With blueberries in season this seemed like the perfect time to bake this wonderful coffeecake and share the recipe with you. Its not too sweet and the addition of cream cheese with the blueberries makes it super moist. Its a cake but it always reminds me of a blueberry blintz. I hope you’ll try it. I am sure it will be a hit.
Blueberries and Cheese Coffeecake
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. milk
2 c. fresh blueberries
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 t. grated lemon peel
Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 t. grated lemon peel
2 T. butter
Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking dish. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine 2 cups of the flour with baking powder and salt and beat into batter alternately with the milk. Toss berries with the remaining flour and fold into the batter along with the cheese and lemon rind.Pour batter into prepared pan. Combine sugar, flour and lemon peel for topping and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter and bake for about 45 minutes. Use toothpick to test for doneness. Serves 12.
One of the perks of defrosting the freezer, is finding stuff you forgot about. Apparently, I froze more blueberries than I thought. Seemed like the perfect time to make this wonderful coffee cake, and share the recipe with you.
Even though I love eating fresh berries when they are in season, there is something special about baking with berries as snow flies outside. Makes me think about warm, summer days.
This blueberry cake is not too sweet, and the combination of cream cheese, with the blueberries reminds me of a blueberry blintz. It is a wonderful dessert, but can also be served as a breakfast or brunch dish.
You can also freeze leftovers, to be discovered and enjoyed another day.
Blueberry and Cheese Coffee Cake
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. milk
2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 t. grated lemon peel
Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 t. grated lemon peel
2 T. butter
Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking dish. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine 2 cups of the flour with baking powder and salt and beat into batter alternately with the milk. Toss berries with the remaining flour and fold into the batter along with the cheese and lemon rind. Pour batter into prepared pan. Combine sugar, flour and lemon peel for topping and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter and bake for about 45 minutes. Use toothpick to test for doneness. Serves 12.
One of the perks of defrosting the freezer, is finding stuff you forgot about. Apparently, I froze more blueberries than I thought. Seemed like the perfect time to make this wonderful coffee cake, and share the recipe with you.
Even though I love eating fresh berries when they are in season, there is something special about baking with berries as snow flies outside. Makes me think about warm, summer days.
This blueberry cake is not too sweet, and the combination of cream cheese, with the blueberries reminds me of a blueberry blintz. It is a wonderful dessert, but can also be served as a breakfast or brunch dish.
You can also freeze leftovers, to be discovered and enjoyed another day.
Blueberry and Cheese Coffee Cake
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. milk
2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 t. grated lemon peel
Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 t. grated lemon peel
2 T. butter
Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking dish. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine 2 cups of the flour with baking powder and salt and beat into batter alternately with the milk. Toss berries with the remaining flour and fold into the batter along with the cheese and lemon rind. Pour batter into prepared pan. Combine sugar, flour and lemon peel for topping and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter and bake for about 45 minutes. Use toothpick to test for doneness. Serves 12.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a recipe for mini strawberry shortcakes. Now, we go to the other extreme. One giant shortcake.
Seriously, it is a fun way to make shortcake. You could make one for any special occasion or party.
This is a great dessert for a party, picnic or barbecue. Instead of
making a bunch of individual shortcakes, make one really big one. It
makes quite an impression.
When ready to serve it, just cut into slices, like cake or pie. I
often serve this shortcake with ice cream on the side. Feel free to
switch up which fruits you use. I used kiwi fruit with the strawberries,
but you can add different fruits. Peaches would go well with the
strawberries or blueberries. Just have fun and use fruit combinations
you like. For the 4th of July, you could use a combination of
strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Giant Strawberry Shortcake
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1/2 t. lemon juice
2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 stick cold butter plus 1 T. softened
1/2 c. plus 1 T. sugar
1 qt. strawberries, sliced thin
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 c. chopped nuts, toasted
whipped cream, optional
In small bowl combine egg, milk and lemon juice and set aside. In
larger bowl combine the flour, brown sugar and baking powder. Cut in
cold butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add egg mixture and stir until
mixture forms into a soft dough. Knead dough gently on a lightly floured
surface about 10 times. On greased baking sheet pat dough into a
15×6-inch oval. Sprinkle dough with the 1 tablespoon of sugar and dot
with the softened butter. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25
minutes, or until lightly golden. Place on wire rack to cool. Toss the
berries with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Allow to stand 30
minutes. Split the shortcake lengthwise and remove the top. Spoon over
the half the berries and replace top of shortcake. Combine the kiwi with
the remaining berries.Spoon over the remaining fruit and sprinkle with
the nuts. Dot with whipped cream, if desired. Cut in wedges to serve.
Serves 8.
Note: you can bake shortcake day ahead and prep the fruit day ahead, keeping it chilled and just assemble when ready to serve.
I look forward to cherry season every year. I love eating fresh cherries, but I also like to preserve them, to enjoy year round. One of my favorite things to make is cherry jam.
