Mixed Berry Pie

We had a long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself outside in the beautiful weather. I made this recipe for us to enjoy after a lovely day at the beach, and it was quite a hit! This wonderful pie was the perfect dessert for the occasion: red, white, and blue, with a delicious summery filling. I didn't take process pictures, but the filling is a breeze - just mix the fruit with a few ingredients, and allow it to sit to macerate. The lattice top was a really nice touch, although it isn't absolutely necessary. As you can see, I made a few thick strips and tossed it together quickly because I was running short on time, but you can easily go for thinner strips for a more sophisticated look. Either way, the woven effect yielded by the top crust is absolutely gorgeous. However, feel free to cover the pie with a single layer top crust, or get creative and use cookie cutters (star shaped ones would be cute!) to decorate the top of this pie. Lastly, fair warning - the berries make this pie especially juicy. If you are planning on bringing this to an event, it might be a good idea to bake the pies in individual, smaller servings.  Serve this warm with ice cream, or chilled. Enjoy!

• 3 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 3 1/2 cups blueberries
• 3/4 - 1 cup sugar (adjust according to sweetness of  berries)
• dash salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• juice of 1 1/2 lemons
• 2 pie crusts (for homemade, I use this recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine sugar, salt, cornstarch, lemon juice, and berries in a bowl. Allow to macerate for 30 - 45 minutes.
3. Roll out first pie crust until it forms a 1/2" overhang when placed in pie dish. I like to roll out the pie crusts between two sheets of wax paper in order to keep my counter from getting too messy. Place pie crust in dish, press lightly into sides to avoid air bubbles, and mold the crust as desired. Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
4. Take out chilled pie crust and pour in berry filling.
5. Roll out second pie crust until it also forms a 1/2" overhang when placed over the pie dish. Cut crust into several strips of even thickness (1/2" - 3/4"). Start to assemble the lattice crust from the center outwards. The slideshow on this site is especially helpful to visualize the process.
5. Bake pie for 1 hour and 20 minutes, tenting with foil if the crust starts to darken.
6. Allow to cool, then serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Tiramisu

I made this very unorthodox but very delicious tiramisu yesterday, and wanted to share the recipe. Tiramisu looks beautiful in deep glass dishes that show off the different layers of the dessert. It pulls together quite easily (just 5 ingredients!), and tastes delicious when served with sliced strawberries. I still had macerated ones leftover from my trifle recipe posted earlier, and the syrup and fruit was a really nice complement to the taste of the coffee. However, you can certainly omit the fruit if you're aiming for a more unadulterated tiramisu taste. I added a tad less sugar than I should have for the whipping cream, and so I used Starbucks hot cocoa powder on top to give the tiramisu a little extra sweetness. Serve chilled with the garnish of your choice. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 angel food cake (13.5 oz.)
• 1 cup black coffee
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• strawberries for garnish (optional) 

1. Slice the angel's food cake into 1/2" thick slices and arrange in a deep glass dish. Make sure that there are no gaps in the cake layer.
2. Whip the 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar for about 3 minutes, or until light, airy peaks form.
3. Pour 1/3 of the coffee over the  cake until it is thoroughly soaked. 

      4. Spread 1/3 of the whipped cream in a layer over the coffee-soaked cake.

    5. Build another layer of cake, coffee and whipped cream. Repeat until the last third of cake,                   coffee, and whipped cream are completed.
    6. Sift the cocoa powder through a strainer and spread it over the top layer of whipped cream.

    7. Garnish the top with sliced strawberries, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 5 hour.

    8. Serve with more fresh strawberry slices. Enjoy!

Trifle

Trifle is a very easy dessert to pull together once you've assembled the different components, and is especially delicious on a hot summer's day. We've been getting a lot of perfectly ripened berries at the grocery store lately, and I thought this trifle would be a wonderful way to showcase the sweet bounty of the summer. You can certainly use any combination of fruit that you'd like. I tried to stay with red berries because the alternating red and white layers look gorgeous in a glass dish. This recipe makes enough for 3 large servings of trifle - adapt it to make as many as you'd like. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1/2 cup of strawberries, sliced
• 3 tbsp sugar (more if fruit is tart)
• Angel's Food cake (as necessary)
• 2 pints of raspberries
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Take strawberries and dust with 2 tbsp of sugar in a bowl. Mix together and set aside to macerate.

2. Take 1/3 of a pint of raspberries and heat in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes until a thickened, slightly jammy syrup has formed. Add sugar if necessary. Set aside. 

3. Take 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and beat with 1 tbsp of sugar until whipped cream forms (about 2-3 minutes). Set aside. 

