Blueberry & Raspberry Cobbler

The berries came in early this year and I wasn't able to get out into the fields and pick any strawberries this year. I managed to get a handful of blueberries and maybe, if I am lucky, I will get back out to the farm and pick some raspberries and anything else I can get my hands on.

I made this cobbler from last season's berries that I had frozen in my deep freezer. I think frozen berries work perfect for cobblers. Cobblers are the perfect dessert for busy days. They have minimal ingredients and you don't need to dirty a lot of dishes to make one.

For the Blueberry cobbler you will need 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar (divided), 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2-2/3 cup milk (I used 2/3), 1/2 cup butter (melted), 3 cups blueberries and raspberries (fresh or frozen) and 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 2 qt. baking dish. Into the bowl with your berries mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tlb fresh lemon juice and set aside. If your berries are extra juicy add 1-2 tsp of corn starch to the berries and sugar. Into another bowl add the remaining cup of sugar, 1 cup of flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, mix ingredients together then add the melted butter 1/2 cup of milk (always start with less add more if needed)and mix together to make your batter. Pour the batter into your greased 2 qt. baking dish and top with the berries. Slide it into your preheated oven and let it bake for 35-45 min. (depends on your oven and dish) Mine took a little longer than 45 min. Keep an eye on it.

This was the perfect dessert to finish our extremely busy day of berry picking, household chores and yard work.

Super delicious. Hope the rest of your week is wonderful.

Coconut cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

So last weekend was the daughters birthday. Most likely the last one she will be living at home for. I decided to make something different with a lot of flavor, so I made up coconut cupcakes with lemon frosting.

Start by creaming together 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar and 4 eggs. Add eggs one at a time.

In a separate bowl combine 3 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. baking powder. In a measuring cup pour 3/4 cup of milk and 1-2 tsp. coconut extract (I used 1/2 cup whole milk and 1/4 cup buttermilk). Alternate between the dry ingredients and wet and mix into butter and sugar mixture. If the cake mix is a little too thick for your liking you can add up to another 1/4 milk or buttermilk.

Fold into cake batter roughly one cup of toasted coconut. I used sweetened shredded coconut that I toasted on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven.

We did cupcakes. I love the stuff in this Etsy shop

I baked the cupcakes in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Just waiting for the frosting.

The lemon frosting was a cinch. Combine in a bowl 1 cup very soft butter, 5 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, for desired consistency

The final touch was a little coconut sprinkled on top. Perfection.

I halved the cake recipe and frosting recipe for this occasion and it still made 14 regular sized cupcakes and the halved frosting recipe covered them perfectly with just enough left over in the bowl for me to taste.