My jar of raspberry jam

Ever read a slick blog where the photos have a casual, but charmingly messy feel to them? I was hoping to be that blogger, with gentle, homey photos like the one below, crumbs askew, some chic disarray on view.

Cannelle et Vanille blog photo

Instead, alas, I look more like a slob. So sorry. Sloppiness aside, my raspberry jam is slick! And it couldn't be any simpler. It is just raspberries and sugar mashed together and cooked over medium then low heat until thick and jammy. I do add a wee pinch of kosher salt to brighten the whole experience and that's it, folks. My formula is simple: equal parts mashed fruit to sugar. Cook. Cool. Eat or freeze. I don't even bother with the canning routine. Bought an extra freezer and in go all my jams, perfectly preserved for those dark winter mornings when toast and jam and hot coffee are the recipe for comfort.

Here is the way I make jam, albeit, messily. Take a few cups of fresh raspberries and place them in a heavy bottomed pot. Add a little pinch of kosher salt. Mash them with a potato masher. Measure the mash. Add equal amounts of sugar. Cook mixture, stirring gently, over medium heat and adjust temperature as needed to maintain a slow simmer. Boil until thick and jammy, stirring more as the mixture thickens so as to avoid scorching. You can use a candy thermometer to gage the exact moment of doneness at 220 F or drop a glop on an ice cube and see if it holds together in a jam-like fashion. I did neither, just used my eyes to decide that the right time had come, a thick sludge of ruby toned sweetness sitting in my pot. I lifted the spoon and the jam looked dense and heavy, falling off the spoon in large, slow blobs. All this is to say that you can measure with instruments and use temperature as a guide, but nothing replaces sensory input, where you look, feel and use some intuition as well in knowing when your jam has set.

You may be wondering about pectin and why I don't use it. I don't like it. It is bitter, so you need more sugar in your jam, diluting the intensity of the fruit. Raspbery jam always seems to set beautifully without it, so why use it when you don't need it? I love the pure simplicity of jam made with just fruit and sugar.

Once your fruity mass has become what you intend it be, ladle it carefully into clean jars and either process them for canning, freeze them or store them in the fridge for a few weeks. You will be happy with the pure jolt of fruity denseness each mouthful yields, a concentrated hit of raspberry essence much superior to commercial products. Use your jam liberally on warm whole wheat toast, on buttery scones, overtop vanilla bean ice cream, baked up into delicate rugelach cookies, or, my personal favourite, in Jammers, a special cookie project I will deconstruct for you on this blog very soon. Wait for it.

Get busy making jam while fresh fruit is upon us.

Here they are, the innards of my cheesecake laid out for you to scrutinize. The layers are clearly visible, my new go-to crust of shortbread cookie dough over which sits a smooth and luscious lemony cheesecake. Then there are the raspberries, thickened into a sweet sludge singing of fresh fruit. It all works very well, every element playing its part in the symphony of joy happening in your mouth.

It took time for me to let go of the graham crust so often seen in cheesecakes and now that I have moved on, there is no going back. I love the sturdiness a cookie dough provides, allowing easy cutting and lifting, no crumbly detritus scattered on every plate. This cake cuts like a dream, with clean, crisp edges and nice delineations between the layers, each segment standing on its own merit and merging into a delectable whole. Also, the shortbread base can carry so many flavour possibilites, from toasted coconut to lemon, vanilla, chocolate or hazelnut, a lovely cookie foundation from which your cake rises up and gets noticed. Every ounce of your being is urging you to do it!

Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake from Wanda's Pie in the Sky

Makes one 10-inch cake, serving 12-14 people

Crust: 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1+3/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 tsp. salt; 1 tsp. grated lemon zest; 1 egg, slightly beaten.

Filling: 1+1/2 pound cream cheese at room temperature; 1+1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided; 1 cup sour cream; 5 large eggs, at room temperature, separated; 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 2 tsp. grated orange zest; 1 tsp. grated lemon zest; 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice.

Topping: 1/2 - 1 cup granulated sugar, depending on the sweetness of the raspberries; 2 tbsp. cornstarch; 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice; 2 tsp. grated lemon zest; 1 pound raspberries.

