Mixed Berry Cobbler

To be completely frank, I have never had a cobbler in my life, nor have I ever baked one. Shocking, right? But, I guess there's always something that not everyone has tried before. For me, it's the cobbler. I didn't really even know what the heck a cobbler was. From what I heard, it was basically just a fruit filling with a biscuit on top. This was a reason as to why I really never tried a cobbler. It just didn't sound to appealing to me. However, I was extremely excited to find that this weeks challenge for TWD was a Mixed Berry Cobbler. Now I had to try a cobbler.

Now, I knew that making a cobbler was very easy (which this was), and that it didn't take to many ingredients or anything difficult to make it. It was just the taste that matter. But, I didn't see how you could really go wrong. In the end, it was just how sweet you, as the person eating it, would want it. I made mine pretty sweet (I have a major sweet tooth).

I didn't make it into a huge cobbler. Instead, I made them into individual ramekins (Who knows if I'd really like it or not, or if everyone else would). In my opinion, they looked prettier in little individual portions anyways. I only used blueberries and strawberries (But I used more blueberries than anything ;]). I didn't really have any blackberries or raspberries on hand. If I did, I would have definitely had used them!

So, what did I think of my first cobbler? Well, after waiting for what seemed like forever and smelling the fruit in oven with my mouth watering, I finally got to take my first bite... And... It was really good! To my surprise, it didn't make me feel bloated for I thought that it might be a bit heavy (I was thinking of pie here...). But it didn't. Which was good. I've now discovered cobbler and it will be something I will make more often now ;]. Go Cobblers! :D

Recipe

For the topping

2 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold butter, cut up
3/4 cup cold heavy cream

For the filling

5 cups mixed berries, frozen or fresh
4 to 5 tbsp. sugar (depending on your taste)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon or lime
1/4 tsp. (or more, to taste) ground black pepper (optional)

Vanilla ice cream, for serving


1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces in between — and that's just right.

3. Pour the cream over the dry ingredients and toss and gently turn the ingredients with a fork until you've got a very soft dough. When the dough comes together, you'll probably still have dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl — just use a spatula or your hands to mix and knead the dough until it's evenly blended.

4. Don't overdo it; it's better to have a few dry spots than an overworked dough. Even with all the flour mixed in, the dough will be soft and sticky.

5.Turn the dough out onto a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap, cover with another sheet of paper or plastic and gently press or roll the dough into a circle that is a scant 9 inches in diameter. Don't worry about getting the size exact or about seeing that the edges are even — this is a very homey dessert, and a rough-around the-edges biscuit adds to its charm. Set the dough aside while you prepare the fruit.

6. To make the filling, Toss all the ingredients into a large bowl and stir to mix. Turn the fruit into the buttered pie plate and top with the biscuit. Using a small sharp knife, cut about 6 slits in the dough, just as you would for a piecrust. Then, using either the knife or a large piping tip, cut a circle out of the center of the dough.

7. Bake the cobbler for 60 to 75 minutes, or until the top is puffed and golden brown and the fruit is bubbling steadily up through the center steam hole and all around the scallopy edges of the biscuit. Transfer the pie plate to a rack and let the cobbler cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

8. Serve the cobbler warm or at room temperature, with ice cream.

STORING: Once the cobbler cools, you can keep it lightly covered for a few hours at room temperature, but you really should enjoy it the day it is made. Don't refrigerate it — the biscuit will lose its appealing texture.

La Palette’s Strawberry Tart

This weeks TWD challenge was a Strawberry Tart. Perfect for the season. It's summer and you don't necessarily want to be having any heavily sugared desserts. So this was just really perfect.

The recipe is very easy. Not hard at all. I do however have to say that I didn't really like the crust. It's was a bit to flaky like for me. I didn't like it at all. I think next time I will use nuts into the dough. This one just didn't have me at all. It was still good, I just would had used a different tart crust. Like, the one I make for my White Chocolate Blueberry Tart. That crust was amazing!! I think I'll do that next time.

Recipe

For the Filling

Strawberry Jam (I used blueberry to give it a twist)
1 pint strawberries
Sugar (optional)
Whipped Cream (optional)


For the Tart Dough

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick plus 1 tbsp. (9 tbsp.)cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk


1. For the dough, Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in—you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.

2. When the egg is in, process in long pulses—about 10 seconds each—until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change—heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

3. To press the dough into the pan, Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don't be too heavy-handed—press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

4. To partially or fully bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

5. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack (keep it in its pan).

6. To fully bake the crust, Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

7. To patch a partially or fully baked crust, if necessary: If there are any cracks in the baked crust, patch them with some of the reserved raw dough as soon as you remove the foil. Slice off a thin piece of the dough, place it over the crack, moisten the edges and very gently smooth the edges into the baked crust. If the tart will not be baked again with its filling, bake for another 2 minutes or so, just to take the rawness off the patch.

8. Once crust has completely cooled, spread jam on crust. Add strawberries, chopped roughly, on top of the crust. Serve with whipped cream is desired. You can add sugar too to lightly sweeten it.

Almond Honey Sticky Buns

Sticky Buns. Just saying it gets people excited. And I was so excited to hear that this weeks recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie was Sticky Buns! I'd been wanting to make it for sometime, but never seemed to get around it. But, this time, I had a reason to do it!

Making these are fairly easy. Just some patients. It's not near as difficult as people come to think of it. The only part I hate is when it comes to flipping the sticky buns out of the pan while it still hot. Reason doing it is so that it won't stick to the pan; Which is will if you don't get it out soon enough! And I'd burnt myself several time doing it. Every time. I always tell myself to be extra careful, but I never seem to do a good job at it since I burn myself anyways. I'm cursed as a klutz I guess.

