Recipes

Delicious Dishes with Raspberries

Raspberries are a delicious fruit that can be used in many ways. Feel free to use your imagination and experiment. Fresh and frozen raspberries can be added to a fruit salad or breakfast bowl to give it both extra colour and flavour. Served with yogurt, cream or ice-cream it makes an excellent dessert. They are particularly delicious atop cream smothered pavalovas or merangue nests, the berries giving a hint of sharpness to the sweetest of Summer treats. Though ideal as a topping, fresh or frozen raspberries can also be added as ingredients to pastries and cakes. They are a delicate fruit, so it is best to add them to the mixture at the very last moment before it is placed in the oven.

Here are three sumptuous suggestions which you might like to try out in your own kitchen, and also at the end our very own jam recipe with tips for getting it to set perfectly.


A Fresh Raspberry Trio

White Chocolate & Raspberry Muffins

50g (2 oz) butter
300g (10 ½ oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
150g (5 ½ oz) unrefined golden caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
225ml (7 ½ fl oz) milk
75g (2 ¾ oz) chopped white chocolate
100g of Conroy's Wicklow Raspberries
(other raspberries can be used in emergency situations)

Makes eight muffins

Gently melt the butter to liquid in a saucepan or bowl in the microwave. Sieve the flour and powder into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Whisk the egg is a seperate container with the vanilla, milk and melted butter. Add this liquid to the dry ingredients stirring it in gently as you do. Follow with the chocolate and finally the raspberries before a last gentle stir. Spoon the mixture into silicon or grease-proof paper cups in muffin trays and bake in an oven preheated to 200C / 400F / gas mark 6 for about 30 minutes, or until well risen and firm.


Raspberries

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

250g (9oz) dark chocolate, at least 70% cocao
100g (4oz) butter
6 eggs, seperated
75g (3oz) sugar
100g (4oz) ground almonds
half a punnet of Conroy's Wicklow Raspberries
(other raspberries might do if you can't get Conroy's)

Makes two cakes

Melt the chocolate and butter together, use one small saucepan in another with boiling water, or you can also microwave. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar till pale. Add the ground almonds and the melted chococlate and butter and mix very well. In a seperate large bowl, beat the egg whites stiff and fold them in. At the last minute lightly stir in the raspberries. Spoon into two lined or well buttered 900g/2lb loaf tin and bake in an oven preheated to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4 for about 50 minutes, until the cake springs back when prodded gently with your finger. Leave in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

Each morsel of this deep dark chocolate creation infused with juicy berries demands lashings of fresh cream. It's well worth giving in!


A Fresh Raspberry Trio

Banana & Raspberry Bread

225g (8oz) plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
110g (4oz) caster sugar
2 eggs beaten
75ml (3fl oz) sunflower oil
wee splash of vanilla essence
handful or pecan nuts, chopped (walnuts will do if you can't get pecans)
4 medium sized ripe bananas
half a punnet of Conroy's Wicklow Raspberries
(lesser raspberries may just suffice)

Makes two loaves

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl and stir in the sugar. Mix in the egg, sunfloweroil and vanilla essence but do not beat. Fold in the pecans and mashed bananas, using a fork. Again do not beat. At the last minute lightly stir in the raspberries. Spoon into two lined or well buttered 900g/2lb loaf tin and bake in an oven preheated to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4 for 50-60 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and springs back when prodded gently with your finger. Leave in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

This is really sumptuous while still hot with slabs of butter melting into each slice.


Raspberry Jam

1 lb raspberries
1 lb of sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon juice for pectin

Before you start put a side plate in a freezer to help to test for setting. Do not wash the raspberries you will make them runny! Mix the fruit the lemon juice and the sugar in a big pot and start to heat gently. Keep stirring and break up the fruit as much as possible use a masher if necessary. Bring to the boil and boil strongly for aprox 7 minutes. Keep stirring. Take off the boil and set aside. To test to see if the jam has set take a spoonful of jam out and put onto the cold plate. When the jam slightly cools push using your finger. If there is a slight skin in front of your finger as you push, then the jam will set. If no skin then reboil for another 3 minutes or so keep testing until set. If you overboil the jam it will loose its lovely red colour and go brown. Place washed and cleaned jars in the microwave until warm. When jam is really hot fill upjars to almost the top and put caps on immediately! Tightly! and voila, jam done.


Tel. (01) 286 0618 or (086) 606 3339 | Email:
Conroy's Wicklow Raspberries | Rocky Valley Drive, Kilmacanogue, County Wicklow, Ireland

Raspberry Rows with view of Powerscourt