Blueberry Trifle

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A few night's ago I made a hot milk sponge cake. It's my favorite homemade cake and I was looking forward to icing it with a milk chocolate frosting. Things don't always turn out as we plan. I had the bad luck of losing my grip on the cooling rack and watching my beautiful cake fall to the flour in 1,000 piece puzzle fashion. Undaunted, I salvaged what I could and used the cake as the base for a simple but delicious trifle. The recipe has been widely circulated and I am unsure who should be credited with its creation. I'm giving credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe because her version was the first I looked at. I think you're going to love this dessert. Sometimes, there is an inverse relationship between effort and flavor and this is one of them. The trifle is easy to make, but its taste will have your socks going up and down. The original recipe called for an angel food cake. I used a wounded sponge cake in the version I've photographed for tonight's post. It worked really well and I'm tempted to use sponge cake as the base for this trifle more often. I hope you give this a try. It is unequivocally delicious and odes will be written in your honor once it's tasted by your family and friends. Here is how the trifle is made.

Blueberry Muffin Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had to be out of the house for an early meeting this morning. I was asked to bring something for the refreshment table and I decided to prepare this quick bread. Blueberries have arrived in our markets, and while they lack the sweetness of those that will come later in the season, I couldn't resist making this loaf cake. The bread tastes like blueberry muffins, but its easier to make because there is no need to prepare or clean muffin pans. I'm not at my best at 8 in the morning, so any shortcuts that will make the start of the day less painless are always taken here. While I used fresh berries to make this loaf, I have often use frozen berries and they have little effect on the quality of the finished cake. My one caution is to make sure the cake is done before you take it from the oven, especially if you are using frozen berries. Their chill can add to cooking time. The bread can be made without special equipment so it is natural for beginning cooks or those who are working in inadequate summer kitchens. There is nothing not to like here, so, I hope you will give the recipe a try. Here is how the cake is made.

Lemon and Blueberry Pudding

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is one of those desserts that can be as plain or fancy as you wish. Most people call them trifles, but I prefer to call them puddings because they are such homely creations. While I like to prepare them using components I've made from scratch, they will work quite nicely with a purchased cake, instant pudding and whipped topping. If I'm trying to impress, I take the high road and make the cake, syrup, pudding and flavored cream myself, but I have been known to lower my standards and let General Mills assist me in the kitchen. I'm in the midst of clearing the pantry and refrigerator to ready them for spring. I have a rather large supply of blueberries that I have to work my way through and this dessert is a nice way to use them. While not usually considered to be winter fare, we had sunshine for a while today, and those blueberries had my name on them, so in no time at all I had this pudding on my table. Here is how it's made. I've also included recipes for its components for those of you who might want to make it from scratch.

So Is It A Clafoutis or Flognarde?

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you are lucky, being right and three bucks will buy you a cup of coffee in some places. Should you, however, roll snake eyes, coffee, if it's available, will be considerably more expensive and your contributions to verity will go unrecognized. Eight years ago, I set out to correct an oversight on the part of bloggers and food writers. It was a problem with nomenclature and I thought my carefully researched snippet would set things right. I am here to tell you that did not happen, and despite the rightness of my argument I am now ready to surrender. Back then, I discovered that a battered covered French dessert, commonly called a clafoutis, should be called a flognarde when it is made with anything other than cherries. Exercising due diligence and even greater tact, I set about correcting the century old problem, fully expecting that issues with nomenclature would be resolved before the year was out. Eight years later flognardes are still called clafoutis, so I definitely rolled snake eyes on this one.

Getting back to the dessert in question, the clafoutis originated in Limousin region of France. It is a baked dessert prepared by lining a casserole dish with fruit and covering it with a pancake-like batter. When finished, it tastes like a cross between a pudding and a cake. It is an easy dish to make and it is even easier to eat, especially when it is made with fruit that is fully ripe and flavorful. A classic clafoutis is made with cherries, but the one I am sharing with you tonight is made with blueberries. It is a favorite of the Silver Fox and, at his request, I made it for his birthday celebration this evening. When it is served while still slightly warm and topped with a dollop of crème fraîche, you will understand why it is called one of the glories of the French peasant table. Here is how it is made.

Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I don't mean to dump on weather men. I know they're good to their mothers and love their wives and children, but they are the only group of people I know, who can be consistently wrong and still receive regular raises and promotions. Last week they spread the word that temperatures would be the the low 80's for the foreseeable future. It was just a rumor. Thermometers here hit 100 degrees today and while we don't have humidity, 100 degrees is still too darn hot for an outdoor adventure. Relegated to the house for the duration I had two choices: housework or cooking. Guess which I decided to do? I bought a flat of blueberries yesterday and they kept me the kitchen for most of the day. I wanted to test some new recipes for cakes and pies, but my real goal was to walk through a recipe for blueberry butter that I had first seen in the book Food in Jars, by Marisa McClellan. I was attracted to the recipe because it appeared to be effortless, was cooked in a slow cooker and made a small batch of preservable fruit that was perfect for two people. It was also my token canning adventure for the summer. It turned out well, and I thought those of you who enjoy blueberries, might want to give it a try. It is not as sweet as a jam or jelly and while it is spreadable, it has an entirely different texture. You can control how thick or thin you want the spread to be by regulating the amount of time it cooks and if you process it in a boiling water bath it will keep for 6 months in your pantry. I hope some of you will give the recipe a try. Here is how it's made.

Blueberry Ice Cream Pie

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...As a bride, and for a goodly number of years thereafter, I'd spend hours in the kitchen preparing complicated meals for folks who might or might not enjoy them. It took me a while to accept the fact that some people live to eat while others eat to live, and it took me longer still to realize that I could not change the minds or habits of either group. So, while I cringed at first, I eventually begin to serve chili and pot roast to those with simpler tastes and allowed myself an occasional shortcut when I thought it would not be noticed or affect the quality of the food I was preparing. Tonight's dessert is an example of what I call my "rationalized" cooking technique. This recipe originally appeared in Better Homes and Gardens magazine in the more complicated form that appears below. I've simplified it to make it workable in the small cottage kitchen we rent for the summer months. While the almond crust in the original recipe is delicious, it is a bit of a production that is not workable in a small and poorly equipped kitchen. The solution? Substitute a ready made vanilla or graham cracker crust for the more complicated one used in the original recipe. I also freeze each layer before the next is added to assure that clear layers are formed and that the filling elements remain separated. At first glance, the recipe appears complicated. That is not the case, and while this is not a difficult dessert to prepare, it does require substantial amounts of time in the freezer. It can't be considered a last minute preparation. I even return the pie to the freezer once the final topping is in place to assure clean slices when the pie is cut. I find that the top layer bleeds if it is not frozen. As with most ice cream desserts, this one should be moved from the freezer to the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to serve it. I must tell you, that even in its simplified form this dessert is a crowd pleaser. Those of you who try either version of the pie will be happy with the results and the compliments you garner when it is served. Here is how this warm weather treat is made.

Child's Play - Blueberry- Muffin Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I made this very simple cake this weekend and while I was putting it together, it dawned on me that it would be perfect for young cooks to try. While the batter bakes in a cake pan, the recipe, which comes from Fine Cooking magazine, is really for muffins, and doing away with the potentially messy transfer of batter from bowl to muffin cups makes easy work of this treat for moms and kids alike. The cake can be made without special equipment and it comes together easily, so if you'll be spending any time in an ill-equipped summer rental kitchen, you might want to keep this recipe in mind. The cake is almost trouble free, but it wants to stick to the pan, so be sure to butter the pan well before adding batter to it, and do formally test the cake for doneness before you remove it from the oven. Mine needed 5 minutes more than the time suggested in the recipe. This really is a lovely cake and while it is perfect for breakfast or brunch, it also makes a very nice snack cake. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cake is made.

Table for Two - Lemon Blueberry Cobbler

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's really hard to find dessert recipes designed for two people. This one comes from Gourmet magazine and it was featured on one of Sara Moulton's shows over a decade ago. I still use it when I have a supply of truly flavorful, fresh or frozen berries on hand. These berries actually moved with us. Space made it necessary to be more selective with my pots and pans, and the need to winnow led to the elimination of duplicates in my collection of bakeware. I kept most of my 9-inch pans but smaller sizes were sent to the Salvation Army for redistribution. While it's embarrassing to admit, I actually had to borrow an 8-inch pan to make this dessert, providing yet another example of my penchant to demonstrate that we "grow too soon old and too late smart". I think you'll like this dessert, especially if you serve it while it is still warm. I've cut way back on the amount of cardamom originally called for in the recipe and I've slightly increased the amount of cream used to make the biscuit topper. While cardamom is lovely with the fresh lemon, you can substitute cinnamon if you have an aversion to it. I hope those of you who are cooking for two will give this recipe a try. You will not regret it. Here is how the cobbler is made.