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!

Chocolate Croissants

It's so good to be back! I haven't been able to post in a while because I've been at school. While I'm pretty lucky to have a full kitchen on my floor, I haven't done much with it yet - until recently. We've had a spree of birthdays on the floor in the last couple weeks, and I've discovered a few new treats that are quick and easy to make in a dorm kitchen with just a few ingredients. My favorite is this recipe for chocolate croissants. The dark chocolate provides a nice flavor contrast to the sweetness of the Nutella, but this recipe would would definitely work with milk chocolate as well. They are absolutely wonderful, and are ready in under half an hour. The croissants are best served warm, while the chocolate is still melted and delicious. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 2 tubes of Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 13 oz. jar of Nutella
• 7 oz. dark chocolate (or about 2 large bars)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Unwrap and spread the croissant triangles out onto a baking sheet, and spread a teaspoon of Nutella on each one down the center. Be careful not to spread the Nutella close to the edges of the triangles, as this will be tricky to work with later.
3. Place a rectangle of chocolate on the wide end of the triangle.

4. Fold the corners on the wider end of the triangle in towards each other, so that they touch the bar of chocolate. The idea is to make a pouch that will contain the bar when it melts.

5. Roll the triangle from the wide end to the thin tip to form a croissant shape.

6. Place the croissants on a  baking sheet, and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Allow them to cool for about 5 minutes on a cookie rack or a plate before serving!

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are delicious, gooey, wonderful morsels that taste perfect just about any time of day. I found a recipe for homemade rolls on The Pioneer Woman's blog and tried them out. Much to the delight of friends and family (this recipe yields more than enough to share with a friend or four or even more), I made this recipe over several times until I had tinkered with the measurements and found what I liked. These rolls are perfect on a cold winter day, but I recently made them as a thank you gift, and they were much appreciated in July too. The recipe yields 5-7 pans of deliciousness. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 4 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 quart milk
• 2  3/4 cups sugar
• 1 packet (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
• 9 cups all-purpose flour + additional for sprinkling
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• plenty of cinnamon

1. Heat one quart of milk in a pan on low heat. Once warm, add in 2 sticks of melted butter and 3/4 cup of sugar. Stir until scalded (just before the boiling point) and then set aside.

2. Once the milk mixture has cooled to a lukewarm temperature, add 1 packet of active-dry yeast. Meanwhile, whisk together 8 cups of all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

3. Pour the yeast and milk mixture in and knead the dough until combined. Cover the dough and let it sit for about an hour.

4. While the dough is sitting, whisk up some cinnamon sugar. Combine 1 cup of sugar and as much cinnamon as you like. Don't be afraid to go a little crazy with the cinnamon!

This could use a little more cinnamon - so your mixture should be darker.

5. Add one more cup of flour to the dough and knead until completely combined. Split the dough into two roughly equal halves. Also, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

6. Take one half of the dough and roll it out onto a well floured surface. The dough should be rectangular and about a quarter inch thick, with a width of 9-10 inches.

Took my pictures a bit out of order, so here's my assembly station!

7. Melt one stick of butter.

8. Pour it onto your rectangle of dough, and brush over the entire surface until it gleams.You can use a pastry brush or a spoon or anything handy. 

9. Next, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the entire rectangle.

10. Start to roll the dough from the longer end, working carefully until you have a cinnamon log, and pinch the seam slightly when finished.

11. Chop slices off the log, roughly half an inch in thickness.

12. Grease 9 inch circular baking pans. Arrange cinnamon rolls in the pans, cover, and allow to rise for 20 minutes. Repeat steps 6-12 for remaining dough

13. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes (time will vary by oven). Let it cool for about 20 minutes on a plate, and serve warm!

Part of my batch - they get eaten pretty quickly!

Mixed Berry Cobbler

I love fresh berries - they're definitely one of the best parts of summer. I saw a recipe for blueberry cobbler in Cook's Illustrated's Baking Book, and thought it would be nice to change the recipe a little and add strawberries and raspberries as well. It tasted so delicious that I will be making it again for a 4th of July party this weekend! The recipe would really work with any mix of berries, as long as the weight of the fruit adds up to about 30 ounces. This cobbler is wonderful: sweet and juicy, with just the right amount of tart. I love serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

For the filling

• 16 ounces fresh strawberries
• 8 ounces blueberries
• 8 ounces raspberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1tbsp. lemon juice & zest of half a lemon

For the topping

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt.
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• zest of half a lemon

1. Place rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Wash and slice strawberries. Place them in a large bowl. 

3. Wash blueberries and raspberries as well. Add them to the strawberries, along with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and zest. Combine, and allow the berries to sit in the sugar mixture for about half an hour. 

Extra picture because the fruit looks absolutely gorgeous 

Ready to mix!

4. Add the fruit to a pie plate and bake for 25 minutes. 

5. While the fruit is baking, - start to work on the biscuit topping. Whisk flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. 

Whisking the dry ingredients actually works to sift them together!

6. Melt 4 tbsp. of butter fully. In a large bowl, whisk 1/3 cup of buttermilk, lemon zest, and vanilla extract with  melted butter.

7. One minute before the fruit comes out of the oven, combine wet and dry ingredients. Whisk quickly until just combined.

8. Once fruit has been taken out of the oven, increase the temperature to 425 degrees. Combine the dough into a large ball with your hands, then split into 8 roughly shaped even spheres.

9. Arrange balls of dough on the pie plate of baked fruit. Leave about an inch between each piece, as the dough will expand while baking.

10. Bake for about 18 minutes, turning the around halfway through to ensure even baking. The cobbler is done when the biscuits are a light golden brown on top, and the fruit is bubbling (as shown below). Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!