Fanfares herald June’s strawberries because they are the first berries of the year, but the really splendiferous berry month is July. Raspberries and blueberries vie for top spot in the popularity stakes, but blackberries ripen, too, and local growers now cultivate formerly hard-to-find berries such as black currants, red currants and gooseberries.
Though berries are often interchangeable in recipes, especially for baked goods, all of them anchor beloved, even classic, recipes that show them to perfection. Blueberries star in muffins and pies, black currants in jam and drinks such as cassis, raspberries in classics such as Scottish cranachan and English summer pudding, and red currants in Austrian Linzertorte.
So, July brings lots of ways to use its berry harvests. Here are just a few.
Ingredients:
⅓ cup dried (or ½ cup fresh) lavender florets, plus lavender blooms for garnish if available
1 cup blueberries, plus extra for garnish
cup sugar, plus 2 T
¾ cup white wine
1 package plain gelatin
4 oz. mascarpone
½ cup heavy cream
Be sure to use either culinary lavender (available from supermarket bulk bins or spice sections) or fresh unsprayed lavender from a garden. If using fresh, strip the florets from the stems. Put the lavender in a saucepan with the blueberries, ⅓ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Put over low heat and bring to a simmering point. Stir, mashing the blueberries to break them up, and simmer for three to four minutes.
Strain through a fine sieve, pushing down on the berries and lavender to get as much liquid as possible. Set aside. (You can leave it for up to 24 hours in the fridge.)
Put the wine in a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Stir to help the ingredients dissolve, then put the bowl in a pan with water that comes halfway up the sides and place it on a low heat, stirring until the liquid has thinned and looks clear. Remove from the heat.
Mix the mascarpone and the cream, then mix in the gelatin and half the lavender-blueberry liquid. Stir well to blend, then divide among four ramekins or glasses. Let set (about two to three hours).
Just before serving time, make a syrup by bringing the remaining lavender-blueberry liquid to a simmer and stirring in the remaining two teaspoons of sugar. Continue simmering until it has reduced by a quarter. Let it cool.
For serving, if you have used ramekins, turn the panna cotta out of them and onto individual plates. Pour a little syrup around them and scatter on some of the remaining blueberries. Garnish with a lavender bloom if you have them.
If you have used glasses, simply top each panna cotta with syrup and blueberries.
Sour cream makes this coffeecake delicately tender. You can make it with mixed berries as in this recipe, or with just raspberries, blueberries or blackberries. Later in the year, cranberry sauce is a good option, as are frozen berries.
For the berry filling:
1½ pints of mixed fresh berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and black currants, or 1¾ cups frozen mixed berries, defrosted
4 T sugar or to taste
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T cornstarch
For the cake:
1 stick (4 oz.) room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
1½ tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
2 tsp. almond extract
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup sliced or slivered almonds
2 tsp. confectioners’ sugar
To make the filling, wash the berries. Put them in a small saucepan with two tablespoons of water. Cover and cook over low heat until the juice is running (about three to four minutes).
Mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water to make a thin paste. Stir in a little of the hot berry mixture, then add it to the pan of berries along with the sugar and vanilla extract, and cook with the lid off for three more minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Cool to room temperature before using.
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the base of an eight-inch square cake pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides with butter.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and pale. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Beat a couple of tablespoons of this mixture into the butter mixture, along with an egg. Repeat this step with the other egg and another couple of tablespoons of flour.
Now add half the sour cream, the almond extract and about half the remaining flour mixture. Mix until blended, then add the rest of the sour cream and flour mixture. Blend well.
Spread half of this in the prepared pan. Spread the cooled berries on top. Now spread on the rest of the cake batter. (It may seem a bit sparse but it rises.)
Sprinkle the almonds evenly on top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until light gold, and a skewer poked into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Sift confectioners’ sugar on top for serving.
This simple dessert doesn’t look fancy, but it’s an English summer classic that virtually everyone likes.
Ingredients:
2 cups washed gooseberries
½ cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
Top and tail the gooseberries by snipping off the dried blossom and stalk ends. Put them in a pan with two tablespoons of water and the sugar, cover with a lid and cook over low heat until the berries have collapsed and the skins are tender (about 15 minutes).
Mix the egg yolk with the vanilla in a small bowl and pour in about half a cup of hot liquid from the gooseberries. Stir and return this to the pan over the low heat. Continue stirring for a minute or two until the juice looks thickened.
Remove from the heat and chill until thick. Whip the heavy cream and fold it into the gooseberries so you have a mixture that is as thick as yogurt. Pour into individual dishes such as sorbet glasses and serve with crisp cookies (those with a dark chocolate filling or frosting are especially good) or sprinkled with grated dark chocolate.
Adding toasted oatmeal to berries and cream may sound a little odd, but many northern countries have such mixtures. Swiss muesli with oats, apples and berries is the best known. Marjapuro is a Finnish version with lingonberries — a cranberry cousin. Cranachan, though, comes from Scotland, which is famous for its raspberries. It’s also famous for oats and whisky, which all appear in this dessert.
Ingredients:
2 T oatmeal, either medium or rolled oats (not the one-minute sort)
1 pint raspberries, plus more for garnish
1 T sugar
1½ cups heavy cream
1 T honey
2 T Scotch whisky
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scatter the oatmeal onto a pie plate and bake in the oven for three to five minutes, or until it smells toasted and has turned a shade darker. (It can burn quickly so watch and smell carefully). Set aside to cook.
Crush half the raspberries and sieve them to remove the seeds. Mix in the sugar to form a purée.
Whip the cream until it’s very thick. Stir in the toasted oats and then the honey and whisky. Taste and add more of either if you would like. Fold in half the remaining raspberries.
Serve in four wine glasses or something similar. Put in a layer of the cream mixture, then a layer of berries and top with another cream mixture layer and just a berry or two. Serve at room temperature rather than chilled because this allows the flavors to shine.