Cake Dome Sunday #10: Peach-Blueberry Crumble

It's Sunday and that means a new dessert for the Mister this week.  Today's dessert doesn't actually fit in the domed cake saver, but I'll title this post "Cake Dome Sunday" anyway, since it is the one day I make the Mister something special for a treat.  And I have to say, both the Mister and I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments.  To everyone who have commented concern about the Mister's lack of desserts over the past couple months, he asked me to thank you.  :-)   He appreciates your concern! 

 

Today I decided to make a fruit dessert.  This is a very quick and easy and oh so yummy Peach-Blueberry Crumble and I topped it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 

Let's get started putting it together:

Remember the peaches I canned last summer and the fresh blueberries I froze?  I grabbed a jar of peaches and about a cup of frozen blueberries and called for summer to return...if only for a little while through the flavors of fresh fruit.

 

Mix the peaches, blueberries and a little lemon juice, flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and let it sit while you mix up the crumble topping.

The crumble is just flour, sugar, brown sugar, and a little salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cardimon (if you have it...if not...no worries).  Put that in your mixing bowl and add cold butter and whip that around until you have crumbles...thus the name of the dessert!

You are ready to assemble the dessert.  Isn't this fast and easy?  It really is!  Pour the fruit mixture into individual ramekins (I don't have any) or into a baking dish.  Whichever you have or prefer.

Now sprinkle the top with the crumble mixture.  Just for fun and since I had it I sprinkled some granola on top too.  You don't have to but it does taste good once it is baked.

 

Put it in the oven to bake and once it is finished........ taa daaaaa.  Golden brown crumble and bubbly fruit juices.

Here is my recipe but every baker has their own prefered fruit crumble recipe.  I think the freshness of the warm fruit flavor and the beautiful color and the simplicity of this dessert are the key reasons this tastes so good.

 



Peach and Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients:

For the fruit mixture:
Six to eight peaches sliced into chunks  (I used 1 quart plus a little more of my home canned peaches)
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all - purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumble topping:
1 cup all - purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cardamon
1/2 cup cold butter cut in chunks

Granola (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

If using fresh peaches remove their skins first.  You can use store bought or home canned peaches (I do). In a bowl combine the first six ingredients for the fruit mixture and set aside. 

For the topping, combine all of the topping ingredients in a mixing bowl andon low speed mix unti the butter is the size of peas and crumbly. 

Pour the fruit into individual ramekin dishes or into a pyrex baking bowl.  Top with the crumble mixture and granola.  Bake for 40 - 45 minutes until the top is browned and crisp and juices are bubbly. 

Serve warm with ice cream, cream or plain.  It is best served warm and eaten immediately.

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Jennifer

Feeling a little loopy?

 

I've been feeling a little loopy the past couple of days.  Yes!  Loopy, as in crocheting and knitting and making lots and lots of loopy-loops.  One thing I resolved to do this year is to teach myself to knit and crochet.  So I started with these very simple crocheted hair bows that take a matter of a few minutes to whip up.

I found these very detailed and easy to follow direction on Jess's blog, Craftiness is Not Optional and gathered up the only yarn I had on hand and old crochet hooks and began.

The instructions were really easy to follow for someone like me who has very little crochet knowledge.

Viola!  I did it.  I attached a hair bow clip on the back and it is set to clip on a little girl's hair.

So fast and easy, in fact, that I whipped out two.  And then decided to try a third one using a larger guage crochet hook and yarn.  The orange one was easier to do, but kind of chunky and bulky, I think.  Nevertheless, they are super fun, fast and easy to create.

At House Mouse and Friends Monday challenge blog this week's theme is "New Beginnings" and to create a card of something new...which can include a new skill.  This adorable Happy Hopper is busy getting loopy just like me!  *smiles*

Card Recipe:
Stamps:  Stampabilities "Will Knit for Friends" and Taylored Expressions "Knit Wit" sentiment
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black and Ancient Page Flannel Gray.  Image colored with Copic Markers and Prismacolor Pencils.
Design Paper: Recollections
Embellishments:  Ball of wool and knitting needles charm, Scorepal, Stickles glitter glue, Foam mounting tape.

I'm ready to tackle a little more challenging project now but these were a fun start.

 

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Jennifer

There's no business like SNOW business

There's no business like SNOW business, there's no business I know...!  Oh wait!  Those aren't the proper words to the song.  Well, where I live, we are surrounded with nearly two feet of snow on the ground and I believe the snowmen are singing these words to the woodland creatures!  *smiles*

 

This stamp is an old, old stamp I purchased and have used over and over.  It is made by Stampendous and such a versatile wintertime stamp to use.  When I saw that The Challenge Chicks  January theme is Snowman CHXJAN13 I knew I had to join in the fun.

