Raspberry Kuchen

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a lovely old fashioned cake that's completely without pretense. Chances are your mother or grandmother made a cake quite similar to this one. It was codified by Better Homes and Gardens and it's been around for a while, fading in and out of fashion as eating habits change. The original recipe can be found in the no longer new, Better Homes and Gardens: New Baking Book. We used to call it "Poor Man's Cheese Cake," but it's officially called a Raspberry Kuchen. A kuchen is a cake-like dessert that has a soft dough crust and a topping of custard or cheese that contains berries or other fruits. I love this recipe for many reasons. There are no stray egg whites or yolks left to deal with when the cake is finished. What's not used in the crust is used in the custard and that appeals to my "green" instincts. The cake, which can be made without a mixer, is very easy to do and has the added advantage of being low in fat and only moderately sweet. Best of all, it can be made with fresh or frozen berries of any type. Frozen berries will produce a creamier cake because of the liquid they exude as the cake bakes. Cane berries of all sorts have come to market here in Oregon, but to tell the truth, they're not up to speed this year. Hopefully, they'll improve this week and we'll have something worth putting by. Until then, I'm relying on the stash in my freezer. I used frozen berries to make the cake today, so it's wonderfully creamy in taste and appearance. I hope those of you who are not familiar with this cake will give it a try. Here's the recipe.

Raspberry Kuchen...from the kitchen of One Perfect bite inspired by Better Homes and Gardens: New Baking Book

Ingredients:
Base
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups fresh or frozen cane berries

Filling
1-1/2 cups plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 slightly beaten egg yolks
1 slightly beaten whole egg
1-1/2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. If using frozen raspberries, thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes; drain.
2) In food processor bowl or medium mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup flour, the first 1/2 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Add melted butter, 2 egg whites and first teaspoon vanilla. Cover; process or stir by hand until mixed.
3) Spread onto the bottom of springform pan; sprinkle with berries. Set aside.
4) For filling, place yogurt in a large mixing bowl; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Add remaining sugar, yolks, whole egg, zest and remaining vanilla. Mix until smooth; pour over berries.
5) Bake for about 55 minutes or until center appears set when shaken gently. Cool for 15 minutes; remove sides of pan. Cover; chill until serving time, up to 24 hours. If you are feeling brave, you can remove pan bottom. Transfer to a serving plate. Yield: 10 - 12 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Orange Yogurt Cake - One Perfect Bite
Yogurt Cheese Cake - One Perfect Bite
Greek-Style Yogurt Pie with Fruit Preserves - One Perfect Bite
German Rahm Kuchen - A Feast for the Eyes
Cheese Kuchen - Madame Chow's Kitchen
Grandma's Pear Kuchen - Jules Food

Greek-Style Yogurt Pie with Fruit Preserves

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Tonight, out of an abundance of yogurt, I have yet another custard dessert to share with you. Not all stores in this area carry Greek yogurt, so, when it's available, I've been known to buy more than I really need and then end up scrambling to use it before it goes bad. This pie is an example of where my over exuberance in the dairy aisle leads. It's a Greek-style yogurt pie that, despite similar ingredients, is creamier and slightly sweeter than the yogurt pie we made and posted here a few days ago. It also has an interesting crust that is made from a mixture of white and whole wheat flour that is fortified with wheat germ. There are no berries in the pie but it is topped with a copious quantity of fruit preserves. You may prefer to use macerated fruit as a topping. You will find the pie needs the sweetness the fruit provides. While it is easy to make, there is significant wait time before the pie can be served. It's best to make the pie the night before you plan to serve it. It's worth the wait. Here's the recipe.

