This July 4th special from berry specialist Driscoll’s has a special taste twist: lime whipped cream.

You get to celebrate the summer bounty of berries with this oversized mixed berry shortcake, while parading its patriotic colors.

The whipped cream is subtly flavored with lime zest for a bright complement to the sweet berries and tender cake. Small springs of mint make for a pretty and tasty garnish.

Prep time is 30 minutes, cook time is 35 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE: RED, WHITE & BLUEBERRY SHORTCAKE

Ingredients For 8 Servings

For The Cake

 
For The Filling

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom and side of 8-inch round cake pan. Line bottoms of each pan with a round of parchment paper. Grease paper and dust each pan with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.

2. SIFT together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

3. BEAT butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, with mixer on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk in several additions, starting and ending with flour mixture, mixing just until combined.

4. SPREAD batter into cake pans and bake 35 minutes or until golden and cake tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Invert to cool completely. Once cool, using a serrated knife, cut cake crosswise in half.

5. MAKE the whipped cream: Combine heavy cream and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and lime zest while beating just until stiff peaks form. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

6. COMBINE blackberries, blueberries and raspberries in a large bowl. Place bottom half of cake on serving plate or cake stand. Spread half whipped cream mixture over cake. Top with sprinkling of half mixed berries. Spread small amount of whipped cream on cut side of top half of cake and place atop berries pressing gently into place. Top cake with remaining whipped cream, mixed berries and small mint sprigs for garnish.
 
Find more delicious recipes at Driscolls.com
 
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*How to make buttermilk. You don’t have to buy a quart of buttermilk when you need a cup or less. You can make 1 cup of buttermilk by adding 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice or vinegar to a one-cup measure, plus enough milk to make 1 cup. Stir and let sit. For 1/2 cup, halve the recipe.

[2] Summer’s berry bounty (photo © Green Giant Fresh).

[3] The recipe uses buttermilk, but you don’t have to buy a whole quart if you only need 1/2 cup. See how to make buttermilk in the footnote below (photo © Wisconsin Dairy).

[4] This recipe uses both baking powder and baking soda. Here’s the difference (photo © Arm And Hammer).

[1] Orange blossom water is a by-product of distilling orange blossoms for oil. Some products are clear, some have an orange tinge (photo © Nielsen-Massey).

[2] Most brands are from the Middle East, where orange blossom water is a key ingredient in sweet and savory dishes and drinks (photo © Maureen Abood Market).

[3] Hot orange blossom water: so simple to make, so refreshing (photo © Bois de Jasmin.

While the distillate, orange blossom oil*, is used in perfumery, the orange blossom water, delicately scented like the flowers and not the fruit, is used as a calming personal and household fragrance. It is added to skin toners, bath water, and is spritzed from an aromatizer onto fabric and into the air (our grandmother sprayed it on sheets when ironing).

And it’s used in foods and beverages, today’s focus. You can add orange blossom water to:

 
You can buy a bottle in some specialty food stores, Greek and Middle Eastern markets and online. The Cortas brand, from Lebanon, is a favorite among those who use a lot of orange blossom water.

In addition to the recipe that follows, there are more ways to use orange blossom water below.
 
 
RECIPE: CAFÉ BLANC, LEBANESE HOT ORANGE BLOSSOM DRINK

Café blanc, “white coffee” is a refreshing infusion made from boiling water, orange flower water, and optional honey sweetener (photo #3).

Thanks to Victoria of BoisDeJasmin.com for her recipes with orange blossom water. There are links to others below, but we’ll start with this easy beverage recipe.

“Café blanc is a bit of a misnomer because this Lebanese drink contains no coffee at all,” says Victoria.

“It’s just hot water flavored with orange blossom, and it’s like sipping air perfumed with flowers. Mixed with water, orange blossom tastes not just floral, but also green, citrusy, spicy and warm. The first sip reveals a zesty freshness, but what lingers is the taste of honeyed petals.”

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. ADD the orange blossom water to the boiling water, stir and taste. If you’d prefer the drink sweet, stir in the honey.

2. FOR a cold drink, do the same with mineral water or lemonade.
 
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*Used to make perfume, the oil is called neroli oil. In 1680, Anne Marie Orsini, the Italian duchess of Bracciano and princess of Nerola, introduced to orange blossom perfume. She so loved the spicy aroma with sweet and flowery notes that she used the fragrance to perfume everything—her bath, her clothes, her household furnishings. The fragrance became named for her (but we found no explanation of why it’s called neroli, not nerola). The fragrance was also a favorite in the court of Elizabeth I of England.

Fruit Desserts. Orange blossom pairs especially well with strawberries and apricots—cakes and tarts, compotes and jams, drinks. Sprinkle apricots with sugar and lemon juice and bake them in a 400°F/200°C oven until the sugar caramelizes and the apricots soften. Drizzle with orange blossom water and serve hot or cold. Make a refreshing drink of apricot juice mixed with orange blossom water and sparkling water.

Ice Cream. Soften a container of vanilla ice cream slightly and add 4 teaspoons of orange blossom water per pint (or to taste). Mix well, chill and serve. If you make your own ice cream, add orange blossom water to the custard before freezing it.