This must be a great year for cherries. They seem bigger than usual, and very sweet.
While I normally make jam from sour cherries, I knew the sweet ones
would work. Besides the cherries, sugar and pectin, this jam also
contains lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Those extra ingredients give
the jam a more complex flavor and a little bit of a tang.
This may be one of my favorite jams ever!!! I was worried it would be
too sweet, but it isn’t. The flavor of the cherries comes through as
well at the flavor of the vanilla and cinnamon. Thinking I made need to
buy more cherries and make another batch….
Here is the recipe. Enjoy.
Sweet Cherry Jam
4 c. chopped pitted sweet cherries, about 2 lbs.
6 T. powdered pectin
6 T. lemon juice
2 T. pure vanilla extract
1 t. cinnamon
4½ c. sugar
Wash jelly jars and lids and keep warm until ready to use. Place a
large pot of water, with a rack, on to boil for the water bath. In large
saucepan combine cherries with pectin, lemon juice, vanilla and
cinnamon. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Add the sugar and
bring mixture back to a rolling boil, stirring often. Once the mixture
gets to a full, rolling boil, cook for one minute longer, stirring
constantly. Remove jam from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot jam
into hot jars, filling to about 1/4 inch from the top. Wipe off rim and
screw on the lids. Repeat with remaining jam. Process in a hot water
bath for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let jar sit in canner 5 minutes
before removing. Remove from water bath and allow jars to cool. Yield:
about 6 half pint jars of jam.
This is the perfect summer dessert. Fresh berries, a light, citrus-scented cake and ice cream. What more could you want?
When you say cake roll, I think a lot of people first think of a pumpkin roll or Buche de Noel (yule log).
There are so many more desserts you can make with them. Cake rolls
can be made in many flavors and they can be filled with custard,
frosting, fruit, ice cream and more.
For this sponge cake roll, I used homemade strawberry ice cream to
fill it, recipe follows. You could use store bought ice cream, if you
prefer.
Start with the sponge cake roll recipe below, and use whatever flavor
ice cream you like. You’ll need about a quart of ice cream- or a little
more.
Once finished, you just wrap it up and pop the cake in the freezer
until needed. Great to have on hand for summer parties and cook outs.
You can decorate with fresh berries when serving. Blueberries would make
this a fun red, white and blue dessert for Memorial Day or the 4th of
July.
Sponge Cake Roll
This sponge cake roll can be filled with whipped cream or ice cream, or use your favorite filling.
5 eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2/3 cup cake flour*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons melted butter
Beat egg yolks until thicken and lemon colored; gradually add 1/3 cup of
the granulated sugar, the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Beat egg
whites until almost stiff then gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup
sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold yolk mixture into whites. Sift
dry ingredients into a separate container; add to egg mixture, folding
in carefully. Fold in melted butter. Pour batter into waxed paper-lined
10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 375° for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with
confectioners’ sugar. Turn onto a clean kitchen towel which has been
generously dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Trim edges, if necessary;
roll cake up, towel and all, while still warm. Let cool completely.
Unroll and fill with whipped cream or ice cream then re-roll cake. The
trick is to let the ice cream soften up a few minutes before spreading
it on the cake. But don’t wait too long. Rather than trying to let the
ice cream get soft enough to spread I used a spatula to sort of cut
slices of ice cream and place them on the cake. Store ice cream cake
roll in freezer until ready to slice and serve.
*If you don’t have cake flour you can make your own. Measure out a
cup of all purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour and replace them
with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. For larger amounts place 7 cups of
flour in a bowl and combine with 1 cup of cornstarch. Mix well or even
sift together. Store in an airtight container.
Strawberry Ice Cream
2 c. chopped strawberries
1 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. cream or half and half or a combination. You can also use some milk or even almond or rice milk.
Additional sugar to taste
Place strawberries, vanilla and sugar in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill. Combine chilled berry mixture with cream. Add additional sugar if you like. Remember that once it is frozen the ice cream will not taste as sweet so make this mixture a little sweeter than you want the final product to be. How much sugar you add varies with personal taste, and how sweet the berries are. Place in an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Once finished put in an air- tight container and place in freezer. Makes about 1 quart.
Sometimes the best recipes happen when you don’t have time to plan.
This is one of those recipes. Even better because it only uses 4
ingredients. Fun for the 4th of July, too.
I needed an appetizer, but didn’t have extra time for prep. I also
did not have time to go to the store, so used what I had on hand. I had
some boneless chicken breasts. I could also have used boneless thighs or
even chicken wings. I used what I had.
I cut them into strips and poured a bunch of hot sauce over them. Put
them in the fridge to marinade overnight. The next day I just tossed
the chicken strips in breadcrumbs and fried them in a little oil. Served
with extra hot sauce on the side, they were a big hit.
