Monday, August 23, 2010

Marionberry Shortcakes







Marionberries were nearly impossible to find.  The season is officially over but I was told by a grocer to meet The Berry Man under the freeway at the Sunday farmer's market.  I was also told by another grocer "They are just blackberries" and more often than not, asked "What kind of berries?"  One last call to the local Natural Foods Co-Op and a cheery voice non challanty said "Oh, yes, we have frozen Marionberries."  Sputtering, I asked her more than once if she was absolutely certain they were Marionberries?  Indeed they were.  I felt like I won the Marionberry lottery.  Stahlbush Island Farms has a store locator on their web site.  Pop in your zip code  to see if stores in your area carry them.



The genoise batter for these shortcakes used Wondra flour which I always have better luck mixing in than cake flour.  The beurre noisette with vanilla gave it a wonderful flavor.


After two hours the berries barely thawed and were not releasing their highly prized juice.  Placed in a double boiler over simmering water for just a few minutes worked like a charm.


The berries released the requisite amount of juice for painting the cakes.  I didn't use any liqueur and the flavor was amazingly intense reduced on its own.


The dilemma of choosing between creme fraiche or whipped cream was solved by making both and coloring the whipped cream with the gorgeous juice.  Not surprisingly, kids preferred the whipped cream and adults the creme fraiche.  Mine was topped with both.  This is a nice light dessert and perfect for any berry in season.

                                

7 comments:

  1. ב''ה

    Love your adventures. Glad you are always having fun finding these ingredients. Great tip about the double boiler!

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  2. Beautiful Vicki. The cakelettes look very moist! I know how you feel when after calling so many places, you finally find what you're looking for :o)

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  3. Creme fraiche or whipped cream? Make both - I love that thinking! The berries gave you a beautiful color.

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  4. Your cake looks beautiful. I've done the double boiler trick too with frozen strawberries. Wasn't sure it's the right thing to do but I'm glad to hear you do it too!

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  5. Gorgeous cakes! You can get marionberries in packet? ..i have to check out the supermarket freezer section then..

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  6. i spluttered a little bit after reading the grocer's comment who said that marions are just blackberries. whaaat? i am glad you persisted and found them!

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  7. Glad you were more successful than I was with the berries. It would have been nice to have do a berry tasting to see the difference. Looks yummy!

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