Boysenberries in Whipped Cream

This dessert appeals to me. It's simple, very quick to assemble, delicious, and refreshing.

It's basically an unfrozen fool. You just stir the fruit through some lightly sweetened whipped cream and serve. You could also make it ahead and freeze it to turn it into a proper fool if desired. (That's what I've done with the leftovers from tonight's dessert!)

The original recipe called for blackberries. But, since we're in New Zealand right now, I figured I'd take advantage of the availability of bosenberries for this particular treat. Especially since this is somewhere where the fruit really gets to shine.

Bosenberries in Whipped Cream

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 c. bosenberries, divided
• 2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 c. icing (confectioners'/powdered) sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Purée half of the berries.
2. Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until stiff.
3. Fold in puréed berries.
4. Carefully stir in the remaining 1 c. of berries.
5. Spoon into bowls and serve.

I finally made a pavlova! I had some extra egg whites left over from making cupcakes the other day and figured that maybe now was finally the time to try making a pavlova. It's basically just a baked French meringue with fruit and whipped cream on top, but I don't really have any experience baking meringues on their own. I make French meringues quite a bit, but they're usually then incorporated into a cake batter or used as a pie topping. And while using it to top a pie technically results in a baked meringue, you're going for a completely different end result on a pie.

With a meringue pie you want the topping to be soft and pillow-y all the way through. With a pavlova my understanding is that it should be crisp on the outside and soft and chewy/pillow-y in the centre. I've never tried to make a meringue with that texture before. The recipe gives instructions, of course, but your oven and the exact dimensions of the meringue will affect the baking, so you can't just blindly follow the recipe.

I'm pretty happy with how this one came out. It was a bit more crispy than pillow-y, but it still had a bit of softness in the centre. I'm not sure whether it'd be better slightly reduce the baking time next time around or slightly increase the baking temperature and dramatically reduce the baking time. I'm thinking that slightly less time is probably the way to go. If nothing else, that'll give me another data point. Although I'll be baking it in a different oven next time, so who knows how that'll affect things?!

Pavlova

Slightly adapted from Edmonds Cookery Book

Ingredients

Meringue

• 3 large egg whites
• tiny pinch salt (<1/16 tsp.)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Toppings

• fresh fruit or fruit compote¹
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 135°C (275°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper (or a silicone baking mat).
2. Beat egg whites with salt until light and airy but not quite stiff.
3. Gradually add sugar while continuing to beat.
4. Beat for another minute or so to allow sugar to fully incorporate and dissolve.
5. Reduce speed to low and beat in vanilla, vinegar, and cornstarch.
6. Pile meringue onto prepared baking tray and shape into a 20cm round with a depression in the centre.
7. Bake at 135°C (275°F) for 40-45 minutes.
8. Leave meringue in the oven overnight to cool.
9. The next day, prepare your toppings: chop the fruit and/or prepare the compote and whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla.
10. Top the meringue with fruit and whipped cream and serve immediately.

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¹ I made a simple boysenberry compote for mine: 1 (400mL) can of boysenberries + 2 tsp. cornstarch, 1/4 c. vanilla sugar, and 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice boiled until thickened. ^Back

I've been in a baking mood lately. The problem comes with finding the time to actually do it. I'm hoping to get to making a Christmas cake over the weekend, but in the meantime, I decided to take a crack at something else from Edmonds Cookery Book: fruit sponge. And it came out pretty well, if I do say so myself! Not exactly to plan, certainly, but perfectly tasty and edible.

I don't really have much in the way of baking dishes, so I ended up baking it in a pie plate, which actually seemed to work out rather well. The recipe calls for stewed fruit, so I decided that this would be a good opportunity to use some of the tinned boysenberries gifted to us from New Zealand. The berries had quite a bit of syrup with them. I drained a lot of it off -- nearly 400mL! -- but they were still pretty soupy. And the sponge batter turned out fairly thick, so when I tried to spoon it on top it just sank straight to the bottom in a big lump. When I put it in the oven, it looked like I was going to have an island of sponge poached in a sea of boysenberries. By the time it came out of the oven though, the cake had spread out across the surface of the berries to cover most of the top. It's still not quite what it's supposed to look like, but it's honestly better than I was expecting. I'd aim for a little less moisture in the fruit next time and I'd probably pull it out of the oven five minutes earlier, but other than that, I'm pretty happy with it!

Fruit Sponge

Edmonds Cookery Book

Ingredients

• 2 c. stewed fruit (eg. apples, boysenberries, apricot, etc.), sweetened to taste
• 125g butter¹, softened
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large (or 3 medium) eggs
• 1 c. pastry flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 Tbsp. milk

Directions

1. Pour fruit into baking dish (or pie plate) and place in oven at 375°F (190°C)².
2. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time.
4. Sift in flour and baking powder.
5. Stir in milk.
6. Spoon batter over hot fruit and bake for 35-40 minutes.

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¹ Normally I use salted butter in my baking, but my understanding is that salted butter is the default in NZ, so I used salted for this. It seems to have worked out well. ^Back
2 It's important to get the fruit good and hot before adding the sponge batter. If the fruit is too cool, the sponge won't cook properly. So sayeth Edmonds. ^Back