Dessert to End a Bad Day: Raspberry & Blackberry Pudding

Our weekend started with a small disaster. We had the heaviest and hardest rainfall since we bought our house in 2007 and the deluge of rain and hail that pelted our little home resulted in a sheet of water running down one of our walls. All before 10am. No, it was not an auspicious start to our day. However, the damage appears to be minimal and once we got that cleaned up, I was intent on shaking off that memory with something decidedly a little more upbeat. And what is more upbeat than a lemon-based dessert?

I had been craving lemon squares lately but when we saw luscious shiny blackberries and juicy red raspberries at our green grocer, I had to re-think dessert. If anything was going to brighten our mood today, this dessert had to be it. This dessert absolutely fit the bill.... it was gooey, satisfying, and luscious but also fresh and easy on the calories (for once!) since it's not laden down with delicious cream or butter. (I love my high-fat dairy, but sometimes it's nice to take a break from the calories.)

The dessert is a cross between an angel food cake and custard. The egg whites bake nicely into a tall, light as a feather cake and underneath is a molten, clean tasting, lemony custard. The addition of the fresh fruit lightens this dessert and really makes you feel like it's almost summer. It really is a dessert to end a bad day.



This isn't a pudding the way North Americans tend to think of puddings: creamy, smooth, and rich. This pudd is more in the English-style. Slightly cakey, a little bit custardy but just as satisfying as its North American counterpart.


Raspberry & Blackberry Pudding



3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
Pinch salt
1 lemon (zested and juiced)
1 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk

1/2 pint raspberries & blackberries, each

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 4 1-cup ramekins. Place a mixture of berries in each ramekin so that the bottom of the ramekin is covered. Save leftover berries for garnish.
2. Beat egg whites in a large bowl until white peaks form.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk in lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, and milk. Whisk in egg yolks until smooth and creamy. Gently fold whipped whites into lemon mixture. Pour into each ramekin.
4. Place the ramekins in a shallow baking dish. Open oven and pull out bottom rack. Place the dish with the baking tray in the center of the rack. Carefully pour hot water (tap is okay) until the water reaches about 1 inch up the sides of the inner baking dish. Bake until top is lightly browned, approximately 20-25 minutes. (If you decide to use one large baking dish, it should take about 30-40 minutes.)
5. Garnish with leftover berries.

I think this tastes best coming straight out of the oven. If you are serving this to guests, I would not whip the egg whites. I'd keep the egg whites and the prepared batter in the fridge until you're ready to go. Then preheat the oven, and whip the egg whites. Mix with batter and portion into ramekins. Bake per instructions.
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Grateful Dinner Guests Bring Dessert: Raspberry & Asian Pear Crumble

One of the nicest gestures of friendship is the invitation to dinner. Friends who invite to their home for a meal are the friends I happen to like the most. I love having a home-cooked meal prepared for me. As much as I love cooking, eating at someone else’s home offers an introduction to foods I have never had before or a new preparation on a tried and true classic.

However, having a mild obsession with food has its drawbacks. My husband thinks I am a difficult dinner guest to please. But I don’t think so. I do like great food and I have a high standard that I set for myself, but I am always pleased to be invited for a meal and I appreciate any and all efforts our hosts put forward in creating our meal.

Maybe this comes across as showy or “a one upmanship” type thing, but I usually like to bring a little something. Not to display my prowess in the kitchen but as a thank you for the invitation. My lovely neighbour, Jules, invited me over for a girl’s night three weeks ago and after learning that some of the girls were going to show up with bubbly, I thought that I might bring some rose syrup for our drinks. Well, it turned out that all the girls ended up bring beer, and I was the only one with bubbles and rose syrup in hand. Jules laughed and quickly poured me a flute joking that I was being a show off. I realized that maybe she would have appreciated it more if I had brought this dessert instead. It’s my no fail, dead-simple dinner invitation crumble.

The fruits are inter-changeable to reflect your own tastes and what is in season. I like this with apples (or course), strawberries and rhubarb, apricots and almonds, and peaches and raspberries.

3 half-pints raspberries
1 large Asian pear
¼ c light brown sugar
1 tbsp corn starch

4 tbsp butter
½ c flour
1c quick cook oatmeal
¼ c sugar (dememerra)

1. Peel and chop asian pear into small bite size pieces, about the same size as your raspberries.
2. Tumble washed raspberries and asian pear and into a 8 x 8 baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar and cornstarch. (I have added a little bit of sugar here because I find raspberries are slightly tart and the sugar mellows it out abit. This is not a super sweet dish)
3. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Mix flour, oatmeal and sugar. Blend in butter until it resembles coarse meal. Don’t fully incorporate the butter, you still want to see the the little flecks and bits of butter embedded within the mixture.
5. Spoon topping over the prepared fruit. Cover most of the fruit with the crumble mixture, but I always leave alittle around the edges to allow the fruit to bubble up.
6. Place the baking dish on top of a baking sheet (in case of spills) and place in the oven for 35 minutes. Check to see if the crumble has a golden crown and if the fruit has bubbled up a bit. If so, remove from the oven and cool slightly. If not, leave in for another five minutes, check.
7. Cool slightly and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.