Berry Blitz Food

BLINTZES

Steps:

• Cheese Filling: Combine filling ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Place bowl in freezer to chill filling while you cook the blintzes.
• Make Batter: Add milk, flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla and salt to a blender and blend until smooth.
• Cook: Heat a skillet over medium heat. Pour roughly ¼ cup of batter into the pan and swirl the pan in a circular motion until the batter is in a thin, circle in the pan. Cook until lightly golden on the bottom, then flip and cook on the other side. Remove to a plate and keep warm while you continue cooking all the blintzes.
• Add Filling: Place a big spoonful of the filling onto the pancake, about 1 inch from the bottom. Fold both sides in, then roll all the way up, like a burrito. Repeat with remaining blintzes.
• Pan Fry: Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or coconut oil) in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, work in batches to toast the blintzes seam-side down in the pan. Cook for 1-2 on each side, just until until golden brown all over. Serve with desired toppings.

BLUEBERRY BLINTZES

Steps:

• Combine the milk, water, eggs, flour, salt and sugar in a blender. Blend on medium speed for 15 seconds, until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Scrape down the sides of the blender and pour in 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Blend it again for a second just to incorporate. Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour to let it rest. If the crepes are made immediately, they have a tendency to be rubbery; when you let the batter rest, the crepes have a better texture and a softer bite.
• Put an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush with a little melted butter for added assurance. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around so it covers the bottom evenly; pour back any excess. Cook for 30 to 45 seconds, until the crepe batter sets. Lightly bang the edge of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the crepe; then flip it and cook another 30 seconds. The art of flipping a crepe in the air takes practice, so make sure no one is looking when you get the first one going. If this intimidates you, use a heatproof rubber spatula to loosen and flip the crepe. The crepes should be pliable, not crisp, and lightly brown. Slide them onto a platter and continue making the crepes until all the batter is used. Cover the stack of crepes with a towel to keep them from drying out. This makes 10 crepes.
• Assembly: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Forming the blintzes is kind of like making burritos. Spoon 1/4 cup of the Cheese Filling along the lower third of the crepe. Fold the bottom edge away from you to just cover the filling; then fold the 2 sides in to the center. Roll the crepe away from you a couple of times to make a package, ending with the seam side down. Put an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Brush with melted butter. Pan-fry the blintzes for 2 minutes per side until crisp and golden.
• Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes so the egg in the filling cooks slightly and the cheese sets. Using a spatula, transfer the blintzes to serving plates. Spoon the Blueberry Sauce on top, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve right away.
• Serve with chopped banana and remaining Blueberry Sauce. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
• In a food processor, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and egg and blend until smooth. Chill the filling to firm it up a bit so it doesn't squirt out of the blintzes.
• Combine the butter, blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring up to a low boil and stir gently until the berries break down and release their natural juices. The consistency should remain a bit chunky. It will thicken up when it cools down slightly.

BERRY BLITZ TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Grease the paper, then lightly flour the pans.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder and salt.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or electric beaters, beat 1/2 cup softened butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating, until well combined. Add half the cake flour mixture, then half the milk to the butter mixture, beating until smooth. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and milk, then beat in vanilla and nutmeg. Scrape batter evenly into prepared pans and smooth the tops.
• To make meringue topping, whip egg whites with cream of tartar and salt in an electric mixer until cloudlike and very foamy. Continue whipping while adding sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip until meringue is smooth and glossy, and stiff peaks form.
• Cover cake batter with meringue, dividing it evenly between pans. Swirl the tops, and sprinkle with pecans. Bake until meringue is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center all the way down to the cake emerges clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer pan to a wire rack. Cool for 30 minutes; turn cake out of pan and place on rack right-side up. Let cakes cool completely.
• To assemble, whip the cream with as much of the sugar as you like, and vanilla. Place one cake layer on a serving plate with the meringue side down. Spoon whipped cream on top, then cover with berries. Place second cake layer on top of whipped cream with meringue side up. Serve cake as soon as possible after filling, preferably within 3 hours, and use a serrated knife to cut.

