Savoring the harvest: Roasted raspberry spoon jam

by June

Rain is rattling against the window panes. Outside, the sky is low and dark, but the grass is a lively green and the trees that edge the woods have leaves so bright they seem to give off a kind of light. A fire takes the chill off. I consider that it might be the perfect autumn day. But, then, I considered the same thing two days ago when I was picking raspberries and the sky was blue and filled with wispy clouds, when the leaves were coming down in pirouettes and the children and goats were doing their own kind of dance across the meadow. Maybe Monday was the perfect autumn day for picking raspberries, and today is the perfect one for eating spoon jam on fresh bread.

Our everbearing raspberry patch is small. But this year it has done deliciously by us. It gave us a modest bounty early in the summer. Now it is thick with berries-to-be that would fill many a jar of jam. Except that the frost will probably nip hard soon. We've been enjoying the berries as they come. It is surely one of life's luxuries to get up in the morning and walk through dewy grass to pick raspberries into a bowl of cereal. We've had them on yogurt, baked into brownies and into our favorite cake. We've steeped some in spirits and hidden it away for the holidays. And we've jammed them in small batches.

My favorite raspberry jam recipe was shared with me in a raspberry patch on top of a hill on a farm I love. I think of that farm every time I make Roasted Raspberry Spoon Jam. It could not be simpler, and you can make it with a handful or a bucketful. Whatever amount of raspberries you have, you just match it with an equal amount of sugar.

We had a brimming cup of berries one day. We put them in an oven-safe dish.

We measured a brimming cup of sugar into another oven-safe dish.

Then each dish went into a preheated, 350-degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes—until the berries were just beginning to caramelize. Working very carefully, I then poured the sugar into the berries and stirred as it turned almost instantly into a lava-flow of sweet-smelling jam.

This simple jam never lasts long around here, but while it does, it is the taste of autumn: fresh berries filled with a summer's sunshine and just a hint of warm smokiness. It's cobbler on a spoon.

Savoring the harvest: Whole-Raspberry Chocolate Torte

by June

This time of year, we have candy growing in the garden: Raspberries!

Nobody can resist that little patch of sweetness. The girls beeline to the berries with their playmates. Our favorite little toddler eats so many he finally has to be lured away with a wagon ride because he can't tell the difference between ripe red and tummy-ache pink. Of course, the animals have a taste for raspberries too; Blossom and Fern spend hours shooing away the goats, the chickens and the two baby raccoons who are living in our honeysuckle hedge.

My dear daddy grew raspberries when I was growing up. The ripe berries were one of the few reasons I ventured voluntarily into the garden back then — because I hated, hated, hated getting nabbed for weeding duty. It was hot and soggy-wet-sopping humid out there in that Missouri garden. Not a breeze stirred. There were chiggers just waiting to burrow into my skin and keep me awake, itching and burning.  I used to cry and weed at the same time. But I did love to pick the raspberries. Not only were the berries delicious, I also had a wonderful time stirring up a breeze of chatter and laughter with my dad. I still can't taste a fresh-from-the-cane berry without thinking of Grandpa Hickory.

If there's one thing Grandpa Hickory loves as much as a raspberry, it's a chocolate-covered raspberry. So here, on his birthday, is the recipe for a cake that makes us all grateful for the raspberry tradition in our family. Our only challenge is saving a cup of raspberries for baking instead of eating straight from the garden.

Whole-Raspberry Chocolate Torte

1//2 cup blanched almonds, toasted lightly
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon amaretto
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberries plus additional for garnish
1/4 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 cup if you want to pour the frosting on)
6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped


— In a food processor grind the almonds, scraping the bowl occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until they are the consistency of a nut butter, and reserve the mixture.
— In a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt the chocolate and the butter, stirring occasionally, and remove the bowl from the pan.
— In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the eggs until they are pale, add the sugar gradually, beating, and beat the mixture until it is very thick and pale. Beat in the chocolate mixture, the framboise, and the reserved almond butter and beat the mixture until it is combined well.
— Into the bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, and the salt, beat the mixture until it is combined well, and fold in 1 cup of the raspberries gently.
— Turn the mixture into a well-buttered 8 1/2-inch springform pan, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top, and bake the torte in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. let the torte cool in the pan on a rack and remove the side of the pan.
— In a small heavy saucepan bring the cream to a boil and remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the chocolate, stirring until the mixture is smooth, and let the ganache cool for 3 minutes. Spread the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a spatula. Let the torte stand for 1 hour, or until the ganache is set. Transfer the torte carefully to a serving plate, garnish it with more raspberries (if you can rescue enough from the children, goats, chickens, and baby raccoons).