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Monday, April 19, 2010

Best Ever Berry Cobbler and Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream!

One of the best things about spring? The berries, of course!!!! I picked up some beautiful strawberries at the farmers' market this weekend, and they went straight into this awesome Best Ever Berry Cobbler. There's nothing better!! And you can't have a beautiful, warm cobbler without some cool Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream. You just can't. This recipe includes canola oil, which helps prevent an overly icy texture and adds a bit of creaminess as well. This may be my new favorite comfort food! Best Ever Berry Cobbler (serves 12-16)
2 qts fresh or frozen organic strawberries, sliced
1 6 oz. bag frozen (or fresh) organic blackberries
2 cups frozen or fresh organic blueberries
1 cup frozen or fresh organic raspberries
**I say to use organic berries here because of the large amount of pesticides used on conventionally-grown berries. Check out the EWG's website for more information.

1 cup sugar
1 Tbs vanilla extract
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
Crust:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs baking powder
1/4 cup cold vegan margarine
1/4 cup cold non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
1/2 cup soy milk (or 1-2 Tbs more as needed)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large pot, combine the berries, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and sea salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, until reduced about halfway. Stir in the flour and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in the cold margarine and shortening with a pastry cutter or strong fork, until the dough becomes crumbly. Drizzle in the soy milk, adding more or less as needed to form a soft, but solid, dough.

Pour the berry mixture into a 9x13 glass baking dish. Take pieces of dough and flatten; spread out in patches over the berry mixture, covering most of the berries, but also leaving some showing in between crust pieces. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs sugar over the top and place in oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool and set for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serve warm with Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream.

Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream (makes 1 qt)
1 box silken tofu-- not lite
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 cup soy milk or almond milk
1 1/2 Tbs vanilla extract
2 Tbs canola oil
Pinch of sea salt
3/4 cup sugar
Optional: scraping from 1/2 a vanilla bean

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients. Puree until completely smooth and chill for an hour in the refrigerator. Pour into ice cream maker and make/freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
Allow to chill in freezer at least 1-2 hours before serving.

You now have everything you need for the perfect springtime dessert!!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, this looks so perfect. I can't wait for summer!

Melissa K said...

I miss fresh berries so much! Yum.

Bianca said...

Mmmm...my friend gives me a big ole bag of blackberries from his family's blackberry bushes every spring. As soon as I get it, a cobbler is soooo in my future.

Rosa Smith said...

4rx
Berry with Ice Cream that must have good taste you know. Vanilla it's my favorite flavor I'll try to prepare this for this afternoon. Thanks.