Tag Archives: Berries

Mom’s Blackberry Pie

Desserts and Cakes, , ,

Name: Micha Heilman
Class Year: 2019
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This is the blackberry pie that I grew up eating, made lovingly by my mom, and it is a recipe she has been baking since she was 12 years old! Each summer my mom and I would go out to the berry farms in Oregon close to where we lived and pick strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, marionberries, tayberries, and currents. We would then make a mixture of jams and “pie units” as my mom liked to call it when she would freeze 5 cup bags of berries to make into pie. This was the summer haul that lasted us throughout the winter, ensuring we could eat delicious pies and jams year round. I love this recipe because it is simple to make and absolutely delicious.

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Rhubarb Berry Crumble

Home Cooking, , , , , ,

Name: Elizabeth Hansen
Class Year: 1995
Country of Residence: Switzerland

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This recipe is great because it is the essence of a spring time treat for our family. We have adapted it over time with adding in a variety of berries with the rhubarb filling. We experiment also instead of the white sugar substituting homemade strawberry sirup (sirop de fraise) as is typical to use in Suisse Romande to flavor drinks.  We can never get enough of this and rarely have leftovers.  I brought this dessert many times to the children’s potluck events and took home an empty baking dish every time!

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Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

Home Cooking, , , , , , ,

Name: Silvia Maulini*
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

* Silvia is one of this competition’s judges, so this recipe will not be considered – it’s simply delicious, and needs to be shared!

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I have always found most (American) cheesecake recipes rather daunting and alarmingly rich in fats and cream. A few years ago, my daughters and granddaughters gave me a wonderful new cookbook by Cees Holtkamp, whose patisserie in the center of Amsterdam is a true monument to high quality pastries and cakes. His simple, not exceedingly fat and apparently foolproof recipe for cheesecake immediately caught my attention. It seemed too easy to be true, but Cees’ cheesecake turned out to be amazing and it has now become a classic at our family birthday celebrations. This is the cake that has been requested by all family members for our first physical gathering after the lockdown period: I can’t wait to bake a few of them!

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