Wild Blackberry Streusel Tarts

The dog days of summer seem to be behind us! Today it finally rained and was cool enough to turn the oven on. 

I've been dying to try out a blackberry pie recipe I've been concocting in my head while watching the blackberries ripen in the hot sun, so today was a perfect day to make them while the berries were fresh and ripe and so juicy!

I'd planned to make this into a full pie recipe, but could only find frozen tart shells in my freezer...so why not experiment, they are better for the waistline when they're small anyway!

The juice of this filling when it was all mixed together was so amazing I didn't want to waste any and over-filled them a bit, but I just couldn't resist, I wanted to drink it!

Wild Blackberry Streusel Tarts

24  Tart Shells (defrosted if frozen)

4-5 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen (thawed, rinsed, drained, dried)

3/4 cup sugar (less if you have exceptionally sweet berries)

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp almond extract

3-4 Tbsp cornstarch (3 for wild berries, 4 for very ripe/frozen)

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Flour

2 Tbsp Butter, softened

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Combine blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, almond extract and cornstarch in a bowl and gently mix the ingredients. Spoon filling into uncooked (thawed if needed) tart shells (about 3/4 full to prevent overfilling like I did!). 

For the Streusel topping, combine brown sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together with a fork until butter is completely combined with sugar and becomes crumbly. Top each tart with a generous spoonful of Streusel topping.

Bake in a 400 F oven for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown around the edges and the filling becomes bubbly & starts to rise and is no longer liquidy. 

Let cool before serving (or it will be really hard to get out of the tins). Perfect with ice cream or a dollop of whip cream!

Yum.

Happy Berry Picking (and watch out for those nasty thorns!)

~ Adel ~

Roger's Butter Icing

I don't normally post other people's recipes, but today I couldn't find my usual icing recipe for sugar cookies because they changed the bag...so this is just a record for me and for anyone else who likes the Classic Butter Icing from the back of the Rogers Icing Sugar bag in Canada.

1/2 cup Butter, softened

2 cups Icing Sugar*

2 tsp Vanilla**

2 Tbsp Milk

1 cup Icing Sugar

1-2 Tbsp Milk

*for chocolate icing, add 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder with the 1st addition of icing sugar.

**to change the flavour of the icing, replace Vanilla with peppermint, almond, coconut, etc

Combine butter and 2 cups of icing sugar with a mixer. Add vanilla and milk and mix until smooth. Add remaining icing sugar and 1-2 Tbsp of milk to desired consistency. Add food colouring as desired.

Makes enough icing for 2-8" round cakes.

~Adel~

Browned Butter Banana Bars & Frosting

I make at least one batch of banana muffins every week, so this week I decided to try something new, inspired by a recipe I saw on a friend's Facebook post. Why not just make it with browned butter instead of plain old regular butter! Well, now I'm smitten with browned butter, so I decided to try making one of my favourite banana bread recipes as a bar and use brown butter instead. It was so delicious I had to share!

Jam Lattice Bars

Mother's Day.
It is a special day for me, I was born on Mother's day - the first child and grandchild in my family (on both sides) to top it off, it was also my grandparent's anniversary that day.

Now that I'm a mother, it continues to remind me of where I came from and the long line of women who came before me.

Me & my grandma, great-grandma & mom at my grandparent's 25th anniversary a few days after I was born.

Today, I'm honouring my mother and all the women who came before her.. 

Grandma Ladybug is a wonderful baker (from a long line of wonderful bakers). If you know her, you've probably been blessed with some baking! She routinely brings baking to the older people in her community and bakes up a storm for every church function. If she's coming to visit, she probably has an armful of baking with her. 

Grandma Ladybug is one of my favourite people in the whole world. I love my mom, she is incredibly generous, kind, helpful, strong, hard working and though she has not had an easy life, has remained joyful and positive through it all. I've learned a lot from my mom and I'm honoured to be her daughter!

In honour of Mother's Day, I've made one of my favourite recipes that my mom makes. 

Jam Lattice Bars

2 & 1/2 cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 cup Margarine or Butter

3/4 cup Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Tbsp Milk

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

2 cups Jam (any kind - I used Strawberry)

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in butter (with a pastry cutter). Mix in sugar. In a separate bowl, combine egg, vanilla & milk & cinnamon. Pour into butter mixture and mix or knead until all ingredients stick together in a solid ball. 

Cut dough in half. 

Roll out one half on a floured surface and place on bottom of a greased cookie sheet. Spread out and patch as needed. 

Spread jam on top of the dough and spread evenly to cover the entire pan.

Roll out the other half of the dough and cut long strips to use as lattice on the top. Lay down strips in a criss-cross pattern to create a lattice effect on top of the jam.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, top will be slightly golden brown. Sprinkle top with sugar and allow to cool before serving.

