Concord Grape Jam and Concord Grape Handpies

I love that you can tell I took these three photos over the course of a day. Fresh grapes in the morning, grape jam by midday, and by evening there were grape hand pies fresh and warm. I've written about my love for concord grapes on this here blog a couple of times, but this year was the first time I went all of the way and made myself a proper batch of grape jam to (hopefully) last the year.

I preserved a lot less this summer than I have in years past. Partly because I was busier than usual and partly because I wanted to make sure that I was only putting up things I really wanted to eat later in the year. Judging by the fact that we ran through an entire pint of this jam in about a week I think I stumbled upon a winner.

Once you've put the jam together, the hand pies are really a cinch to put together. Just roll out a pie crust, cut it up, dot it with jam and bake until golden and crisp.

Concord Grape Jam
adapted from The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield, 5-6 half pints

4lbs stemmed Concord grapes
2 1/4 pounds sugar
3 ounces lemon juice
1 ounce orange juice

1. Separate the flesh of the grapes from the skins by gently pinching the flesh from each grape, being careful to catch all of the grape juices. Reserve the skins. Add the grape flesh to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until the seeds start to separate from the flesh. Force as much of the grape pulp through a fine mesh sieve as possible and discard the seeds.
2. Add the grape pulp, skins, sugar, and juices to a large non-reactive pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook the jam, stirring occasionally, until it comes to 220º or passes the wrinkle test, 20-30 minutes. Test the jam after 20 minutes to prevent overcooking. Ladle the finished jam into clean jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Concord Grape Hand Pies
yield 6 hand pies

One batch of your favorite double-crust pie dough: See my favorites here and here
3/4 cup concord grape jam
1 egg for egg wash
2 Tablespoons coarse sugar

Preheat oven to 400º

Roll the dough into a rectangle roughly 12 inches by 16 inches and 1/8''-1/4'' thick. Use a knife to cut the dough into even rectangles roughly 3 inches by 4 inches. Brush the edges of half of the rectangles with egg wash (these will be the bottom crusts) and top each rectangle with about 2 Tablespoons of jam. Top each pie with another piece of dough and crimp the edges with a fork. Move the pies to a baking sheet and refrigerate 15 minutes or until firm. When you are ready to bake the pies, brush each one with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar then cut a vent into the top. Bake the pies for 20-25 minutes or until deep golden brown.

 

One For the Road

Well, it's been drizzly all week and I roasted my first pumpkin of the year so I think it's safe to say that fall is here. I'm just the tiniest bit sad to see summer go, but I am far more excited to see what this season of change has in store. So, here's the last of my summery photos and one last (ok two) recipe(s) for the road. Yes, I know, it's probably too late to make blackberry jam this year, but maybe bookmark these recipes for next summer? I'll be back soon with something a bit more autumnal.

Classic Blackberry Jam
yield about 6, half pints
This jam is simple and unadorned, just blackberries, sugar and lemon and it tastes like a Northwest summer. I will cherish every bite of every jar.

3 1/2 pounds fresh blackberries, rinsed
1 3/4 pounds sugar
3 ounces lemon juice

1. Add the blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a large, wide, non-reactive pot. Use a potato masher to gently mash the fruit.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 10-20 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking for doneness at 10 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam. If you prefer seedless jam, quickly transfer the cooked mixture to a mesh strainer and force as much as the jam through as possible, discard the seeds and proceed with canning.
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Blackberry Fig Jam with Lime
yield 6-8 half pints
Green figs can be very sweet and tart blackberries temper their flavor nicely in this jam.

2 1/2 pounds fresh blackberries, rinsed
1 1/2 pounds green figs, stem ends removed and chopped coarsely
1 1/2 pounds sugar
4 ounces lime juice
1t lime zest

1. Add the blackberries, chopped figs, sugar, and lime juice to a large, wide, non-reactive pot. Use a potato masher to gently mash the fruit.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 15-25 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking for doneness at 15 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam.
4. Stir in the lime zest, pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

I'll Bake You a Cake

If you are feeling sick, let me make you some soup. Feeling sad? I’ll make you something warm and comforting. Watching your weight? Well you look great to me, but I’ll make you something really healthy. Are you celebrating? I’ll bake you a cake.
 

I am terrible at small talk, but really good with food. I’ll probably have a hard time explaining myself so let me make something with my own two hands to show you.
 

When you are away, I’ll send you a care package full of things to nourish you and make you smile. I'll wrap everything in newsprint and tissue paper and include a little note, but the love is in the treats.
 

I sent my brother and his wife a package today. For their new little ones, I’ll make birthday cakes like this one every year even if I am not with them because that's what I do. I know first impressions are everything so I made this one tall and pink and carefully constructed to make sure they know their aunt is no slouch.

