My favorite would be the wild black raspberries. You can't find those in stores around here. Much better in flavor I think than the red ones. I always make a ten inch pie. Lots of juice in those so you need a lot of thickening, near a half cup of flour or 1/4 cup of cornstarch, a good cup of sugar and butter on top with a top crust. I have several quarts that were picked recently in my freezer.

Sue

A drenched berry cake? I got this recipe from a former poster. I've made it with both cranberries and blueberries.

Drenched Berry Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries or blueberries

Sauce:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.

Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, and egg. Beat for 2 minutes or until smooth. Stir in the berries. Pour into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the sauce: Melt the butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar, cream, and vanilla bean. Stir to mix well. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean. Serve the cake with each individual slice generously topped with the warm sauce.

I'd make a sauce and pour it over vanilla ice cream.

Happy Birthday!

Are wild raspberries red like the commercial ones? We don't have wild ones here, so I am not familiar. If they are similar to the red commercial ones, this is my all time favorite raspberry recipe. It's just dreamy. Not my recipe, but very close; I found this on the Taste of Home website.

Fresh Raspberry Glace Pie

• 5 cups fresh raspberries, divided
• 1 cup water, divided
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked

Directions

• 1.
  In
  a small saucepan, combine 2/3 cup raspberries and 2/3 cup water.
  Simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Strain raspberries and discard seeds;
  set juice aside.
• 2.
  In another saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and remaining
  water until smooth. Add raspberry juice. Bring to a boil over medium
  heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the
  heat; stir in lemon juice. Cool.
• 3.
  In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and milk until smooth.
  Spread onto the bottom and up the sides of pastry shell. Fill pastry
  shell with the remaining raspberries. Slowly pour glaze over berries.
  Refrigerate until serving.
  Yield: 6-8 servings.

Happy Birthday! Personally, I'd take the blueberries and make a pan full of Grandma's Blueberry Crisp, to serve with some vanilla ice cream, but that's me, I love the stuff. Elery, however, would certainly lean to the raspberries, especially a raspberry pie.

Grandma's Blueberry Crisp

3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, unsweetened
2 tbls lemon juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

.
Heat oven to 375. Arrange berries in ungreased square baking dish (8 inch)
and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine remaining ingredients until crumbly.
(I use a pastry blender, grandma used two knives). Crumble topping over
berries and bake until topping is lightly browned and berries are hot, about
30 minutes. Makes 4-6 servings.

This is not very sweet, which I like because I like blueberries better than I like sugar. It doesn't make a huge amount, so I double this and it still comes out good. Plus blueberries are low in calories, have lots of fiber and no fat, contain antioxidants C, E and beta
carotene and have been found to be as helpful in urinary tract health as
cranberries. That's why I need ice cream with them, to keep them from being too darned healthy. :-)

Annie

Happy birthday

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7048/raspberry-tart-with-almond-pastry

Thanks for all the scrumptious suggestions so far! I'd like to try them all at some point.

My BD is Sat. & DH has scheduled Friday off so we can take a day trip to the King Arthur's flagship store in Vermont. The last time I went was for my 50th, 10 yrs. ago - and they've completely redone the place. Looking forward to that & can pick up anything I need to bake up any of these delicious recipes!

I'd make either a raspberry pie or a blueberry pie. Matthew never liked cake as a child so his birthday cake was always a birthday "pie".

Blueberry Tart/Pie

==================

I've made this recipe for years. I think it was from an early 1980's Canadian Living Magazine.

4 cups fresh blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh)

milk, sugar

pastry for double crust

Line pie plate with pastry.

Mix together blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, flour and cinnamon (if using)lemon juice and melted butter; pour into pie crust. Cover with pastry and cut a few slashes in top; or cut pastry into strips and prepare lattice top. Seal edges well and flute. Brush lightly with milk and sprinkle with

sugar. Bake in 425°F oven for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F and bake about 40 minutes longer or until crust is golden.

Butter-Lard Pastry

==================

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup lard (or shortening- Crisco)

5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water

(note: if using for a sweet pie, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar.)

Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard.

(Use a box grater and grate the butter /lard into flour.)

Raspberry Pie

=============

Or tart.

The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 pastry for 9-inch (23cm) Double Crust

4 cups (1 L) raspberries

1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar

3 tbsp (45 mL) all-purpose flour

1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice

1 tbsp (15 mL) butter

milk or cream

Sprinkle granulated sugar

Preparation:

Line 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate with pastry.

In large bowl, combine raspberries, sugar, flour and lemon juice. Fill pastry shell with raspberry mixture; dot filling with butter.

Moisten edges of bottom crust. Cover with top crust. Trim and flute edges. Cut steam vents. Brush top with milk or cream; sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.

Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 45 to 60 minutes longer or until raspberries are tender, filling thickened and crust golden.

