Dark Chocolate Souffle with Raspberries!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a deliciously easy souffle recipe that has an extra dash of summer. I first posted this in December 2014 but it's perfect for our summer berries, so I'm reposting!

But first, some pictures of current happenings. 

This is "LuLu" on her baptism day! Lulu is Cassey and Noe's new baby. You might remember them from the post on savory pumpkin rolls! Robert is now six, Franny (our godddaughter) is two, and Lulu is four months. We just love this little family and I love seeing out old babysitter being an amazing mother to her own babies. 

I snapped this pic on the way to the baptism. Spring is so pretty around Dayton, Washington.

So, here's the chocolate souffle recipe!

You'll need:
7TBS sugar
1 cup raspberries
5 TBS unsalted butter
6 oz good chocolate
1/2 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs, plus two more egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
powdered sugar for dusting

YUMMY. The kids wanted to gobble these so badly, but I was strong and sent them away. (But they did get the leftovers.)

Gratuitous chocolate picture. I'm a Lindt fan, so I just picked up a bar at the grocery store.

Melt the butter and chocolate over medium-low heat. When it's all melted, add the vanilla. Butter the ramekins and preheat the oven to 375F.
                                    
Beat the egg yolks and 3 TBS of sugar on medium speed until thick and fluffy.
                                                     
Fold the chocolate mixture into the eggs yolks.
                                         
Whip the eggs whites into stiff peaks with the pinch of salt and cream of tartar, adding the 3 TBS of sugar near the end. Carefully fold the egg whites and chocolate together.

Fold the chocolate and the egg yolk mixture together.
I know, there's a lot of folding and beating, but not in that order. I think the key to a good souffle is understanding that the beating is serious business. And the folding is serious business. And never the twain shall meet...

Until the ramekin. Here 'tis, filled with sugared raspberries. It's been buttered, and then dusted with sugar. Mmmmm.... I could eat it just like this. A bite of chocolate, a bite of raspberry. That's all. But that's not very festive and the guests might appreciate more of a presentation. We'll keep the chocolate/raspberry noshing to visits with good friends.

So, spoon (not beat or fold, that's a relief) the mixture into the ramekin.

Run your finger along the edge. This makes it form that little "top hat" when it's cooking. So much prettier. And remember, we're trying to be presentable. Little known fact: souffles can be chilled in the fridge for up to one whole day. So, this is a good dessert to pop into the oven while everyone is having their main course (and you're not standing in the kitchen). Then they come out pretty and warm and ready...

Set the ramekins in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. You can poke the top to see if it's done, but with the raspberries inside, it's hard to tell, so it's best to wiggle them a little and see if the center jiggles. If it's puffed up and the center jiggles just a little, they're done!

Don't overcook. They'll still be edible, but the edges will be harder and crustier. We want light and fluffy.

And a picture of the bottom layer. I thought the raspberries might not cook enough but the were perfectly melded into the chocolate. What a pairing!


 So, that's my post for this week! I hope everyone is having a wonderful post Memorial Day weekend (only two days, how terrible) as we head into summer. Be sure to drop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway, or my other author page at Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things That Last! All my newest book news and musings is there, including anything silly that strikes my fancy!

Easy Spring Genoise Cake with Raspberries and Cream!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got a really easy, light, tasty and DELICIOUS cake for you. We found this recipe in Illustrated Step by Step Baking and my second oldest daughter decided she wanted to try it out. 

Here's the photo. Mmmmmm. Looks amazing!

 But somehow, this is how the cakes turned out. Go ahead and laugh. We sure had a good giggle at these poor little creatures. They were like sweet tortillas, but not as flat.

 But you know me. I never throw away anything half-way edible, so I decided to cut them into little squares.

 I dug out my mini Cointreau and Grand Marnier bottles (used for cheesecakes, yum!).

 I soaked those little hard squares in cream and Cointreau. And another batch in Grand Marnier. And one more batch in just sweetened cream.

 The whipping cream made a sweet layer...

 Non-alcoholic version! Check out the raspberry nose. Love!

 OK, so this is take two. I helped this time and my daughter said that she didn't remember putting in the baking soda, so maybe that was it?

Here are the ingredients:
1 cup flour
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
grated lemon zest

Filling:
2 cups heavy cream
11 oz raspberries
2 tbs powdered sugar

 Let the cakes cool and then trim so that they lie flat. Or mostly flat. Layer on the whipped cream an raspberries.

 Apply the second layer.

 Action shot!

 Cover the cake in the cream. It's getting warm and looks pretty sloppy but persevere! After the cake is covered, pop it in the freezer. After about twenty to thirty minutes, remove the cake and spread the cream into shape.

 The finished cake. It's a perfect dessert for a very hot day if you serve it immediately out of the freezer. Not frozen, just chilled!

 We were aiming for perfection, just delicious!

The inside shows those nice fluffy layers. So good!

That's it for now and I hope everybody has a wonderful Memorial Day. Be sure to pop by my author page Mary Jane Hathaway, my other author page Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things That Last. Until next time!

Fifteen minute raspberry pop tarts!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and we have a quick and easy recipe. I'm not a fan of canned fruit or canned filling, but my kids saw this on a kids' cooking video, so they wanted to try it. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad! 

How's that for a recommendation, haha! No, seriously, it was pretty good for something that comes out of a can and a tube, respectively.

