Raspberry Picking & Garden Fresh Recipe

Today Diefenbaker and I drove out to the country to my parents' farm to pick raspberries. They have a lovely patch in the kitchen garden that was just full of ripe berries.



Diefenbaker and Bailey kept themselves occupied while I picked. The little troublemakers disappeared for a bit and came back covered in mud head to toe...I think they found the pond refreshing. Needless to say, Dief did NOT enjoy his bath when we got back home!



I picked about 2 litres of raspberries--don't they look deliciously tart and red?



I didn't need any more raspberry jam, as I still have quite a bit in our freezer, so I decided to make a cake with the fresh raspberries. My mom used to make this cake countless times for our family during raspberry picking season. Between the five of us we could finish off a pan in a day--it's that good!

Here is the recipe---

Royal Raspberry Cake



2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen, unthawed) raspberries, whole, unsweetened

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp cream or milk with melted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Stir together first three ingredients in a bowl with wire whisk; set aside.
Cream softened butter with mixer; add sugar gradually, beating well after each addition, until mixture is fluffy and light.
Stir in egg; beat one minute
Combine milk and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients alternately with milk/vanilla mixture, beating well after each addition.
Spread cake batter in greased, floured 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Spread the berries evenly over top of batter.
Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until centre of cake springs back when lightly touched.
Cool 5 minutes.
Combine glaze ingredients; spread over cake, leaving berries exposed.
Serve warm--with vanilla ice cream if desires.
Yield: 16-20 servings.

My mom says it is very important to follow the recipe directions exactly as they are written--the batter gets finicky if you don't and the cake won't turn out. My cake turned out beautifully. Bon appetit!