Isn't it amazing how quickly the year goes? Christmas is right around the corner and we couldn't be more excited! We love spending Christmas Day with family, friends, and of course, good food. 
The festive season is always filled with holiday parties and dinners. Here is a some delicious Raspberry Tartlets, a perfect finish to the feast.
If you find yourself running out of time, as we all do at this time of the year, buy some ready made tartlets cases instead. 

Christmas Raspberry Tartlets: Pastry: 150g Flour 100g Butter 2 Tbsp White Sugar 1 egg 20g melted Dark Chocolate Chips Raspberry Filling: 1 cup Orchard Gold Raspberries 100g melted Butter 100g Caster Sugar 3 lightly whisked Eggs

1. Preheat oven to 180degC. 2. For the pastry, in a food processor, mix together the flour butter and sugar until it looks like find breadcrumbs. Add in the egg and continue processing until it forms a dough. 3. Roll out the dough on a lightly flour coated bench. Cut the dough to line a 24 mini muffin tray and place a second mini muffin tray on top. Bake in the oven for 15 mins. Tip the trays upside down and remove the top tray. Return the bottom tray to the oven for another 5 mins. 4. For the Raspberry filling, puree the raspberries in a food processor and pass the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. Add in the melted butter, sugar and eggs and place in a bowl over simmering water. Cook for 15 mins, stirring occasionally (to avoid overcooking the eggs!) until it is thick and 'sticks' to the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and cool completely. 5. Before serving, coat the tartlet cases with a layer of melted chocolate chips and add a dollop of raspberry filling. Garnish with some extra raspberries and enjoy!

 

Find our Orchard Gold Berries at all leading supermarkets

Spring is nearly upon us! Not only are we starting to see daffodils popping up everywhere, but the days are getting lighter and the weather a little bit warmer everyday. We are ready for summer!
But before the weather gets too warm, we thought we would sneak in one more 'wintry' recipe. This Blueberry Crumble Cake works well with the cross over of seasons and it's perfect for a morning or afternoon tea with a hot cuppa!

1 cup white sugar 3 cups plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) 250g margarine/softened butter 1 egg 1/2 cup white sugar 3 teaspoons cornflour 4 cups Orchard Gold Supreme Blueberries 1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees 2. In a bowl, stir together sugar, flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. 3. With a fork, blend in the margarine/butter and egg until it forms a crumbly dough like texture In a greased tray, place half of the crumble mixture and pat down to form the base. 4. In another bowl, mix in sugar, cornflour, and blueberries. Stir gently until the berries are lightly coated, then spread evenly over the base. 5. Crumble the rest of the base mixture over the berries. 6. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Allow to cool before cutting.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or freshly whipped cream!

Yum! Find our Orchard Gold Berries at all leading supermarkets.

 

It's official. Summer is over and the cooler weather is starting to take over. As sad as it is to see Winter's arrival and the departure of the outside BBQing, we can't help but get excited over winter desserts! The cold weather is always a good excuse for a warm crumble, pie or pudding. Recently, we found this great recipe for a Mixed Berry Pecan Crisp.
Its easy to make and even easier to eat!

 

Ingredients: 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup pecan halves (about ¾ cup chopped) ½ cup plain flour ½ cup desiccated coconut ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil ⅓ cup maple syrup or raw honey 4 cups Orchard Gold Premium Mixed Berries   Instructions:   Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Chop up the pecans and combine with the oats, flour, coconut, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and maple syrup and stir until well mixed.  Grease a medium square baking dish and arrange the berries in the bottom. Top with the oat mixture. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and has firmed up slightly. Serve while warm. You can serve it with some vanilla ice cream or cream, as desired, or lightly dust the top with icing sugar.

Don't forget to follow us on Instagram!    @OrchardGoldBerries

Here's a quick and tasty dessert for Easter.  Also great to make with the kids in the school holidays.  A clafouti is a French dessert - usually made with cherries, but we've used Orchard Gold Raspberries.  It is topped with a pancake mix and baked. Enjoy.

 

Ingredients: 2 cups Orchard Gold frozen raspberries 1 cup milk 3 large eggs ½ cup flour ⅓ cup sugar 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Method: Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease or spray a 23cm pie dish. Sprinkle the Orchard Gold raspberries on the base of the dish. In a large jug whisk the remaining ingredients together to a smooth puree. Pour this over the raspberries. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and set in the centre. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve dusted with icing sugar.

Orchard Gold frozen berries are available at your local supermarket ...
 

 

Here's one of our all time favourites - it's based on Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake from her first book "How to Eat".  This is a very runny mixture and it can leak through the bottom of the tin.  We recommend you line the base and sides with baking paper to prevent any leaks from the tin ... easier than cleaning the oven later, as we had to!!!  

