Tag Archives: dessert

August 30, 2010 · 1:26 pm

August Adventures and a Summer Peach Dessert

I have been thinking bad thoughts about computers, technology and blogging lately. I know just enough (and no more) that when things go wrong, I can usually make things even worse before calling for reinforcements (ie  my teenagers). Even they were not able to fix everything, so I am still thinking some of those bad thoughts, but finally, I am at least able to do some posting (in a much more labor-intensive way that I usually do).

The last few weeks we have had a lot of fun family adventures, but I have not done much food picture taking. Today is just a quick look at what we have been up to and a delicious recipe to celebrate the end of summer!

Piano Recital for Big and Little A:


Little A’s Baptism!

Big J performed the baptism and Brian did the confirmation.

Big A’s 15th Birthday

What a lovely and amazing young woman she has grown into!

Whitewater Rafting Trip

Little J wishing she was big enough to go rafting!

Tubing, Skiing and Wakeboarding on Deep Creek Lake

—

These Peach Cobbler bars were a great way to end a fabulous summer. You can eat them warm topped with ice cream (although they will not cut very nicely warm), or let them cool and cut into squares.

—

RECIPE:

Peach Cobbler Bars

Dough:
3 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Filling:
6 cups diced peaches (about 8 peaches)
2 Tbs lemon juice
½ cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

Dough: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter. Mix the egg and vanilla and then cut into the dough. The dough will be crumbly. Pat about 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Filling: Place the diced peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.

Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown.

Serve warm with ice cream (bars will not cut neatly while warm), or cool completely and cut into squares.

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

NoEmptyChairs.me

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August 7, 2010 · 7:51 am

Fruit Pizza

080610 078-1 Summer is birthday season at our house. With one child’s birthday at the beginning of summer and then three more within four weeks of each other later in the  summer , we have a lot of cake and sugar floating around our house. So I am grateful for Big J for going with a lighter dessert for his birthday yesterday. He usually goes for the more non-traditional birthday desserts. And with all of the fresh fruit available, I was really happy to make a Fruit Pizza.

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Eighteen Years! Eighteen years, in a land far, far away, my life changed forever. I can’t decide whether those 18 years have flown by, or that I’ve been a mom forever. Either way, it has been a wonderful journey. I love you J! It’s these coming years, as my babies slowly start leaving the nest that are making me nervous.

080610 051-1 This Fruit Pizza has a shortbread crust, a thin layer of slightly sweetened cream cheese, luscious summer fruit, and a light glaze on top. The fruit I used, from the inside out: blueberries, mango, raspberries, kiwi and strawberries.

The glaze is made from any light-colored fruit juice (I used a peach-mango, which turned out great!), some sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice (to keep cut fruit from browning, especially if you are using bananas or peaches).

Pre-Glazed Fruit Pizza:

080610 040-1 —-

RECIPE:

Fruit Pizza

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Crust:

½ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ cups flour
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup butter, softened
½ tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Fruit (strawberries, blueberries, bananas, kiwi, mangos, peaches, grapes, pineapple, raspberries, etc.)

Glaze:
½ cup sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch or Clear Jel
2 tsp lemon juice
1 ½ cups clear fruit juice (apple, white grape, peach-mango,lemonade, etc)

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Crust: Using a pastry blender, mix ½ cup powdered sugar, flour, salt, butter, and ½ tsp vanilla. Press onto a pizza pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling: Combine cream cheese, 2 Tbs powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange fruit on cream cheese layer.

Glaze: Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and fruit juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thickened. Cool and spoon over fruit (all of the glaze may not be used). Chill. Slice into wedges to serve.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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July 30, 2010 · 7:27 am

Cherry Blackberry Cobbler

072710 037-1 I love sour cherries in the summer, especially when they are paired with a sweeter berry. We had some blackberries that were getting a little over-ripe, so adding them to this dessert made a perfect Family Night treat. And topped with cinnamon ice cream that we were given in trade for a used girl’s bike? Best trade we ever made!

072710 001-1 This is a double batch of the recipe printed below. Small scoops of dough are dropped onto the hot fruit filling, and then sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Twenty minutes in the oven and the topping is perfectly cooked and ready to eat!

