Oaty Rhubarb Streusel Bars & Blackberry Crumb Bars

When I am asked to provide dessert for something in the summer, I always think of desserts that include fruit. I decided on these 2 quick and easy fruit bars which showcase blackberries and rhubarb.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a large amount of rhubarb, because I knew it wouldn't be available much longer. I brought it home and chopped it, so that I could put in it in the freezer and use it later.

I used some of the rhubarb in these Oaty Rhubarb Streusel Bars. The base is a basic oatmeal crust/crumble, of which some is reserved to be the crumbs on top. The base is baked for a little while and then the rhubarb is added. The rest of the crust is sprinkled on top and then a ginger icing and crystallized ginger are sprinkled on top. These bars turned out looking so delicious.
I didn't get to taste one, but there weren't any leftovers, so I can only assume they were great.

The Blackberry Crumb Bars had a cake-like base, then the blackberries were placed on top and a separate streusel was sprinkled on top.
These were a little bit more difficult to cut, so my kids and a friend were able to sample one of the pieces that fell apart. They said it was delicious. My kids were begging for more, but the rest had to be whisked away!
If you are looking for an easy fruit cake/cookie streusel bar, try one of these!


Recipe for Oaty Rhubarb Streusel Bars



Recipe for Blackberry Crumb Bars

Buttermilk-Quinoa Cakes with Rhubarb Blackberry Compote

I checked out Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone from the library a week or so ago and was intrigued by a variation of her buttermilk pancakes that called for adding quinoa to the batter.
I had some cooked quinoa in the fridge and decided to try it out.
I also had blackberries and rhubarb, so I decided to make a tart compote to top my pancakes with. I noticed that Maria had done a rhubarb berry compote to top some pancakes recently, so I was inspired to create my own compote creation.
I added some lime juice and zest to my fruit, a little sugar and water and then thickened it at the end with a little cornstarch. It was so tasty. Nice and tart.
The pancakes were really good too. My kids ate them plain that entire day as snacks- they loved them.

I used some of the leftover compote to top my oatmeal the other day and it was delicious. Also good with almond butter on toast. Yum.

Buttermilk Quinoa Cakes adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison 10th Anniversary Edition

1 1/2 cups flour (I used white wheat)
1 1/2 to 3 Tbls sugar
salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
2 egg whites
1 egg
3 Tbls canola oil
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cooked quinoa

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix the egg whites, egg, oil, buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just to combine.
Gently fold in the cooked quinoa.

For each pancake, drop 1/4 cup batter onto a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, without disturbing until fine bubbles appear on the surface. Flip over and cook until browned on the second side.

Serve immediately or keep warm in a low (200 degree) oven until all are finished.

Rhubarb Blackberry Compote by Mary Ann
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 cups blackberries
zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water +2 Tbls cold water
1 Tbls cornstarch

Combine rhubarb, blackberries, lime zest and juice, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Mix 2 Tbls cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
Add the fruit mixture and lower heat. Cook for a few minutes more, until thickened.

Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

I am not really sure how some things qualify as breakfast , when they have the word cake in the recipe title; I won't complain because I like making treats and this one was enjoyed by the entire family- they loved it warm and they loved it cold- I made quite a few changes, including the size (I made 2 4-inch cakes and 2 smaller than those), the changes in the recipe are included in bold; I am short on words, so enjoy a few pics- in a few days the situation will be fixed.





Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake adapted from Southern Living Magazine


Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 10 min.; Cool: 1 hr., 30 min.


Streusel Topping
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup vanilla flavored Greek style yogurt)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk (I used 1/3 cup whole milk and 1/3 cup skim)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups peeled and sliced fresh firm, ripe peaches (about 2 large peaches, 7 oz. each)
1 cup fresh blackberries
Powdered sugar
Garnishes: fresh blackberries, sliced peaches

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare Streusel Topping.

2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9-inch springform pan; top with sliced peaches and blackberries. Pinch off 1-inch pieces of Streusel Topping, and drop over fruit.

4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until center of cake is set. (A wooden pick inserted in center will not come out clean.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 1/2 hours). Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish, if desired.

Note: We found that using a shiny or light-colored pan gave us the best results. If you have a dark pan, wrap the outside of the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil to get a similar result.

Peach Coffee Cake: Omit blackberries. Increase peaches to 3 cups sliced (about 3 large peaches, 7 oz. each). Proceed with recipe as directed

Streusel Topping


Prep: 10 min.