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE

Ingredients: 185g self raising flour 30g cocoa powder 250g unsalted butter 1 tablespoon liqueur (raspberry or other) 95g caster sugar 95g dark brown sugar 250g dark chocolate 185ml black coffee and 185 ml water (or 370ml water with 2 teaspoons instant coffee) 2 eggs, lightly beaten 250g Orchard Gold raspberries
Method: Preheat the oven to 180oC. Butter a 22-23cm spring-sided cake tin and line the base and sides with one piece of baking paper - to prevent leaks. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside.   In a heavy-based saucepan place the butter, liqueur, sugars, chocolate, coffee and water and stir over a low heat until everything is melted and is glossy, smooth and thick. Stir this mixture into the sifted flour and cocoa.  Beat well until all smooth and glossy, then beat in the eggs. This will be runny - its meant to be! The chocolate sets as it cooks and then cools. Pour about half the mixture into the prepared tin, cover with the raspberries, then pour the rest of the mixture over the top. If necessary poke the raspberries back down under the cake batter. Put into the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. It will still be moist when cooked so a skewer will not come out clean.  When it is cooked the top will be firm and probably slightly cracked. Remove from the oven and put on a rack. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out.   Dust with a little icing sugar, serve with raspberry compote and ice cream or creme fraiche.
Other Orchard Gold berries can be used in this recipe - try Orchard Gold Super Fruits (blueberries, blackcurrants and raspberries) or Orchard Gold Blueberries.

 

We love these Raspberry Custard Tarts.  They are very tasty and quick to make ... they take as long as it takes the raspberries to thaw!  

The kids can make them up, yet they are good enough for a flash dessert.    If you don't have custard you can use lemon curd.  They taste great with Orchard Gold Blueberries and Orchard Gold Super Fruits too.

Raspberry Custard Tarts

Ingredients: 1 packet prepared pastry tart cases 1 pack prepared custard (we used Meadowfresh thick and creamy) 2 cups Orchard Gold frozen raspberries Icing sugar to dust (optional) Method: Spread the Orchard Gold raspberries onto a plate in a single layer to thaw. Spoon the custard into the tart cases. Just before serving place as many thawed Orchard Gold raspberries as will fit on top of the custard. If desired, dust with icing sugar.

 

What a summer we've had.  The change in temperature now has us all baking - loaves and crumbles in our households.

 

Here are a couple of cracker recipes for a Blueberry and Lemon Loaf, and a Handy Crumble Mix that is perfect to sprinkle over some warmed berries.  We made the blueberry and lemon loaf at work today - mmm.  It's all gone!

Blueberry and Lemon Loaf

Ingredients: 125g butter or margarine 150g sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla essence Juice and grated Zest of 1 lemon 200g Self Raising Flour ½ cup milk 1 cup Orchard Gold frozen blueberries

Method: Preheat the oven to 160degC.  Spray a non-stick loaf pan with a vegetable spray and line the base with baking paper.   Using an electric or hand mixer, beat the butter until softened, add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla essence and the lemon juice and zest and mix well.    Add the flour and the milk alternatively, mixing gently, only until combined.  Fold in the Orchard Gold blueberries.   Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.   When the loaf is cooked, remove from the oven.  Cool the loaf in the pan for about 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.  Sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired, then serve.

Handy Crumble Mix

Make up a batch of this crumble topping and sprinkle over warmed berries for a luscious treat.  Serve with a scoop of custard, yoghurt, whipped cream or ice cream, if preferred.

Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup brown sugar ½ cup coconut ½ cup chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans 125 g melted butter

Method: Line an oven tray with baking paper.  Preheat the oven to 160degC. Stir all the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then add the melted butter and mix well.   Spread over the baking paper and place in the oven.  Bake for 20 minutes - check after 10 minutes, if you think the crumble is browning too fast, turn the oven temperature down.   Serve the crumble hot over warmed berries, or cool and keep in an airtight container (for tomorrow).

Sophia (8 years old) sent us this picture and recipe of the dessert she made for her family this week.  We think it is very cool.  Good one Sophia – we look forward to more of your berry recipes.  Sophia made this with Orchard Gold Blueberries - but you can use any of the Orchard Gold berries and it will taste great.