Card Recipe:

Stamp: Stampendous "W007 Woodsy Snowman"

Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic Markers and Prismacolor Pencils

Paper: Recollections "Naughty or Nice Collection"

Embellishments: Martha Stewart Snowflake punch, Martha Stewart teal Pearls, Stickles Crystal glitter, tracing wheel for faux stitching

I'm off to do a little SNOW shoveling now.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Jennifer

Fight Like a Girl

 

I have a very special reason for making this card.  Today my sister begins her first round of chemotherapy treatment to smack down ovarian cancer.  Since I'm not with her in person I decided to make and send her this card of support.  The color ribbon for ovarian cancer is sort of a teal color.  My photos make this look light blue but it actually is teal.

Card Recipe:
Image and sentiment:  Whimsie Doodles titled Hope Fights
Ink: Stampin' Up! So Saffron for sponging and colored with Copic markers
Paper:  K & Company
Tools & Embellishments: My Favorite Things Die-namics die and Nestabilities tag die, Ofray satin and grossgrain ribbons, Prima Flowers, MM brads, Stickles glitter glue in diamond and Glitz teal.

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Jennifer

What's under the Cake Dome Sunday #9: Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake

Happy New Year!  It was in September when I posted my last "Cake Dome Sunday" post.  Rest assured, the Mister has not been mistreated or neglected by lack of desserts.  We both over indulged during the Holidays.  But a treat a week sounds reasonable so I'm ready to start up "What's under the Cake Dome Sunday and with this 9th Cake Dome Sunday post I present a decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake topped with miniature Reese Peanut Butter Cups candy.

In addition to Pinterest to find good recipes, I love browsing Annies Eats blog for some wonderfully delicious food and desserts as well as good tips for baking success she offers.  This Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake is one of Annie's and you can find her post about it HERE.

This morning I promised The Mister I'd make him something special and since we both are a little crazy/nuts over chocolate/peanut butter mixture, this recipe really fits the bill.  As I mentioned, one thing I like about Annie's blog are the simple tips she gives for baking success.  For example, in this recipe when you prepare your baking pans I have always buttered and then dusted them with flour.  Annie recommends for a chocolate cake to butter and line the bottom of the pan with Parchment paper and dust with cocoa.  Afterall, it IS a chocolate cake so you might as well dust with chocolate instead of flour which would leave a pastey white on the outside of your cake when you turned it out.

 

In preparing the chocolate cake batter you first whisk cocoa powder, expresso powder with boiling water.  This made a ganache-like chocolate base.  It was so smooth and silky.  Don't make the mistake of licking the whisk quite yet though.  You only have bitter baking cocoa and water and coffee in the bowl.  Ewww...very bitter at this point.  Do you know how I know that?  Uh huh!  Yep!  I did!

 

Carry on mixing the cake ingredients which include sour cream, butter, butter, eggs flour, soda and salt and vanilla.  You'll be left with a batter that is smooth and thick and rich.  It is more of a torte but not quite a brownie.

Now you've popped your layer cake pans into the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and then let the layers cool for at least 30 minutes in the pans and then turn out onto your cooling racks until they are completely cool.  Now you can begin preparing the Peanut Butter Frosting.  Yummmmm...

 

You begin the frosting by beating copious amounts of butter and peanut butter together until they are light and fluffy.  In a separate bowl you whisk whipping cream (heavy cream - 35%) with 1/4 cup of icing sugar until lovely soft peaks form.  Put that bowl to the side and continue on with the bowl with your peanut butter/butter mixture and add the remaining icing sugar, vanilla and salt.  Once it is all nice and fluffy (you'll beat it on high for about 5 minutes) then you'll fold in the whipped cream you whipped up previously.

The cake layers are cooled and it is time to frost.  You can see by the photo below that the cake layers are not puffy like a regular cake.  The cake is very moist and doesn't raise up.

 

It is TIME!!  Time to frost the cake!  It was so hard for us to keep our fingers out of the frosting.  It is SO GOOD!!

One layer frosted...time to frost the second.

 

 

I should have mentioned that in the original recipe this is a three layer cake.  I cut back the cake ingredients by 1/3 and made it as a two layer cake. 

Once the cake is completely frosted I topped it off with miniature reece peanut butter cups. 

 

This cake needs to chill in the refrigerator for a while but I couldn't wait to cut a slice so that is why the frosting smeared up the side...not that that hurts the taste.  I was just hoping I would get a "neater" photo for you.  But sometimes one just cannot wait to taste...and YES, the Mister had his fork reading and waiting.

If you would like the recipe click HERE and you'll see Annie's wonderful recipe.  She has a printable format at the end of her post too.

 

Enjoy!!  I know you will!

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

Jennifer