Cherry-Berries On A Cloud

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We're having a barbecue picnic today out at the falls with a few work friends of my wife and I, of course, got slated with the dessert. Since it is going to be 90 degrees today and it is already 70 something and we don't have central air....I decided to make something cold. I made this dessert for the first time last summer. It is sooo delicious. I made one little change when making it this time...I added about a teaspoon of cherry brandy to the cream cheese when beating it. Just to give it a little spring *KICK* in the taste buds!! I also made a second topping with raspberries, cherries, and peaches because my loverly wife is allergic to strawberries.

MAKE THIS TODAY!!! It's totally worth your time. And you don't really have to let it set for 8 hours---but I would definitely let it set for four.

**PASTRY CRUST** (do this part first)

1 1/2 C AP Flour
1 C Margarine, softened
1/2 C powdered sugar

Preheat overn to 400
Beat all ingredients on low for 1 minute, fully incorporating ingredients.
Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes or until creamy (and pillowlike)
Spread into ungreased rectangular pan, 13*9*2.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Cool completely. (Place in freezer for 10-15 min for quick cooling)

**CLOUD**

1 package cream cheese (8 oz), softened
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla

2 c heavy whipping cream

2 1/2 c minature marshmallows

1 can cherry pie filling (20 oz)
1 t lemon juice
1 pint (16 oz) of fresh or frozen sliced strawberries (if using frozen - thawed)
1 c fresh or frozen sliced peaches

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on med until smooth.
Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl with electric mixer on high until stiff.
Fold whiipped cream and marshmallows into cream cheese mixture.
Spread over pastry crust.
Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (to set) but no more than 48.

Mix pie filling, lemon juice, strawberries, and peaches. 
Cut dessert into serving size pieces.
Serve with fruit mixture.
Cover and refrigerate and leftovers.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

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If you know me at all, you know that I am not a huge peanut butter fan. But when I saw this cake, I was drawn to it and decided I had to make it. It looked so pretty and appetizing. I haven't made hardly anything new in the baking department in quite some time, not since the chocolate raspberry cake a while back. I have been cooking up a lot of new things from my different magazines or things that pop into my head...but as for baking...MEH not so much. This cake has those itty bitty mini chocolate chips, not only sprinkled across the top, but also baked right in throughout the cake. 

The feedback from my lovely wife's employees was that this cake was like the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookie they had ever eaten - in cake form. I even bought them some milk to go with it. Who can eat peanut butter without milk???

Glazed and chipped and completed :) 

I got the recipe for this cake from Recipe Girl who is COMPLETELY amazing!!! I can actually take NO credit for this cake except for the good sense to make it. I have made a few things from her site recently and EVERY single one of them has been AMAZING!!! 

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP POUND CAKE

Ingredients:

CAKE:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (don't use natural)
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated white sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
GLAZE:
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 10-cup tube pan generously with nonstick spray (I like the Pam Baking Spray).


Peanut butter, butter, and sugar

2. Prepare cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together peanut butter and butter. Add sugar and beat an additional 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add dry ingredients a little at a time, beating just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared tube pan. Tap it a couple of times on the counter to shake out any hidden air pockets.

A very thick cake dough - it IS a pound cake!

2. Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes, checking on the cake at 1 hour to make sure it's not browning too quickly on top. If browning too quickly, just place a piece of foil loosely over the top of the pan. When a toothpick is inserted into the center of the cake and comes out clean, your cake is done. Let cool for 20 minutes, then flip it onto a rack or platter and let it cool completely.

You couldn't see the chocolate chips so I flipped it over and glazed it upside down

I didn't think the glaze would be very glaze-y, but it totally was

3. Prepare glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the top of the cooled cake, letting it drizzle down the sides. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. The glaze will set eventually- if you'd like to quicken the setting process, just place it into the refrigerator for a bit.


Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Cake

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Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Vegan and Gluten Free
Ingredients:
  • 2 cups vegan granulated sugar
  • 6 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 cups non-dairy milk
  • 4 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 cups sorghum flour
  • 1/2 cup white rice flour
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp xanthan gum
Filling & Topping :
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
  • about 3 tbsp raspberry preserves
Directions:
Grease and flour two 8" cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix sugar, baking powder, salt, and olive oil in a large electric mixing bowl.
In a separate smaller bowl, combine sorghum flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and xanthan gum. Mix together well.
Add to sugar mixture about 1 cup flour mixture and about 1/2 cup non-dairy milk. Repeat until all flour and all milk has been used. Once batter is thick and well blended, add vinegar, 1 tbsp at a time. Mix for about one minute on medium speed.
Pour half of the batter into one cake pan and the other half of the batter into the other cake pan.  Using a flat plastic spatula smooth out top of cake batter to fill pan and create an even surface on top. As you can tell, I did not do that with the first cake and I suffered the consequences. This is not like regular cake batter that will settle in. This is thicker and thus needs the shaping!!!
Bake for about 20-25 minutes in oven, or until knife inserted into middle of one of the cakes comes out clean. Keep your eye on it and be careful not to bake TOO long. 
Let cakes cool in pan on wire racks for 10 minutes before flipping out onto flat plate.
To make jam filling and topping:
Mix together about 1 cup raspberries and about 3 tbsp raspberry preserves. Smash until thick and well blended. Poke holes in top of first layer to absorb the raspberry. Spread filling on top of one cake layer. Poke holes in top of second cake to absorb the flavor and invert onto top of first cake. 

Pour remaining raspberry preserve mixture across top of cake and allow to drizzle down. You may need to make more raspberry mixture.

Place raspberries on top just to add some pretty. :)

*Note: I think that I will make some coconut whipped "cream" and fold the raspberry preserves into it and then cover the cake in that just to add a touch of sweetness to it.

4 Coconut Cream Pie

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This is a tiny bit labor intensive, but it is soooo worth it. There is coconut in every single part of the pie, from the crust to the whipped cream. This recipe is adapted from a recipe that Foodista had on her blog a while back. This pie was raved about by everyone that came anywhere near it. It is also not something I would suggest eating on a regular basis as it is "a wee bit" heavy.

4 COCONUT CREAM PIE

For The Coconut Pastry Cream
2 cups milk 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp high quality vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

For the Piecrust
1 package coconut bar cookies
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 teaspoons sugar
1-5 tablespoons of cold water

For the Whipped Cream
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/2 cup creme de coconut (often found on the Mexican aisle)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Garnish
2 ounces unsweetened "chip" or large-shred coconut (about 11/2 cups) or sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions :
1. To make piecrust, begin by putting 1/2 package of coconut cookies, coconut, butter, and sugar into food processor and blending until well combined and crumbly. If mixture does not seem to be wet enough add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Then remove mixture and press into pie plate. Crimp edges with fingers for design or leave with no design. Cover with foil. Put in 400 degree preheated oven. Cook for 10-12 minutes to dry and form. Remove foil from pie crust and cook additional 3-5 minutes to crisp.















2. To make the pastry cream, combine the milk, coconut, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the mixture almost comes to a boil.

 3. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until well combined. Temper the eggs (to keep them from scrambling) by slowly pouring a small amount of the scalded milk into the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and coconut. Whisk over medium-high heat until the pastry cream thickens and begins to bubble. Keep whisking until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and place it over a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until it is cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust from forming and refrigerate until completely cold. The pastry cream will thicken as it cools.















4. When the pastry cream is cold, fill the prebaked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface. In an electric mixer with the whisk, whip the heavy cream, coconut cream, sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and whip to peaks that are firm enough to hold their shape. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream and pipe it all over the surface of the pie, or just use a spoon and scoop onto pie.

5. For the garnish, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the coconut chips on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, watching carefully and stirring once or twice, since coconut burns easily, until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. 6. Enjoy!!!!

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