Fruit Upside Down Cake

Everyone has heard of Pineapple upside down cake. You don't have to make an upside down cake just with pineapple. This is one of my family's favorite fruit topped cake recipes. You can use just about any kind of fruit you like. I generally make it with berries. I like cranberries and blueberries mixed together. But I've made this with peaches, both canned and fresh, strawberries, raspberries alone and together, sometimes fresh and sometimes frozen. The one in the picture is made with frozen fruit, blueberries, strawberries and cranberries, evenly mixed.

Fruity Upside Down Cake

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease a 10 inch spring form pan. Set aside.

Fruit Topping:

3 cups of prepared fruit, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small bowl blend butter, sugar and spices until crumbly and well blended. Sprinkle into the bottom of the prepared pan. Cover bottom with even layer of fruit. Set aside.

Cake:

1/4 cup of butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

With electric mixer cream together butter and sugar until lemon yellow in color. Add eggs, one at a time mixing well between each. Mix in vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture, alternating with dry ingredients. Mixing well between each addition.

Spoon batter over fruit. Place pan on cookie sheet to catch any syrup that drips out. Bake about 40 - 45 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on rake, run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen from the pan. Invert onto serving platter.

Serves 8 - 10.

Labour Day - Good Bye Summer

Labour Day generally signifies the end of summer. The kids go back to school, you notice the days getting shorter and the evenings getting chillier. It's one of my favorite times of the year. I like the days with no humidity and cooler nights that are great for sleeping.

In honour of the return to school, I decided to bake for the girls. I wanted to make muffins, but, I am ashamed to say, I had no milk in the house! Imagine - a dairy farm with no milk! Today wasn't the first time either. Some mornings you're just a little too cloudy to remember the empty pitcher!

So I scoured around for s recipe that didn't require milk. I couldn't find a muffin recipe - except one that called for plain yogurt - another item I didn't have. I did find one for a great "Blondie".

They are quick, easy and simple. All you really need is a saucepan and a spoon.

Blondies

2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13"x9" baking pan. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and sugar together over medium low heat. Stir well until sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Using a wooden spoon, stir in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Spread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips and nuts.

Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars while still warm. Cool completely in pan.

Makes 36 bars

Cheesecake Recipe

Gary's Birthday Cake

This past Sunday, was my company barbecue. One of the employees was having a birthday. I was to bring dessert, so I asked him his favorite kind of cake. Luckily, he chose cheesecake! My favorite to make. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo because it was cut up and eaten before I had a chance to take one.

Classic Cheesecake for a Crowd

4 packages (8 oz each) of cream cheese, at room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sour cream
30 Oreo cookies
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325F. Line one 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper. Crush the cookies to make fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix well. Press into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well between each addition. Add lemon juice. Blend in sour cream. Pour mixture over crust in prepared pan. Bake at 325F about 50 minutes until center of cake is set. After center is set, turn off oven, but do not remove cake. Leave the cake in the oven for about one hour to cool down. After about an hour, place pan on cooling rack to cool completely. Once cake is completely cooled, refrigerate. Top with your favorite fruit or pie filling before serving. I use a combination of pie filling and fresh fruit. Blueberries are my favorite.

Serves 16

For a fluffier cake, place a oven proof dish of water on the lower oven rack. This will add moisture to the oven's atmosphere and help make a moister cake.

Another Family Gathering

We had another family gathering over the week-end. This time my little niece was making her First Communion. We gathered at my brother's house for a party that was again a combination of Greek and Polish! I decided since the weather was so spring-like, I wanted to bake something that reflected that. My choice was a delicious Lemon Cake, that's light but flavourful. I served without the berries, since we had no nice ones available yet, but this cake is wonderful if you serve it with raspberries. Use fresh lemon juice, not from a bottle, it gives the cake a much sweeter flavour and you must include the peel- even though it's a hassle. Be sure to wash your lemons well with soap and water before you add the peel!

Lemon Cake

4 eggs, separated
1 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks appear. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Beat together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, beat until creamy and well blended. Mix together flour and baking powder in another bowl. Add flour gradually to to butter mixture, alternating with milk. Mix well after each addition. Add lemon peel and lemon juice. Now by hand, fold egg whites into butter mixture until completely combined. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 50- 60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Once the cake comes out of the oven, make syrup.

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
grated peel from one lemon, about 1 tablespoon

In a small saucepan, stir together all syrup ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved.
Poke holes in the cake with a cake tester or wooden pick. Spoon syrup over cake. Cool 15 minutes, remove from pan.

Lemon Glaze

1/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
grated peel from one lemon, about 1 tablespoon

In the same small saucepan, mix all glaze ingredients together, bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Allow to cool slightly. Spoon over cake to make a glazed finish. Serve with fresh raspberries if available.

Serves 12

Easter Lunch Dessert

It was my brother and sister-in-law who hosted our family Easter Celebration. We had a wonderful meal of perogies, cabbage rolls, barbecued lamb, turkey, roast pork, roasted potatoes, salads, asparagus, beans and peas. I was in charge of a dessert. I made chocolate cheesecake. A favorite of my little niece Ally. It was really good, except for the fact the surface cracked on me. This is a common problem with cheesecake. It has to do with cooling too quickly. The best thing is to actually turn off the oven and leave the cake in there for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, open the oven door a crack and let the warm air out. After 15 minutes, you can take the cake out. This usually prevents cracking, but not always. I didn't do that because I needed the oven to cook my roast for our supper.

