So Many Fools, So Little Time

Dessert doesn't get any easier.
Berry fool: Crushed/ macerated berries mixed with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
An added bonus: the entertainment factor that comes with having the word fool in it's name, as in "Let's have some strawberry < insert the name of your favourite sibling/ cousin>."
Rather lame, I know.

Photo courtesy my daughter, A.

Ingredients
The proportions are a mere guideline.

10-12 medium sized strawberries (hulled)/ 1 cup blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries.
½ cup whipping cream, cold
1 tbsp (regular) sugar
1-2 tbsp confectioners sugar
a couple of pinches of salt (optional, but recommended)
1 tsp (or more) lemon juice
Mint leaves, for garnishing (optional)

Method
Place the berries in separate medium bowls and sprinkle just a little sugar on them.
Using a fork or a potato masher, break the berries.
Add a pinch of salt and ½ tsp lemon juice to each bowl and set aside for about an hour.

Add the confectioners sugar to the whipping cream and beat still you get soft peaks.

Layer the berries and the cream in serving bowls/ wine glasses.
Instead of layering you could also fold the cream into the berry mixture.
Top with the mint leaves, if using.
Chill in the fridge before serving.
Serves four.
Enjoy!

Note: the quantity of sugar largely depends on the sweetness of the berries and how sweet you like your desserts.

If you have any questions or comments, please write to me the.best.cooker@gmail.com.Thanks for stopping by.

Berry Good

Several months ago my friend A lent me her cast iron skillet; one which she hardly used at all. I'm seriously in love with this skillet. I've used it so often for so many things that unless A explicitly asks for the skillet it is mine.

The first thing I baked in the skillet was a whole wheat-semolina bread. It was to die for. The recipe needs some fine tuning before it is ready for prime time (on this blog).

Meanwhile here is a muffin-cake that I recently baked. This is Vaishali's recipe for blueberry muffins baked in a skillet instead of a muffin pan. They take longer to bake than regular muffins but I think the results are absolutely worth the extra time.

We loved this muffin-cake. The grainy raw sugar added a nice crunch and the oats provided the nuttiness.

I had to make some minor changes to the original recipe because I did not have some of the ingredients (milk) on hand.
Here is the recipe with my modifications.
The original recipe is here.

Berry Muffins
(makes one large or 11 medium muffins)
Ingredients
1½ cups flour (I used a mixture of whole wheat, oat, and quinoa flours)
½ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup raw sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup lemon juice
¾ cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 - 1½ cups berries

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.
Mix all the wet ingredients and add to the dry ingredients.
Combine well.
Add in the berries.
Pour the batter in the skillet and bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the skillet comes out clean.
Enjoy!