This recipe goes with Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake, Peach Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating well. Add flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; beat just until blended.

I didn't follow the streusel directions. I mixed 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Then I cut in 4 Tbls of cold butter and sprinkled it on top of the coffee cake.

One Year Ago- Panzanella

Party Chicken Salad

Ripe Georgia peaches, toasted pecans, fresh basil, and subbing fat-free mayo, made this take on Chicken Salad from Southern Living Magazine, a nice, summery lunch, which I served on rolls for my family, who all really liked the flavors and textures that complimented each other and it would also be a great recipe to serve at a baby shower or party of some kind because the versatility of the presentation, which is implied by the title, Party Chicken Salad.
(1-sentence blogging for a week- check out the participants- HERE!)

Recipe for Party Chicken Salad

Blackberry Cornbread Muffins

Blackberries are yummy. They are in season and we eat a lot of them. I saw this recipe for Blackberry Cornbread a couple of months ago in Southern Living Magazine. I figured I should make it since I live in the south. The only problem is, no one in my family really likes cornbread.

Except me.

I grew up eating cornbread every once in awhile and we always had it with honey. My mom made it in a cast iron skillet.

My hubby did trick me once when we were newlyweds. We were eating dinner at someone's house and they had made some kind of cornbread that looked like little corncobs (some sort of cornbread pan), and he ate it.

I decided that was enough of a reason to make it at home. When I did, he wouldn't eat it. I told him I saw him eating it at someone else's house and he told me he was being polite. Those darn Southerners and their manners.
I went back and forth about making this, but the curious side of me won out. I decided to make the recipe into muffins, luckily the people at the magazine had already thought of this and had also made directions for muffins. I decided to reduce the recipe and make 1/4 of it. I would only end up with 6 muffins, which really isn't that many.

I was going to substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream and when I was mixing these up, I realized that I grabbed vanilla bean flavored greek yogurt instead of plain. Since I like my cornbread on the sweet side and these had blackberries in them, I decided to go ahead and use the yogurt I had anyway.
I also used some egg white substitute instead of trying to divide an egg into 4 parts.

The results? I really liked them! I thought they were a nice twist on cornbread. There was just enough sweetness that they didn't need any honey and the blackberries added a yummy little tart hint of goodness.
My 2 year old liked them too. My 4 year old discovered she doesn't like the texture of cornmeal and my 7 year old and my hubby wouldn't even touch them.
Since I only made 6 muffins, none of that even mattered. My baby and I enjoyed them for breakfast the next day.


Blackberry Cornbread Muffins adapted from Southern Living Magazine, June 2009

Prep: 15 min., Bake: 15 min., Cool: 5 min.
We also tested this recipe using 1/2 cup melted butter in place of the canola oil and loved the rich, pound cake-like flavor it gave to these sweet cornbread muffins. They're delicious with peach preserves.


2 cups self-rising white cornmeal ( I used 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar (I used 2 Tbls)
5 large eggs (I used 1 egg and 1 Tbls egg white substitute)
1 (16-oz.) container sour cream (I used 4 oz. vanilla bean flavored Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup canola oil (I used 2 Tbls canola oil)
2 cups fresh blackberries (I used 2/3 cup blackberries, plus a few on top for decoration)

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Stir together cornmeal and sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Whisk together eggs, sour cream, and oil; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in blackberries. Coat 2 muffin pans with vegetable cooking spray; spoon batter into muffin pans, filling three-fourths full.

2. Bake at 450° for (I baked mine for 14 minutes) 15 to 17 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack.

Yield: Makes 2 dozen muffins (I made 6 muffins)

Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake with Blackberry Buttercream and Blackberry Sherbet

The weekend before we moved, a couple of my friends and I got together for a little party.

I was debating if I had enough time in-between packing and everything else, to bake a couple of things for our get-together. Well, of course- I had time.

The day of the party, I made this cake and sherbet, Honey-Peach Ice Cream (which will post next tuesday) and one of the most phenomenal desserts ever- Coconut Dacquoise with Roasted Pineapple (that will post a week from tuesday).

I like bananas. But, they have to be just the right texture for me to eat them out of the peel. If I see a brown spot on the peel, I set them aside and decide that they will be used for baking.

I had a couple of bananas that were begging to be made into something delicious and also had lots of fresh blackberries, because the price really great on them at the store. I spotted the frosting recipe and thought it looked beautiful and sounded really good. I have made this banana cake before and it is really versatile, so I knew they would be a great combination.
And since I was making all of this stuff anyway, I decided I might as well throw in a simple sherbet recipe just for fun.

