We are fortunate to live in a state with a bounty of summer and fall berries and fruits. Whether a neighbor drops off a pint of blueberries, we pick several quarts of strawberries ourselves, or we just get some cherries from our local grocer – fresh or frozen – we are not far from access to delicious, nutritious fruit. Be what to do with such bounty? Sometimes we dive into the crafting of pies and cobblers, coffee cakes and muffins, or pancakes, cookies and smoothies. Or perhaps something savory. But what if we want to keep it simple?

Other than serving the fruit as an accompaniment by itself, here is a recipe for compote that can be used for virtually any berry or fruit. Compote, which usually has less sugar than jam, is simply a mixture of fruit and a sweet syrup. A no-nonsense pound cake recipe is the perfect pairing, and the cake can be easily flavored with vanilla, lemon or orange, to name a few. You can also serve the compotes with meat or other protein dishes.

Fruit Compote

I adapted this recipe from two sources: Sour Cherry Compote in “Jew-ish: A Cookbook. Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch” by Jake Cohen, and Martha Rose Shulman’s Blueberry Compote from New York Times Cooking online.

About 5 minutes prep time, about 15 minutes cooking time

2-2½ cups berries or other fruit, pitted if you use cherries or stone fruits

3-4 tablespoons honey, sugar, or maple syrup, to taste

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional

½ teaspoon ground coriander, optional

½ teaspoon ground cardamom, optional

1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cool water, optional

Combine all the ingredients you like from the list above, except for the cornstarch, in a medium saucepan. Cook the fruit-sugar mix over medium heat until the berries or fruit begin to release their juices and start to soften, 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix the cornstarch and cool water, if using, in a small bowl. Using this mixture will give you a slightly thicker compote. Add the cornstarch mixture to the fruit mixture, simmer and stir until the fruit mixture begins to thicken. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

In the meantime, make the pound cake.

Simple Pound Cake

The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light: Annual Recipes 2009. Instead of the vanilla extract, you can use freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice to flavor the pound cake.

About 10 minutes prep time, about 1 -1 ½ hours baking time

Yield: 2 loaves

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1½ cups low-fat buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans.

Combine the flour, baking power, baking soda and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk.

Beat the sugar, butter and vanilla (or citrus juice) in a large bowl until creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Add the combined dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the sugar and butter mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven until a tester/pick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean. Let the pound cakes cool on a rack in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans.

Serve the pound cake with the compote and any additional delights, such as ice cream, frozen yogurt and whipped cream.

MEET THE COOK, Robert Bernheim, China

“My wife, Patricia, and I are empty nesters. But I have – and do – cook for our three adult daughters and their spouses/significant others and our two granddaughters when we gather. Cooking and baking are decompressors for me. I teach some pretty heavy topics (Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Maine at Augusta), and we both had aging parents with dementia, so being in the kitchen allows me to let go of stress and create comfort and joy.

“My favorite cooking tool is an apron. I have fond memories of my maternal grandmother in her apron cooking, baking and creating goodness in her Vermont kitchen. The apron, therefore, retains an element of super power that I ascribed to my grandmother at an early age. In my mind, I am imbued with a similar super power as I put on that apron (or maybe I just read a lot of comic books as a kid!). When I tie the apron behind my back, though, I do feel I am making a connection between the past and present, and I am reminding myself of all those cooks and bakers who came before me.”

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