3. Gather 3 glasses - wineglasses work well for this desert - and cut a 1/2" thick slice of angel's food cake to place in the bottom of each glass. 

4. Divide the raspberry jam among the three glasses of trifle, and spread over the cake. 

5. Arrange strawberry slices on top of the jam. Add raspberries along the edges. 

6. Spread ~1/6 of the whipping cream over the fruit and flatten with a spoon. Make sure to keep the sides of the glass clean above this layer.

7. Continues building layers with one more slice of cake, strawberries, raspberries, and whipped cream. 

8. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Chili-Lime Garlic Butter

I threw together this weird-looking but delicious spread one afternoon when I wanted to make a slightly spicy complement for a crusty roll of ciabatta that we brought home. Don't let its looks deceive you - my family polished off an entire loaf of bread with this right away! The recipe is really quick, so I didn't take process pictures. It has a bit of a kick, so make sure to add as much chili powder as you think you'll need. I actually added a bit more than the recipe calls for, but mine was pretty spicy. It tastes great spread on slices of baguette toasted with a little Parmesan cheese, or on fresh bread right away. Enjoy!


Here's the recipe:

• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup of washed, chopped coriander
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 3/4 tsp. of red chili powder (or to taste)
• 4 oz. salted butter, softened to room temperature

1. Combine garlic, coriander, lime juice, and chili powder in a food processor and combine.

2. Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the softened butter, and mix thoroughly with a fork until there are no lumps of butter left. Serve with crusty bread, such as a baguette or roll of ciabatta. Enjoy!

Rosewater Raspberry Pound Cake

This raspberry rosewater pound cake is loosely based on this pound cake recipe by Martha Stewart. The unconventional flavors of this cake are a refreshing treat that makes this cake good enough to eat all by itself, although it's certainly delicious with vanilla ice cream. Rose water can be found at most Middle Eastern and Indian supermarkets - just make sure to get the water, and not rose syrup. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3-4 tbsp rose water
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• approx. 1/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

3. Add eggs in one by one, and beat together until combined.

4. Add 3-4 tablespoons of rosewater depending on your preference and beat again until just combined.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour and 1/4 tsp. of salt so that the dry ingredients are sifted. Add to the wet ingredients in 3 parts, beating until just combined after each addition. 

6. Grease a 9" by 4" loaf pan with butter and spread the batter into the pan evenly.

7. Decorate the top with raspberries as shown below. 

8. Bake for 1 hour, tenting with foil if necessary to prevent the top of the cake from browning. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast & Blueberry Compote

Cheesecake stuffed french toast makes a decadent and easy breakfast. I made this with a blueberry compote for Mother's Day and it was an immediate hit. It takes only a few minutes longer than french toast would. I pulled this together in the morning and, again, forgot to take process photos, but luckily it's a very simple recipe. The blueberry compote is completely optional - I just enjoy the fruity taste to offset the creaminess of the filling, but you could certainly go without, or use different fruit. This recipe yields about 4 stuffed toast pieces. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 8 slices white bread
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 -1/2  cup of milk (depending on consistency you prefer)
• pinch ground cinnamon
• dash ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. butter 
• 4 tbsp. sugar plus more for compote if necessary
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• blueberries

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until it has a decent consistency. Whisk in 1 tbsp. of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

2. Heat a pan on medium, and grease with some butter. Dip bread in mixture, coat completely and cook on the pan until golden brown with a custard-like center. Repeat for all 8 slices of bread.

3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese with sour cream until fully combined. Add in 3 tbsp. of sugar and beat for about 1 minute.

4. Spread about 3/4 tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture on top of one piece of warm french toast. Press another piece of toast on top

5. Heat blueberries in a saucepan until reduced to a compote. Add sugar to taste if necessary. 

6. Serve toast warm with a heaping spoonful of blueberry compote. Enjoy!

Mango Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I don't normally bake cakes with tropical fruit, but I decided to try this recipe out for a Mother's Day surprise (with a few tweaks). Unfortunately, I whipped it together in the afternoon and forgot to take pictures, but it was super easy to make! The cake was moist and delicious, and the flavor of the fruit really shined through. I was afraid the brown sugar on the bottom would overpower the fruit and become syrupy, but to my surprise the flavors complemented each other perfectly. You can use either frozen or fresh fruit for the cake, but if the fruit is particularly sour, you may want to adjust the amount of brown sugar you use. This cake is delicious served warm by itself, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 2 medium mangoes (about 1 cup), diced 
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tbsp. whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Beat 2 tbsp. of softened butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper, grease it with softened butted, and then spread the brown sugar mixture evenly along the bottom of the pan. 

