Fresh Fruit Pie

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Mrs. B.T. and it is a wonderful, refreshing summer pie! The sauce you put over the fruit is really good on its own too - I know, I licked the spoon. :)

It's simple, goes together quickly and is tasty - what's not to like about this for a summer dessert?

Pie Crust:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup flour

To Make Crust: Mix melted butter, sugar, and yolk. Add flour and mix until crumbs form. Press into pie dish and cook at 400° F. for 8 minutes. Cool completely. (You can replace ¼ cup of the flour with whole wheat.)

½ cup sugar
3 to 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ cups orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
6 cups fresh fruit
(I used approximately 2 cups quartered strawberries, 2 cups red grapes, 1 cup canned pineapple pieces, 1 cup raspberries and blackberries. That is just an idea, there are so many wonderful possibilities.)

For Fruit Mixture: Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Add 1 ½ cup orange juice until mixture is smooth. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and add lemon juice and lemon rind. Cool completely. Add fruit and pour into cooled crust. Chill for 4 hours.

A-1 Cheese Cake Pie

This is from a cookbook published I believe sometime between 1976-77 by the Tarzana Aides in California. The recipe was submitted by my grandmother’s sister-in-law, the daughter of a United States Senator (at the time of submission, I believe he was a former US Senator). My grandmother reminisced that when they were having company, Marjorie would volunteer to bring this cheesecake for dessert, and the best part was she always left the extras. But my grandmother did wrap up a piece to send home with her.

I’ve done a little clarifying on the original recipe since apparently graham crackers used to come in a smaller size, the equivalent of half of the current size, so I edited it to half the amount and now it is 9-10 of the modern day size sold. I did a little more editing on some other measurements as well, just to make it a little easier to follow.

The interesting thing about this “cheese pie” is that it is cooked at a higher temperature for a shorter time, something I think is unusual with cheesecakes, but it worked very well; moist, no cracking and simple. Bake this pie the day before you intend to serve it.

A-1 Cheese Cake Pie

9 – 10 Graham crackers, made into crumbs
3 Tbs. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ lbs. pound butter (1/2 cup!)
Mix all, pack firmly into a 10 – 12 inch pie dish.

Filling:

Beat 4 eggs until creamy, add:
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
Crumble in 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, beat until creamy. Pour into crust and bake 25 minutes at 375°F. Cool 5-10 minutes.

Topping: Mix-
1 large (16 oz.) carton sour cream
6 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Spread on pie and bake at 400°F. for 5 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Serves 12 – 16.

Mini Mocha Meringue Cakes

(I don’t want to infringe on copyright in anyway, so while I altered the original recipe quite a bit as far as feel the first time I made it, I’m going to go even further and include the changes I would make if I did it again. Just being extra cautious! It's the kind of girl I am.)

Meringue

2 egg whites, room temperature
Pinch cream of tartar
½ cup sugar (the recipe called for superfine, I used regular)
2 Tablespoon Dutch process, cocoa
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules, lightly rolled to crush
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups whipped cream, sweetened with ¼ - ⅓ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla (I’m guessing a bit on this, since we did more cream than that at the time – some for the coffee!)

Fudge Sauce – this is an addition that I think would be simply smashing. I thought they needed a little something extra, if you know what I mean.

1. Put the egg whites in a large clean bowl, and whisk slowly until they become thick and frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whisk more quickly until the whites form stiff peaks.

2. Sprinkle over half of the sugar and continue whisking until mixture is stiff and glossy. Whisk in the rest of the sugar a little at a time. Sift over the cocoa powder and add the coffee granules. Whisk in vanilla.

3. Trace 2” circles (I think I did about 36 using a cookie cutter) on parchment paper and then flip over and place on a cookie sheet. Carefully spread meringue evenly within circles, trying to make them fairly even and flat. You could also pipe it in a spiral pattern. Bake in a 250°F oven for 45 minutes. I pulled it out at this point and it cooled on the counter, however, I think you’re actually supposed to let meringue cool in the oven. In which case I would cut the baking time down a little.