Firecracker Chicken
2 lbs. boneless chicken, I used breasts, but thighs would be good, or wings
3/4 c. hot sauce, plus extra when serving
2 c. bread crumbs
2 c. oil, for pan frying
Cut chicken into strips and place in a bowl. Pour over the hot sauce
and stir to coat evenly. Cover and chill overnight, or even for a couple
of days. Place bread crumbs in a plastic bag. Place a small handful of
chicken in the bag and shake to coat. Place on a plate and continue with
the rest of the chicken. Heat oil in skillet to 350- 375 degrees. fry
chicken in several batches- you don’t want to crowd them in the skillet-
that will make the oil col down too much. Fry for a minute or two per
side. Remove to platter lined with paper towels and cook the rest of the
chicken. Keep chicken warm until ready to serve. serve with extra hot
sauce on the side. Serves 8 or more as an appetizer, but can be served
as a main dish, too.
What else would you call a white cake, studded with berries, but
Berry White? While this red, white and blue cake would be lovely for a
4th of July party, it would be great anytime. You can use fresh, or even
frozen berries. They really make a simple white cake special.
I topped it off with a lemon butter cream frosting and since it was for the 4th of July I added a few star sprinkles.
To make the cake, start by making a white cake batter. I used
homemade -recipe follows- but you could use a box mix if that is what
you prefer. After you pour the batter into your pan, or pans, sprinkle
with some blueberries and raspberries- or whatever berries you happen to
have. Don’t fold the berries into the batter. Fresh or frozen berries
could be used. I used about 2 cups of berries in all. Once cooled, frost
the cake. I used a lemon butter cream- recipe follows.
Classic White Cake
2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
4 egg whites or whole eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 c. milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13×9-inch pan. In a medium
bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a
time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to
the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter
is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle berries
over the surface of the cake. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when it
springs back to the touch. Makes 1.
Note: I actually made 3 smaller cakes from this recipe- reduced baking time to 20- 25 minutes.
Lemon Butter Cream
½ cup butter
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
3 T. milk
1 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a bowl beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the
confectioners’ sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the milk, juice and
vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining sugar. Beat in additional milk, if
needed, to make of spreading consistency.
Any time is a good time for an ice cream sundae, in my opinion. Still, when the weather warms up- it is even nicer. I have been known to have an ice cream sundae for dinner on really hot days.
I was talking to some friends about ice cream sundaes and our favorite toppings. I had mentioned how much I loved a hot fudge sundae. My friend Jill said that she loved butterscotch sauce. I had to agree. I love a butterscotch sauce, too.
I had made butterscotch sauce before, but not in a very long time. I
found my old recipe and made it. I thought it could be better, so I
played around and tweaked it a little. The end result is bliss. Creamy,
sweet, smooth and buttery with just a hint of saltiness.
This sauce is a great topper for ice cream, but is also a tasty sauce for cakes, and fresh fruit.
It is really easy to make, which is a nice bonus. Start to finish,
this sauce can be done in about 10 minutes. No special equipment needed,
either.
I used a heavy bottomed pan, which worked great. I didn’t want my
sauce to scorch while cooking. I think I might have stirred it once,
just to be safe.
The sauce will thicken when it cools down. Thickens even more once
stored in the fridge. It is best served warmed up a little or at room
temp.
So here is my butterscotch sauce recipe. Thanks Jill, for the inspiration.
Butterscotch Sauce
6 T. butter
½ c. half and half
½ c. brown sugar
1 t. molasses*
½ -1 teaspoon salt
1 t. vanilla
Melt butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Add remaining ingredients,
except vanilla, to the pan. Stir to mix well, then bring to a boil over
medium heat. Boil 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove from the heat and
stir in the vanilla. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Store in fridge and
warm a little before using. Makes about a cup of sauce. Keeps for weeks
in the fridge, but you’ll eat it long before that.
*The addition of a little molasses was because my original recipe
called for dark brown sugar. I only had light brown sugar. I liked the
flavor that extra molasses added to the finished sauce. Feel free to
omit the extra molasses, or add a pinch more, depending on how dark you
want your finished sauce.
These little treats make a great addition to your 4th of July party.
They are simple to make, with only three ingredients. You can make them
in no time at all. It is a fun treat for kids to make, too.
Think of the cherry bombs as a type of candy. A simple, sweet treat
that can be served just as they are. They can also be used to top a cake
or other dessert. You can even garnish a cocktail with them. I did the
same thing with strawberries, but “strawberry bombs” did not have the
same ring to it.
To make the cherry bombs, you will need cherries, white chocolate and
blue sugar. If you don’t have blue sugar, you can put granulated sugar
in a bag, add a few drops of blue food coloring, seal the bag and shake
it up. The sugar will turn blue. You could also use blue sprinkles.
Wash and dry off some large, sweet cherries. Melt white chocolate,
stirring until smooth. Dip the cherries in the white chocolate, then the
blue sugar. Place on wax paper to firm up. Store in fridge.
