Bake along with Kelsey Siemens, creator of The Farmer’s Daughter blog and full-time apple farmer at her family’s orchard. In this inspiring collection, she shares the ins and outs of a year on the farm, along with new and heirloom recipes, plus gorgeous photography.

Layered with crumbles, fillings, creams and curds, these impressive treats bring out the best in every fruit. Whether you want to take your pies to the next level with a braided lattice crust and creative flavour pairings, or just need clever ways to use your farmers’ market haul or garden harvest, you’ll find a bounty of delicious ideas and easy techniques.

Welcome spring with Great-Grandma Enid’s Rhubarb-Pistachio Coffee Cake and capture the sweet taste of summer in Blueberry–Earl Grey Cream Roll Cake. Celebrate autumn’s return with favourite flavours in Apple Crisp Cheesecake with Salted Caramel and warm up your winter with preserves and spices in a festive Gingerbread Loaf with Chai-Spiced Poached Pears.

Straight from Kelsey’s cozy farmhouse kitchen, these recipes turn everyday produce into irresistible creations that will have you looking forward to every season.

The Farmer’s Daughter Bakes: Cakes, Pies, Crisps and More for Every Fruit on the Farm is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca. 

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Raspberry Tart with Chocolate Crust and Ganache

Summers as a kid went like this: Wake up, go pick berries until lunchtime, then our time was ours again—free to swim or rollerblade. This routine instilled the value of hard work balanced with play. Work hard, play hard. This raspberry tart involves a few more steps than some of the simpler recipes in this book, but it’s worth it. Use a tart pan with a removable bottom or simply make it in a shallow pie dish.

YIELD: 1 (9-inch [23-cm]) round tart

CRUST

1½ cups (150 g) chocolate baking crumbs, such as Oreo Baking Crumbs

¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar

6 tbsp (90 ml) melted unsalted butter

 

RASPBERRY SAUCE

2 cups (246 g) raspberries

1 tsp lemon juice

4 tbsp (60 ml) cold water, divided

½ tbsp (4 g) cornstarch

½ tsp vanilla extract

 

FILLING

¾ cup (180 ml) raspberry sauce (see above)

½ cup (116 g) plain cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tbsp (16 g) powdered sugar

¼ cup (60 ml) plain skyr yogurt or thick Greek yogurt

 

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

¼ cup (60 ml) whipping cream

1 cup (150 g) chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter

½ tsp vanilla extract

 

FOR SERVING

Fresh raspberries (optional)

Chopped pistachios (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

To make the crust, in a small bowl, stir together the chocolate baking crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with removable bottom or shallow pie dish. The edges should be about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool as you mix together the filling.

To make the raspberry sauce, in a medium saucepan, add the raspberries, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of water and cook on medium heat. Mash the raspberries down as they start to cook and bring to a gentle simmer. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of water and cornstarch together until smooth. If the cornstarch is mixed into warm water or straight into the sauce, it won’t dissolve well and will likely be lumpy. Stream into the raspberry sauce and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat, strain through a fine-mesh sieve, stir in the vanilla extract and set aside to cool. This should yield about ¾ cup (180 ml) of sauce, although the exact amount may differ slightly depending on cook time and seed volume.

Once the raspberry sauce has cooled to room temperature, prepare the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine ¾ cup (180 ml) of the cooled raspberry sauce, cream cheese, powdered sugar and skyr yogurt. Mix on low until the mixture is completely smooth. Pour over the cooled chocolate crust and place in the fridge while you prepare the ganache. 

To make the chocolate ganache, in a small saucepan, heat the whipping cream on medium until it comes to a gentle simmer. Immediately shut off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla extract. Don’t stir yet! Remove from the heat and let sit undisturbed for 3 minutes. Then start whisking the mixture until a smooth, shiny ganache forms. If the chocolate pieces aren’t quite melted, simply place back on the burner on low heat until everything is smooth. Pour over the chilled raspberry filling and use an offset spatula to smooth the ganache into an even layer.

Place the tart in the fridge and allow to set for at least an hour before serving. Garnish with fresh raspberries and chopped pistachios, if desired. Store leftover tart in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Recipe reprinted with permission from Page Street Publishing Co.