Happy Mother's Day!

~Adel~

Raspberry Black Forest Cake

Today I was craving Black Forest Cake. I love Black Forest Cake, but it's not a favourite of anyone else in my house, it's the cherries, so I decided to make a raspberry version with a lighter, fluffier cake, and whip cream frosting.

It turned out really nice so I decided to share.

I'm not much of a cake decorator as you probably have already guessed from previous posts so don't be expecting a fancy cake, but it does taste really yummy!

Raspberry Black Forest Cake

1 Chocolate Cake* made in 2 round pans

1/2 cup Raspberry Liqueur (optional)

3 cups raspberries (plus a few extra for decorating)

3 Tbsp Sugar

3 Tbsp Raspberry Liqueur (optional)

1/4 cup Water

1 Tbsp Cornstarch

3 cups Whipping Cream

1/4 cup Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

Dark Chocolate Shavings

*make this chocolate cake recipe in 2 round pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. You can also use your favourite chocolate cake recipe or use a Chocolate Cake mix.

Cut round cakes in half horizontally with a long knife (carefully!) or a piece of floss.

Optional: Pour a few tablespoons of Raspberry Liqueur over each piece of cake and let sit for about 1 hour to soak in.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, mash raspberries with a potato masher or fork. Add 3 Tbsp Sugar, 3 Tbsp Raspberry Liqueur (optional) and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add water & cornstarch to thicken syrup. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine whip cream, sugar and vanilla on med-high with a mixer until it forms peaks (about 3 minutes depending on the temp. and your mixer).

Once all the elements are ready, it's time to assemble the cake.

Place one of the cake slices on the serving platter and spread 1/3 of the raspberry sauce, top with a few heaping Tbsp of whipping cream and spread evenly. Add the next layer of cake and repeat until the top is on. Cover the cake with whip cream and decorate with chocolate shavings and raspberries as desired.

Like I said...not a cake decorator!

A nice light and fluffy tart raspberry option to the classic Black Forest Cake.

~Adel~

Super Secret Chocolate Muffins

The super secret is...shhh, don't tell anyone...they are loaded with fruit & veggies and no one will ever know!

Lady & Bug would happily go without veggies forever if I let them, so here's a recipe I've been using to get a few good things in them when I'm feeling like the nutrients are a little lacking. It's also pretty flexible as far as what veggies or fruit to use, so start experimenting!

Super Secret Chocolate Muffins 

1/2 cup Butter

1 & 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Apple Sauce

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups Shredded Zucchini* 

1 cup Blueberries* (crushed or puree and thawed if frozen)

1 cup Pureed Carrots* 

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

2 & 1/2 cups Flour

3/4 cup Cocoa

1 tsp Espresso Powder (optional if you're baking them for kids)
1 cup Chocolate Chips (optional)

*I use zucchini, blue berries and carrots, but other options include: beets, spinach, pineapple, bananas, cauliflower, peas or pears - each will change the flavour, texture or colour, but experiment to find something that works for you. Any combination works as long as it's about 4 cups of moist fruit or veggie (shredded, pureed or mashed work best).

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine butter & sugar in a mixer. Add apple sauce, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla, mix well. Add fruit/veggies and stir until combined. In a separate bowl combine baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour, cocoa and espresso powder. Add to liquid mixture and stir well. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop into greased muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes. Cool before serving. Makes about 24 muffins.

A great way to hide the veggies and could easily be iced for a great cupcake alternative.

~Adel~

Strawberry Paska & Strawberry Glaze

It's Easter time again and that means Paska!

After a conversation with my sister-in-law last night, I was inspired to experiment with Paska and come up with something fun instead of my usual citrus version. It's so yummy, but I was up for some fun! Try this sweet bread for your Easter breakfast.

If you want to see the Paska making process from last year's Paska fun, check out my Easter Bread post!

Strawberry Paska

1 Tbsp Traditional Yeast

1/2 cup Warm Water

1 tsp Sugar

1 cup Strawberry Puree

2/3 cup Warm Milk

1/4 Melted Butter

1 egg

1/3 cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

4 cups Flour

Combine yeast, warm water and 1 tsp sugar into a bowl and let sit until frothy (about 5 minutes).

Combine strawberry puree, warm milk, melted butter, egg, sugar, and salt together in a mixer. Mix well. Add in yeast mixture. Mix in flour slowly; 1 cup at a time, switching to a dough hook at about 3 cups. You may have to add more or less flour to make a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl when it is mixing. Knead for about 8 minutes. 

