Huckleberries…
Nature’s Purple Gold
Recipes by Electric City Coffee | Photography by Rhonda Adkins
Huckleberry Baked French Toast
Butter, For Greasing
1 loaf Crusty French Bread
8 whole Eggs
2 cups Whole Milk
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
Topping
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Freshly Grated Nutmeg (optional)
1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
1 cup Fresh Blueberries, For Serving
Huckleberry syrup
Huckleberry Syrup
3 cups huckleberries (or any fresh berries)
1/4 cup water (increase to 1/2 cup water if using strawberries)
1-2 cups sugar
DIRECTIONS
Place the berries in a medium saucepan. Crush the berries with a potato masher. Add 1/4 cup of water to the berries. Bring the berries to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a sieve, catching the liquid in a bowl or large measuring cup. You can gently press on the solids with the back of a spoon taking care not to press any of the solids through. Measure the juice volume. For every 1/4 cup of liquid juice add 1/4 cup of sugar – a 1:1 ratio. Place the juice and sugar in the clean saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce to low heat and simmer for about a minute until the syrup thickens. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Makes 24 ounces of syrup.
INSTRUCTIONS
For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter. Tear the bread into chunks and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably). Or you can make it and bake it right away—delicious no matter what!
For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture. Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with warm pancake syrup and sprinkle with blueberries.
Huckleberry Lemonade
1 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1 cup Simple Syrup
1 cup Water
1/3 cup Huckleberries
1 Lemon, sliced
1 Lime, sliced
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine lemon juice, simple syrup, water and huckleberries in a blender or food processesor and puree.
2. Add lemons, limes and stir.
3. Add as much ice as you desire, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Add a few whole, frozen huckleberries when serving for a pop of color and way to keep your drink cooler, longer.
Yogurt parfait w/ Huckleberries and fresh gluten free granola
Granola Ingredients
2 cups oats
2 cup raw cashews or almonds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dried cranberries
5 tablespoons grapeseed oil or coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 300 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Yogurt parfait with huckleberries and granola
1/2-3/4 cup yogurt(your favorite blend)
1/4 c huckleberries
1 tablespoon granola
Layer 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt into the bottom of glass bowl. Layer fresh huckleberries. Alternate layers of fruit and granola with yogurt until glasses are filled to the top. Serve parfaits immediately to keep granola crunchy.
Huckleberry-Chevre Cheesecake, with Pistachio Shortbread Crust
Makes 16 really rather filling bars, 32 satisfying triangles, or 64 bite-sized, cocktail-party-appropriate cubes. To quickly warm your cheeses and eggs to room temperature (essential to achieving non-lumpy cheesecake), place a towel on top of your preheating oven. Scoop the cheeses into a metal bowl, and the eggs (cracked or not) in another bowl. Place the bowls on the towel while you make your crust. Rotate occasionally, and remove when they reach room temperature to the touch.
For the Crust:
3/4 cup raw, shelled pistachios
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 3/4″ chunks
For the Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1/2 a lemon
pinch salt
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons flour
3 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups fresh huckleberries
Position a rack in the bottom-center of your oven and preheat to 350º. Line a 9 x 9″ square pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil cut to fit width-wise, leaving an overhang on each side.
Crust:
Spread the pistachios on a small baking sheet and toast lightly, about 8 minutes, until light golden and fragrant. Let cool completely. Combine the cooled nuts in a food processor with the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture begins to form large, coarse crumbs, and holds together when squeezed, about 30 pulses. Dump the mixture into the lined pan, and press firmly and evenly with your fingers. Bake the crust until golden and firm, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Filling:
Combine the cheeses, sugar, vanilla bean seeds, lemon zest and salt and blend until smooth, about 5-10 seconds. Add the flour and process until smooth, another few seconds. Add the eggs, then scrape down the bowl. Add the cream. Scrape once more, and blend again if at all lumpy. Scatter the berries evenly over the cooled crust. Pour the filling over. Bake the cheesecake until the center is set, 30 – 40 minutes. It should wobble like jell-o when you shake it gently. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool 1 hour, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours.
To slice the bars, loosen the sides and bottom with a small, offset spatula. Carefully lift out of the pan. Place on a large cutting board. Fill a pitcher with hot tap water and have some paper towels handy. Dip a large chef’s knife in the hot water and wipe completely dry between cuts. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.
Huckleberry BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich with coleslaw Pulled Pork (4-6 pound pork butt prepared)
Huckleberry Coleslaw
1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh or frozen huckleberries
3 TBSP canola oil
½ cup granulated sugar
2 TBSP cider vinegar
¼ tsp salt
Place coleslaw mix into a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, canola oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and huckleberries in a medium bowl; blend thoroughly. Pour dressing mixture over coleslaw mix and toss to coat. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
Huckleberry Barbecue Sauce
3 cups tomato ketchup
1 ½ cups water
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sweet onion, minced
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 cup huckleberries (fresh or frozen)
2 TBSP hoisin sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP molases
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground dry mustard
DIRECTIONS
Combine all the ingredients (except the huckleberries) into a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes on medium low heat. Add the huckleberries and bring back to a boil. Reduce back to a simmer and cook for another 15-30 minutes depending on how thick you want it. The longer you cook it the thicker it will get. Place bun on plate. Spread a good amount of coleslaw. Top with pulled pork. Top with BBQ sauce.
CHOCOLATE HUCKLEBERRY RUM COCKTAIL CAKE
Housemade Chocolate Cake
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cups Bacardi Silver Rum
2/3 cups huckleberry preserves#
1/4 cup water
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons rum
2 Tablespoons huckleberry, blueberry, or raspberry syrup or schnapps
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHOCOLATE CAKE
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour bundt pan. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves; then pour into a large bowl. Add the chocolate and butter and let sit, stirring occasionally, until melted and slightly cooled. Stir in the vanilla.
Beat the eggs into the chocolate mixture at medium speed until combined. Add the dry ingredients all at once and beat at medium speed until smooth. Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for about 25-40 minutes, or until cake will start to pull away from the sides and a toothpick will come out almost clean when inserted into center of cake.. Cool the cake in their pans for about 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.
Mix glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and drizzle over the cake with a large spoon. Move cake on the rack over to a second plate and continue drizzling with glaze. Repeat process, moving cake back and forth until all glaze is sticking to the cake. Allow cake to cool completely before serving, 12 to 24 hours. Cover and store cake on the counter for up to one week.
NOTE
*substitute any chocolate cake mix or scratch recipe. You may need additional liquid if using a scratch recipe.
#Substitute blueberry or raspberry preserves for huckleberry
Huckleberry Lemon Drop Martini
INGREDIENTS
2 parts huckleberry vodka (44North is a fav)
1 part lemon liqueur
1/2 part lemonade
DIRECTIONS
Chill glass in freezer. Add vodka, lemon liqueuer and lemonade to shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into chilled glass and add frozen huckleberries and lemon slice for garnish.