3. Mix the diced fruit together. This should yield about 2 cups of fruit. Spread over the brown sugar mixture in the baking pan.

4. In a large bowl, whisk in flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder so that it is sifted and well combined. 

5. In another bowl, beat the remaining 6 tbsp. of butter with 3/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy - for about 3 minutes.

6. Add in eggs, one by one, and beat until combined.

7. Add in half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating until fully combined. Next, add sour cream, the second half of the flour mixture, and the whole milk, beating to combine between each addition. 

8. Pour batter over fruit and brown sugar mixture. Bake for 50 minutes, rotating pan at 25 minutes to ensure that the cake bakes evenly. 

9. Allow the cake to cool for about 10-15 minutes, and then invert onto a serving platter. Peel parchment paper away and serve warm. Enjoy!

Farmer's Cheese Doughnuts (Túrófánk)

Túrófánk with red currant jam

Doughnuts are often considered a delicious, but very tricky and time-consuming project to undertake. So when a family friend showed me this delicious Hungarian recipe that took less than 20 minutes to whip up, I was blown away. This recipe doesn't include yeast, so you don't have to worry about any of the finicky steps that dough often demands. Instead, it uses farmer's cheese to make soft pillowy dumplings. You can serve these as a sort of deconstructed jelly doughnut, sprinkled with powdered vanilla (or regular!) sugar and a dollop of jam. Apricot and red currant jam are both delicious with these doughnuts - but feel free to try them with other toppings. 

Here's the recipe:

• 8 oz. farmer's cheese, unsalted
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 2 heaping tbsp. cream of wheat
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• oil for frying
• powdered vanilla sugar for dusting
• preserves, to serve

1. Take 8 ounces of farmers cheese, and whisk until smooth.

I used half of this box - remember to make sure it's unsalted. 

2. Whisk in eggs, flour, cream of wheat, baking powder, sour cream, and sugar one by one. This is your completed batter.

The batter here is still a little lumpy - it hasn't been whisked through yet.

3. Heat oil for frying in a deep pan.

4. When oil is sufficiently hot, take a tablespoon and begin spooning the batter into the oil. Try to make sure the dumplings are about the same size to ensure even cooking time. 

5. Line a plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Fry the doughnuts until they are golden brown, and then transfer them to the plate to cool for a few minutes. 

6. Once all the doughnuts have been fried, transfer them to a serving plate and dust with regular or vanilla powdered sugar. 

7. Serve warm with preserves (apricot or currant work especially well) for dipping. Enjoy!

Peach Ricotta Muffins

Muffins are a delicious and easy snack to whip up. I had some extra frozen peaches on hand, and decided to make a slightly healthier version with some almond flour and coconut sugar. The final product turned out moist and fluffy, and the substitutions were  impossible to detect. I used frozen peach chunks that we had on hand from a summer peach-picking trip - but this recipe will work just as well with fresh or canned peaches as long as you adjust the amount of sugar for the canned variety to account for the sugar syrup. This recipe yields 24 muffins. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups peaches, peeled and diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda with a whisk.

3, In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, coconut sugar, ricotta cheese, oil, eggs, and vanilla. 

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

5. Stir in peaches, diced, and combine. 

6. Grease a muffin tin and spoon batter into each mold. 

7. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Puff Pastry Pizza

Puff Pastry Pizzas are a fun little concept that I read about on The Pioneer Woman's blog earlier this year. I have made them a couple of times with different variations of toppings, and they've been amazing each time. They're great as an appetizer for a party, especially because they're quick and easy to make in large quantities. The options for toppings are quite literally endless  - so take the frame of this recipe and get as creative as you like! These are best served warm, straight out of the oven. The recipe below will serve to make two pizzas. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry
• 1/3 cup cherry/grape tomatoes, or to taste
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• basil for sprinkling

1. Thaw the puff pastry according to instructions on the side of the box.

2. Halve the grape/cherry tomatoes.

3. Preheat oven to 415 degrees.

4. Take one sheet of puff pastry and carefully cut it down the center. Place both halves on a baking sheet.

5. Brush a strip of olive oil down the center of the puff pastry lengthwise.

6. Mince garlic and spread half of it down the center of each strip of puff pastry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

7. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese down the center of each puff pastry. Make sure not to sprinkle too close to edges of the puff pastry as this will weigh it down while baking, and prevent the crust from puffing up.

8. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of halved tomatoes on each strip of puff pastry.

9. Bake for 15 minutes.

10. While pizza is baking, chiffonade some basil.

11. When pizzas are out of the oven, deflate any large bubbles with a fork. Garnish with basil strips and serve warm. Enjoy!