Sophia’s Christmas Berry Dessert Ingredients: 2 tablespoons shredded coconut For the Ice Cream: 1 cup Orchard Gold Blueberries (or other Orchard Gold berries) 1 cup cream 2 tablespoons icing sugar Zest of half a lemon   To serve:   1 tub of Yoghurt – your favourite flavour 1 Banana – sliced
Method: Place the coconut in a dry pan (i.e. no oil), and gently toast on a low heat.   To make the Berry Ice Cream place the Blueberries, icing sugar and lemon zest in a blender or food processor.  Add the cream slowly and blend until you get your desired texture – stop adding cream at this point.    Place layers of berry ice cream, sliced banana, yoghurt, then toasted coconut, and repeat until the glass is full.  Finish with a sprinkle of the toasted coconut.   Makes 2 glasses.
Variation:  Replace the cream with milk or half milk and half cream.

 


 

 

While there's still some left in the bottle, we've been exploring other recipes with berries and Limoncello.  What could be simpler than this ...

Orchard Gold Mixed Berries in Limoncello
All we did was open a pack of Orchard Gold Mixed Berries and pour them into a serving bowl - quite a wide one as you want the berries more in a single layer than piled high.   Pour over 2 tablespoons of Limoncello, stir and leave for a few minutes.   Then eat.
	Nigella's Iced Berries with Limoncello We saw this recipe on Nigellissima Episode 3, from the BBC website link http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00z9lc0 .  It tastes so good, and as she says, it is sooo easy! Prepare the berries as above, then for the sauce you'll need: 250ml cream 2 tablespoons Limoncello 200g white chocolate, finely chopped Put the cream and the Limoncello in a saucepan and heat slowly until it is almost boiling, but don't let it boil. Take off the heat and add the white chocolate.  Swirl the pan around and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate melts and the sauce is lovely and thick. Pour over the berries and serve.

Try it with just raspberries and blueberries too - its simply sublime!  We're having this at Christmas ... 

I recently came across this recipe by the gorgeous Giada De Laurentiis of Everyday Italian, on the Food Network.  It seemed too good to be true!  I've adapted it to use with Orchard Gold mixed berries.

I've made it several times now with Orchard Gold Mixed Berries, sometimes adding a few fresh diced strawberries to the mix.  Serve in pretty glasses, take a big bowl along to a BBQ or have with cake.  We reckon it'll go well with pavlova at Christmas too.
 

Mixed Berries with Limoncello - using Orchard Gold frozen berries - a premium mix of boysenberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Ingredients: 1 pack Orchard Gold Mixed Berries ½ punnet fresh strawberries (optional) 2 tablespoons Limoncello 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves	Method: Thaw the Orchard Gold Mixed Berries in a bowl.  Remove the calyx from the strawberries and dice roughly the same size as the raspberries.   Add the Limoncello, mint and basil and stir until combined.  The flavours will mature if you leave for an hour before eating.

You could make up a separate bowl of berries for the younger ones, omitting the limoncello and replacing it with a little icing sugar.

Kelly and Shannon (whom some of you may know from her Shaaanxo Beauty Channel - NZ's most popular Youtube TV channel) have been making some dishes with Orchard Gold Berries.   Here they are making a Lemon and Berry Cheesecake - using Orchard Gold Premium Mixed Berries and Luscious Raspberries.  It tastes great!

Watch Kelly and Shannon make it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0V6yB1joP8&feature=player_detailpage     

While you're there, you could also watch them making Filo Pastry Tarts with Orchard Gold Berries,  and a Berry Smoothie - click on the side panel to access these.

We’re celebrating Fallow Day this year on Wednesday 5^th September.  We hope you’ll join us. 

 

What’s Fallow Day?  There’s such a long gap between Queen’s Birthday and Labour Weekend - we reckon New Zealand needs another holiday right about now.  Our lands and gardens are lying barren after winter, yet we’ve got glimpses of the light of spring, and we’re starting to feel warm and spirited!  

 

So we take a day, when nature lies fallow and the human spirit tends to gloom, to gather the whanau together and celebrate all that we have, because we know that spring is not far away!

 

And to help celebrate Fallow Day, put away the comfort food and whip up some Berries with meringues and cream.  Use store bought meringues or mini pavlovas if you prefer.
 

Berry Compote with Meringues and Cream Berry Compote Ingredients: 1 bag of Orchard Gold Mixed Berries (500g) ½ cup castor sugar Juice of ½ a lemon Method: Heat the berries slowly in a saucepan with the sugar, until the berries are thawed and the sugar has dissolved.  Put aside to cool, then add the lemon juice.

Make these with:       or any mixture of Orchard Gold berries that you have.

