red or golden raspberries (or substitute blueberries)
Confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the butter, flour and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until ingredients come together. The mixture will be a little dry and crumbly.
Turn into a 9-inch square pan (or a 9-inch tart pan or springform pan). Place wax paper over the mixture and use your fingers to press it into an even layer across the bottom. Remove and discard wax paper.
Bake crust until very lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool completely.
Combine the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice, flour and baking powder. Beat with electric mixer until slightly frothy. Pour into cooled crust.
Bake at 350 degrees until set, about 20 minutes. Filling should be bubbly, but not browned on top. Place on wire rack and cool completely.
Arrange raspberries over the top. Sift a light dusting of confectioners' sugar over the top. Cut into squares or wedges to serve. Makes 8 servings.
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BLACKBERRY AND RASPBERRY SEMIFREDDO
From "Luscious Berry Desserts," by Lori Longbotham (Chronicle, 2006).
Semifreddo, pronounced "say-mee-FRAYD-doh," is from a Latin phrase that means "half cold." It's actually semi-frozen, with a softer consistency than ice cream. It's also much easier to make, if you don't mind beating egg whites. It's a frozen treat you can make without an ice cream maker.
2 ½ cups (about 1 ½ pints) blackberries
½ pint raspberries
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
Pinch of salt
3 large egg whites
1 cup heavy cream
Ripe berries for serving (optional)
Line a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with 2 sheets of plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on hall sides.
Place the raspberries and blackberries in a food processor and pulse just until broken up. Pour berries into a coarse strainer set over a bowl. Press hard to extract as much liquid as possible while straining out the seeds.
Place the sugar, water and salt in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly pour in the hot syrup while beating, pouring down the edge of the bowl to avoid the beaters. Continue beating 8 to 10 minutes, until the meringue has cooled to room temperature.
Place the cream in a clean mixing bowl and beat until it forms stiff peaks (when the beaters are lifted, the peaks stand straight up).
Use a rubber spatula to fold the berry puree into the meringue, pulling the spatula up and through the meringue. Fold in the whipped cream using the same motion, folding until the white streaks have almost disappeared.
Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf pan, spreading into the corners with the rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.
Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving. Fold back the plastic and invert on a platter, peeling off the remaining plastic wrap. Let stand about 10 minutes. Cut into thick slices and serve, garnished with berries if desired. Makes 8 servings.
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BLACKBERRY MASCARPONE BARS
Makes 16 bars. From "No-Bake Cookies," by Camilla V. Saulsbury (Cumberland House, 2006).
1 ¼ cups crisp sugar cookie crumbs (see note)
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
½ cup milk
2 ¼ teaspoons unflavored gelatin (most of a .25-ounce envelope)
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese (see note)
½ cup sour cream
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 ½ cups fresh blackberries (about 2 dozen berries)
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl and toss with a fork or your fingers until blended. Transfer to prepared pan. Using a large sheet of wax paper, press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Freeze until ready to use.
Place milk in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk, but do not stir. Let stand 10 minutes. Place saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and stir until milk is very hot but not boiling and gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and let stand momentarily.
Place mascarpone cheese, sour cream, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cardamom in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually beat in the milk on low speed, occasionally scraping down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until well-blended.
Pour over the prepared crust and spread evenly. Press the blackberries firmly into the topping, spacing evenly, about ½ to 1 inch apart.
Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Use foil to remove from pan. Cut into 16 bars. Store in refrigerator, loosely covered with plastic wrap or foil.
NOTE: For testing, we used most of a 5.25-ounce bag of Pepperidge Farms sugar cookies. Mascarpone, a sweet, soft cheese, is sold in tubs in the deli section of many supermarkets. You can substitute an 8-ounce package of cream cheese.
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MINT JULEP PEACHES
Serves 6 to 8. Adapted from "Forever Summer," by Nigella Lawson (Hyperion, 2003). This adult dessert is actually quite simple to make. The original only scattered mint over the finished dish; we added mint to the final syrup instead. The leftover poaching liquid can be refrigerated or frozen for more batches.
2 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons bourbon, divided
8 white peaches
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh chopped mint, plus more mint leaves for garnish
Place the sugar and ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons bourbon in a wide-bottomed pot. Add 3 cups water and swirl a little to start the sugar dissolving. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes, then reduce heat so syrup simmers but doesn't bubble fiercely.
Cut the peaches in half and pull away the pits. Lower the halves into the syrup, cut-side down, so they fit in a single layer. (Work in batches if needed.) Poach about 2 minutes, then turn over with a slotted spoon and poach 2-3 minutes, until peaches are tender when prodded with a fork, but firm enough to hold their shape.
Remove peach halves with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. When cool enough to handle, pull off and discard the skins. (They should slip off or peel away easily.)
Pour juices from the plate into the pot, then measure ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons poaching liquid and place in a small saucepan. (Cool remaining cooking liquid and refrigerate for later.) Add remaining ¼ cup bourbon and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced by half. Remove from heat and add mint. Let stand until cool.
Cover peach halves with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (If they get dark, brush with a little lemon juice.) To serve, place a peach on a plate and top with the reduced mint-bourbon syrup. Garnish with fresh mint.
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SAVING SUMMER
How can you make summer last? Put your freezer to work:
Blueberries
Don't rinse before freezing (wait until you thaw or cook with them). Spread berries on a metal baking sheet and freeze, then pack into freezer bags or boxes. Or steam 1 minute, then place in cold water to soften skins. Pack into containers and cover with a cold syrup of 2 cups sugar dissolved in 1 quart hot water.
Blackberries, raspberries
Spread on a metal baking sheet and freeze, then package in freezer bags or boxes.
Peaches
Peel (drop in boiling water for 10 seconds, then into ice water, or remove skin with a serrated-blade peeler). Cut into slices or chunks. Mix 2/3 cup sugar into 1 quart of peaches, stirring until dissolved. Mix 1 teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid in ½ cup water. Add 1 tablespoon to each pint of peaches. Package and freeze. To freeze sugar-free, make a solution of 1 tablespoon cyclamate-type artificial sweetener and ¼ teaspoon ascorbic acid dissolved in 1 cup water and cover peaches before freezing.
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