sweets & baked goods recipes

[Amy Boyd]

Everyone loves a good elderberry pie, right? Jump in and let us know your triumphs (and not-so-triumphs) with baked goods and sweets - and if you need some ideas to start with, these should help:
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• elderberry ice cream (click here) (John Kennett) Requires: elderberries, lemon, sugar, cream, egg whites. Time: several hours.
• elderberry pie (click here) (Autumn Fruits) Requires: elderberries, pastry crust, sugar, salt, flour, lemon juice. Time: 1 hour. (Note: I made this one, and recommend taking great care to strain the berries well before adding to the pie, as mine came out quite runny.)
• grandmother’s favorite elderberry pie (click here) (Mother Earth News) Requires: elderberries, pastry crust, sugar, salt, cornstarch or tapioca, lemon juice, butter. Time: 1 hour. (Note: the recipe starts at the very bottom of the page and continues on the next page. The next elderberry pie I make will be this one, as it sounds delicious.)
• elderflower fritters (click here) (Recipezaar) Requires: elderflowers, flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs. Time: 9 minutes.
• simple elderflower fritters (click here) (Alan Joellenbeck) Requires: elderflowers, pancake batter, oil, powdered sugar. Time: 10 minutes.
• Hollerküchln (click here), or elderflower fritters (Delicious Days’ grandma) Requires: elderflowers, dark beer, eggs, flour, butter, salt, cinnamon sugar. Time: 15 minutes. (Note: exact proportions are at the bottom of the post. Includes gorgeous photos!)
• elderberry and apple crumble (click here) (County Down Recipe Secrets) Requires: elderberries, apples, sugar, brown sugar, flour, butter, bicarbonate of soda, ginger. Time: 45 minutes.
• elderberry scramble (click here) (Just Berry Recipes) Requires: elderberries, plums, pears, bread, butter, milk, sugar and cinnamon. Time: 30 minutes.
• elderberry twirls (click here) (Cyndi Lewis) Requires: elderberry jam, butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, rum extract, flour, baking powder, pecans. Time: 1 1/2 hours.
• elderberry muffins (click here) (Pat and Pearl) Requires: elderberries, elderberry wine, cinnamon, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, citric acid, eggs, shortening, vanilla, lemon. Time: 45 minutes.
• elderberry mush (click here) (Just Berry Recipes) Requires: elderberries, sugar, milk, butter, flour, salt, honey, bread cubes (optional). Time: 20 minutes.
• elderberry dumplings (click here) (Mother Earth News) Requires: elderberries, sugar, flour, water, lemon, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, milk, egg. Time: 45 minutes.

[Emily Plishner]

I am fond of elderberry pie and make it much as I would blueberry pie, with some extra sugar. I add lemon juice and some cinnamon, as well as sugar. However, that is a little heady for some people. Using 2/3 apple, 1/3 elderberry makes a beautiful color and texture with wider appeal.

For thickener, I use arrowroot when doing the elder/apple pie (about 1/3 cup for a 9 inch pie). Elderberries are very juicy and need a lot of thickener. When using straight elderberry, I like using small pearl tapioca. Soak them overnight, discard the water, and mix them thoroughly with the berries and sugar before baking. About 1/2 cup small pearl tapioca for a nine inch pie. I usually put an open woven crust on top to highlight the attractive berries.
Typically, small pearl tapioca matches the berrries in size and make an attractive pie.