Let rise in a warm place for 1-1 &1/2 hour until doubled. Punch down and let rise another 10 minutes. Grease pans. Make 2 loaves or buns and let rise for 1 more hour.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Cool before serving or icing.

Strawberry Glaze
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 cup Cream Cheese
1 & 3/4 cup Icing Sugar
1/4 cup Mashed Strawberries

Combine all ingredients in a mixer until all ingredients are smooth. Dip strawberry paska to glaze.

Delicious and sweet. Perfect for spring.

~Adel~

Coconut Paska

Trying something new - a coconutty twist on the traditional Paska recipe! Makes a great dessert after your Easter meal. 

If you want to see the Paska making process from last year's Paska fun, check out my Easter Bread post!

Coconut Paska

1 Tbsp Traditional Yeast

1/2 cup Warm Water

1 tsp Sugar

1/2 cup Shredded Coconut

1 Tbsp Coconut Extract

1 cup Warm Milk

1/4 Melted Butter

1 egg

1/3 cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

4 cups Flour

Icing:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup Cream Cheese
1 3/4 cup Icing Sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Combine yeast, warm water and 1 tsp sugar into a bowl and let sit until frothy (about 5 minutes).

Combine coconut, coconut extract, warm milk, melted butter, egg, sugar, and salt together in a mixer. Mix well. Add in yeast mixture. Mix in flour slowly - 1 cup at a time, switching to a dough hook at about 3 cups. You may have to add a little more or less flour to make a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl when it is mixing. Knead for about 8 minutes. 

Let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1&1/2 hours until doubled. Punch down and let rise another 10 minutes. Grease pans. Make 2 loaves or buns and let rise for 1 more hour.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Cool before icing or serving.

Icing:
Combine butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and cocount extract until smooth. Spread on top of coconut paska and top with shredded coconut. Use remaining icing to spread on individual slices as desired.

Enjoy something new!

~Adel~

Fruit Platz (Egg Free)

I am lucky enough to live in one of the most bountiful & beautiful places on earth so when the local fruit and berries start to come it's time to make Platz.

Platz is a traditional Mennonite coffee cake made with a variety of fruits with a delicious crumbly topping - perfect for an afternoon coffee break or dessert when company is coming.

Most of my neighbours are lacto-vegetarians and don't eat eggs for religious or cultural reasons, so I've had to adapt my old family recipes to share the bounty of this year's harvest with my neighbours!

Here's my no-egg version of Platz with Plums.

Fruit Platz (Egg Free)

Crust:

3 cups Flour

3 tsp Baking Powder

1 cup Margarine cut up into small pieces

1 cup Milk

Filling: 

up to 1/4 cup of Sugar

4 cups of Fruit
(plums, blueberries, rhubarb, apricots, cherries, raspberries, peaches, strawberries all work well - fresh is best, but frozen also works)

Topping:

1 & 1/2 cup Sugar

2 cups Flour

2 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 cup Margarine

To make the crust, combine flour and baking powder in a food processor. Add margarine and pulse until crumbly. Add milk slowly until all combined. Spread evenly on the bottom of a greased baking sheet.

Sprinkle sugar on top of the crust - more for the sour fruit & berries and less for the sweet ones. Cover the crust with a single layer of fruit - cut the larger fruit in sections or halves.

To make the topping, combine sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix in margarine with fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over fruit layer. 

Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Yummmmm. Happy coffee break!

~Adel~

Poppy Seed Cinnamon Buns

Daddy Ladybug doesn't like raisins so I try to find alternatives in traditional recipes.

I grew up with poppy seeds in cinnamon buns, a tasty alternative passed on from generation to generation, so I decided to carry on that tradition and replace the raisins with poppy seeds in my cinnamon buns.

Poppy Seed Cinnamon Buns

One dough recipe of Grandma's Dinner Buns

1/2 cup Butter, melted

2 cup Brown Sugar

4 tsp Cinnamon

4 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

1 cup Cream

Divide dough in two. For each 1/2 of dough: roll out each piece in approximately 8x12, 1/4-1/2" thick. For each half, top with 1/2  of each - melted butter, brown sugar (coating evenly), cinnamon & poppy seeds. Roll up like a jelly roll. Start at one end and roll evenly & tightly all the way across. Keep rolling until all the dough has been rolled. Pinch the seam to seal. Slice into 1 inch thick slices. Place on a well greased pan and pour cream evenly over each pan to help make it moist and caramelly. Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes until nicely browned. While still warm, tip over on to another pan and let cool upside down.

oooey goooey caremelly goodness!

