Gooseberries Recipes

GooseberriesGooseberries taste like a sweet summer day when eaten right off the bush. But what to do when your gooseberry bush blesses you with an overabundance of berries? Time to make gooseberry custard, or gooseberry fool, or gooseberry pie, or any other sweet summer treat that you can share with friends and family. Find these tasty gooseberry recipes here.

Nettle Cake with Lemon Frosting

Nettles

These nettles are too sweet to sting.

For the Cake
2 cups, packed, raw young nettle leaves (use gloves!)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest & juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups Nash’s white wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Frosting
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Zest & juice of 1/2 a lemon
Frozen berries, any kind
Lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and line two 7” round cake tins. Using rubber gloves, wash stinging nettles and remove stems. Place in boiling water for 3-4 minutes to remove sting. Refresh under cold water, drain and puree in a blender.

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, then nettles, vanilla, zest and lemon juice. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine. Spoon into prepared tins, push to edges and level, then bake for 25 minutes until inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool completely.

To make the frosting, in large bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat. Beat in zest and lemon juice to make a frosting consistency and beat again. Spread some between cake layers and sandwich together. Cover with remaining frosting and decorate with berries and lemon zest.

nettle cake batter

The batter…

nettle cake before frosting

…the cake before frosting…

nettle cake with frosting

…and the cake after frosting (and tasting!).

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Have you tried this recipe? Tell us how it turned out!

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Gooseberry Fool

Nourish Restaurant in Sequim, WANourish, Sequim’s new garden-to-plate restaurant and gathering place, is featuring a series of meals created using items from Nash’s farm share boxes each week.

Serves 6-8

4 ounces sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 pound gooseberries
1 orange, juice and finely grated zest
1 tablespoon Pernod liqueur (optional) (we used fennel blossom)
1 1/4 cups double cream, softly whipped

Gooseberries

Don’t let these gooseberries fool you–they make a fabulous dessert.

Melt the sugar with the water, add the gooseberries and orange zest and juice, and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Set aside and add the Pernod. Blend the gooseberries until they are smooth. The skin has most of the gooseberry flavor and provides the fool with a bit of bite, but you can push it through a sieve for a smoother finish.

Taste the gooseberry purée for sweetness and then fold gently into the whipped cream. Serve with some toasted flaked almonds and shortbread on the side.

Have you tried this recipe? Tell us how it turned out!

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Gooseberry Custard

gooseberries in the field

Gooseberries are plump, sweet berries that grow profusely on bushes. They’re great for cobblers, pies, and this lovely custard.

1/2 pint gooseberries, rinsed
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium egg
1 small egg yolk

Place the gooseberries and water a non-corroding saucepan. Cover and cook on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the gooseberries are mushy. Purée the gooseberries through a strainer to produce about 3/4 cups of purée. Stir the sugar and butter into the warm purée and heat, stirring constantly.

Whisk the egg and the yolk until just mixed, then whisk in a little of the hot gooseberry mixture to heat the eggs. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is well thickened, and has reached a temperature of 170°F. Pour into a container, cover, and chill. Serves two.

Have you tried this recipe? Tell us how it turned out!

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