I love pears so I was elated when Baked Sunday Mornings choose this Whiskey Pear Tart for the challenge this week. (I have had it bookmarked in my cookbook since I got it because I thought it looked so good!)
Even though I have a rectangular tart pan I decided to use my round one and I used an 11 inch one like they said but sadly, I don't think I had enough of the almond filling. But it still was very delicious! I loved the almond, whiskey and pear flavors together!
I will definitely make this one again!! For the recipe and to
Okay, I have to admit, I did not know what a Brookster was when I saw it up on the list of the next Baked challenge. I had to wait until I got my copy of Baked Elements to find out what it was. What the heck is a Brookster? Well it is a brownie-chocolate chip cookie collaboration!! Chocolate chip cookie dough is placed in a brownie shell and baked together. Very rich and very delicious! It is suppose to be done in mini 4" pie plates. While I have a nice array of baking pans, 4" pie tins were not included in my collection, so I had to opt for the muffin pan brookster. I am glad I did. The 4-inch variety would have been far too big and way too rich to eat in one sitting (well, maybe I could force it down with some vanilla ice cream!!)
I also found this nifty little instructional video on how to make them on Martha Stewarts web site. Made by none other than Matt Lewis himself! They were calling them Brookies then.
These are great, but extremely rich...be sure to have a nice ice cold glass of milk nearby when you devour one of these!
Please check out what the other bakers did here. We have a very talented group!!
This months "Baked" challenge is this lovely Lady Praline Chiffon Cake. Somewhat like an angel food cake but since it is made with oil it has more substance to it. It is very light, moist and delicious. This recipe called for pecan liquor which I could not find anywhere around here so I used Amaretto in it's place. It only called for a tablespoon but I think I would add another tablespoon because it was almost undetectable. It had a very nice hint of orange flavor from the orange zest.
Maybe it is my uncontrollable sweet tooth kicking in, but I think this cake would have been really good with some kind of glaze on it. The recipe said to just dust it with powdered sugar...which I did, but to me it needed something more.
I probably should have put some peaches with it like Susan did....that looked really nice!
Anyway.....I liked it, it was a good chiffon cake and very easy to make with a delightful texture that would be sure to please.
Please check out what the other "Baked" bakers did here. We have a very talented group.
I picked up some beautiful blackberries at the local farmers market. I love blackberries...although these were not as sweet as I like, so I decided to bake with them. I am always running out the door in the morning with breakfast in hand and thought that some muffins would be nice to have for the morning rush this coming week. I found a light recipe for blackberry muffins. I used almond milk instead of fat free milk and they still turned out great. Don't forget to spray the cupcake liners with some oil before filling with batter. They will stick to the paper if you don't!
Whole Grain Blackberry Spice Muffins Cooking Light, JANUARY 2006 Sweet Life Yield 17 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin) Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces) 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon apple-pie spice 1 cup fat-free milk 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries, coarsely chopped Cooking spray 1/4 cup granulated sugar Preparation Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through apple-pie spice) in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, butter, vanilla, and egg in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Gently stir in blackberries. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each of 17 paper-lined muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes. Sprinkle muffins evenly with granulated sugar; bake 3 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks.
I still had some blackberries left and some beautiful sweet peaches that were almost too ripe so I thought a blackberry peach crumble would be very tasty. I googled a recipe and have a lovely crumble to serve for dessert tonight. Yummy!
TOPPING:
1 c. Pillsbury's BEST all-purpose or unbleached flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. margarine or butter, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten
FILLING:
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. water
1/4 tsp. almond extract
3 fresh peaches, sliced
2 c. fresh blackberries
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in margarine until mixture is crumbly. Stir in egg; mix well. Set aside. In small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add water. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Stir in almond extract. In 8-inch (2-quart) square baking dish, combine peaches, cranberries and blackberries; stir in hot cornstarch mixture. Crumble topping over fruit mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream, sour cream or ice cream, if desired. Makes 9 servings
Berries are bursting with flavor this time of year! All ripe and juicy just waiting for something like this classic fruit tart. The ABCers are at it again! We are baking from the Weekend Baker by Abby Dodge. This choice was a good selection for this time of year...a perfect summertime dessert. The crust is very different and difficult to work with. Flour, powdered sugar, butter, salt and egg yolk were the components for this crust...no cold water! I had my doubts! I really had my doubts when I was rolling it out and trying to get it in the pan...what a mess! But I pieced and pushed it all together and stuck it in the freezer for 30 minutes like the recipe said then put it in the oven. The aroma!!! Oh my, it smelled so good! And looked beautiful when it came out of the oven. Whew!
Then it was time for the pastry cream....it looked really nice when it I put it in the fridge to chill....then when I got it out to fold in the vanilla and whipped cream it had little lumps in it...hmmmm, they weren't there when I put it in the fridge...where did they come from? So I beat the heck out of it and tried
to get it as smooth as I could and got most of the little lumps out.
All this work resulted in a very tasty tart. The crust was delicious and worth all the aggrivation it caused. The pastry cream was not too sweet and complimented the fruit very nicely. I think the next time I will just press the dough in the pan instead of trying to roll it out...it will save time and the hassel of trying to get it in the pan in one piece.
Please visit the ABC site and take a look at what the other bakers did with this challenge.
Went to a Fiesta yesterday and brought this apple pie that I have been itching to bake for a long time now. I saw it on the one of those shows on one of the cooking channels and thought it sounded really interesting and tasty. I thought the pie was good. The green chili's complimented the apples nicely and the walnut steusel gave it a nice sweet crunch. The crust on the other hand was hard and tough. I didn't really get much cheddar from it either...if I were to make this pie again I would use my regular flaky pie crust recipe. It sure did look pretty though!
1. Make the crust: In a food processor or mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add butter one piece at a time, while pulsing or mixing at low speed, until mixture is fine and crumbly. Transfer to a large bowl and toss well with the cheese. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with fingers just until dough holds together. To test, pinch a small amount of dough. If it is crumbly, add more ice water. Form dough into a ball, wrap loosely in plastic, then roll into a disk. Refrigerate at least one hour, or up to 3 days, before rolling. (Dough can be frozen for up to a month.)
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle at least 11 inches in diameter. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan, preferably glass. Turn edges under to make a thick rim; flute rim by pinching into a zigzag pattern. Refrigerate until ready to bake, at least an hour.
3. Make the filling: In a large bowl, toss apples, green chilies and lemon juice together. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients and add to apples and chilies, tossing until thoroughly coated.
4. Make the topping: In a small bowl, mix flour, walnuts and brown sugar. Add melted butter and toss together until crumbly.
5. Bake the pie: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a slotted spoon, scoop filling into chilled crust, then drizzle with 2 tablespoons of juice from bottom of bowl. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until filling bubbles at edge and crust is brown. Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
Yield: About 8 servings.
Note: Roasted green Hatch chilies from New Mexico can be ordered fromnewmexicanconnection.com, and are sometimes found frozen in grocery stores. Drained canned green chilies are acceptable.
Tres Leches Cupcakes
I made another fiesta offering. Tres Leches Cake only in cupcake form. There are 3 milks (tres leche) poured over a sponge cake making a moist and flavorful cake. I liked it much more than I thought I would! I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe and made cupcakes. I baked them for 25 minutes and refrigerated them overnight after I poked holes and poured the milk over them. It was very simple and very good. Everyone seemed to like them.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined. Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool. Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.
