Raspberry Lemon Coffeecake

So in Tuesday's post I mentioned turning an old favorite muffin recipe into a scrumptious raspberry coffeecake.  It makes such a great coffeecake that I will probably not make it as muffins again, but one never knows.

The first time I baked this,  I just mixed all of the raspberries into the batter.  The second time around, I looked more closely at the muffin recipe and realized half of the berries were to be sprinkled on each layer.  I also had the inspiration to add some lemon curd.  I love raspberry and lemon flavors together, and I had part of a jar of lemon curd in the fridge just begging to be used up in some delightful baked good.  

So without further ado, here is the recipe:

RASPBERRY LEMON COFFEECAKE

Coffeecake batter:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter
1 egg
1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon curd
1 c. whole raspberries ( I use frozen ones) divided use

Streusel topping:
1/4 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 Tblsp. melted butter

For  batter, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, and egg. Stir in the flour mixture.

Spread half of the batter in a greased 9-inch square pan.  Place teaspoonfuls of lemon curd here and there over the batter, spacing them as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle half of the raspberries evenly over the curd/batter in pan.

Carefully spread remaining batter over the first layers, then sprinkle the remaining half cup of raspberries over the top.

For topping, combine the topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over the batter/berries in pan.

Bake at 375º for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done.

 Yield: 1 9-inch square coffeecake

Hope you enjoy this coffeecake if you try baking it!  We thought it was fantastic.

* Oh, and if you wanted to make this gluten free, you could do as I did and use the 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour for the cake part, and brown rice flour in the streusel topping. *

Wednesday Medley for February 6

 

 Yes, it's Wednesday again, so it's time for the Wednesday Medley hosted by Terri at Your Friend from Florida where  Terri asks the questions and bloggers come up with their own answers. 

 Wouldn't you like to join in?  It's easy and fun.  Just head over to Terri's blog to get the questions, then copy, paste, and answer them on your own blog.  Then you can go back to Terri's and link up, if you like.   Here goes!  But did you know that this is

NATIONAL FROZEN YOGURT DAY?

Yes, indeed -- National Frozen Yogurt Day is observed annually on February 6th.

Frozen yogurt sales are increasing every year as people want a healthier alternative to ice cream. The explosion of flavors and topping choices add to the popularity of frozen yogurt.

Frozen yogurt was first developed 1970 in the United States as a soft-serve treat produced by H.P Hood called Frogurt. Humphreys and Dannon soon followed with their own versions of the treat. Its popularity grew in the 80s, mostly due to frozen yogurts “health food” status. Ice cream manufacturers soon caught on, offering low-fat options.

Frozen yogurt is again making a comeback as consumers have begun to prefer the tart taste of yogurt.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Give the following recipes a try:

Creamy Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
Cherry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt
Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

Use #NationalFrozenYogurtDay to post on social media.

HISTORY

Within our research, we were unable to identify the creator of National Frozen Yogurt Day. 

Terri says:

Frozen Yogurt Day was the most fun of the choices for today's first question.  I have no idea why the creator chose a winter day to celebrate a frozen dessert, but here we are!!  Let's talk about food today (one of my favorite subjects)!

1.  Today, Wednesday, February 6th, is Frozen Yogurt Day!  A cold dessert on what must be a very cold day for most of you reading this today!  Do you enjoy frozen yogurt?  Does it matter what the weather is?  Share with us your favorite flavor and/or topping, please!!

 Actually, I'm reading this on Tuesday and it is above 60º in New Hampshire.  Pretty amazing for February.  I bought some of those Yasso Greek frozen yogurt bars recently ... got the coffee flavor with chocolate pieces in it.  They are very good!

A "Snowball" from our favorite summer ice cream place

2.  What food do you know you shouldn't eat but can't help yourself?

Hmmm ...good question!  Realistically, anything containing sugar.  Deep-fried foods, too.  I don't cook those at home, but we took someone out to lunch on Sunday and I had fried shrimp.  So good.

3.  If your life was a meal, what kind of meal would it be?

That's an interesting question!  I really don't know how to answer it.  I would like for it to be a balanced meal, I guess, with wholesome things that are good for me as well as sweet moments and treats.

