Berry Pirouette Recipes

CHARLOTTE RUSSE DE RASPBERRY

Steps:

• Grease 9-inch springform pan with butter. Split ladyfingers lengthwise. Sprinkle cut surfaces with liqueur. Place ladyfingers around sides and in bottom of buttered pan (cut sides facing center and top of pan).
• In small saucepan, combine water and gelatin; let stand 2 minutes to soften. Heat mixture over low heat until gelatin dissolves, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice and raspberries; beat with wire whisk until frothy. Refrigerate 15 minutes or just until mixture begins to thicken.
• Gently fold cooled raspberry mixture into whipped cream. Pour into ladyfinger-lined pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or until mixture is set.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. Place butter in shallow baking pan. Place pan in oven for 1 to 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Add almonds; stir until well coated. Bake at 350°F. for 8 to 10 minutes or until almonds are light golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar; stir to coat. Cool completely.
• In small bowl, combine 1/2 cup whipping cream and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Garnish top of dessert with whipped cream and sugared almonds. Store in refrigerator.

TRIPLE BERRY PIE

Steps:

• Cook berries: Add berries, sugar and lemon juice to a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Simmer, until warm and juicy, about 5-10 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. (You can taste it at this point and see if it's sweet enough for your liking. I don't like to make mine too sweet, but if you want it sweeter you can add 1/4 cup more sugar.)
• Thicken filling: Spoon out about 1/2 cup of the juice from the pan into a bowl. Stir cornstarch into the juice until smooth.
• Bring pot of berries back to a simmer and slowly pour in the cornstarch. Gently stir mixture (being careful not to mash the berries), until thickened, about 2-5 minutes.
• Cool and add to pie shell. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell (in a 9 in deep dish pan).
• Add lattice top or a whole top with holes pricked on top for steam to escape. (See directions for lattice crust below).
• Pinch the edges of the top and bottom pie crusts together and crimp the edge, if you like. Brush a thin layer of beaten egg white over the top of the pie and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-45 minutes. Check it after about 25 minutes and place a piece of tinfoil over it if the top crust is getting too brown.
• Remove to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for several hours. Once cooled completely, you can cut into it or cover it and refrigerate it overnight to serve the next day.

MIXED BERRY PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough into 2 portions so that 1 is slightly larger than the other. Shape each into a disk. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., For filling, in a large saucepan, whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt, water and, if desired, cinnamon until smooth; add blueberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly., Preheat oven to 400°. Gently fold raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and lemon juice into blueberry mixture. On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger portion of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate. Add filling; dot with butter., Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; cut into 1/2-in.-wide strips. Arrange over filling in a lattice pattern. Trim and seal strips to edge of bottom crust; flute edge. Bake 10 minutes. , Reduce oven setting to 350°; bake 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.