Simple and elegant

• Brownie base – Prepare according to any recipe
• Chocolate ganache – see below
• Crushed Oreos – Not dust, but small mixed pieces

Chocolate Ganache

1. Heat 1 C cream to hot, but not boiling
2. Add 4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips or baking chips
3. Mix in 1/2 C 65% cocoa powder

INGREDIENTS

• Muffin rings lined with paper and sprayed
• 3/4 C castor (confectioner) sugar
• 1 C Cake Flour – NOT self-rising
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
  Meringue
• 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 14 large Egg Whites
• 1 TBL warm water
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp Citric Acid
  Topping
• 1/2 C granulated sugar (for fruit)

STEP BY STEP

1. Place muffin ring in center of an oven-safe skillet
   For Meringue:
2. Beat egg whites to foamy peaks – not stiff peaks
3. Add salt, cream of tartar and 1/2 C granulated sugar early into beating process
4. Add castor sugar, citric acid, vanilla and warm water as you approach stiff peaks
5. Pour into large mixing bowl
   For Cake:
6. Fold in CAKE flour 1 TBL at a time – Don’t use AP flour.  Cake flour is a finer grind than AP flour.  DO NOT overmix
7. Fill baking ring about 3/4 full
8. Even out top and tap to remove bubbles
9. Preheat oven to 350º
10. Place pan of hot water on the bottom shelf
11. Bake pie at 350º for 60 minutes (see note at bottom)
    Topping:
12. Add 1 stick butter ti skillet
13. 1/2 C sugar
14. 1/2 C grand marnier or rum
15. Mix together then add quartered strawberries, blackberries and blueberries – or other fruit topping
    Cake:
16. Cool before removing from ring for at least one hour
17. Serve with macerated (eg) strawberries and lemon juice plus sour cream, vanilla and sour cream

Topping

1. Use strawberries, blueberries, etc
2. Sprinkle 1/2 C sugar
3. Mash the fruit slightly using two forks
4. Let them macerate while you bake your cake

Variation
You can use biscuit rings or lady-finger molds instead of a bundt pan.  If you do this, reduce cooking time to 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
• 2 cans peach pie filling ( or prepared – see below )
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/4 C Half and Half
• 1 large cast iron skillet

Step by Step

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Pour cake mix into a mixing bowl and break apart any lumps
3. Put about 1/4 of dry cake mix into bottom of a cast iron skillet
4. Empty peaches onto the first layer of cake mix
5. Dump the dry cake mix on top of the peaches and press down firmly
6. Cut butter into small pieces and scatter on top of cake mix
7. Sprinkle top with cinnamon.
8. Bake for 60 minutes @ 350º

Preparing your peaches if not using canned

1. Blanche 10 peaches
   Boiling water for 30 seconds, then ice bath
2. Remove skins
3. Cut into pieces
4. Toss with 1/4 C granulated sugar
5. Let rest for 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• Frozen puff pastry
• 3 granny smith apples ( peel, core & slice ¼” thick, or thinner )
• 1/3 C granulated sugar
• eggs (w/ egg yolk separated)
• Jelly – about 2 tablespoons
• 2 TBL butter + 2 TBL butter
• Turbinado sugar for garnish
• Cinnamon
• Optionally, you can add 1 TBL cornstarch to help your custard set

STEP BY STEP

1. Roll out frozen puff pastry, that’s been thawed, rolled out w/o unfolding to twice size.
   OR make your own tart crust. Get a recipe by using the link at the top of the page
2. Trim edges
3. Put onto flat baking sheet
4. Score perimeter with a knife about ½” all around, DO NOT CUT THROUGH. This will allow edge to puff up.
5. Refrigerate for 10 minutes
6. Egg wash – brush entire crust, but don’t brush edges outside of the knife mark
7. Mix apples w/ 1/3 cup sugar
8. Layout apples in a pretty pattern
9. To glaze, mix 2 TBL each of butter, water & jelly
10. Heat glaze in microwave about 30 seconds, and paint on
11. Dot top w/ 2 TBL cold butter – in pieces
12. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar
13. Sprinkle with cinnamon
14. Bake at 350º for 35 min

OPTIONAL FILLINGS

• Lemon Curd
• Peaches
• Apricots
• Raisins and Grated Apple
• Mincemeat
• Berries (frozen or fresh)
• Apples
• Pears
• Strawberry and Rhubarb

INGREDIENTS

• 1 C sweetened condensed milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C key lime juice
• 2 tsp key lime zest
• Prepared graham cracker shells in bottom of ring molds
  • Alternate, you can use a muffin pan lined with papers

STEP BY STEP

1. Whisk and combine all ingredients except lime
2. Fold in lime, mixing gently
3. Press a thin layer of graham cracker in the bottom of the receptacles
4. Pour mixture into shells
5. Bake 8 minutes
6. Rotate pan
7. Bake another 6 minutes
8. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