Using a food processor or pastry cutter, process or cut the butter with the flour, sugar, salt and zest until mealy. Add egg and mix just until mixture begins to come together. Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll out one piece of dough into a 10-inch circle. Place it onto the bottom of a buttered 10-inch springform pan and chill for 20 minutes. Roll out the remaining pastry into a strip 3-inches wide and line the sides of the pan with it, overlapping the bottom crust slightly. Trim the pastry just to the top of the pan. Chill while preparing the filling and topping. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, flour, vanilla, zests and lemon juice and beat until very smooth. Beat the egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until soft peaks form. Fold into cheese mixture and turn into the prepared crust. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven setting to 225 F and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the cake is no longer shiny. Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight before slicing and serving.

For the topping, combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Mix until smooth and gently stir in the fruit. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit releases some juice. Increase the temperature to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly but being careful not to crush the fruit. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if needed. Cool slightly before pouring over the chilled cheesecake. Chill thoroughly before removing the cake from the pan or slicing. Store refrigerated in a closed container for up to 4 days.

Tips from me to you:

• It really is important to have the cream cheese and eggs at room temperature to avoid lumps and achieve maximum creaminess in your final product.
• I modified the crust technique by just pressing the shortbread dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. I also pre-baked it for 7 minutes at 350 F to make sure it crisped up nicely. You can see from my golden edged bottom crust that this was a good idea. Haven't tested this the other way, Wanda's way.
• True confession: I did not separate my eggs and everything worked out just fine, though Wanda's technique probably yields a fluffier result. I don't mind my cheesecake a bit dense, but if it is fluffiness you seek, separate your eggs.
• I find that light cream cheese bakes up beautifully and has better texture than regular cream cheese. The regular stuff feels somewhat sticky and heavy to me.
• Blueberries could also work well as a topping, using the same technique and measurements. If your topping feels too loose, mix another tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water and add to the cooking fruit to thicken it up a bit more. My topping held together almost like a solid layer of pure fruit, which was nice, but it is perfectly OK to have a topping that is somewhat looser, oozing down gently over your slices of cake.
• And, finally, you can freeze this cake!

This may, truly, be the cheesecake of your dreams. It will satisfy a hunkering for a thick, gooey, sinfully rich, soul-satisfying dessert like nothing else I can think of. More inspiration for decadence can be found here:

No recipe! No measuring! No cooked custard! No eggs! I whipped up a beautiful batch of dazzling pink rhubarb ice cream and here is how it played out. First, it was time to harvest the hearty rhubarb stalks taking over my vegetable patch, so I cut some down and hopefully more will grow. Gave them a wash, a chop and then placed them into a pot to simmer with some sugar and a splash of water. The rhubarb quickly boiled down to a thick, pastey mush which I then pureed and enhanced with natural vanilla extract and some freshly ground cinnamon. Added in some light cream and milk and a pinch of salt to round out the flavours. Tossed in some raspberries. Into the fridge for an overnight chill before churning. A spin in my Cuisinart ice cream maker quickly transformed a cold slurry into a thick, luscious, creamy gelato. Some freezer time firmed things up just right. Served it up in a vintage glass pedestal cup. Success!!

That's all there is to it, really. How much sugar? Up to you. Rhubarb is nasty without it, so don't be shocked when you taste your pre-churned mixture and find you need lots. Use equal amounts of milk and cream. If you feel comfortable with some more guidance, try these proportions:

Rhubarb Raspberry Ice Cream

4 stalks of rhubarb, about 1.25 pounds, cut into 1- inch pieces; 1 cup water; 3/4 cup sugar; 3 whole green cardamom pods, cracked; 1 cup milk; 1 cup table cream, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract; pinch of salt; 3/4 cup raspberries, frozen or fresh.

Place your rhubarb pieces, water, sugar and cardamom pods in a saucepan and cook until rhubarb breaks down and turns soft and mushy. Take off the heat and remove the cardamom pods and any seeds that may have escaped. Let cool and puree. In a mixing bowl combine the pureed rhubarb, milk, cream, cinnamon, vanilla and pinch of salt. Mix well and taste for sweetness. Add more sugar if the mixture seems too tart. Chill in the fridge overnight. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the raspberries about half way through the churning process, when the ice cream is still soft. Makes about 2 litres.

Rhubarb may not be your go-to flavour for ice cream at the moment but once you get your hot little hands on this cool, rose-toned treat you will effortlessly succumb to its charms.

Keep cool with more chilled treats: