Raspberries

Raspberries are my husband Dave’s favorite fruit. I think. We’ve been married just under two years and we are still learning each others likes and dislikes but I think I can safely say raspberries rank right up there on his top ten list.

Early this past March my cousin Kay told us that she was going to divide some of her red raspberries and asked if we would like a few plants. Dave immediately said yes and offered to help me prepare a bed for them. We planted about six plants. I didn’t expect to have any fruit on the canes this summer but much to our surprise I have been picking a handful of the ruby gems every few days. Even though our canes are young we have an abundant supply of berries because Kay, knowing Dave’s berry preference, arrives on our door step with cardboard flats filled with the fragile, juicy jewels when her plants are at their peak of production.

I spread fresh berries on a sheet pan and freeze them as in the photo below. When they are frozen I put them in freezer bags and return them to the freezer. Then it's easy to use part of the bag for a recipe.

Dave puts fresh red raspberries in one of my grandmother’s Depression glass custard cups, smothers them with heavy cream and devours them. Between making happy noises he reminisces about the summers he spent at his family’s cabin in Canada where his grandmother and aunt introduced him to the pleasures of fresh berries with cream. Should there be any fresh berries left after Dave is finished I set aside enough for this simple but amazing cake recipe. I found this recipe in a magazine many years ago and make it whenever I have a lot of fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/3 cup butter, at room temperature

¾ cup brown sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups fresh raspberries, whole, unsweetened

Glaze:

1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together the flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. With a mixer cream the softened butter then add the sugar gradually, beating well after each addition until mixture is fluffy and light. Stir in egg; beat one minute. Combine milk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk mixture, beating well after each addition. Spread the batter in the pan. Sprinkle the berries evenly over the top of the batter. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched and a tooth pick comes out clean. While the cake is baking combine the glaze ingredients. Allow the cake to cool 5 minutes then spread the glaze over the cake. Serve warm.

The original recipe says this makes 16-20 servings but I have yet to meet the person who can stop at one piece.