I have a vague memory of a cake my mom used to make when I was a kid. It’s one of those food memories where you can remember the taste so well, but you have no idea how it was made or even all of the ingredients.
My Grandma called it ‘Depression Cake.’ From what I understand the name came about because during the Great Depression dessert was a luxury for most families. My Grandma made this cake for my Mom because it was the cheapest way to make dessert without using eggs, butter or sugar. Heck, she didn’t even have to turn on the oven! The cake consisted of layers of graham crackers, chocolate pudding, and sliced bananas. It was set in the fridge until the graham crackers got really soft and cake-like when you sliced it. The topping included fresh whipped cream, which my Grandma made from the cream found on top of her bottled milk.
Believe it or not, Depression Cake is still popular today. Now it’s called Icebox Cake. Even though I haven’t had my mom’s version for over 20 years, I still think back to that cake fondly and it’s my inspiration for this delicious recipe.
I absolutely adore a no-bake dessert, especially one that doesn’t feel lacking in any way. Sometimes when we remake a favorite recipe we tend to think the original is always better. That’s not the case with these Mini Wild Blueberry Cream Pies. They are decadent and creamy with a ton of refreshing and fruity Wild Blueberry flavor.
I really love everything about this dessert. It combines the ease of no-bake with my love for a cold, refreshing dessert. It even has built-in portion control! What more can you ask for?
Although similar to an Icebox Cake because it comes together in the fridge, these little pies are much more flavorful and decadent than my inspiration. I’ve replaced pudding and bananas with homemade whipped cream that’s been folded into a creamy Mascarpone cheese and Greek yogurt base. The base is then gently mixed with naturally sweet and super refreshing frozen Wild Blueberries. The combination is divine, not to mention nutrient-rich. You’re getting the added benefit of protein from the Greek yogurt and of course the antioxidant goodness of the Wild Blueberries. It’s also low in refined sugar. I used a mere two tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar in the entire recipe!
Another great aspect of this recipe is the simple no-bake crust, which also happens to be gluten free. You’ll need just three ingredients to whip up the perfect base for these creamy little Wild Blueberry pies!
Mince meat, apple, derby – they’ll all have their day. This holiday is made for berries – they emphasize the bounty of the fall harvest, provide a burst of color, and are perfect as part of a holiday that revolves around cuisine.
Of course, some Thanksgivings can resemble a game of pie poker with so many varieties anted up on the table. So why go all in with a berry pie? Plenty of reasons.
Taste. Tart, sweet, and savory pleases the palate after a meal. Warm from the oven, a berry pie provides a final flourish of intense flavor, and it’s less likely to weigh you down. Superb when solo, berry combinations are a pleasure as well – mixing tart with sweet by using cranberries with wild blueberries, for example, creates a unique taste sensation and grabs rave reviews at the table.
Health advantages. While healthy eating may not be at the forefront on Thanksgiving, berries, especially wild blueberries, are still antioxidant powerhouses. Just because it’s pie, doesn’t mean you aren’t getting the benefit of healthy, whole food in every forkful. And, calorically, most berry pies are on the light side. One slice of wild blueberry pie is approximately 360 calories. Pumpkin weighs in at about the same, while pecan pie is comes in at 503, says Slim Calm Sexy Diet author Keri Glassman.
Visual impact. Nothing pleases the eye like a dessert piled high with berries. A berry pie bubbling when it emerges from the oven, oozing its dark blue and red juices onto its golden crust, can make mouths water. You can achieve the perfect texture says Serious Eats by adjusting the cornstarch: less will yield a runny pie while more will provide a jammy texture.
Because it’s seasonally on target. It used to be some pie lovers stopped baking berry pies after the fresh season. Times sure have changed. Bakers know better today – waiting around for fresh is a thing of the past, and berry pies are served up in the best kitchens long after summer. Fresh frozen technology makes berries like wild blueberries superb for baking. Top chefs, bakers, and cooks routinely choose frozen for its convenience and baking ease as well as its frozen-at-peak taste and nutrition.
So start rolling your dough, and pour copious amounts of glorious berries into that crust. A search for the best berry pie is always fruitful. Here’s a taste to get you on your berry way.
Cloudy with a Chance of Berries
Amanda and Merrill over at Food52.com help you bake with confidence whether you are making a pie, a tart or clafoutis. Roll a pastry, hack a tart pan, and make it vegan if you choose. Then, try your hand at making this Lemon Cloud Winter Berry Tart – its blueberries float on a cloud. If you’re the unconventional type, this Very Odd But Delicious Pie is for you. It’s a blend of berries, including wild blueberries, pear, and apple, mingled with a shot of whiskey. Peculiar just might be the new delicious.
Berry Serious
We commend Serious Eats for touting frozen berries! They’re a winter blessing in this Mixed Berry Pie, and in this Classic Blueberry Pie, in which lemon zest works to bring out the tangy brightness of the blueberries – wonderful. Remember to go “wild” with your blues for optimum taste, nutrition and more berries per bite.
You can also head over to atendercrumb.com to delight in the wonders of dessert. This Double Crusted Blueberry Pie provides culinary rescue to pie monotony, paired here with vanilla bean ice cream.
Traditional, Not Conventional
Call it cranberry-blueberry or blueberry-cranberry – these two berries are perfect harmony inside a crust. This Cranberry and Wild Blueberry Pie is a paradigm of palatability. Must have pumpkin pie? Understood. We think this Pumpkin Blueberry Pie has great flavor potential.