4.  Do you like spicy food?  Why or why not?  What is the spiciest food you have ever eaten?

I do enjoy spicy food.   Not sure why.  I just like the way it tastes.  I like spicy Southwestern flavors as well as Cajun flavors and Indian food.  I think the spiciest food I have ever eaten was at an authentic Mexican restaurant in Colorado.  I remember breaking out in a sweat.

5.  (Most of you know I have been sick with a cold.) What food do you eat or crave when you have a bad cold?

Chicken soup.  I will even prepare it myself if need be.  But thankfully I haven't had a cold in a long time.  A memory along the line of what we eat or crave when sick: years ago, I think it was the first year we were married, I was really sick -- guess it was probably the flu, now that I think about how bad it was.  I actually spent several days in bed as it was the only warm place in the house.  I was just getting back on my feet but not wanting to think about cooking, when my elderly great-aunt showed up at our front door one day.  She had a grocery bag containing a large Italian sub for my hubby and me to share, and a box of frozen jelly donuts.  Sort of an odd combination, but it sure hit the spot.  Her thoughtfulness -- on a minuscule fixed income -- was even nicer.

6.  Please tell us something random about your week (and maybe it will involve food).

The weather  is probably the top story.   It is VERY random indeed, with the last two days being unseasonably warm.  Snow and sleet predicted for Thursday I think, and then Friday back up into the mid-forties.

Here are a couple of random food thoughts: 1) We have several folks over for supper and a Bible study most Friday nights.  Usually I start thinking about what to serve by Tuesday or Wednesday.  I really enjoy feeding people.  Haven't decided  on this week's menu yet ...

2) There's a half jar of lemon curd left in the fridge from making these: Lemon Thumbprint Cookies at Christmas time.  Pretty sure I need to make another batch of these scrumptious treats to use it up!

That's a wrap for this week's Medley!

Blueberry Lemon Cream Pie

I wish that I had thought to take a picture of these pies ... but sadly, I did not.  Back a couple of weeks ago when I made a blueberry buckle, I came across this recipe:Lemon Blueberry Cream Pie on a blog called Something Borrowed, Something Blueberry.  I saved the recipe because it sounded so good.

Well, let me tell you, it IS good!  I made two of these pies for Sunday's potluck at church.  The recipe stated that the pie was best served the day it was made, but I couldn't do that, as I needed to make them the day before.  The only thing I did on Sunday morning was to make some lemon-flavored whipped cream to put on top.

I made one of the pies with a homemade graham cracker crust (baked) and the other with a gluten-free baked pie shell, also homemade.  I only tasted the gluten-free one, but the other pie must have been fine too, because not a scrap of either one was left.  This is definitely one of the most delicious pies I've ever tasted.

Basically, the filling is similar to a lemon meringue pie filling, only with blueberries and sour cream added.  Don't try this with frozen blueberries, as I fear the results would be very disappointing.

The only thing I did differently was to use whole eggs instead of egg yolks -- long ago, my mother taught me that a whole egg could be substituted for 2 egg yolks.  This pie calls for 3 yolks, so I probably wouldn't have attempted this substitution except for the fact that I was making two pies.  Thus, I would need 6 yolks, so I successfully substituted 3 whole eggs.

This substitution did make the filling a paler yellow, and I probably would have added a drop or two of yellow food coloring if I hadn't been out of that.

If you are making only one pie, go ahead and use the 3 yolks and find another use for the whites.

For the top, you could use cool whip, but I would suggest real whipped cream.  I gilded the lily even further by making it a lemon flavored whipped cream.  For the 2 pies, I whipped 2 cups of cream, adding in 1/2 cup confectioners sugar gradually after the cream reached soft peaks.  I continued beating until the cream was in stiff peaks, adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of vanilla and 1/2 tsp. of pure lemon extract.  (If I'd had another lemon, I would have used a couple teaspoons of lemon zest instead of extract.)  If you are making only one pie, simply halve all the quantities in these whipped cream directions.) I spread the whipped cream all over the top of each pie.

People were raving over this pie!  And my hubby and I were very sorry there was none left over.