BLUEBERRY BLINTZES

Steps:

• For the topping: Add 1/2 cup of the blueberries to a medium bowl with the sugar, honey, lemon juice and cardamom and let sit, stirring every 10 minutes or so and mashing slightly, until the juices are a vibrant pink color, about 1 hour. Fold in the remaining blueberries, coating them in the sauce until shiny.
• For the blintzes: Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, combine the milk, flour, salt and eggs and blend until smooth. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Coat a 9- or 10-inch nonstick skillet with a thin layer of oil and heat over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup batter to the skillet and tilt it so that it distributes evenly into a round. Cook until the top is set and the bottom is slightly browned and pulls away easily from the skillet, 60 to 90 seconds. Use an offset spatula to transfer it to a plate or work surface (correct, you will not be flipping these). Repeat this process, stacking the cooked blintzes and separating them by sheets of parchment paper.
• For the filling: In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, ricotta, honey, lemon zest and juice, almond extract, cardamom, salt and egg until combined.
• To assemble: Place a blintz browned-side up on a work surface. Spoon 1/4 cup filling slightly below the center line of the blintz. Fold the bottom third of the blintz up over the filling and then fold in the sides. Bring the top third of the blintz down over the filling to seal. Set aside and repeat with the remaining blintzes.
• In a large skillet, heat a thin layer of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry the blintzes a few at a time until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side, adding additional oil if the needed. Transfer to a serving plate, top with the blueberry sauce and enjoy.

BLUEBERRY BLINTZES

Steps:

• Make the filling by gently tossing all the filling ingredients together in a bowl.
• Set aside.
• To make the crepes, beat the eggs, milk, salt, sugar& 2 tbs.
• oil together.
• Stir in flour vigorously until the mixture issmooth.
• Heat about 1/4 teaspoon oil in a 6" skillet over medium high heat.
• Pour 2 tbs.
• batter into the pan, and tilt the pan around to coat the bottom with the batter.
• Let the crepe brown lightly, approximately a minute or so, then carefully turn out, browned side up, onto a paper towel.
• Make the rest of the pancakes in the same way.
• When all the pancakes are made, take one pancake and lay it flat on a plate or flat surface.
• Place about 1 tablespoon filling near one side of circle, shaping it so it's somewhat rectangular.
• Fold the top& bottom up and over the filling, then roll up from the other sides.
• You can freeze the blintzes at this point (I freeze them in packets of 2 at a time).
• Heat 1 tbs.
• oil in large skillet over medium heat (you don't need a lot of oil for this-- you want just a thin coating).
• Fry blintzes until golden brown on both sides.
• If you are cooking them directly from the freezer, start them on a lower flame and then raise the heat when they are fairly thawed out to medium heat; when cooking from a frozen state, especially if i'm cooking only two, i'll actually just use my fingers to rub a very light coating of oil over each side of the blintze instead of heating the oil in the pan.
• Serve with sour cream or sprinkled with powdered or granulated sugar; They are even good with some slightly sweetened ricotta cheese.
• Makes 14 to 18 blintes.
• NOTE: I often will make 8 or 9 inch crepes and use 2 heaping tablespoons filling to make larger blintzes, but then you get fewer; I often double the recipe to do so.
• I also prefer the lemon juice to the lemon rind (use to taste, and add a touch more of cornstarch if needed) but use the rind if you prefer a stronger lemon flavor.

BERRY BLITZ TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease 2 8" round pans.
• In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, salt, and egg yolks together.
• Beat in vanilla, milk, baking powder, and flour.
• Spread the mixture in the prepared pans. The batter will barely cover the bottom of the pans; that's OK.
• Beat the egg whites until light; gradually add the 3/4 cup sugar and continue to beat until the meringue is smooth, glossy and somewhat stiff. Do NOT beat until there are stiff points.
• Spread the meringue on the batter in the pans and sprinkle with the almonds, cinnamon and sugar.
• Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned.
• Remove from oven and cool in pans for 15 minutes. Loosen edges and gently turn them out onto racks with the meringue on top. If some of the almonds fall off, just sprinkle them back on top.
• Mix pudding, vanilla, and cream together until thick.
• Place one of the cake layers, meringue side up, on a serving plate.
• Spread with all the pastry cream.
• Add a layer of berries.
• Top with second layer, meringue side up.
• Decorate top with berries if desired.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.