Tag seasonal fruit

Parties That Cook’s Top Ten Summer Dessert Recipes

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, Menus & Recipes Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , July 6th, 2012 @ 2:45 pm

No meal is complete without the sweet finish line we call dessert. The Parties That Cook team of dedicated taste-testers has rounded up 10 of its favorite dessert recipes for this summer and tempting you with… well, all of them. (Sorry, waistline!) From cool ice cream to warm fruit pies, these Ten Sweet Summer Dessert Recipes will bring a smile to anyone’s face! Happy Baking, Melting, Drizzling, and Devouring! Good luck sharing..

Blueberry Buckle with Aunt Polly’s Hot Cream Sauce
We dare you not to drool. Blueberries are a signature summer snack and they’ve earned their spot as a summer staple in this delicious dessert. Add hot cream sauce (made with cinnamon, vanilla, and butter) over the top of this delicious buckle to heat up cool summer nights.

Blueberry, Raspberry and Peach Dulce De Leche Crisp
This quick and easy dessert will have your guests thinking you’ve spent hours in the kitchen! You better save room for this sweet crisp — wafting aromas and a filling that bubbles over will be impossible to resist! And if you really love Dulce De Leche, be sure to check out our ice cream recipe!

Mint Ice Cream with Scharffen Berger Cocoa Nibs
Take your end-of-meal mints in the form of ice cream, and add a cool ending to a warm summer day. Cocoa nibs give this dessert a bit of a crunch without being too sweet.

Quatro Leches: Sponge Cake with Four Milks and Fresh Strawberries
Your old tres leches recipe has never been so jealous. Adding fresh strawberries and mint to this unbelievably moist cake brings out the refreshing flavors we yearn for on hot summer days.

Raspberry Streusel Bars
Streusels may have become a breakfast phenomenon, but we’re bringing them back to the dessert scene. Try as you might to resist their temptation, and I know from first-hand experience, these bars are deliciously addictive and perfect for any summer get-together.

Seasonal Fruit Potpies
We love a good potpie, but we especially love a sweet, seasonal, summer potpie! Your guests will love these little guys. Not only do you get to include YOUR favorite summer fruit, but these pies are the  perfect size for an individual serving (because who really wants to share their dessert!?).

Warm Lavender Tea Cake with Homemade Lemon Curd
Little did you know, lavender is more than just a candle scent. This light tea cake is the perfect afternoon treat — full of flavor, and yet tastes nothing like your favorite bath soap. The mild lemon curd adds just the right zing to wake up your dull afternoon and pulls this dessert together.

Warm Peach Pudding Cakes with Soft Whipped Cream
Nothing like the pudding snacks your mom packed for your lunch, these pudding cakes are an adult delight. You can’t go wrong with a freshly baked, golden brown, ooey gooey cake (yum!).

Mini Strawberry Pop-Tarts with Lemon Glaze
Continuing on our kick of grown-up treats from our childhood, these mini pop-tarts are single servings of happiness. The lemon glaze adds a nice touch of citrus and sophistication not meant to be shared with children — unless you’re really nice.

Strawberry Ruhbarb Empanadas with Brown Sugar Whipped Crème Fraiche
Bring something new to the table for your next potluck. This made-from-scratch dessert is sure to impress friends and family, neighbors and strangers. Freshly baked dough stuffed to the limit with fresh rhubarb and strawberry filling: Who could resist?

Send us pictures of your finished products and we just might include it in an upcoming blog or on our website! Tag us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PartiesThatCook or tweet us your pictures @PartiesThatCook

Parties That Cook Summer Sun Recipe: Seasonal Fruit Potpies

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in General, Menus & Recipes Tagged with , , , , , , , , June 10th, 2011 @ 5:30 pm

With the weather heating up across the nation (even if only for the weekend), what better way to celebrate summer than with a delicious seasonal fruit potpie? Among other great fruits, this recipe uses the season’s finest berries: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and snozzberries! Go the extra mile and top with whipped cream; Run an extra mile and top with ice cream – YUM. Our friends over at CUESA love berries just as much as we do. Check out this article for the low down on their berry adventures for this month!

Seasonal Fruit Potpies
This recipe can also be found in our Dessert Recipes Section

Ingredients
Cream Cheese Pastry Dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, un-sifted
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest, finely grated
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, chilled
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, chilled

Fruit:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 cups fresh fruit, cut into 1/2 inch pieces if necessary: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, mango, apples and plums
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup cream (for brushing dough right before baking)
2 Tablespoons coarse sugar, sprinkling over the pastry
Plastic wrap

Methods/Steps
Make Pastry Dough: Pulse the flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a food processor for a few seconds to mix ingredients. Scatter butter cubes over the flour mixture, and pulse until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Scatter the cream cheese cubes over the mixture and process until ingredients just come together in a ball. Shape dough into 2 discs, about 3/4-inch thick. Wrap in plastic and freeze for 15 minutes in the freezer.

Make Fruit: Preheat oven to 375°F. Adjust rack to lower third of the oven. Place 12 ramekins on a sheet pan. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add fruit, lemon juice and vanilla; gently toss to combine. Spoon about 1 cup of the fruit mixture into each ramekin; dot with a small pat of butter.

Roll Pastry Dough: Roll out one disc of pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Using a 4 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out dough circles that are just a bit larger than the ramekins. Set a pastry circle on top of each fruit-filled ramekin and gently press the pastry down into the ramekin around the edge. Repeat with second dough circle and remaining potpies.

Bake Potpies: Using a pastry brush, apply a light coating of cream over the dough, and sprinkle coarse sugar over the top. Using a small pairing knife, make a couple of slits in the center of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves/Makes
Serves 12