Croque-Miettes aux Framboises - Raspberries au Gratin

Did you guess??? My favorite summer berry is the Raspberry! This dessert is quite simple to make and i know you'll enjoy it!

Croque-Miettes aux Framboises

125 g of butter, softened (4.4 oz)
125 g brown sugar (4.4 oz)
250 g flour (8.8 oz)
1 pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
5 cl creme fraiche (3 1/2 Tbsp)
500 g raspberries (1 lb)


In a bowl, mix together the butter and sugar.
Place the flour and the salt in another larger bowl. Add the sugar/butter mixture and mix with your fingers until it form crumbs.
Add the egg yolks and keep mixing with your fingers until it resembles coarse sand.
Refrigerate.

Spread the creme fraiche at the bottom of a baking dish. Place the raspberries on top and dust with the "croque-mietttes" (or crumble!).
Bake at 200C (400F)for about 10 minutes.
Serve with vanilla whippped cream.


Notes:
You can use individual creme brulee dishes instead of one large dish.

Frozen Chocolate Pie

Another summer favorite for us chocoholics!!! The wafers I use are the Fabulous Chocolate Wafers from Nabisco. The crust is the same one I use for the Raspberry Tartlets. Have fun!!

Frozen Chocolate Pie

Crust:
25 chocolate wafers, crumbled
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
6 oz cream cheese (I used the "1/3 less fat")
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream, whipped


Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare the crust by mixing the wafer crumbs and the melted butter. Transfer to a cheesecake pan and press down the bottom. Bake for about 10 minutes, until fragrant.
Remove from the oven and let cool.

Filling:
Melt the chocolate on the top of a double boiler. Let cool to room temperature.
Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and milk in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until thoroughly combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream and the cooled chocolate, being careful not to deflate the mixture.

Pour into the prepared crust, soothing the top with a rubber spatula. Freeze for a minimum of 4 hours.

Note:
You may, as it is done on the Frozen Key Lime Pie, top the chocolate with whipped cream, and freeze.

Frozen Key Lime Pie

This really is a summer favorite. Refreshing! I found the original recipe in one of The Barefoot Contessa's cookbook. A bit too sweet for me so I made a few modifications!
The pie was the first dessert Emilie made all by herself, and that summer, after she realized she could bake, we had Frozen Key Lime Pie every weekend! No one was complaining!!!
Time to share the recipe with you!

Frozen Key Lime Pie

Crust:
1 1/2 cup Original Graham crackers (about 10), crumbled
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
6 extra large egg yolks, or 7 large
1/4 cup sugar
1 14-ounce can condensed milk
2 Tbsp grated lime zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Topping:
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract



Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a small bowl, combine the cracker  crumbs with the butter. Mix well and transfer to a cheesecake pan (with removable bottom). Press the crumbs down, tight. There should not be any sides.
Bake for about 10 minutes, until fragrant and slightly colored.

Filling:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and the sugar until it thickens and becomes light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed and add the condensed milk, lime zest and lime juice. Pour into the cooled baked crust and freeze.

Topping:
In the bowl of the stand mixer, fitted with the whisk, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Spread over the frozen pie and return to the freezer, overnight.

Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.


Note:
I used fat free condensed milk.

Madeleines au Chocolat

June is my busiest month of the year.We just finished cleaning up from our Memorial weekend party, finished the last leftovers...There are weddings every weekends, at the West Dennis Yacht Club and elsewhere (P'town in two weeks!) and of course there is Wicked! Julie is working there too now!
And Fran, the teacher I work with, asked me if I could prepare a couple of desserts and a potato salad for his daughter's rehearsal dinner this week. I accepted the challenge and selected the Raspberry Puffs and Chocolate Madeleines. Madeleines are so pretty, and somewhat Cape Coddish with their shell-like shape...and yet so French!

Chocolate Madeleines

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened coco
1 pinch of salt
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
12 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled, + some for the molds

Butter the Madeleines molds and refrigerate to allow the butter to harden.

Sift together the flour, coco and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.Add the flour, and then the melted butter.

Fill the pans with the batter, about 3/4 full. Refrigerate the pans with the batter for one hour. 

Preheat the oven to 425F (220C).
Bake the Madeleines for 7 minutes, until just firm and puffed. The Madeleines should not quite spring back to touch. Unmold immediately and let cool.
Repeat until the batter is finished.

The batter can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated.


UPDATE:
I made the Raspberry Tartlets for Wicked and they liked it. The Tarlets will now be sold there!! I ma so excited!!!