I needed to make a dessert this weekend, but I was working under time constraints and had limited energy. Just thinking of cooking made me tired! While trying to decide what to make, I discovered angel food cakes on sale at the local market. So I decided to cheat and make a semi-homemade dessert with a store bought cake and homemade berry glaze.
Thanks to my berry patches I had most of the ingredients on hand
for the glaze. Since I grow ever bearing varieties, my daily harvest is pretty small (and some of the berries disappear between the patch and the kitchen), but it adds up. What I don’t use on picking day are washed, dried, cored, and placed in the freezer. When a recipe calls for berries I can pull out inexpensive, organic fruit from my freezer.
Before I share my recipe, I wanted to let you know that fall is a great time to buy berry plants. Nurseries will start marking down unsold plants that have stopped flowering soon, if they haven’t already. Berries are perennials and planting them now will give their roots a chance to grow and become established. Last fall I bought 12 – 1 gallon containers of strawberries when they were 75% off. Each pot contained 3 plants. I carefully divided the plants, using water to loosen the roots and planted them 12 inches apart. I covered them with straw when the temperature dipped below freezing and hoped for the best. All but one of the plants survived. This spring the plants got off to a slow start, but as you can see from the 2 gallon bags filled with strawberries they did eventually take off and produce fruit. What I don’t use in muffins, pies, and salads will be used to make jam.
Berries Supreme
4 cups strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or any combination of the 4.
zest of one orange
2 Tablespoons orange juice (I like to use the juice from the orange I zested).
1/4 – 1/2 cup of sugar
Puree the fruit in a food processor. Pour into a bowl; add orange zest, orange juice, and sugar to taste. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Serve chilled over angel food cake or pound cake. Top with whipped cream and/or fresh fruit.
I like to use the leftover glaze as a syrup on pancakes and waffles.
My mother-in-law uses kirsch (cherry brandy) instead of orange juice. Sometimes she will pour the glaze over fresh berries, and let them marinate in the refrigerator for several hours. Then she spoons the berries into a bowl and tops them with whip cream. It makes a lovely, light dessert.
Do you have a fast, easy, fall back dessert?
For delicious recipes from energetic cooks visit Mouth Watering Mondays, Tuesdays at the Table, Tasty Tuesday, and last but not least Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Cole says
That looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing not only the recipe, but the tip for buying plants in the fall so you're ready for summer to come around again. 🙂
heartnsoulcooking says
Looks and sounds WONDERFUL!!!! THANKS!!! for the recipe, Geri
Lisa@BlessedwithGrace says
MMMmmmmmm. Sounds wonderful.
Brenda says
That looks really delicious!
darnold23 says
I miss having strawberries in the garden. Thanks for the delicious post. I would love to invite you to join me for Crock Pot Wednesday at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. Please come check it out. Thanks so much for posting.
Alea says
Jane, I can't wait to hear how you use the raspberries!
Kim, You might want to try Alpine Strawberries. They can be started from seed (though it requires great patience), they do not send out runners, do well in containers, and can handle more cold than most berries. Though my husband did not think the Netherlands was colder than our area (he was there last winter when the canals were frozen), so I suggest reading up on growing berries in your zone, you maybe surprised at how well they do.
Thank you for the award! I like the name; I'll pop on over and check it out.
mub says
I'm glad you posted about the berries… I wonder if I could keep some in buckets in our storage space. I think they would definately get too cold if I left them outside in containers but now you have me thinking!
P.S. I'm passing along the Honest Scrap award to you =)
http://misadventuresofmub.blogspot.com/2009/08/honest-scrap-award.html
Ave says
Looks so good!
Struggler says
I like the sound of the kirsch version.
I'm afraid my idea of an easy dessert is washing a bunch of grapes. Fortunately Beloved Husband is very tolerant!
SnoWhite says
oooo, yum. I bet this is great over ice cream or with yogurt and granola.
The Thrifty Countrywoman says
Yummy! Fruit desserts are my favorite. My neighbor told me that I could pick the rest of here raspberries (she has about 40 bushes) so that's what I'll be up to today!
The Book Lady Online says
Oh my. This looks amazing! Thanks also for the tip about buying berry plants this time of year. We'll look for some marked down berries when we are out today. :o)