You can use whatever you have on hand to make the cake- coconut milk, whole milk, buttermilk, plain yogurt- anything. I have made it with coconut milk before and it was delicious. I don't even remember what I used this time, but it was good. I also added chopped, toasted pecans to the batter.
The frosting was a lovely color and everyone raved about it, but I thought it could have used a little bit more of the actual blackberry flavor.

The sherbet was so, so easy. I have used this method before where you just blend the ingredients up and freeze it for a little while, then process it in the food processor and either serve it or freeze it for awhile longer. It is a really easy method.
The sherbet called for buttermilk and that gave it nice sourish tang- I would use a little bit less sugar next time- I thought it was a little too sweet. Nice color and also raved about from my friends.
It was a fun night. Good friends and dessert- what could be better?
(btw- I miss you guys!)

Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake from Baking:from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbls) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbls dark rum or Malibu coconut rum (optional)
About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk, regular (stir before measuring) or "lite" (or whole milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, preferably toasted (or an equal amount of moist, plump fruit, such as currants, raisins, chopped apricots, cranberries, blueberries, or halved cherries, or a combination or coconut and dried fruit)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. (I used Crisco Baking Spray with Flour). Put the pans on a baking sheet.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fit with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed for a couple of minutes, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the vanilla and rum. You'll have a beautiful satiny batter.
Now lower the speed and add the bananas-the batter will curdle, but that's fine; it will come back together as you add the remaining ingredients. Still on low speed, add the dry and liquid ingredients alternately, adding the flour mixture in 3 portions and the coconut milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients).
Mix just until everything is incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently stir in the coconut. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.
Bake for about 45 minutes (mine were done in 42), or until the cakes are a deep golden brown. They should start to pull away from the sides on the pans and a thin knife inserted into their centers will come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a cooking rack and cool for 5 minutes, then unmold and invert onto another rack to cool to room temperature right side up.

Blackberry Buttercream from Southern Living
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (16-oz.) package plus 1 cup powdered sugar

1. Beat first 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.
Note: Be sure to wash and thoroughly dry blackberries before adding to frosting

1-2-3 Blackberry Sherbet from Taste of Home magazine

4 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, thawed

2 cups sugar (I would use less)

2 cups buttermilk (I used low-fat)

1. In a food processor, combine blackberries and sugar; cover and process until smooth. Strain and discard seeds and pulp.
2. Stir in buttermilk.
3. Transfer puree to a 13x9-inch dish. Freeze for 1 hour or until edges begin to firm. Stir and return to freezer. Freeze 2 hours longer or until firm.
4. Just before serving, transfer to a food processor; cover and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

Up Next- Asian Patties

Blackberry Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

There have been a couple of times that I have had exactly 5 egg whites leftover in my fridge from making some sort of tart with pastry cream. It happened twice last month and this is one of the recipes that I made with the egg whites.
I saw these cupcakes awhile ago on Peabody's blog and they just looked too good to pass up. I printed the recipe and then tried to fit them in somewhere.
When I saw that blackberries were really cheap a couple of weeks ago, I decided that was the time. The same day someone asked me to bring something to a game night and these were the perfect thing.
I had to make some into mini cupcakes, so my kids could at least try them.
The flavor of the blackberry cupcake with the key lime frosting was perfect.
I also thought the color of the cupcakes was really pretty. Kindof a blueish-purpley color. Especially because it was colored that way naturally.
If you have egg whites hanging out in the fridge or want an excuse to buy blackberries, these cupcakes are the perfect excuse!

Blackberry Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting from Peabody
Blackberry Cupcakes
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour (you can use all-purpose if you need)

2/3 cup blackberry puree (with the seeds removed)

1 TBSP. baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

5 egg whites

Sift together flours, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a mixing bowl (if using a stand mixer use the paddle attachment), cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and blackberry puree. Beat until incorporated.

In a liquid measuring cup, combing vegetable oil and milk. Add flour mixture and milk/oil mixture alternatively to the mixing bowl. Beating on low speed after each addition. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Scrape down to make sure you get all of the batter. Clean out bowl and switch to whisk attachment.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, to “lighten” the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.Grease and lightly flour muffin pans. Fill each cup half full.

Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack. Frost with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup key lime juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on the consistency you are going for)

Beat together the cream cheese and butter, about 2 minutes. Add key lime juice and vanilla while mixer is on low until fully incorporated.Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until you reach desired consistency.

