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This was simple, it tasted good, and I will try it again should I come into red currants like I did last year. The recipe is based upon this one at allrecipes.com. I had some trouble with the crust sticking to the bottom of my springform pan and it took a lot longer to brown the meringue than I thought it would, but all in all, I call this one a win.
Note to self: It’s just occurred to me that a better way to make the crust might be like the crust of lemon squares, where you cut the cold butter into the flour mixture and pat it into the pan. The butter isn’t very well incorporated into the flour, but it works. I believe you would come out with a more cookie-like crust that wouldn’t stick. Yes, I think that would work better. Okay, talking to myself, for next time!
I pulled red currants out of my freezer and measured 2-1/4 cups, then let them thaw completely. Set aside.
To make the crust, cream ½ cup butter with ½ cup sugar and 1-1/2 tsp. lemon zest. (Out of lemons, I used 1-1/2 tsp. of dried lemon peel.) Add two egg yolks and mix. Stir in 1-1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp. baking powder.
Work the dough until it holds together and press into a well-buttered 10” springform pan. Chill for 30 minutes.
Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden yellow.
To make the filling, whip 2 egg whites until stiff. Gradually add ½ cup sugar and 2 tsp. cornstarch. Continue to whip until well incorporated. Drain the currants through a colander and gently fold into whipped egg whites mixture.
Spread filling atop crust and bake for 20 minutes or until top is lightly browned.
Let cool completely before sliding a knife around the edge and wrangling the tart out of the springform pan.
Everyone really liked the taste, not too sour, not too sweet.
Really yummy!
INGREDIENT LIST FOR RED CURRANT TART
2-1/4 cups fresh or frozen red currants
½ cup butter, softened
1-1/2 tsp. lemon zest
½ cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 egg whites
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
High praise for this recipe. Pictured here is half a slice.
I made this as a birthday cake for my husband. Pictured is the cake prior to icing. The recipe can be found at: http://www.piarecipes.com/2012/11/chocolate-cannoli-cake.html
Here it is finished. The rich, rich chocolate flavor is decadent. My favorite part was the icing.
The only comment I can make about the recipe is that it took about 80 minutes to bake instead of the 70 listed in the recipe.
Steve Cowper was the Governor of Alaska from 1986 to 1990. Sometime during his tenure the chef working at the Governor’s Mansion was interviewed about foods the governor liked. She gave this buttermilk pie recipe as being a favorite.
Buttermilk Pie
½ cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 rounded tablespoons flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash nutmeg
1 9” unbaked pie crust
Let butter soften. Add sugar to butter and cream together well. Add flour and eggs. Beat well. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake 45-50 minutes on lowest oven rack at 350 degrees. Cool completely before serving.
Our church’s annual Soup and Pie Supper is great fun. This year I baked a pecan pie and a buttermilk pie. First, I’ll give you the pecan pie recipe. I use the one given on the Karo bottle.
There are a couple things to note about this recipe. Karo Light Corn Syrup is called light because it is the opposite of dark, not because it is low in calories. Let’s be clear. Dark corn syrup looks like molasses and I’ve made pecan pie before using molasses, but it was not well received. I like to bake a pecan pie using pecan halves, not chopped pecans. It makes a prettier presentation. Cutting the pie is more difficult through such big pieces, though, so make your own decision.
Pecan Pie
1 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups pecans
1 unbaked 9” pie crust
Stir first 5 ingredients thoroughly using a spoon. Mix in pecans.
Pour into pie crust.
Bake on lowest rack of oven 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 2 hours. Store in refrigerator.
Here it is, in the oven beside the buttermilk pie.
Dutch Apple Pie
Yesterday we picked apples at an orchard down the hill from where I live. The type is called Lodi. The largest ones were as big as tennis balls. This is Alaska after all, the growing season is too short for that type of fruit. Normally, I would peel 5 or 6 Granny Smiths in order to make this sublime Dutch Apple Pie, but because these apples were so small I only cored them. I think it will be fine with the peel on. Another confession: I cannot make a pie crust from scratch. I have tried many times and never succeeded. So, I always use the kind found in the refrigerated section at the store, the ones that need to be unrolled. Terrible cheating, I know. What makes it a “Dutch” apple pie? It’s the cream added at the end. Oh, yummy! This recipe is based upon one found online at Teri’s Kitchen.
8 cups pared, sliced tart baking apples (about 3#)
Like I said above, usually I would peel the apples, but these were so small that I didn’t. You will need to use a very, very large bowl.
Combine 1 cup sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. grated lemon peel, 2 to 3 tsp. fresh lemon juice with the apples in the large bowl.
Place bottom crust into 9″ pie plate. Note my pie plate is a little big, but it works well, no problem.
Place the apple mixture into the bottom crust.
Dot with 2 Tbsp. butter.
Cut slits in top crust.
Make an egg wash by mixing 1 egg yolk with 1 Tbsp. water.
Place crust on top of apples and crimp with bottom crust to seal. Brush top crust with egg wash. It makes a beautiful shiny brown color when finished.
Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and enlarge slits as needed.
Pour 1/2 cup heavy cream into the slits. You may find it helpful to stick a knife into the opening and then pour the cream along the knife. It’s a little less messy. This is how my dad taught me to add oil to my motorcycle. Just a useful little tidbit of information.
Pop it back into the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Dutch Apple Pie
Makes one 9” pie
8 cups pared, sliced tart baking apples (about 3#)
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. grated lemon peel
2 to 3 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. butter
Pastry for a 9” double-crust pie
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. water
½ cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place crust in 9” pie plate. Combine apple slices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon peel, and lemon juice in large bowl. Turn into pie plate. Dot with butter. Cut slits in top crust and then place crust on top of apples and crimp with bottom crust to seal. Brush top crust with egg yolk mixed with 1 Tbsp. water. Bake on bottom rack of oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and enlarge slits as needed and pour cream into the slits. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Rhubarb-Strawberry Crisp is a simple “first fruits of Alaska summer” dessert. Yummy!
