08 July 2009

Berry-Picking

Remember the Garden Lavender Pound Cake? One was for "the new neighbors who live down the lane." Well, we did go and give it to them. They invited us in to chat and we ended up talking about this giant berry patch in a local city park. We all agreed that it would be great fun to go together, so Monday night we piled into their van and headed across town. Turns out the patch was LOADED with berries--most of them not quite ripe. We did get about five cups though.

We thought they were raspberries, but the flavor was more tart and they had a slightly sticky residue. Turns out they're wineberries, which my husband found out from his wild foods-fanatic co-worker the next day. So, what to do with all those berries? Well, this IS a post on a food blog, so you might have guessed I baked something with them (what was left after we kept stuffing our faces, that is). And you're right. I baked. Tarts. 16 muffin-sized tarts.


I found this recipe for raspberry pie and went from there. I started with a basic pie crust recipe, cutting circles to fit into a muffin cup. Turns out my metal two-cup measure was perfect for the job! I brushed the insides with egg and baked for three minutes (430F).






After the shells had pre-baked I filled the tarts with the adapted pie mixture:

(all measures approximate)
3 1/2 cups berries
1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 TBSP butter, cut into dry ingredients
1 tsp. vanilla







I baked them for about thirty minutes (10 at 430F, then another 20 at 400F, or something like that). They came out pretty and pretty juicy. The filling bubbled up and down around the bottoms, which made them sticky too. I was glad I had generously greased the muffin tins! But the flavor was good. Not too sweet.



We got to sample them fresh out of the oven, and the rest stayed for company the next night. We added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream the second time around. Delish!


Cook's Word: I think I'd either add more cornstarch or reduce amount of berries next time as they were fairly juicy. If I had a tart pan, these would be adorable as a one-bite experience. But with the size and texture of these, they had to be eaten on a plate with a fork.

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