Individual Raspberry CobblersJul

Technically, I could also call these Cobbler Cupcakes. That’s kind of what they are.

Or, if I wanted to go gourmand: Clafouti Cupcakes.

Or Tiny Tarts. Or Sweet Cakes. Or Tart Treats. Or Love Muffins. Or Thunder Bombs.

Thunder Bombs?

Anyway, I think “Individual Raspberry Cobblers” is a much more objective, no-nonsense approach, and since I’m known for being no-nonsense, I thought it was most fitting. Now these warm, gooey, delicious raspberry cobblers are perfect for kids or company and would have been perfect with my Vanilla Bean Ice Cream if the following two things had not taken place.

1. I ate all my Vanilla Bean Ice Cream last week.
2. I ate all my Vanilla Bean Ice Cream last week.

But you know what? They’re still delicious without it. And you can substitute ANY fruit you have onhand: chunks of pear, cherries, blackberries, blueberries, chunks of apple. And they’re little. And lovely. And sweet.

You need raspberries. About 2 cups.

Self-rising flour.

Sugar.

Butter. 2 sticks. Because you’re worth it.

Vanilla.

And milk.

That’s it! This recipe couldn’t be simpler.

Pour two cups self-rising flour into a bowl.

Next comes 2 cups of sugar.

2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar. It’s easy to remember…and easy to halve!

Stir them together with a fork, then pour in…you guessed it…2 cups of milk.

Whisk it to combine…

Then melt 2 sticks of butter and pour it right in.

Whisk it gently until the butter is incorporated…

Finally, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, because most things are better with vanilla extract.

It’s true. I’ve done studies. Put vanilla in your pancake batter next time and you’ll see what I mean.

Now just grab a couple of muffin pans and spray them generously with Baker’s Joy or Crisco baking spray. You’ll have a little sticking to the pan no matter what you do, but this really helps mitigate that.

Now, for standard muffin tins I use exactly 1/4 cup (dry measure) of batter per tin.

Then, just drop a few berries (or whatever kind of fruit you’re using) right on the top of the batter!

Don’t push them below the surface; just drop them right on the top and watch the magic unfold.

Next, sprinkle 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sugar over the top.

Because it’s sugar, that’s why. And sugar was meant to be SPRINKLED!

Now just bake them at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, watching it toward the end to ensure cobblers don’t get overly brown or too crisp.

Though a little crispiness is what makes it right.

Mmmmm. Perfect. Golden brown, crispy on top and around the edges.

But since they’re technically “Upside Down Cobblers” (Oooh! Another name!) we need to invert them. So place a cooling rack upside down on top of the muffin pan.

Then flip them over so that the rack is now underneath the now-upside down cobblers.

Whew this is such a confusing business!

Oooh, these smell so good.

Now, do you remember when I told you that no matter what you spray in the pan, you’re going to experience a little sticking? Here’s what I mean. Because the fruit settles toward the bottom (which winds up being the top) there’s so much juiciness and gooeyness, you’re bound to have a little stickage.

But since these are cobblers (rustic) and not muffins or cupcakes that need to retain their shape, we’re home free. Just dig the remains out of the pan and plop it right on top.

This is why I prefer making rustic desserts. Imperfection is welcome.

Such a yummy treat.

It’s almost as if they know a little scoop of ice cream is coming. They make a perfect little spot for it.

You can also serve them on a platter with a big bowl of fresh whipped cream if you like to hear lots of ooohs and aaahs.

Enjoy!

Individual Raspberry Cobblers
Makes 24 cobblers

2 cups self-rising flour (must use self-rising)
2 cups sugar
2 cups milk
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh raspberries
Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine flour with sugar, then whisk in milk. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla.
Pour 1/4 cup batter into greased muffin tins. Sprinkle a few raspberries on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown and crisp around the edges.
Invert onto a cooling rack and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Raspberry Dessert

Ingredients: Greek yogurt, raspberry syrup, raspberries,

Mix Greek yogurt with a little raspberry syrup so it become a bit sweeter. Put the Greek yogurt in little bowls and put on the yogurt fresh raspberries. Sprinkle with a little raspberry syrup. Simple and very tasty! Enjoy!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Happy National Cupcake Day! When I heard that there was, indeed, a holiday honoring my favorite confection, I knew I had to celebrate. I had been scheming about making some white chocolate raspberry cupcakes for some time now, and figured what better time to put it to the test.