Crust Conversion
Mix it up in the crust department this year. Start with Martha’s pie crust 101. Then, put your mad skills to work with in Deep Dish Mixed Berry Pie or go rectilinear with Blueberry Slab Pie to win high appraisals for unique geometry.
Or, forget the share tactics and choose individual pies to make every guest feel special. Remember frozen always substitutes for fresh – no compromising on flavor or nutrition necessary.
Oh, Yeah – The Ultimate Berry Pie
Six colorful cups of wild blueberries make this Wild Blueberry Pie the ultimate in flavor, health, and visual impact. Bake, slice and serve, and bask in the sweetness of blue – the perfect ending to the perfect culinary day. Happy Thanksgiving!
In the fall, the cranberry’s heyday begins. Harvest season is marked by a sea of red for many regions, and while top cranberry producer Wisconsin is the state most recognized for its cranberry crop, Maine and parts of Canada also contribute to global cranberry production. Maine alone produces approximately 2 millions pounds annually, and this year, the state’s production may exceed 2.5, owing to few pest challenges and obliging weather conditions.
Known for its colorful skin and flavor pizzazz, the cranberry is one of just three fruits native to North America, where it enjoys renown for its distinctly sweet-tart flavor and its irrevocable role in juices and as a holiday complement. The cranberry is also a contender when it comes to antioxidant content. While wild blueberries outperform them when it comes to measuring both antioxidant capacity and cellular antioxidant activity, cranberries pack their own health punch. Just by virtue of being a member of the high-antioxidant, free radical-fighting berry family, they are implicated in many benefits for the brain and cardiovascular system, and as a defense against some cancers. Eating cranberries is a key part of experiencing the rainbow of colors that nature provides to assist in disease prevention efforts.
If this intrepid berry has piqued your interest, your timing is right on target. Here are five things that will help you better understand and embrace a colorful fruit this season.
1) An Historical Remedy
It’s widely known that cranberries are a lauded home remedy for urinary tract infections. Research into whether cranberries have earned their reputation as a UTI treatment is ongoing, but studies have found that they do provide a defense against the bacteria responsible for UTIs, as do wild blueberries. The berry’s ability to prevent bacterial attachment may also provide benefits for ulcers, for example. Native Americans were well acquainted with this bacteria-preventing characteristic – they would crush up cranberries and use them as treatment for wounds.
2) Berries from the Bog
Cranberries are known for their unique growing and harvesting method in bogs. Cranberries actually grow on vines – they thrive in soft, marshy ground and grow naturally in areas that provide this environment. When cranberries ripen on the vines growing in these wetlands, farmers fill the area with water. A machine used to beat the water releases the cranberries from their vines, and they are left to float on the water’s surface, creating the crimson tide that we know as the cranberry bog. There, the floating berries are easy to collect and ship.
3) Scarlet, Frankly
Initially, cranberries are white (harvesting while the berries are still white explains white cranberries and white cranberry juice) and they take on their deep ruby color with ripening, thanks to anthocyanin, a phytonutrient that provides color and health benefits. Natural sunlight is the catalyst to increasing phytonutrient content in the cranberry – the more sun, the more powerful the berry’s health benefits. Anthocyanins, found in all berries, promote health by fighting cell damage and reducing inflammation, a risk factor in many health issues, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.
4) Synergy
This red berry has more than spunk – it has synergy. Synergy is nature’s way of “packaging” nutrients that results in big health benefits. It occurs when components within the same food, or components between different foods, work together in a way that is more powerful than their effects would be separately. This heightened nutritional value supports disease prevention efforts and other aspects of health, such as weight loss. Some recent studies indicate that cranberries eaten whole rather than consumed as a liquid, dried, or in supplement form, for example, allow a synergistic reaction that heightens their dietary impact. (It’s the same with other foods like wild blueberries, a fruit that lends itself to being consumed whole if you are looking for a healthy, easy-to-eat alternative.) It’s another reason that buying the whole fruit is best for health – the special nutritional power of berries the way nature created them simply can’t be replicated.
5) Beyond the Bird
It might be early in the season to think about stuffing your Thanksgiving bird, but that’s no reason to wait to start enjoying cranberries. Berries of all kinds complete the health picture every day of the year by providing superb nutrition. And, cranberries are an excellent way to enjoy red-colored foods as we strive to eat across the color spectrum. Start welcoming them in your non-holiday recipes right now, in a Cranberry Relish for starters, to use in everyday sandwiches and sides. Enjoy a Cranberry Almond Cinnamon Tart to add zing to a meal, or bake Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies for the kids. Keep the trend going with Creamy Cranberry Salad to take full advantage of this colorful fruit. And, remember that you can substitute frozen wild blueberries for cranberries in many recipes.
Want a pie that packs and antioxidant punch? Please your palate with a Cranberry and Wild Blueberry Pie. Healthy eating never tasted so good!
What other fruits are native to North America?One is the wild blueberry, of course, indigenous to Maine and parts of Canada. The other is the Concord grape, which traces its history to nearby Concord, Massachusetts.
As this Miami Herald piece reminds us, there are two ways to make pie work within a healthy diet – the first is to have a teeny-weeny slice. They advocate the second: make one you feel good about, and enjoy.
Their Blueberry-Peach Custard Pie makes the cut. It eliminates the need for the top crust, cuts the sugar, and fills up with healthy, antioxidant-loaded fruit like blueberries. (Try wild for more nutritional bang.)