Mix together 5-6 cups chopped rhubarb, orange zest, 1/3 cup orange juice, 3 Tbsp. quick tapioca, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1 pint sliced strawberries. Let stand 15 minutes.
Pour into a buttered 9 x 9″ baking dish.
Mix together in a separate bowl: 1-1/2 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter. Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until browned and filling bubbles burst slowly.
Tastes great topped with whipped cream, milk, or ice cream.
My friend Jan really likes these lemon bars and asked me to post the recipe here. I make these frequently.
Lemon Bars
Lemon Bars
Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter
In a large bowl use a pastry cutter to mix the flour and powdered sugar and then cut in the butter until it is pea-sized. Distribute evenly across a greased 13 x 9″ baking dish and press down. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Topping:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup flour
While the crust bakes, prepare the topping by whisking together the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Whisk in the baking powder and 1/2 cup flour. Pour over hot crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool and then cut into bars. Consume.
Mix together flour and powdered sugar. Cut in cold butter. Yes, must be butter and must be cold.
Distribute evenly across a greased 13 x 9″ baking dish and press down. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Whisk in baking powder and flour.
Whisk together until it is all fully incorporated. It will get foamy on top as it sits while you wait for the crust to finish baking. I believe this is the baking powder reacting with the lemon juice.
Pull the crust out of the oven. The indentations where the butter melted is normal.
Stir down the egg mixture and pour it over the crust. Scrape the bowl. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees, until light golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool. A sprinkling of powdered sugar over the top would make it look nice. You’d have to wait until it cooled thoroughly, though. I’ve never had these last long enough to cool off. They’re just that good.
This is based upon a recipe from Anja’s Food 4 Thought. It’s very, very simple. I’m afraid it was a little too moist for me, but the fan club living at my house raved about it, so here I am, second day in a row, making this cake. The first one didn’t last long . . . at all. Note that lingonberries (also called Alaskan low-bush cranberries) are very commonly found in Alaska and I usually have gallons of them in my freezer. If a recipe calls for cranberries I use lingons instead. They are more tart than cranberries and will sometimes require additional sweetener. This particular recipe doesn’t use many “cranberries” and tastes good without the additional sugar.
Apple Cranberry Cake
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup grated apple (1 large), I left the peel on, why not?
1/2 cup frozen lingonberries or cranberries
Serves 4
In a large bowl, combine oats and brown sugar, stir in boiling water. Slice butter and place on top of the oat, sugar, water mixture. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir beaten egg into the oat mixture and stir until well combined and butter is fully melted. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well. Stir in the apple and lingonberries.
Pour batter into a greased 8×4″ loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan. Cut into slices to serve.
Mix together quick-oats, brown sugar, and boiling water. Place butter slices on top. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Mix in beaten egg. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in apple and cranberries.
Finished adding ingredients.
Pour into greased 8×4″ loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick, inserted in center, comes out clean.
Here’s what’s left of yesterday’s batch and that’s nearly gone now. There’s only three of us living here!
First, I must give credit to Sunset Magazine for this recipe. It was in their June 1990 issue in an article called Summer Fruit Pies, chock-full of pie recipes. It’s like my pie-recipe Bible. There are so many pieces of scotch tape holding that issue together, it’s incredible. This strawberry pie is my favorite. I like it because you make the glaze yourself from whole strawberries. There aren’t any artificial dyes or gelatin in it. My big pie confession is that I can’t make a pie crust to save my life. Every few years I try, but without success. I buy the crusts found in the refrigerated section of the grocery, the kind you unroll. Today is March 17, 2012, St. Patrick’s Day, one of my favorite food holidays. I’ve got corned beef boiling on the stove top and Irish soda bread planned. The strawberry pie is the pièce de résistance of the meal.
Starting at the end. Here is the finished pie. Making the food pretty isn't my strong gift, but one taste of this is all that's necessary for transport to food heaven.
Mix together in pan: sugar, corn starch, and grated orange peel.
Choose 2 cups of the least perfect strawberries.
Whirl strawberries with water until smoothly pureed.
Add strawberry puree to sugar mixture in pan and stir very well.
Cook, stirring often, over medium high heat until mixture comes to a full boil, about 5 minutes. Stir in orange liqueur to taste.
Arrange remaining strawberries, tips up, in a pastry shell.
Spoon hot cooked berry mixture over whole fruit, covering completely.
Orange Blossom-Strawberry Pie
6 to 7 cups strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. grated orange peel
6 Tbsp. water
2 to 3 Tbsp. orange-flavor liqueur or 2 Tbsp. thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
Baked pastry for a single-crust 9” pie
Rinse strawberries and drain dry on absorbent towels; hull fruit.
In a 1 to 1-1/2-quart pan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and orange peel. In a blender or food processor, whirl 2 cups of the least perfect strawberries with water until smoothly puréed; pour purée into pan, medium-high heat until mixture comes to a full boil, about 5 minutes. Stir in orange liqueur to taste.
Arrange remaining strawberries, tips up, in pastry shell; evenly spoon the hot cooked berry glaze mixture over whole fruit, covering completely. Chill until glaze is cool and set, at least 1 hour or covered, up until next day. Cut into wedges. Serves 8 or 9.
A lot of people like to add a dollop of whipped cream to their slice.
Foods Passion 