For Mothers Day- Tea Sandwiches, Petit Fours, and Lemon Scones

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Vanilla Bean

Need a Valentine's Day dessert?? This Panna Cotta would be a great choice. I saw it in a recent issue of Health magazine and thought that it would be a nice, creamy dessert, that would be a little bit lighter on the calories. Plus I have tons of vanilla beans and low-fat buttermilk is always in my fridge.
I whipped it up quickly the night before and stuck it in the fridge to hang out over night.
I served it with some blackberries and the adults loved it. The kids really didn't care for the texture, which made for some very funny expressions as they tasted it. I thought that the addition of berries really added something to this grown-up dessert, but it was delicious plain as well. I love it when you can eat a great tasting dessert that really doesn't seem to be missing any flavor or creaminess just because it is a little bit lower in fat and calories~
Buttermilk Panna Cotta With Vanilla Bean from Health Magazine

Prep: 40 minutes; Chill: 3 hours or overnight.

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1. Place the heavy cream and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the heavy cream. Add the cut vanilla bean to the cream. Bring the mixture to just a boil, and turn off heat. Cover pot, and let steep for 30 minutes.
2. Sprinkle unflavored gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl. Let the gelatin bloom while the heavy cream mixture is steeping.
3. Bring heavy cream mixture back to a simmer, and slowly whisk in melted gelatin mixture. Add buttermilk, and whisk until combined.
4. Pour into individual glasses or bowls, and gently cover with plastic wrap. Chill for about 3 hours or overnight; serve.

Coming Tomorrow for Valentine's Day- Blushing Grapefruit Cupcakes

Peach and Blackberry or Blueberry French Toast Bake, you choose

When I was thumbing through this cookbook (The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger), there were 4 recipes that stuck out as ones that I had to try. This was the first one. I love pictures in cookbooks and that is usually what makes me want to try a certain recipe. This was a great make ahead breakfast. I doubled it and made two pans, topping each one with a different kind of berry.
Peach and Blackberry or Blueberry French Toast Bake adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food you Crave

1 /2 loaf french bread, at least 2 days old
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1 cup skim milk
splash of half and half
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups frozen unsweetened sliced peaches, thawed
a handful of blackberries or bluberries, or both
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
cinnamon
pure maple syrup

Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Cut the french bread into 1/2 inch slices and arrange in a single layer in the pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together whole eggs, egg whites, milk, half and half, and the vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan. Layer the peach slices evenly over the bread. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover and bake until it is slightly puffy, and the bread is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Top with maple syrup.

Blackberry, Strawberry and Peach Smoothie

I had some leftover blackberries from one of the galettes and felt like making a smoothie, so this is what I came up with. I don't like my smoothies very sweet, so I didn't add any sugar or honey.

Blackberry, Strawberry, and Peach Smoothie by Mary Ann
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup halved strawberries
1- 6oz container blackberry yogurt (I used Yoplait Light, because it was in the fridge)
1 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups frozen sliced peaches

Place all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Add more peaches if you want it thicker or some sugar/honey if it is not sweet enough for your buds. Drink up!

Blueberry and Blackberry Galette with Cornmeal Crust

This caught my eye in a recent issue of Cooking Light and then I found out we were doing a Galette for TWD at the end of this month, so I decided a taste test was in order. This recipe came together quickly. The pastry was very simple to throw together. I added lemon zest to the berry filling because I think citrus zest gives great flavor to any dessert. This was so delicious! I let it stand for more than 30 minutes, so we could enjoy it with dinner and served it with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Yummy!

Blueberry and Blackberry Galette with Cornmeal Crust adapted from Cooking Light

Pastry:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 7 3/4 ounces)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

Filling:

4 cups blueberries

2 cups blackberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons lemon juice

zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons fat-free milk

1 large egg white

1 1/2 tablespoons decorating sugar

1. To prepare pastry, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; pulse two times. Add butter to flour mixture; pulse 4 to 5 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly add buttermilk through food chute; process just until dough forms a ball. Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap; cover. Chill 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Unwrap and place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 15-inch circle. Place dough and parchment on a baking sheet.
4. To prepare filling, combine berries and next 3 ingredients (through juice) in a medium bowl; add zest and toss gently to coat. Arrange berry mixture in center of dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover berry mixture).
5. Combine fat-free milk and egg white in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Brush dough with milk mixture; sprinkle decorating sugar evenly over dough. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until pastry is golden brown. Let stand 30 minutes; cut into wedges.