To see how I put this cake together Check out this set of photos on flickr to accompany the instructions below

Almond Cake
adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2c, 3 sticks, softened butter
9oz almond paste, room temperature
1 1/2c sugar
6 eggs
1/2t vanilla extract
1 1/2c cake flour
3/4t baking powder
1/2t salt

Preheat oven to 350º and butter and flour 2, 8'' cake pans (3'' tall works best here) If you have shorter pans, I suggest you divide it into 3 pans to prevent overflow.

1. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix the almond paste and sugar until the almond paste is broken up into very small pieces. Add in the butter and beat until light and fluffy, 5min.
3. Add in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients.
4. Divide the batter between the two pans, smooth the tops and slide into the oven. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30min. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10min, then carefully invert on a cooling rack and cool completely.
5. Once cool, trim each cake flat on the top, then in half horizontally. You will have 4 layers of cake when you are finished. If you baked the cake in 3 pans, just trim the tops flat.

Simple Vanilla Buttercream

1 lb softened butter

2 lbs sifted confectioner's sugar

1T vanilla extract

1/4-1/2 cup room temp milk

big pinch salt

In the bowl of a standing mixer or with a hand mixer cream the butter until it is well mixed, about 1 min. Gradually add in the sugar and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 min. Add the salt and vanilla extract. Slowly stream in the milk until the frosting is soft, smooth and spreadable. If you plan on finishing the cake with an ombre design it is helpful if the frosting is very soft, but not runny at all. 

To Assemble the Cake

Trimmed Cake Layers

Vanilla Buttercream

12oz of cherry jam (raspberry or apricot would be great too)

Cake Turntable (not necessary, but SO helpful)

Check out this set of photos on flickr to accompany the instructions below

1. Anchor the first layer of cake to the turntable with a bit of buttercream. Spread a thin layer (about 1/3c) of buttercream on the cake, taking care to leave the frosting a little thicker on the edges to make a dam to hold the jam. Top the buttercream with a few tablespoons of jam and top with the next cake layer. Repeat until you use all of the cake layers finishing with the flat bottom of the last cake layer facing upward.

2. Crumbcoat the cake with a thin layer of frosting on the top and sides and refrigerate for at least 30min.

3. While the cake is chilling, prepare the colored frosting. Split the remaining frosting into 4 bowls, tint three of the bowls dark, medium, and very light pink using food coloring. I use gel food coloring and use VERY little even for the darkest frosting. Leave one of the bowls white for the top of the cake.

4. Starting at the bottom of the cake with the darkest color, use a small offset spatula to apply frosting to the bottom 3rd of the cake, then follow with the medium color in the center of the cake and the lightest color towards the top. Top the cake with white frosting to finish. Using a tall spatula, smooth the frosting on the sides as much as possible, don't worry if the colors mix together a little bit, but try not to smoosh them together. Smooth the top.
5. Finish the cake by holding the tip your offset spatula horizontally, pressing gently on the frosting at the bottom of the cake. Smoothly spin the cake turntable while simultaneously dragging the spatula up the side of the cake, stop when you get to the top. Wipe the spatula clean, then gently press the tip of the spatula into the middle of the top of the cake and spin the turntable while simultaneously dragging the spatula towards the outside of the cake. 

Spiced Plum Jam with Vanilla Bean

This was my first go-around with plum jam so I turned to an expert to see how it's done. I used Marisa from Food in Jars method and ratio here, just switching up the spices to use what I had on hand, cinnamon and cardamom, then threw in a vanilla bean from my stash. I bought a pound of vanilla beans a few months ago and I love being able to fancy up desserts and preserves with them. I guess I didn't have very high hopes for this simple jam because I was totally blown away by how much I loved it's sweet, tart and spiced notes. Slap some on toast or a scone and it tastes just like a delicious plum cobbler.

Spiced Plum Jam with Vanilla Bean
yield 3-4 half pints

5c chopped Italian plums
1 1/3c sugar
2t cinnamon
seeds from 6 cracked cardamom pods in a cheesecloth sack or tea strainer (you want to be able to remove the seeds before canning the jam)
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
3-4 sterilized half pint jars and lids

1. In a large bowl combine the plums, sugar, spices, vanilla bean seeds and pod and let sit for at least an hour, the plums will release their juices and the mixture will become very syrupy
2. When you are ready to cook, add the mixture to a large non reactive pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil the jam for 15-20 min, or until it passes the wrinkle test or if you like numbers you can cook it to 220º. Remove the vanilla bean pod and the cheesecloth or tea strainer with the cardamom seeds. Rinse off the vanilla bean and save it for another use like vanilla sugar or salt.
3. Pour the finished jam into clean sterilized jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Notes

If you don't have the dollar bills to buy a whole pound of vanilla beans, split it with a few friends and you'll still have a ton of beans at your disposal. Depending on the variety, a pound is usually around 100 beans.