Meringue Ingredients: 2 egg whites 2/3rd cup castor sugar Pinch of salt 1 tsp vanilla essence Ingredients: Have the egg whites at room temperature.   Heat the oven to 120degC.  Line two baking trays with baking paper or non-stick foil. Place the egg whites and salt in a clean dry bowl (not plastic) and beat until soft peaks hold when you raise the whisk. Add the sugar, one dessertspoon at a time, beating well to incorporate each spoonful. Add the vanilla and beat in well. Beat until the mixture is smooth and glossy and the sugar is dissolved. Place large spoonfuls on the trays. Make for 1-1/4 hours.  Check to see if crisp on the outside after an hour – they may require slightly more cooking.  Also, reduce the oven temperature if the meringues show signs of browning. When cool, store in an airtight container.   To serve: Place a meringue on each plate, top with some whipped cream and two large spoonfuls of berry compote.

 

Remembering Tom Ffowcs Williams.

 

Here’s a quick and easy treat we made using Orchard Gold Mixed Berries, but they also taste great with any of the packs.  First make a Mixed Berry Compote, then take some of the Compote to make Berry Turnovers.  The secret is to make sure the edges are well sealed – crimp them with a fork.  Serve warm with custard or ice cream, or cold as lunchbox treats.   Use the rest of the compote to dunk your turnover into, on your cereal, or swirl into yoghurt.

 

Make these with: Orchard Gold Mixed Berries  

MIXED BERRY COMPOTE
Ingredients:
1 pack Orchard Gold Mixed Berries
¼ cup sugar
 
Method:
Heat the Orchard Gold Mixed Berries with the sugar until the sugar has dissolved.  This can be done in a saucepan or in the microwave.
 

MIXED BERRY TURNOVERS Ingredients: 3 sheets frozen puff pastry, ready rolled 2 cups Mixed Berry Compote (see above) 2 dessertspoons cornflour 1 egg beaten well with 1 tablespoon water Method: Preheat the oven to 200degC.  Place baking paper or silicone mats on a baking tray.   Pour the berry juices from the Compote into a jug and mix in the cornflour.  Warm in the microwave or in a saucepan until slightly thickened, then stir into the Compote.   Place a sheet of frozen puff pastry on a cutting board and cut into 4 squares.  Brush the edges well with beaten egg wash.    Working one square at a time, put a tablespoon of the Compote onto the middle of square, then fold the pastry over from the far point to make a triangle.  Press the edges together with your thumb and fingers to enclose the filling, then crimp the edges with a fork to completely seal the turnover.  Put on the baking tray.   Repeat this with the remaining pastry squares.  With the remaining egg, brush the tops of the turnovers.   Bake for 20 minutes until well puffed up and golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.

 

Tip:  If any of the filling spills out the side of the turnover, use a teaspoon to spoon it back inside the hole it came out from – do this as soon as you take the Turnovers out of the oven and no-one will ever know!

This is a traditional Scottish recipe.  It looks wonderful layered in stemmed glasses and tastes even better.  Adjust the amount of whisky and honey to suit your taste.  For all our Scots friends ...

Cranachan (Raspberries with toasted oats, cream, yoghurt, whisky and honey)

Ingredients: 1 pack of Orchard Gold Raspberries 1 tablespoon castor sugar (if desired) 1 cup scotch or rolled oats 2 tablespoons honey 300ml cream 300ml Greek yoghurt 2 tablespoons whisky 1 teaspoon vanilla Method: Preheat oven to 180°C. Put the honey in a glass bowl and microwave on high for about 10 seconds until runny.  Remove from the microwave and stir in the scotch oats. Place a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray and tip the oats/honey mix onto this, spreading out to a single layer.  Toast the mix in the oven until nicely browned, stirring frequently to toast all sides.  We suggest you watch this carefully as it can burn very quickly.  When toasted remove from the oven and cool. Meantime thaw the Orchard Gold raspberries in the microwave by heating on high for 2 minutes.  Stir, then heat again for another two minutes.  Mix in the castor sugar (or use extra honey) to sweeten if desired.  Put aside to cool. Place the cream in a clean bowl, add the whisky and vanilla and beat until thick.  Stir in the Greek yoghurt and mix again.  Put aside 4 tablespoons of the toasted oats for the topping, and stir the remainder into the cream/yoghurt mix. Layer the Cranachan in stemmed glasses – putting a layer of creamy oats, then a layer of raspberries.  Continue layering, depending on the size of your glasses, then finish with a layer of creamy oats.  Chill in the refrigerator until required. To serve, sprinkle on some of the reserved crunchy oats.

And if you're Irish you can use whiskey instead!

Did you know:  In fact raspberries aren’t really berries at all – they’re from the same plant family as roses, and are an aggregate fruit, made up of druplets, each with its own seed. 
 

Raspberries are the only bramble berry picked without the calyx (the white central core found in blackberries and boysenberries).  Frozen raspberries are the most delicate of berries and should be very gently handled as they break into pieces easily.