You'll need one can of raspberry pile filling/jelly. I think that banner at the top says NO FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, but the way it was cut off makes me laugh. 

 Several tubes of puff pastry from a tube. The kids were very excited to open these since they make that *POP* noise. This one is already stuffed, but I didn't get a picture of when they first rolled it out. You can use crescent rolls and roll it into a square with a rolling pin.

 We made two varieties. One was plain raspberry filling and one was cream cheese and raspberry. It was delicious! I like mine more like a Danish so I used 4 oz of cream cheese with 3 TBS of the filling. That made several pop tarts.
                                              
 Cut the pastry into squares, placing a few TBS of the filling onto each square and sealing with a form. Cook in the oven at 375F for about 10-15 minutes. MMMM, fresh out of the oven!

 This one is plain raspberry with a little glaze on top. It made great kid get together party food!

We also made an incredible fresh peach and cinnamon cobbler that I'll share next weekend. Fall is here and soon we'll be making everything pumpkin but for right now, we're enjoying apple season and the last of the grape harvest.

My mother and her friend made dozens of jars of fresh Concord grape juice. She brought us a whole box of jars and we drank it cold, on ice, heated with spices, and with sparkling water. It's nothing like store bought juice! If you ever wanted a chance to make your own grape juice, here a link to a step-by-step post. Super easy and after canning, it will last for a really long time. (Unless you have six kids, and in that case, it lasts about a week.)

 We're at the last of our corn harvest and we were giggling a little at our "Frankencorn". Since we use seeds from previous years, but also have Indian corn growing near the same patch, sometimes we get a little cross-pollination. It tasted great, but I gave a double take when I first saw the purple underneath.

Leaving you with this picture of our zucchini bread just out of the oven. Passing you all a virtual slice with some fresh, chilled butter. 

 Pop on over to Pride, Prejudice, and Cheese Grits facebook page or my web site The Things that Last for books news. Until next time!

Dark Chocolate souffle with Raspberries, plus Posadas!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a deliciously easy souffle recipe that has an extra dash of summer. Right in the middle of December, it was a real bright spot for our entertaining!

You'll need:
7TBS sugar
1 cup raspberries
5 TBS unsalted butter
6 oz good chocolate
1/2 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs, plus two more egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
powdered sugar for dusting

YUMMY. The kids wanted to gobble these so badly, but I was strong and sent them away. (But they did get the leftovers.)

Gratuitous chocolate picture. I'm a Lindt fan, so I just picked up a bar at the grocery store.

Melt the butter and chocolate over medium-low heat. When it's all melted, add the vanilla. Butter the ramekins and preheat the oven to 375F.
                                    
Beat the egg yolks and 3 TBS of sugar on medium speed until thick and fluffy.
                                                     
Fold the chocolate mixture into the eggs yolks.
                                         
Whip the eggs whites into stiff peaks with the pinch of salt and cream of tartar, adding the 3 TBS of sugar near the end. Carefully fold the egg whites and chocolate together.

Fold the chocolate and the egg yolk mixture together.
I know, there's a lot of folding and beating, but not in that order. I think the key to a good souffle is understanding that the beating is serious business. And the folding is serious business. And never the twain shall meet...

Until the ramekin. Here 'tis, filled with sugared raspberries. It's been buttered, and then dusted with sugar. Mmmmm.... I could eat it just like this. A bite of chocolate, a bite of raspberry. That's all. But that's not very festive and the guests might appreciate more of a presentation. We'll keep the chocolate/raspberry noshing to visits with good friends.

So, spoon (not beat or fold, that's a relief) the mixture into the ramekin.

Run your finger along the edge. This makes it form that little "top hat" when it's cooking. So much prettier. And remember, we're trying to be presentable. Little known fact: souffles can be chilled in the fridge for up to one whole day. So, this is a good dessert to pop into the oven while everyone is having their main course (and you're not standing in the kitchen). Then they come out pretty and warm and ready...

Set the ramekins in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. You can poke the top to see if it's done, but with the raspberries inside, it's hard to tell, so it's best to wiggle them a little and see if the center jiggles. If it's puffed up and the center jiggles just a little, they're done!

Don't overcook. They'll still be edible, but the edges will be harder and crustier. We want light and fluffy.

And a picture of the bottom layer. I thought the raspberries might not cook enough but the were perfectly melded into the chocolate. What a pairing!

POSADAS

Now, Susanna reminded me of this tradition we have here, called Posadas. From the 16th to the 24th, children walk a certain route in the neighborhood, singing a song that remembers Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. Usually there are two kids dressed up, but sometimes they're all dressed up in different costumes. They go door to door, singing a song, which you can listen to here (the singing isn't great, but just focus on the words). That clip also translates the words and shows some of the costumes. So CUTE. The outside crowd sings on stanza, and the inside crowd sings another. The last house on the route is the host and they finally open the door an everyone comes in for spiced hot chocolate, or takes some to go.

   On the last day, the last stop is the church and we have our Christmas Eve celebration, with a pinata in the parish hall and lots of games  It's great fun and a really neat way to educate the kids on the birth of Jesus and how hard it was for his parents even though they had faith, like a walking tour of the nativity.

(Christmas throwback: I love this picture of my girls because of my oldest's expression! ha!)

Okay, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Advent! Next week I'll either re-run my step-mother's Croatian nut roll (which I need to make... right now) or the famous Aplets and Cotlets of the Northwest. I love them both. Hmmm.... decisions!