Puddings and Ice Cream. Anything creamy—custard, mousse, panna cotta, rice pudding–can be enhanced with orange blossom water gratefully. Victoria uses it to give an adult twist to rice pudding: Rice Pudding with Vanilla and Orange Blossom.

White Chocolate. Mix orange blossom water into white chocolate-based sauces and desserts, or into cream to make a delicious tart filling. Whip heavy cream with sugar, add a few drops of orange blossom water, fill the tart shells. and top with fresh berries.

Read the full article and the discussion threads for much more that you can do with orange blossom water.
 
 

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[1] Homemade chocolate pudding is a real treat. The easiest garnish is whipped cream. The recipe is below (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[2] It’s really easy to make this beautiful rose garnish (photo © Driscoll’s).

Here’s another special chocolate pudding recipe for National Chocolate Pudding Day, June 26th.

Created by Driscoll’s, growers of premium berries, the elegant strawberry roses are actually very easy to make.

Keep this recipe on file for anniversaries, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and other special occasions.

Not to mention, National Chocolate Pudding Day is June 26th.

Here’s the history of pudding. It was created in Medieval Europe, inspired by an Arab recipe for rice pudding.

Chocolate didn’t arrive in Europe until the 16th century, so the first European cooked puddings used other flavors.

There’s no need to make instant pudding when it’s easy to make from-scratch chocolate pudding, which tastes so much better.

All you gain from instant is pre-measured dry ingredients: the cornstarch, sugar, cocoa, salt, plus powdered vanilla instead of liquid vanilla extract.
 
 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE PUDDING
WITH A ROSE GARNISH

Ingredients For The Pudding

 
For The Rose Garnish

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the pudding. Melt the chocolate. Whisk together 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch.

2. BRING the remaining 1-1/2 cups milk, sugar, cocoa and salt just to a simmer over medium heat. Stir the cornstarch mixture, then add to the milk mixture in pan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook 1 minute.

3. REMOVE from the heat and stir in melted chocolate and vanilla. Spoon into glasses. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Chill.

4. MAKE the roses. Hull 16 strawberries by removing the green calyx. Take 4 strawberries and cut the tops off. These strawberries will be used as the center for the roses. Slice the remaining strawberries into eighths. These sections will become the rose petals.

5. ARRANGE the sliced strawberries around the pudding, making sure the ends of the slices are facing out and extend slightly beyond the rim of the glass. After the first circle of strawberries is placed, begin making a second circle of strawberries but position slightly more forward toward the center of the glass. Continue with a third layer.

Once finished, add the cut strawberry to the center and garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

June 26th is National Chocolate Pudding Day. Throughout history, “pudding” has meant different things (scroll down to the history of pudding).

This recipe, developed by chef Rocco di Spirito for FAGE Yogurt, combines the old and the new: a cake-like pudding with a soft, creamy pudding-like center.

Rocco says, “These are great for a dinner party, as they can be prepared and stored in the fridge for up to 48 hours in advance.”

Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes.

RECIPE: BAKED HONEY CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Ingredients For 8 Servings

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Prepare eight ramekin dishes by thoroughly buttering the inside and dusting with flour. Place a disk of greaseproof paper in the bottom of each ramekin.

2. MELT the chocolate, honey from one FAGE Total Honey Yogurt (or 2 teaspoons honey) and butter together over a pan of water.

3. WHISK together sugar, egg yolks and eggs until the mixture forms soft peaks. Fold the chocolate mix into the egg mix, and then fold in the flour.

4. POUR into ramekins and bake in the center of the oven for 7 minutes, or until the puddings have risen above the ramekins. Allow to rest in a warm place for 2 minutes.

5. SERVE: Turn out onto the center of a plate with a generous spoonful of FAGE Total Yogurt (half of the yogurt in a FAGE Total with Honey split cup). Drizzle with the remaining honey.
 
Find more delicious recipes with yogurt at Fage.com.
  

[1] It’s not red, white and blue, but it has extra heat for a “firecracker” punch (both photos © Dietz & Watson).

[2] You can find cheddar cheese already blended with hot chile peppers, like this Jalapeno Cayenne Cheddar from Dietz & Watson.

Ingredients For 4 to 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F, and butter a 2-quart ovenproof casserole dish.

2. BRING a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil and toss in the ziti. Boil until just slightly firm (al dente), drain in a colander (do not rinse) and set aside momentarily.

3. MELT the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour to form a smooth paste (roux), and cook for about 1 minute. Pour in the milk, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil.

5. ADD the ziti to the cheese sauce, stirring gently to coat, and pour into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the top evenly with Parmesan cheese and bake for 10 minutes.

6. REMOVE the casserole from the oven and place under the broiler until bubbly and golden brown. Watch carefully to prevent the top from burning. Sprinkle with paprika, and serve hot.

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*You can substitute pimiento (roasted red peppers) for the peppadew, but the latter is tangier. You can use black pepper instead of white pepper; the difference is that black flecks will show in the recipe. White pepper was created (by removing the spicy black skin of peppercorns) for aesthetic reasons, that are no longer so important in current times. Black pepper delivers more heat.