Greek-Style Yogurt Pie with Fruit Preserves...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Kyra at TasteBook

Ingredients:
Crust
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
3 tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
Filling
2 cups whole-milk Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fruit preserves, such as plum or strawberry

Directions:
1) To make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place flours, wheat germ, salt, and cinnamon in food processor bowl. Process to combine. Add butter and sugar; process until dough holds together. Press crust mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze 15 minutes. Cover edge with foil. Bake until beginning to dry out, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. (Leave oven on.)
2) To make custard: Stir yogurt, vanilla and zest in a bowl. Stir in butter and yolks. Stir sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl; stir into yogurt mixture until smooth. Pour into crust.
3) Bake, with foil covering edge of crust, until just set in center, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 1 hour. Spread jam over center of pie. Refrigerate at least 3 hours (up to overnight). Yield: 10 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Frozen Lemon Yogurt - One Perfect Bite
Yogurt Cheese Cake - One Perfect Bite>
Raspberry Yogurt Parfait - One Perfect Bite
Peach and Cream Fraiche (or Greek Yogurt Pie) - Smitten Kitchen
Yogurt Panna Cotta - Taste with the Eyes

Strawberry Yogurt Pie (Mansikkapiiras) - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's been a while since we've had a real "peasant" style dessert. While local berries won't be in markets for another six to eight weeks, the strawberries that are available to us are passably good. Years ago, I regularly made a dessert from Finland that used thick yogurt and blueberries to make a light custard pie called Mustikkapiiras. The custard filling covered a layer of berries that was baked in a cookie crust. It was light and not too sweet. The recipe I used came from the Moosewood Restaurant. I must admit I've played with this one. The recipe, as written, produced a scant amount of custard, so I've doubled the ingredients to produce a thicker layer of filling that gives this homely dessert more eye appeal. While any type of berry can be used, it's especially nice with seedless blackberries or strawberries. When strawberries replace blueberries, the Mustikkapiiras becomes a Mansikkapiiras. Here's the recipe I've adapted from the Moosewood original.

Strawberry Yogurt Pie...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by a recipe from Sunday at the Moosewood

Ingredients:
Crust
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Custard (this portion of the recipe has been doubled)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups thick Greek-style plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Berries
2 cups sliced strawberries or other fresh berries

Directions:
1) To make crust: Butter and flour a 9-inch quiche pan with 1-1/2-inch sides. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, and blend well. Combine flour and baking powder and sift into wet ingredients to form a soft dough. With flour dusted fingers, pat dough into bottom of prepared pan. Push dough up to cover sides of the pan. Refrigerate while making custard.
2) To make custard: Mix eggs, sugar, yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla extract, almond extract and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth. Place berries in bottom of pie shell. Pour in filling and smooth to coat berries. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until crust is browned and custard has set. Chill well before serving. Yield: 8 - 10 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Frozen Lemon Yogurt - One Perfect Bite
Yogurt Cheese Cake - One Perfect Bite
Raspberry Yogurt Parfait - One Perfect Bite

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Frozen Lemon Yogurt - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Frozen yogurt enjoyed a brief period of popularity in the 1970's. It was touted as being a healthier alternative to ice cream, but many thought it was too tangy and its popularity faded. It was reintroduced in the 1980's and captured about 10% of the frozen dairy market. Today it still accounts for about 10% of all ice cream sales. I wish I could tell you that frozen yogurt is better for you than ice cream. That's not quite true. While it contains less fat than ice cream, it is still high in calories and can't be considered a "diet" food. Regular readers know that I love citrus desserts. What they don't know is that sweetened lemon yogurt is one of my favorites. If you freeze it, I'm in paradise. The sugar in this recipe helps balance a combination that would otherwise be too tart. This is almost effortless to make if you have an ice cream maker. It can, however, be made without one if you have time and follow the directions you'll find here. This is a perfect dessert for Easter Sunday or a spring fling. I hope you'll give it a try. Here's the recipe.

Frozen Lemon Yogurt...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
4 cups (32 ounces) plain yogurt
1-2/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
4 drops yellow food coloring, optional

Directions:
Combine yogurt, sugar, lemon juice and peel in a bowl and mix well. Stir in food coloring if using. Freeze, following directions that come with your ice cream maker. Transfer to freezer compartment of refrigerator and let sit for several hours before serving. Yield: 5 cups.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Ice Cream Crunch Cake - One Perfect Bite
Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream - One Perfect Bite
Key Lime Sherbet - One Perfect Bitee

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.