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Use delicate, fresh raspberries to make this elegant, refreshing raspberry bellini.
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Kitchen offers good razzing
Don't underestimate small raspberry
Newspaper Enterprise Association
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

There is a three-second video on wikipedia.org titled “A Man Blowing a Raspberry.” It’s a brilliant, Oscar-worthy performance.

Those of us who love raspberries can’t bear to have them associated with such a rude noise, which we instead call a “Bronx cheer” (ironically named, as fans at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York use the sound to express the opposite of cheering approval). We prize our jewel-like raspberries as a fleeting treat of summer.

Raspberries are best purchased locally, the same day — or at most a day before — you plan to eat them. Pick through them, discarding any soft or moldy berries. Store unwashed in their original container or on a paper-towel-lined plate covered with plastic wrap.

To freeze, rinse gently in cold water and pat dry (gently!) with paper towels. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper, and place the berries on the sheet in one layer. Freeze, and transfer to an airtight container. They will keep for up to a year.

Emeril Lagasse celebrates raspberries, and all manner of local produce, in his new book, “Farm to Fork” (HarperStudio, 2010). His raspberry bellini with homemade raspberry syrup is elegant.

Likewise, “Cooking from the Garden,” edited by Ruth Lively (Taunton Press, 2010), offers a simple and spectacular raspberry frangipane cake.

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BEVERAGE

Raspberry Bellini With Homemade Raspberry Syrup

For the syrup

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup Chambord liqueur

1/4 cup water

2 pints fresh raspberries

For the bellini

1 tablespoon homemade raspberry syrup (above)

3 ounces chilled Prosecco or other dry sparkling white wine

Fresh raspberries, for garnish

To make the syrup, combine the sugar, liqueur and water in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Add the raspberries, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until softened and beginning to break down.

Strain the mixture into a bowl through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Press against the solids with the back of a spoon to release any extra juices. Discard the solids. Transfer the syrup to a glass jar, cover and refrigerate for up to four weeks (or freeze in an airtight container for up to six months). You will have two cups.

Spoon chilled syrup into a champagne flute. Fill the glass with Prosecco, garnish with the fresh berries, and serve.

Cook’s note: The syrup can be used on ice cream, pancakes or waffles or stirred into seltzer for a homemade soft drink.

Yields one serving.

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DESSERT

Raspberry Frangipane Cake

7 ounces almond paste (available in many supermarkets)

7 ounces butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 eggs

1 cup sifted cake flour

1 1/2 cups whole fresh raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Use a food processor or a mixer with a paddle attachment to cream the almond paste, butter and sugar until smooth and light. Add the vanilla and eggs, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. By hand, gently fold in the flour until the batter is just barely combined. Fold in the raspberries. Avoid overmixing, or the cake will be tough.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the pan.

Yields 12 servings.

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