1. Crush six graham cracker
2. Mix in 3 TBL melted butter
3. Sprinkle graham crackers in bottom of baking rings or muffin pan

Filling

1. Cut peach into 12 slices
2. Melt 2 TBL butter in a skillet
3. Glaze the peaches
4. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar
5. Sprinkle with a bit of 5 spice powder (* or below)
6. Add 1/4 C brandy
7. Reduce and caramelize
8. Remove peaches
9. Add a bit of water to deglaze the pan
10. Reserve deglaze liquid

Pie Dough *

1. 1 C AP flour
2. 1/2 C corn meal
3. 2 TBL sugar
4. 1 tsp salt
5. 1 stick very cold butter – cut into pieces
6. 1 crushed ice cube
7. Pulse in food processor drizzling in ice water VERY slowly just until a ball forms.  It’s OK if it looks a bit dry
8. Finish on the counter.  Mix and press by hand to combine
9. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in fridge for 30 minutes
10. Cut into four pieces and flatten into sheets – roll and flour
    Optionally, roll into one large sheet for a pie pan
11. Put on trays with parchment paper and refrigerate for an hour
12. Place fruit jam in the center of each, and arrange peaches around the center of rounds
13. Roll up edges
14. Egg and water wash the edges
15. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar
16. Bake at 400º for 10-12 minutes for little rounds, or 15-20 minutes for large pies

* Five Spice Powder Substitute
Cinnamon, alspice, anise, pepper, ginger

* Alternate to making your own pie dough
Use store-bought dough
Use puff pastry

Strawberry Info

• About 200 seeds called the Achene.
• Cold water bath, THEN cut
• Remove tip  – Remove leaf, then use piping bag to remove plug
• Put washed, tipped strawberries in red wine to prevent browning.  Add honey and let marinate 2 hours
• Add sugar to macerate and make them softer – refrigerate
• To freeze strawberries, clean them (don’t stem them) and put in the back of the fridge to get really cold – layer between paper towels – freeze by mixing with crushed dry ice in a pan, then place in a cooler (not latched) – move to a zip lock and then freeze for up to 12 months

Strawberry Chocolate

Ingredients

• 3/4 C Ricotta cheese
• 1/4 C Grated dark chocolate
• Zest (fine) from one lemon
• 1/2 C powdered sugar
• Nice big strawberries

Step by Step

1. Mix first four ingredients
2. Pipe a base pile of filling on a plate
3. Slice an X in tip of strawberry
4. Place upside down on the pile (for stability)
5. Pipe cream inside the strawberry
6. Garnish with powdered sugar and mint leaves

Summer Berry Pudding

• Cleaned, sliced and macerated strawberries
• 8 slices of brioche or hallah – two lightly buttered

1. Use muffin rings to cut 8 rounds out of the brioche, doing the buttered piece last, so it is on the bottom, face down
2. Place 2 muffin rings on the parchment paper, butter side down and put the rings over top of the brioche rounds
3. Put in about 2 TBL strawberries in each
4. Add a second bread layer and more strawberries
5. One more time (third layer)
6. Add the final (fourth) bread layer
7. Add a canning lid, then put a can of food or soda on top to gently press down
8. Refrigerate 8-12 hours
9. Remove ring, then pipe clotted cream over the top
10. Top with a fresh strawberry

You will need a scale to do this recipe justice.

Dry Ingredients

• 1 large carrot – grated and weighed (eg) 130 gm
• ± 1 C AP flour (sifted and weighed (eg) 130 gm – same weight as your carrot
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp Grandpa’s CinnaSugar®
• Dash  allspice

Wet Ingredients

• same weight as your carrots :: 3 parts white, 1 part brown sugars
  (eg) 130 gm – approx 100 gm white, 30 gm brown
• 2 eggs – assuming APPROXIMATELY 8 ounces of sugar
• 2 ounces (weight) Greek Yogurt
• 1.5 ounces (weight) crushed pineapple
• 1.5 ounces (weight) mayonnaise
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• ½  lemon, zest and juice
• ½  cup (volume) blended oil
• granulated sugar

Step by Step

1. Combine wet and dry ingredients – folding gently
2. Pour into buttered springform pan
3. Bake at 300º for 45 minutes – or until internal temp is 200º
4. Let cool for 30 minutes
5. Using a fork, poke about 200 holes in the top
   Not exactly 200, just a lot of holes
6. Combine in sauce pan (over low heat) 1 TBL butter, vanilla, 1/4 C sugar, cinnamon and 2 TBL buttermilk
7. Pour evenly on top of poked cake
8. While this soaks in, mix the cream cheese topping:  2 oz Softened cream cheese, 3 TBL powdered sugar, 2 oz butter and vanilla
9. When cake has cooled to about 80º or lower (about 1 hour) spread topping
10. Remove springform pan