Anyways, I've instantly fallen in love with this recipe! I moment I took my first bite, I was just completely speechless. It was just to good to be true. The recipe actually called for Pecans, and, normally, I'm a pecan kind of girl. However, this time, I was really wanting almonds. Which, was kind of odd, but I wanted almonds. And I really liked the almonds in this. It turned out so sticky, gooey, and sooo delicious! This is seriously my new favorite recipe.

Recipe

For the Buns

2 pks. (4 tsp.) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup warm milk
3 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
12 ounces (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

For the Filling

1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
3 tbsp. butter, room temperature


For the Glaze

1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups almonds


1. For the buns, put the yeast, water and milk in the bow of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one.

2. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can - this will help you, the counter and the kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off in a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour, then remove the towel, increase the speed to medium-low and mix for a minutes or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mass

3. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the miser speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2 tablespoon size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like a batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

4. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

5. Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours. Then leave covered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

6. The next day, butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and one loaf pan (or you can use two 9 x 13 inch baking pans. This dough is that of a Brioche Loave and the recipe makes 2 loaves, but we only need half of the dough for the sticky buns. You can half the recipe, or use the the other half the dough to make a loaf of Brioche or another pan of sticky buns. It's up to your own choosing).

7. For the glaze, bring the brown sugar, butter and honey to a boil over medium-low heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze unto the buttered pan, evening it out as best as you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the almonds.

8. On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using you fingers or a pastry brush, spread 3 tablespoons of butter over the dough. In a small bowl, mix the sugars and cinnamons for the filling. Sprinkle it over the dough, leaving a 1-inch strip base on the sides farthest from you. Starting with the sides nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can.

9. With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. Should make 15 buns. Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them. Lightly cover the pan with wax paper and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, until doubled in volume.

10. When buns have almost fully risen, preheat the over to 375 degrees. Remove the wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the over.

11. The sticky buns MUST be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super hot and super sticky.

Bill's Big Carrot Cake

This months challenge for Tuesdays with Dorie was suppose to be Madelines. However, I do not have one of those pans. And, sadly, I could not find one. I went to a craft store where I normally buy my baking equipment, however, they did not have the madeline pan. I was going to order it, but it would not be in till around Wednesday. It really bummed me out because I really wanted the madelines. But, I did get to make these delicious little cakes!

For the people that didn't have the madeline pan (like myself), we were able to use a recipe that was completed in the past. At first, I was going to make the Gooey Chocolate Cakes. After thinking about it, I really wanted to have the Carrot Cake. I hadn't had one in so long. The last one I had was when I was a little girl! My best friends mother made the best Carrot Cake I had ever had. I've really missed that cake. So, I decided that I was going to make Bills Big Carrot Cake. Instead of making it into a cake, I thought making it into cupcakes would be great. They were so good. Brought back memories. I couldn't believe how moist they were! They were amazing! A total must try I have to say.

Recipe

For Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup plump golden raisins
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs


Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tbsp. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar


1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess (Or divide it among muffin cups).

2. In a bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth.

3. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

4. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

5. The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

6. For the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter and sour cream in a medium bowl. Add the vanilla and the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth. Cool cake completely before frosting. If desired, sprinkle top of cake with chopped nuts and/or sprinkles.

Peanut Butter Torte

Theres been a blogging group that I've really been wanting to join for awhile now. Tuesdays with Dorie. You have to have a book to join this group, and I didn't have the book; Till now. I finally got the book so that I could finally join the group, and I didn't hesitate to join.

It was actually kind of funny. Before I saw what the next challenge was, I looked threw the book to see what all recipes there was. And one of them that really shout out to me was the Peanut Butter Torte. It was just beautiful, and sounded, as well as looked, unbelievable. I knew that I wanted to make it soon; And who knew that'd it'd be one of the first things that'd I'd bake!

This weeks challenge was the Peanut Butter Torte. I knew that I was going to love this because, I mean, come on. It's peanut butter! One of those things that make you happy and certainly bring bake being a kid.

I really liked the crust for this. An Oreo crust is my favorite kind of crust to have on an cake, cheesecake, or anything else that has a crust. I was kind of unsure as to if it'd pair will with the peanut butter. I didn't really think that'd be that good together. But they were! They were excellent together! And I defiantly have gotten my peanut butter dose!

Recipe


1 1/4 cup peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbled
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup confectioner sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp. milk
4 ounces chocolate, finely chopped


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toss 1/2 cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chips together in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Put the Oreo crumbs (you can crumbled in a food processor or a blender), melted butter and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine until moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and the sides of a springform pan (they should go up about 2 inches up on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

3. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack and let cool completely before filling. With a stand mixer, whip 2 cups on the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in 1/4 cup of confectioner sugar. Scrape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

4. Wipe out the bowl (no need to wash) and beat in the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup of confectioner sugar on medium speed until cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, 1/4 cup chopped peanuts and the milk.

5. Using a spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Stir in the crunchy peanut butter mixture, gingerly fold remaining whipped cream.

6. Scrape the mousse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish it Up

7. To finish the torte, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave bowl over the water till it starts to melt. Remove from the saucepan.

8. Bring the remaining 1/2 cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and blend until glossy. Pour over torte, smoothing with a metal spatula. Scatter remaining 1/2 cup peanuts over torte and chill until the top is set. Refrigerate until ready to serve.