072710 004-1

072710 023-1 The cobbler topping is not made of hard dry biscuits, or loose crumble. It is soft, tender, not-too-sweet, cinnamon-topped mini cakes that soak up that fruit goodness and just scream for a scoop of real vanilla (or cinnamon-thanks Jenny!) ice cream.

072710 011-1 This is bowl-licking good stuff!

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RECIPE:

Cherry Blackberry (or Raspberry) Cobbler

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Filling:
1 quart (4 cups) pitted sour cherries
———(or 2 cans sour/tart cherries + juice)
2 cups blackberries, raspberries or mixed berries
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs Clear Jel (or cornstarch)
½ Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
¼ tsp salt

Cobbler:
¾ cup flour (or half wheat & white flour)
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbs cold butter
½ cup buttermilk, kefir, or milk (use less if using regular milk)
1 egg
1/2 Tbs sugar + 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine filling ingredients in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly and slightly thickened. Pour into an 8×8” pan, or 2-qt casserole dish.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter. Combine milk and egg. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add milk/egg mixture. Stir just until dough clings, adding more milk if necessary. Spoon into 6 mounds over hot filling.

Mix sugar and cinnamon. Lightly sprinkle over topping, discarding any extra.

Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes. Check topping with a toothpick.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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April 27, 2010 · 1:16 pm

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

OR: How to Make a Chocolate Cake When All You Have Is a Vanilla Cake Mix

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This is a quick and easy dessert that looks much more complicated than it really is. With only 5 real ingredients (7 if you frost the cake) that I always have on hand, it makes a great last minute dessert.

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This cake actually starts with a vanilla cake mix. You could use a chocolate cake mix for a richer chocolate flavor, but then you would have to make your own peanut butter filling, or use part of a vanilla cake mix for that. I’m all for simplicity, so I transformed my vanilla cake mix into a chocolate one by mixing a chocolate pudding mix into most of the vanilla cake batter. The remaining vanilla batter is mixed with peanut butter for the peanut butter filling layer.

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When filling your bundt pan, start by adding about 1/3 of the chocolate batter to the pan. Spoon the peanut butter batter over the chocolate layer, keeping batter away from the edges of the pan (so it won’t show on the outside of the cake). Spoon remaining chocolate batter over the peanut butter layer.

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You can eat this cake plain, but it is so much better with a simple chocolate glaze (or ganache if you want to sound fancy!). Just a mixture of cream and bittersweet (you could use semi-sweet) chocolate. Lovingly drizzled over the edges of your cake.

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RECIPE:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

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1 box (about 18 oz) yellow or white cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 small package (4 servings) chocolate pudding mix
Chocolate Ganache Frosting, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, use a mixer to beat together the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs. Remove one cup of batter to a small bowl. Beat peanut butter into reserved one cup of batter. Add the chocolate pudding mix to the large bowl of batter. Beat until well combined.

Grease and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan (or use non-stick baking spray with flour). Spoon about 1/3 of the chocolate batter into the prepared bundt pan. Spoon peanut butter batter over the chocolate layer, keeping batter away from the edges of the pan. Spoon remaining chocolate batter over the peanut butter layer.

Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and cool completely. Top with Chocolate Ganache frosting, if desired.

Yield: 12-16 servings

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
Optional flavorings: vanilla, almond, orange, or peppermint extract (amount varies depending on strength of extract)

Place chopped chocolate  in a mixing bowl. In a saucepan, heat cream until it comes to a boil. Pour cream over chocolate in mixing bowl and stir until chocolate is melted and glossy. Stir in flavoring, if using.

For a glaze (this is what I use for the bundt cake):
Cool ganache slightly (until thick enough that it won’t run off of the cake, but warm enough that it will still drizzle). Pour ganache over cake, starting in the center of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.

For a cake frosting, or for piping:
The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. For piping or for a regular cake frosting, allow the ganache to completely cool and set up at room temperature. Mix with a whisk slightly just before frosting the cake.

For a whipped filling or frosting:
For a thicker, fluffy frosting, or filling for a cake, chill the ganache in the refrigerator until slightly cold, then whip with a mixer until light and fluffy.

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