4. To assemble, place one meringue disk on a plate, drizzle a tiny bit of chocolate sauce over disk, place a generous dollop of cream in center and press another “cookie”, bottom down, on top of cream. Drizzle a bit more chocolate sauce, and another dollop of cream, artistically placed, to finish it. Assemble all the meringue cakes and place on serving platter and then sift cocoa carefully over the tops. It is okay to get a little on the platter – it adds a nice touch!

Note: I’m not a meringue expert and these turned out very fragile so I lost a few in assembly. Over baked? The granulated sugar? Just as a note that you are likely not to get 18 mini cakes. I will probably cut down the baking time a bit if I do these again. 35 minutes and let them cool in the oven? Just giving you the inside scoop on my thoughts on this.

Mini Lemon Curd Tartlet Cookies

Mini Lemon Curd Tartlet Cookies

2/3 cup butter, (or vegetable shortening) softened
3 – 4 T. honey
2 egg yolks
½ tsp. vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups soft white wheat flour (I suspect you could substitute all-purpose flour)

Honey Lemon Curd – see below
Sugared Lemon Zest
½ - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Granulated sugar

Cookies: Cream together butter and honey. Beat in yolks, vanilla, lemon zest and salt. Stir in flour. Chill. In greased mini muffin tins, gently pat about 1 T. dough. Indent top of cookie deeply with thumb. Bake in 350 degree oven for 17 – 20 minutes or until lightly brown. While still warm, top with a generous dollop of Honey Lemon Curd and then garnish with Sugared Lemon Zest.

Zest: Toss lemon zest with a little granulated sugar. Sift off extra sugar and sprinkle zest on cookies.

Notes: For the cookies pictured, I didn’t have mini muffin pans available so I went for a slightly stiffer dough and I think I might have ended up using maybe another ½ cup flour? For the same shape pictured; chill the dough and then form about 1 Tablespoon dough into balls. You might have to chill the dough again briefly at this point. Then, lightly flour your fingers and carefully press balls into square “bricks,” about ½” thick. Press thumb deeply to indent center. Now, when you bake them the cookies will spread in the oven and all your hard work to make “very square cookies” will be annihilated. But, they will still be pretty square, so no worries and continue….Carefully spread the Lemon Curd in a square in the center of cookie and garnish.

Honey Lemon Curd

2 eggs
Between 1/3 – ½ cup honey (Fill honey to a little over 1/3 cup, top with water to ½ cup)
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter
½ cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons lemon zest

Beat together eggs, honey, and salt. Stir in butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook on low heat, stirring briskly and constantly, making sure to whisk entire bottom of pot, until thick, about 15-20 minutes. Or cook in double boiler until thick, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. I used the first method, because I fancy I have a lot to do so I try to be efficient. It’s really because I’m a bit impatient. I think. Cool to room temperature. (After you are finished, if you have any leftovers, store in refrigerator. This recipes makes about 3/4 cup.)

Lemon Curd made with honey is pretty tangy, which is kind of a nice compliment to the cookies since the cookies mellow the curd and the curd gives a snap to the cookies. But I’m sure any lemon curd recipe or even, gasp, store bought, would be fine.

If you think this is essentially the same recipe as the Jam Thumprint Tarts, you're right. Aha!

French'ish Party

I wanted to do a fancy French themed pastry type party for my sisters birthday (blame the lady who was in France taking picture of pastry shop windows) but life just won't allow for things like that right now. Not willing to completely forgo the idea, my sister-in-law and I decided to pull something together that was simple, fun and tasty!

Mini Lemon Curd Tartlet Cookies

Creative Wending made Petite Fours with some help from the other sisters

Mini Mocha Meringue Cakes

Served with a pot of hot coffee and a bowl of sweetened whipped cream!