Another trick, when baking cheesecake, is to always put a dish of water in the oven during baking. The atmosphere inside a hot oven is very dry. Lack of moisture can prevent a cheesecake from rising enough. The dish of water helps create a spa-like environment and the cake rises more. Some recipes call for this technique, some don't. I do it all the time. It makes the cake fluffier.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust
1 350 gram bag of Oreo cookies
3 tablespoons of melted butter

Layer One
3 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 - 8 ounce box of semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted

Layer Two
2 cups sour cream
2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides.

Place cookies in food processor and process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter. Process until well mixed. Press crumbs into prepared pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese and sour cream with sugar and vanilla until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time at medium speed, until smooth and fluffy. Add chocolate, beating until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes, until center is set. Place a deep dish of water in the oven on the lower rack, be sure to have enough water in your pan so it doesn't all evaporate during baking.

Prepare second layer by mixing, in a clean bowl, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and cocoa until completely combined. When first layer is done, remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 425F. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over cake. Bake 12 -15 minutes, until set. Cool completely. Chill for 4 -6 hours before serving, overnight is best.

Makes 10 - 12 servings

An Easter Recipe

I grew up in Montreal. It was at a time when the English speaking residents were becoming increasingly aware of the importance of speaking French. One of my friend's parents felt it was so important they hired a Nanny for the summer who was from France. They called her the "Au paire". I'm not sure how that translates into English, but I can tell you she made the world's greatest chocolate cake. Here it is 25 years later and I still have and make the recipe. With Easter just around the corner, I thought this would be an appropriate recipe to post.

The cake is not very big, but it is very rich. Don't put any frosting or icing on it, it will really be too sweet. I usually dust it lightly with icing sugar, just to make it look pretty. It is really good with a nice vanilla ice cream, just a little, or a dollop of whipped cream - what doesn't improve with a dollop of whipped cream ! ?

The Au Paire's Chocolate Cake

10 ounces of really good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup of unsalted butter, cut up into pieces
5 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
1- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F
Butter and flour a 10" springform pan
Stir chocolate and butter together in a saucepan placed into gently simmering water. Stir constantly, careful not to burn the chocolate. Heat until all chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, set aside. In a large bowl, beat together eggs and sugar until mixture begins to thicken. Sift flour and baking powder over eggs and gently fold into egg mixture. Gradually fold chocolate into egg mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Cover pan with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil after 20 minutes and continue baking 30 minutes longer or until a tester inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool cake in pan on rack. ( Cake will fall as it cools) Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Serves 8 - 10 people

Fast, Easy and you don't have to Bake Cake!

With Easter on the way, I thought this would be a great recipe to share. You can make this cake a day ahead, which is the best way to do it. It's domed shape can be sort of Easter Eggy, too. I use store bought pound cake. At the local grocer's, they sell a brand called "Farmer's Market" and they have a chocolate loaf cake that works great for this cake. If you're buying the cake, buy two, you need more than one, but you'll have a bit of leftovers. In my house that's great because as soon as I make the cake they all want to eat it. I feed them the leftover loaf cake and the actual cake is safe until the next day. This is based on an Italian style cake. In the Italian version, they cake is usually vanilla and they have fruit, like strawberries or raspberries in the middle. I have never made it that way, but it sounds great. Next time I make one, I'll add a picture to this post, but at the moment, I don't have one. Not sure why, I usually take pictures of all the cakes I make!

Zuccotto

Butter - to grease the bowl
2 loaf cakes, chocolate
3 tablespoons of almond flavored liqueur
3 oz of dark chocolate, chopped
3 oz of semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups of whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Icing sugar to dust the cake

Use butter to grease a 1 1/2 quart size bowl. Line bowl with plastic wrap. Slice loaf cake into slices that are 1/3 inch thick.Cut each slice diagonally in half to form two triangles. Line the bottom and sides of the prepared bowl with cake slices. Brush liqueur over the cake slices lining the bowl. Reserve extra triangles.

Melt chocolate in double boiler, stir until smooth. Set it aside and allow it to cool to room temperature. Using electric mixer, whip 1 cup of cream in a large bowl until thick and fluffy. Fold in one fourth of whip cream into the chocolate mixture, until well blended. In two separate additions, add remaining whipped cream, blending well to make a fluffy, thick chocolate mousse type filling. Spread chocolate cream mixture over the cake lining the bowl. Be sure to cover the cake completely. Create a well in the center of the cream, cover and refrigerate while you make the second filling.

Using an electric mixer, with a clean bowl and beaters, beat remaining cup of whipping cream until thick and fluffy. Gradually whip in 1/4 cup of icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in almonds. Spoon the mixture into the well of the other filling.

Brush the remaining slices of cake with liqueur and arrange them, liqueur side down, over cake, covering the filling completely. Trim slices to fit if necessary. Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours, but over night gives the best results.

To serve, invert cake onto a serving platter, dust with icing sugar and serve. It's great with fresh berries, like strawberries or raspberries on the side, even an extra dollop of whipped cream!

Serves 8 to 10