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| Bounty of berries from Cobbler Corner |
When we moved into this house, I noticed that there was a small patch of brambles in the back near the garage and under a large buckthorn tree. Further investigation revealed that these were black raspberries and, in concordance with the birds' opinions, these berries were delicious. In fact, the black raspberries were near the rhubarb and I was so excited for my very own "Cobbler Corner!" To fulfill this vision, I've put in another rhubarb plant and some alpine strawberry plants. Subsequently, some of the buckthorn trees had to come down which placed the raspberry canes in full sunlight. Well this year I learned that black raspberries really like sunlight. The patch has expanded significantly and there was a 2-3 week long period of nonstop black raspberry harvesting this year. Additionally, I found that there are at least two types of raspberries in the patch - there's a relatively small red raspberry plant entwined in there, too, that started ripening just at the end of the black raspberry window.
So, as the old saying goes, when life gives you black raspberries, make black raspberry themed bakes! (They do say that, right?) For week 26, I started out with a trickle and didn't have a clue about the raging river that was coming down the line.
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| Raspberry coconut lime cake |
Started out with a pan of raspberry coconut lime cake. Basically, I looked for any recipes involving raspberries and just put in the black raspberries instead. The cake itself was a lovely summertime combination and would be perfectly at home at a picnic or cookout. Maybe with some tropical drinks or margaritas. I really loved the top of the cake with the purple juices of the berries bleeding through.
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| Black raspberry financiers |
Next on the list was a batch of black raspberry financiers. I can't quite seem to figure out how financiers are really that all that different than madeleines, aside from the shape. I wanted to make them into the traditional bar form, but equipment limitations can sometimes be a bummer. So round financiers they were and, again, studded with gorgeous purple fruit. (I should probably take a minute to disclose that purple is probably my favorite color these days.) Really tasty, but mine were a little dense. I stand by my assertion that the French desserts are tres finicky and mastery definitely takes a bit of doing. In case there was any question, browned butter and black raspberries are a good flavor match, too.
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