I also use raspberries and blackberries interchangably. This is my favourite cobbler recipe.

Sometimes served with just whipped cream or ice cream. Or with a vanilla or white chocolate sauce.

Adapted from Recipe found on the Betty Crocker Website
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup of milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blackberries
extra sugar to sprinkle on top

Heat oven to 350°F.
Melt butter in small baking dish.
Mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour in melted butter and stir to blend. Pour back into baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries on top and press down slightly. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 45 to 50 minutes or until done.

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream. Or drizzle with Vanilla cream sauce or a white chocolate cream sauce.

NOTE: Substitute Blueberries, Raspberries, Peaches, etc....

Vanilla Cream Sauce

Source: Lori

This sauce is like a white caramel sauce.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Melt butter and add sugar and cream. Add vanilla bean. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove vanilla bean and serve warm over Bread and Butter Pudding, Gingerbread cake, cobblers, etc...

My favorite "cake" is cheesecake. This recipe is the one my sister gave me in 1973. I've made it for many, many special events since then. The original recipe's crust was made from Nabisco's Zwieback Toasts that is not made anymore (teething biscuits) and since I now have a gluten free bakery, I make my own zwieback, but gluten free or regular graham crackers work just fine.

Sour Cream Walnut Cheesecake - Gluten Free or Not

Mix together and press into an 8" spring-form pan

1C zwieback crumbs or graham crackers, 2T sugar, 2T coarsely or finely chopped walnuts, 2T melted butter.

In a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat until fluffy two 8-oz pkg cream cheese. Gradually add 1/2 C sugar and 1t vanilla extract.

Beat in one at a time - 3 eggs.

Turn into crust and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 40 minutes or until the center is firm when jiggled. Remove to a wire rack and let rest 5 minutes.

In a small bowl mix 1C sour cream, 1/4C sugar and 1/2t vanilla extract.

Spread topping on cake and sprinkle with 2T chopped walnuts. Return to oven for 5 minutes to set the topping.

Let cool and then refrigerate at least 4 hours.

If you have that many raspberries, a nice sherbet would go along with this as it has the tang and not as much sweetness as raspberry ice cream. Although that ice cream would be great with a dark fudge chocolate cake.

Happy birthday amck2!!

Nancy

It's peach season so I would make a peach pie.

I would make a lemon curd tart and put the berries on top. I have Meyer lemons that are getting ripe right now, and so it is lemon season for me, although that season used to be in January. Anyway, I am planning on making a lemon curd tart to use up some of the lemons I just picked. I think this is a great use of berries.

I did not know it was peach season, but I only like peaches in ice cream.

I much prefer pies to cakes and have made quite a few pies recently but I have not made a cake for quite some time. When I do make cakes, I tend to make pound or chiffon cakes. I think cakes are boring, compared to pies and tarts.

Oh, and Happy Birthday!!!

I'd take the blueberries and make a pan full of Grandma's Blueberry Crisp, to serve with some vanilla ice cream, but that's me, I love the stuff.

We do too! ;)

Lars, I don't care for pies, but occasionally make a tart. Last winter was the first for my Meyer lemon to provide a nice harvest. Made curd a couple times and used some in this tart. It was pretty good.

Lemon Tart with Chocolate Almond Crust

The wild raspberries that grow in our areal are black. I have those as well as tame black raspberries that we planted. I used to have some red but much prefer the black ones. The tastes is better in our opinion, :) .

Sue in Central Indiana

Are black raspberries good raw, I mean do people use them raw like they do red ones? I like blackberries raw, one or two at a time, but they really need to be cooked to enhance the flavor, imho. But I love raw red raspberries, on cereal or a bowl full. do people eat black raspberries like that? We also have golden raspberries here; not sure how common those are other places.

Oh yes, black raspberries are very good just picking and eating them, putting them in a bowl with milk or cream or anyway you want to have them. The gold ones are not quite so common. I used to have a few of those wild in my woods, but no more.

Sue

Thanks for the info marilyn_sue.

Cindy, I don't think I've ever put lemon and chocolate together, but I like them both, so I don't know why. Now I have to try that. Of course, when I make lemon curd it seldom makes it as far as a tart, it gets eaten with a spoon like pudding most times!

Annie

Cindy, love the look of your tart!

Thank you again for all the recipes and well wishes. As long as berries are in season, I will continue to try them out. We have a parade of guests scheduled to visit through Labor Day who will be grateful to sample them ;)

I ended up going with Olychick's Fresh Raspberry Glacé Pie. I had a barely-worked, perfectly crimped crust in the pie pan ready to chill before baking. I tipped it sideways over the sink to brush off a tiny bit of flour that was on it and..plunk..it plopped out of the plate. I made a quick save & caught it in my hand but reworking it back onto the plate made it look less than perfect.

Nonetheless, it was delicious and met with rave reviews from my family who came to celebrate!