Despite a bit of a fiasco with the frosting (see: I broke my buttercream), and a bit of an ‘overflow’ issue with the cupcakes, these turned out quite well. We made half of them with the raspberry filling and white chocolate frosting, and left the other half unfilled but flavored the frosting with the remaining raspberry, to see which one we liked better. The filled cupcakes are definitely the winners.

If you’re brave I’d encourage you to try the fancy white chocolate buttercreamthat I attempted to do (supposedly not nearly as sweet as regular buttercream, but 10x as hard to make), but for the faint of heart and the cooked-sugar-phobes, these cupcakes are still plenty delicious with the good ole’ fashioned sugary sweet American buttercream.

I love the fact that these cupcakes look like the iconic cupcake with a cherry on top. Whenever you see a cute representation of a cupcake, they always look just like this. Always. It cracks me up that I actually made a cupcake that fit that cliche. Rarely do you ever see an actual cupcake with a cherry on top – so in this case, a raspberry will just have to do!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Filling:
8 ounces frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

Frosting:
If you’re brave, try this recipe (and let me know how it turns out!). If you want something less complicated, use American buttercream, instructions below.

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup cream cheese or tofutti cream cheese
3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeded, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon soymilk
6 ounces white chocolate, melted
12 fresh raspberries

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350ËšF.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Slowly mix together melted chocolate and oil. Whisk together soy milk, coconut milk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full – my cupcakes overflowed, so err on the under-filled side here). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make filling, combine frozen raspberries with water, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until raspberries begin to break down. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing as much through as possible. Return strained mixture to heat once again. Add another tablespoon of cornstarch mixture, and bring to a simmer. If mixture still seems thin, add more cornstarch as necessary. It will thicken more upon cooling. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Cut out small cones from tops of cupcakes (holes should be approximately 1/2″ across and 1/2″ deep), saving removed cake. Fill holes with raspberry filling, and replace cake on top.

To make frosting, beat butter or margarine and cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until creamy. Melt white chocolate as before, and mix in vanilla seeds or extract. Add to frosting and mix well. Add extract and soy milk, and beat until fluffy (add more sugar and/or soymilk if you need it, until you get the right texture). Generously pipe or spread onto filled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a single fresh raspberry.

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Who ever said there was no such thing as too much chocolate never had these cupcakes. Loosely based on the towering chocolate cake I made for Taylor’s birthday, these cupcakes sure are rich. Like, better have a whole glass of water or milk or something on hand when you eat it or you’re in big trouble. I thought it was too much. Taylor ate 2 in one sitting. That should tell you something.

The ganache frosting is really thick. I liked it because it wasn’t as sweet as buttercream, but the chocolate was almost too rich and overpowering. If only I could arrive at some happy medium… the fluffiness of buttercream with the sinful chocolaty-ness of the ganache. Thank goodness I didn’t decide to pipe on huge swirls like I sometimes to, I think I would have passed out in the process of eating it.

But, if you’re the type that likes your men rich and your cupcakes richer, well, bake away! These are the cupcakes of your dreams.

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Raspberry preserves

Whipped Ganache Frosting:
8 ounces good semisweet or dark chocolate
1 cup heavy cream/soy creamer
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and beat until no lumps remain (or very few remain).

Pour into liners, filling each with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For whipped ganache, finely chop chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl of a stand mixer. Bring heavy cream to a simmer. Slowly pour hot cream over chopped chocolate, and allow to sit for 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is smooth and creamy. Add vanilla, and allow ganache to cool to room temperature. If it’s hot out, you may need to chill it for a couple minutes, but DON’T forget about it! You want the ganache to be the consistency of room temperature peanut butter. Any thicker and you won’t be able to whip it. With stand mixer (or handheld electric mixer), whisk on high for 2 to 3 minutes until lighter brown. It should be the consistency of buttercream. If it’s too thick, add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time and whip until it is the proper consistency.

To assemble, spread a thin layer of raspberry preserves on the cupcakes, and spread or pipe on ganache. Enjoy with a BIG glass of water or milk, you’ll need it!