Peaches and Cream Brunch Cake

This is a little time consuming, especially if you have to peel and chop peaches. (Frozen peaches work great though.) It is delicious and well worth the effort. (Recipe from Schweizer Orchards)

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
8 oz. sour cream (1 cup)
2 cups peeled, chopped peaches

Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz cream cheese, softened
6 Tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, mix brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until well blended. Add vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Fold in peaches by hand. Spread half the batter in a greased 13x9x2 pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the brown sugar mixture evenly over the batter. In a separate bowl mix all ingredients in the cream cheese filling together until smooth and creamy. Drop the cream cheese filling by teaspoonful evenly over the batter. Drop remaining batter by spoonful on top. Sprinkle with remaining brown sugar mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until the tester comes out clean. 12-15 servings

NOTE: I set my oven at 375, and still had to bake for 45-50 minutes for it to get done.

Lemon Cheesecake

I have made this on the 4th of July for the last 3 years now. The recipe is from America's Test Kitchen (on PBS). It's wonderful. Well worth the effort though, at least once a year.

Serves 12 to 16

While this recipe takes several hours from start to finish, the actual preparation is simple, and baking and cooling proceed practically unattended. The finished cheesecake should be chilled for at least 4 hours before being sliced, and it can be made up to a day in advance. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days, although the crust will become soggy.

Crust:

• 5 ounces Nabisco's Barnum's Animals Crackers or Social Tea Biscuits
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and kept warm

Filling:

• 1 ¼ cups (8 ¾ ounces) sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated zest plus ¼ cup juice from 1 or 2 lemons
• 1 ½ pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, cut into rough 1-inch chunks and left to stand at room temperature 30 to 45 minutes
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup heavy cream

Lemon curd:

• 1/3 cup juice from 2 lemons
• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
• ½ cup (3 ½ ounces) sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt

1. For the crust: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, process the cookies to fine, even crumbs, about 30 seconds (you should have about 1 cup). Add the sugar and pulse 2 or 3 times to incorporate. Add the warm melted butter in a slow, steady stream while pulsing; pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and resembles wet sand, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer the mixture to 9-inch springform pan; using the bottom of a ramekin or a dry measuring cup, press the crumbs firmly and evenly into the pan bottom, keeping the sides as clean as possible. Bake until fragrant and golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 30 minutes. When cool, wrap the outside of the pan with two 18-inch-square pieces of heavy-duty foil; set the springform pan in a roasting pan.

2. For the filling: While the crust is cooling, process ¼ cup sugar and lemon zest in a food processor until the sugar is yellow and the zest is broken down, about 15 seconds, scraping down the bowl if necessary. Transfer the lemon sugar to a small bowl; stir in the remaining 1 cup sugar.

3. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on low to break up and soften slightly, about 5 seconds. With the machine running, add the sugar mixture in a slow steady stream; increase the speed to medium and continue to beat until the mixture is creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the eggs two at a time; beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl well after each addition. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until just incorporated, about 5 seconds; add the heavy cream and mix until just incorporated, about 5 seconds longer. Give the batter a final scrape, stir with a rubber spatula, and pour into the prepared springform pan; fill the roasting pan with enough hot tap water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the center jiggles slightly, the sides just start to puff, the surface is no longer shiny, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the cake registers 150 degrees, 55 to 60 minutes. Turn off the oven and prop open the oven door with a potholder or wooden spoon handle; allow the cake to cool in the water bath in the oven for 1 hour. Transfer the springform pan without the foil to a wire rack; run a small paring knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the sides of the cake, and cool the cake to room temperature, about 2 hours.

4. For the lemon curd: While the cheesecake bakes, heat the lemon juice in a small nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Whisk the eggs and yolk in a medium nonreactive bowl; gradually whisk in the sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot lemon juice into the eggs, then return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to cling to a spoon, about 3 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cold butter until incorporated; stir in the cream, vanilla, and salt, then pour the curd through a fine-mesh strainer into a small nonreactive bowl. Cover the surface of the curd directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate until needed.

5. To finish the cake: When the cheesecake is cool, scrape the lemon curd onto the cheesecake still in the springform pan; using an offset icing spatula, spread the curd evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, remove the sides of the springform pan and cut the cake into wedges.

Strawberry Pie

I modified this recipe a little from the one in the Country Gardens Spring 2008 issue. We thought it was delicious. Next time I make it, I will probably use more strawberries.

1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
1 3-oz package strawberry gelatin
3 1/2 + sliced or chopped strawberries
2 9-inch graham cracker pie shells (or homemade)
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 pints heavy cream, whipped and sweetened to taste
sliced strawberries and/or mint leaves for garnish

In a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add gelatin. Cook about 1 minute more. Let cool for 15 minutes. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberries (this is where I would add more). Cool 15 minutes. Pour evenly into pie shells. Cover and chill3 hours or until set.

Mash the remaining strawberries. in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in condensed milk, then lemon juice. Fold in the mashed strawberries and whipped cream. Spread cream cheese mixture over the gelatin layer in the pie shells. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours. (the crust just gets soggy if it sits longer, it's still good though)

Garnish pies if desired with sliced strawberries and mint sprigs. 16 servings

You could also layer this in a 13 x 9 inch pan with a homemade crust.

Rhubarb Crumble

Mom found this recipe and modified it a little when one of the boys mentioned that they had Rhubarb Crumble in Harry Potter. I'm glad she found it, it is yummy. I had to go find some rhubarb just so I could try it.

2 lbs. rhubarb, chopped in one inch pieces (I chopped it smaller)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Combine in saucepan and heat for about 5 minutes until rhubarb is glossy and ingredients are melted together. Pour into a 8"x8" baking dish (or an 8" pie plate, but place a baking sheet under it in the oven to catch drips as it will probably boil over).

Topping:

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced
3 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or regular sugar)
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. Use hands or pastry blended to work butter into flour to resemble small crumbs. (A food processor works too.) Add sugars and combine. Cover the rhubarb with the topping. Bake at 375 degrees F 35-45 minutes.

This is really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.