Lovely lemon dessert

This dessert recipe is one I've made many times over the years.  It would make a really nice Easter dessert because it is pretty, somewhat light, and has the bright flavor of lemon.  I made it yesterday, though, for a potluck lunch at church where a ministry team of teenagers would be eating with us.  Here's the recipe if you are interested:

LEMON AMBROSIA CAKE

1 (18.25 oz) lemon cake mix, plus the eggs and oil it calls for
1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup sugar
2 (3.5 oz.) packages cook-and-serve lemon pudding and pie filling, plus egg yolks, water and sugar called for
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup flaked coconut

     Bake the cake as directed in a 13x9x2” pan.  Combine the pineapple and sugar in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and boil 5 minutes.
    Pour pineapple mixture over the hot cake.  Cool pineapple-topped cake in pan on rack.
     Cook the lemon pudding mixes as directed, with the egg yolks and water called for.  Pour the cooked pudding over the cake and chill until firm.
     Whip the cream until medium-stiff peaks form, gradually adding the confectioners sugar (which serves as a stabilizer).  Beat in the vanilla.  Spread the whipped cream over the pudding.  Sprinkle the coconut over the whipped cream and refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.
 Yield:  12 servings.

 This cake has been a family favorite for years.  I copied it years ago off the radio cooking show, Gus Saunders' Yankee Kitchen. Although the dessert is easy to make, it is somewhat time-consuming because the cake needs to cool and then chill in between the different steps of the recipe.  I'll run through those with pictures and captions.  (All photos were taken with my Kindle and so the quality is not of the best, but you will get the idea, I'm sure.)

Mix the cake with eggs, oil, and water as the package directs.  I used coconut oil because that's what I had.  Bake the cake as usual.

When the cake is done, put the undrained pineapple in a saucepan with a cup or less of sugar; bring to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes and pour over the hot cake.  Let cool completely.

When the cake is cooled, cook the 2 packages of lemon pudding as the package directs.  The kind I used called for egg yolks and water, and I think some sugar too.  When  a recipe calls for 2 egg yolks, I always substitute a whole egg (unless there is a meringue involved to use up the whites).  Spread the pudding over the cooled cake.  Place the dessert in the refrigerator until the pudding is cold.  You can even chill it overnight at this point.

Whip cream with confectioners sugar and vanilla.

Spread whipped cream over the chilled pudding layer.

Sprinkle coconut  over the whipped cream.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut in squares of desired size to serve.  Enjoy!

Hope your family enjoys this recipe if you try it!

Lemon Trifle .... the perfect springtime dessert

Photo from Taste of Home

I've been trying recipes like crazy lately, and I so need to get some recipe reviews and links posted.  I decided to start with this one since it is relatively fresh in my mind.

Over the weekend we celebrated my daughter's birthday with her and her wonderful family.  I offered to bring something and ended up bringing a potato salad (her hubby was grilling chicken) and a lemon dessert.  She loves lemon and it is such a wonderfully refreshing flavor for springtime.

I'd been looking through some older issues of Taste of Home, and in the  2008 April/May issue, which featured a lemon recipe contest,  I found this one: Lemon Bar Trifle.

Well.  All I can say is "Wow!" It's a perfect springtime dessert.  Of course, being the inveterate recipe tweaker that I am (more about that in a future post), I did change a few things.  In making the lemon filling, I knew I could skip the time-consuming step of cooking the mixture and then adding the beaten egg yolks to the hot mixture.  My lemon meringue pie recipe (Betty Crocker) has you beat the egg yolks together with the water and then stir it all into the cornstarch/sugar mixture before cooking.  It works great and so that's what I did with this filling.  I also eliminated the all-purpose flour in the filling and just used an additional 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch.

A friend had given me Meyer lemons and that's what I used for most of the rind and juice in the filling.  I did use one regular lemon because I had one that needed to be used up.

In the cream cheese layer, I cut the confectioners sugar back to a cup.  Three cups would be way too sweet.  And I also whipped a pint of heavy cream to substitute for the whipped topping, adding a bit of confectioners sugar and vanilla.

I don't own a trifle bowl so just put this in my largest glass bowl.  It looked so pretty and tasted even
 better.  I will definitely be making this wonderful dessert again!

I'm sharing today with Sandi's No Place Like Home and Bernideen’s Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party.