Sunday Summer Berry Pie

Sometimes a summer night just needs some pie.  Berry pie.  And ice cream, of course.  Ever have one of those weekends, where this...

Is the perfect cap-off to this...?

Boston skyline from Spectacle Island

If you're anything like me, you don't feel like doing much besides sitting on the couch and sipping a glass of wine after a sunny day at the beach, but this pie is simple and totally worth the ten extra minutes on your feet.

This is an awesome berry pie that uses frozen berries and is nice and quick to put together (although I'm sure in-season, fresh berries would make it even better!)  If your summer night needs a little dessert, whip this up and you'll be happy as pie, sweets ;)

As always, let me know what you think if you try this recipe out by posting a note in the comments below.

Triple Berry Pie:
Need:

• Enough pie dough for 2 crusts (for this one, I just bought the Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts in the refrigerated section at the food store.  Note- Pillsbury did not ask me to post them, I just really like their pre-made pie-crust and highly recommend it if you don't feel like rolling out your own!)
• 5 cups frozen mixed berries 
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Do:

1. Mix the frozen berries with sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Let stand for 45 minutes so the berries can thaw out a little bit.  (I did this step, then took a shower and blow-dried my hair which took about 35 minutes and then kept going...perfect timing!)
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees F
3. Line a pie plate with half of the crust (or 1 crust, if you bought the 2-pack)
4. Pour all the berries into the pie crust and spread around making an even layer
5. Place the second crust on top and crimp the edges to seal
6. Cut a few slits in the top crust to let the steam out
7. I brushed the top of my pie with a little milk and put some Sugar in the Raw on top, but you can skip this step if you'd like.
8. Cover the edges of your pie with tin foil so they don't burn
9. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes, then remove the foil from the edges
10. Bake at 375 for an additional 30 minutes - the pie should be bubbly and crust nice and gold at this point.
11. Let the pie cool completely if you want nice and neat slices, or, you can dig right in and enjoy some nice gooey berry pie with a scoop of ice cream on top like I did :)

Step 1:  Berries + Sugar + Flour + Cinnamon

Step 1 cont.  Mix 'em up!

Steps 3 & 4 (after heating the oven) line a pie plate and fill with berry mixture

Steps 5, 6, 7- Put on top crust, crimp edges, brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar and cut steam slits

Fresh out of the oven, hot berry pie

I spy hot pie. <3

Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot Cake

Last week my girlfriends and I were lucky enough to enjoy a Kappa Thursday dinner together!  Shannon had just won her SEVENTH dodgeball championship, so she got a Thursday night off, yay!  She grilled up some steaks, tossed a salad and made some perfect corn on the cob for us, Lindsey brought the vino and I tried a recipe from my "Cake for Every Pan" challenge.

The cake?  Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot
The pan?  8" Round Cake pan

The cake turned out yummy but I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites.  Martha has another recipe for pineapple upside down cake that uses sour cream and that one is to die for.  I really have no complaints about this one, I just don't think it's going to make any of my personal "top" lists.

The original recipe calls for plums and blueberries...I like pluots and think they are a prettier color (if you haven't seen pluots in your grocery store- it's a hybrid fruit, half plum, half apricot) so that's why I tried them instead.

Here are a few picutres and the recipe- if you try it for yourself, let me know what you think!

'Nite, sweets!

Look at the little butter heart, too cute!!

   

Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot Cake
(Adapted from Martha Stewart's Plum Blueberry Upside-Down cake in the September Everyday Food)

Need:

• 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large pluot cut into 10/11 wedges
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 1 large egg, 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Do:

1- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray your 8" round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray

2- Cut out a circle of wax or parchment paper to cover the pan and go a little bit up the sides; press it into the pan and into the edge so its snug

3- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and then pour it into the pan, coating your circle of wax paper.  Swirl it around so the whole bottom is coated. 

4- Sprinkle half of your brown sugar (1/2 cup) in the pan covering the butter, then place your pluot slices on top, in any design you like. 

5- Add in the blueberries, try to fill in the gaps where your pluot is not touching so that the whole bottom of the pan is covered in fruit

6- In your mixing bowl, beat 8 tablespoons fo butter and the rest of your brown sugar together- Martha recommends 3 minutes of this, and it comes out perfect.

7- Beat in your egg and egg white to combine.

8- In a separate bowl, whisk your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.  Turn the mixer down to low so that you don't cover yourself in flour, and slowly add the mixture in.

9- Now beat in the buttermilk and vanilla, after it's incorporated, turn the mixer up to high and beat until smooth.

10- Pour your batter into the pan, and then tap it on a table or counter to get all of the air bubbles out.

11- Bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is nice and gold, you might see some fruit bubbles, and your test toothpick comes out clean.  

12- Let the cake cook on a wire rack for about an hour.  After the hour is up, run a knife around the edge and flip our pan over to release the cake onto your serving plate of choice.  

13- Enjoy!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Strawberry Fluff Frosting

Today I am happy to share the first post of 4 in my self-made Martha Stewart Cake for Every Pan challenge.  In the September issue of Everyday Food, Martha published four different cake recipes that use four different types of cake pans.  I challenged myself to try all four and blog them, because all four look really tasty!  Here's the lineup:

-8" Round pan: Plum/blueberry upside down cake
-Cupcake pan: Cookie cupcakes with raspberry fluff frosting
-Loaf pan: Almond-grape tea cake
-Sheet pan: Vanilla sheet cake with malted milk chocolate frosting

So, for the first Cake for Every Pan project, I bring to you chocolate oreo cupcakes with strawberry fluff frosting.  I chose these because it is my birthday and I love chocolate, so I thought these would make a great treat for myself! :D  The recipe is very easy and comes together fairly quickly.  The cake is dense, the frosting is smooth and creamy- similar to oreo filling, and the whole treat together is fantastic.  It's like a supercharged sweet- delivering cake, cookies, and FLUFF all in one bite.  These babies are de-lish and I am sure these would be a hit at a dinner party or work event or any place where you want to make sure people like you (haha!)