~Adel~

For more great food ideas check out my Recipes page

Grandma's Dinner Buns

Grandma's Dinner Buns

1 cup Milk

1 cup Water

2 Tbsp Instant Yeast

1/2 cup Oil

1/2 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Salt

6 cups Flour

Heat milk & water in microwave for 2 minutes (or until warm, but not hot). Add to a large mixing bowl with yeast, oil, sugar, eggs, salt & 3 cups of flour. Mix well. Add remaining 3 cups of flour and change to a dough hook. Knead until dough is mixed but not sticky. Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes. Punch down and let rise another 20-30 minutes and form into buns. Let the buns rise until almost double in size. Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from pans and let cool on racks. Makes about 3 dozen buns.

I have tried many different recipes for dinner buns over the years and these are my favourite!!!

I use this recipe to make my Poppyseed Cinnamon Buns!

~Adel~

For more great food ideas check out my Recipes page

Prize Peanut Butter Cookies

The summer that I graduated from high school, my Grandma came to spend a month with us. While she was there, she copied out her favourite recipes so I could continue on the family tradition of baking. The first recipe I ever tried on my own is still one of my favourites...

Prize Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Peanut Butter (I think crunchy is the best!)

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

3 cups Flour

Cream sugars and butter. Add other ingredients except flour. Blend well. Add flour in a quarter at a time. Roll in balls & press down with a fork. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes (I do 8-10, I like them soft!) These freeze really well, I make the balls first, then freeze.

Thanks for the wonderful recipe Great Grandma Ladybug!

~Adel~

Lil' Bakers

I make Banana Muffins about twice a week, it's a house staple for breakfast & snacks!

This time Lady & Bug seemed very interested in what I was doing and had to get in on the action. They dragged their little chairs over to the counter and asked to stir. I gave them a couple of bowls and my dirty measuring cups & scrapers. The also wanted to use the banana peels - why not, you can't make banana muffins without bananas!

They had a blast. Pretend baking is a daily part of play in the Ladybug house, so this time it seemed a little more realistic. They pretended to bake muffins and lucky for me, there wasn't a huge mess to clean up. I was only left with some dirty hands and dishes that I would have to wash anyway.

A little pretend baking never hurt anyone! Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to handle the mess and let them really help me make muffins.

~Adel~

Best Ever Chocolate Cupcakes

Best Ever Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder\

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup coffee (brewed & black)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients & mix on medium high for 2 minutes.

Pour into lined cupcake pans and bake at 350 F for about 18 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

Cool & top with your favourite icing.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Nice & fluffy & light, just like a cake mix but you actually know what's in it!

~Adel~

Paska (Easter Bread)

Yum. It's Paska day in the Ladybug house!

Paska has become an annual tradition since I was about 18 and moved to a city that is predominately of either Indian or Mennonite heritage. You can't escape the Butter Chicken & Daal and you can't escape the Vareniki & Paska. So rather than fight it, I've joined in and slowly learned to enjoy and cook these wonderful things.

It's almost Easter so that means it's time to make some Paska (Easter Bread). My favourite recipe is Lovella's Paska from Mennonite Girls Can Cook, it's sweet and citrusy. I've also tried to make some other interesting versions..strawberry paska and coconut paska, both good, but Lovella's is still my favourite!


I grated my orange & lemon with a fine grater, then cut off the white part so it was just the juicy fruit left.

Then I wizzed up the grated peels & the fruit in my magic bullet.

Combined all my ingredients in a mixing bowl and added the flour until I had a soft dough, then let it rise.

Put it in loaf tins & let rise again.

Add the Frosting (recipe below) and sprinkles...the most important part!

I don't use Lovella's icing recipe, here's the one I use.

Paska Icing

1/2 cup Butter, softened
250g (8oz) Cream Cheese, softened
3 & 1/2 cups Icing Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp Cream (or more to desired consistency)

So happy for the sunshine today.
Mmmm...Tastes like Spring!

~Adel~

Easter Monster Cookies

Easter Monster Cookies

1 & 1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

3 Eggs

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 & 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (I use crunchy)

1/2 cup Butter, softened

2 tsp Baking Soda

4 & 1/2 cup Quick Oats (not the instant kind)

1/2 cup Flour* (optional)

3/4 cup Spring M&M's

1/4 cup Chocolate Chips

Combine the eggs & sugars in a mixer until smooth. Add salt, vanilla, peanut butter & butter. Mix well. Add baking soda, oats & flour (optional). Add the candies & chocolate and mix carefully by hand so the M&M's don't break.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop large balls of dough on the cookie sheet. Ensure there is lots of space for cookies to spread out on the pan. Press a little dent in the dop of each with the back of the scoop and place an M&M in the centre.

Bake one pan at a time at 350F for 8-10 minutes on the middle rack. Careful not to over bake.

* these cookies will still be great without flour if you need this option, just a little less structure.

~Adel~