Strawberry Flowers

Cutting strawberries for another dessert, inspiration struck. Whether or not this is an original idea, I don't know, but it is pretty and here's how to do it. Or at least how I did it.


Wash as many fresh firm strawberries as you need and carefully flatten stems.


Using a sharp knife, cut strawberries into eighths, stopping about 1/4" from stem.

Carefully separate "petals".



Use the strawberry flower as a garnish as is, or.....



Fill with small scoops of vanilla ice cream for a petite and elegant dessert.



And enjoy!

I experimented and you can do the berries ahead, place them in a pan, cover and refrigerate. Shape the ice cream scoops ahead of time too, scaling back to a "ball" that will fit into the berries. Place the individual servings on a tray and place back in freezer. Assemble right before serving. I think they would be a lovely way to serve ice cream with a slice of cake at a bridal or baby shower!

Chocolate Nests

A few years ago I discovered Cadbury Chocolate Mini Eggs and they have become a spring tradition. I never did Easter egg hunts as a child, but now my siblings and I do; we go all over town hunting the best prices on Cadbury's mini eggs!

I made these nests for Easter, but I don't hold them exclusively to the holiday and think they are appropriate anytime during the spring.

Incredibly simple to make they call for four ingredients: Chocolate chips, shortening, Chinese Noodles and Cadbury Mini Eggs. Next time I might skip the shortening and see if the chocolate holds up a little better. They seemed to melt rather fast and I wondered if it might have something to do with the shortening. Or maybe I just didn't let them set up long enough.

The eggs come in multiple colors but I like to use only one color per nest, it makes it a tiny bit less cutesy and a little bit more sophisticated.

Pear Delight

Canned pears

Vanilla ice cream

Cream, whipped

Carmel Sauce

Coarsely chopped pecans

For each dessert: Place one pear half on plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Top with a dallop of whipping cream, swirl carmel sauce over dessert and sprinkle with nuts. Savour!

This is how I think it should be served. My family is of the opinion I don't know how it really ought to be done. They would suggest at least two pear halves per dessert, several scoops of ice cream, a generous drop of whipping cream, and lots of carmel sauce and nuts. Uh, huh - if I need a comfort dessert that sounds like a good idea. But on general principal, no.

I canned special pears just for this dessert taking great pains to make sure the stems were attached. I'm very into presentation - most of the time. There are other times when that heaped up bowl of delicious goodness is just fine.

I made my own carmel sauce from an adapted carmel candy recipe but I boiled it too long and it hardened into candy on the dessert. Still good, but I think I'll opt for a little less boiling next time. I need to perfect the recipe since it is made with honey and I'm working on collecting really good honey recipes.

Father and Mum used to go on dates to this little restaurant nearby called The Village Trolley which served this dessert. This is the version mother created for the family to enjoy at home. Well, at least the principle, I came up with the smaller portions. The restaurant closed down, but the dessert lives on in the family repetoire.

Harvest Cake

I originally tried the recipe for this cake because it was so pretty, not because I expected a chocolate cake with a creamy pumpkin filling to be particularly good. But it was good, so good. It is Mum's favorite cake now. This is the first one of the fall season and I expect I'll be making a few more.

This particular cake really was very fortunate to be in existance. Almost out of butter, almost out of cocoa, and I didn't have enough honey - even though I had already halved the recipe (there are supposed to be two layers of chocolate cake). I did have enough sugar so I substituted, but I didn't think the cake was as good. The honey adds an extra richness that really brings out the chocolate.

A hike up the road and then a turn off down a grassy lane to a wild plum patch, then a little further and there was an elderberry tree. The rose hips were collected on the way back. And, Twiglet decided that those green plums had been green an awful long time and what if they were supposed to be green? They are. Ripe, tasty and very fun. I need to hike up and get some more.

It's only been a few days, but I think I'm ready for another Harvest Cake. The cupboards are restocked, except for the cocoa, which we're going to have to find a local supply for buying in bulk.