Lastly, I'm sure many of you have heard about Hurricane Irene which has come up the east coast.  My thoughts and prayers are with all who have been affected by this storm; power outages, blowing debris, flooding, etc. are not fun and I wish people safety and fast and efficient clean-up!  Hubs and I were fortunate to have only seen a small bit of rain and a few strong wind gusts.  We've had our power all day and are comfy, cozy and safe at home.

Let me know how your cookie cupcakes come out, and keep an eye out for the 8" upside down cake I'll be posting about next!  Here is my version of Martha's recipe; I tweaked slightly for the ingredients I had on-hand.

Oreo Cupcakes with Strawberry Fluff Frosting

    

Need:

• 2 sticks of butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweeted cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 12 oreo cookies 
• 3 tbsp strawberry preserves
• 3 cups Fluff
• 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan.  The recipe makes ~12...I got 17 cupcakes at the end. 
• Melt 2 tbsp butter, and put it aside to cool. 
• In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk with a fork, and add to the cocoa mixture.
• Also add buttermilk, vanilla, melted butter, and 1/2 cup of hot water to the cocoa mixture.  Use the whisk attachment and whisk until smooth.
• Using a measuring spoon, put 1 tablespoon of batter into each of your cupcake cups.

• Drop an oreo in each cupcake cup- do not press it down

• Using your measuring spoon, put another 1- 1.5 tablespoons of batter on top of each cookie.  The cookies will show through a little bit; it's okay!

• Bake for 15 minutes, and then let cool on a cooling rack.

• For the frosting, mix the remaining butter and strawberry preserves together in your mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth.
• Add the Fluff and confectioner's sguar and beat until fluffy, about three minutes.  Note- as you can see, my frosting came out more white than pink.  If you want a prettier frosting, I'd try adding a couple drops of red food coloring to make the frosting more pinky.
• Pipe or frost cupcakes however you like (Probably a good idea to let the cupcakes cool completely because the frosting is a little runny, you don't want it to melt even more.)

Mini Margarita Cupcakes!

Before the summer is long gone, I had to share these delicious summery cupcakes with you.  I spotted them on one of my favorite Boston blogs - Delicious Dishings - and knew I had to try them out.  Hub's family were the lucky chosen ones who got to try them out on the 4th of July.

While these little cuppies were admittedly a lot of work, trust me, they are worth it!!  The other call-out is that these are definitely for adults only!  The alcohol flavor is very noticeable and while you will not get a buzz from eating a mini, it's probably not a treat you want to feed a child.

I followed Megan's recipe to a T, so if you want to try for yourself, click here for the instructions.  The recipe made TONS of minis, plus I made two thin 8" cakes that I stuck in the freezer to use when I'm in a pinch.

If you love margaritas, you will love these cupcakes.  The cake is nice and light and limey, and the tequila-lime frosting is SUPER creamy, smooth and delicious.  If you pop a whole one in your mouth it honestly tastes JUST like a classic margarita.  Weird thing that happened to mine- as the cuppies cooled, the little paper liners detached themselves from the cupcakes, you can kind of see that in the picture above.  Maybe too much alcohol?  Anyway, if you try these, ENJOY, and let me know what you think!!

Weeknight Treat - Fast Fruit Tarts!

Ever have one of those nights when you NEED a dessert, yet you dont feel like reallyyyyy baking, and you feel guilty for even thinking about sweets?

That is me, usually at least 3 times a week, HA!  I found a solution, a la my favorite, Martha Stewart - honeyed fruit tarts!

This treat is adapted from her Pies & Tarts book.  It's fast, delicious, and a little bit more healthy than a batch of brownies at least.  I used peaches and strawberries, because those are the fruits we had in our fridge, but this would be delicious with all kinds of fruits - pears, any type of berries, etc.  Also, if you are into specifics, Martha lists them in her recipe.  Me, I just read over the recipe, and eyeballed everything I had, so please excuse the vague recipe below.

Enjoy!

• Chop up about 1 cup of up fruit (I used 4 big strawberries and half of a peach)
• Put it in a bowl, drizzle over some honey (use as much or as little as you like), and squeeze half a lime.  
• If you like zest like we do, zest your lime half and mix that in with the fruits.  Cover with saran wrap and stick in the fridge.
• Take out two squares of frozen puff pastry
• Microwave for 10 seconds to defrost
• Brush with water, milk, egg wash, whatever you fancy
• Sprinkle with sanding sugar
• Bake for ~15-20 minutes, or until golden brown
• When its baked and puffed, pull out the pastry and squish down the center to form a little well
• Let cool enough so that it won't burn your mouth
• Spoon honeyed fruits into the pastry well
• Eat up, buttercup!

Kappa Tuesday - Summer Simple

Ohhh Kappa Tuesdays, how I will miss you!  Shannon is starting a new job so last night was the final edition of Kappa Tuesdays.  We're going to try for occasional Kappa Sundays instead.

To wrap things up, Shannon provided a simple summer dessert of Strawberry Shortcakes!  She whipped the cream herself, chopped up some fresh strawberries and brought nice light shortcake shells.  Delish and perfect for the first full day of summer.  Summer always makes me think STRAWBERRY, I'm so happy that the season of fresh berries is here.  

What are your go-to summer desserts?