Easy Peach-Blackberry Crisp

You can use any kind of fruit you like - I had peaches and blackberries on hand.  I got this recipe from my mom and it's delicious and super easy.  I think my favorite thing is that the only added sugar is in the crumble topping.  I love a fruit dessert that tastes like fruit and is not overly sweet.

Fruit Crisp

4+ cups fruit
2/3 - 3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/3 cup softened butter

Preheat oven to 375.  In a greased 8x8 pan, arrange fruit.  In a medium bowl, mix remaining 6 ingredients and then sprinkle on top of your fruit.  Bake until fruit is tender and the top is golden brown...about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!  I think this is especially good served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

molten chocolate cake

this is what i made for valentine's day.

super easy and super good.

my favorite combination.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
• Whipped Cream , for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
3. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.
4. To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Molten Chocolate Cake - Martha Stewart Recipes

german oven pancakes

These are a delicious alternative to regular pancakes and so much easier and less time consuming.  Some people call them Dutch Babies or other various names.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

3 large eggs

dash of salt

1 to 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

.

Preheat your oven to 425° F. I usually use two smaller pans and do one recipe in each or you can double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan.

Place the butter in the bottom of the pan and place it in the oven while it's preheating to melt it (Don't let it start to burn though).  Mix your milk, flour, eggs and salt in a bowl. Use a wire whisk to blend, but make sure all the lumps have disappeared before moving on. (Some people blend this in a food processor but I don't) When you've got your mix ready, pour it over the melted butter in your pan, and place it back in the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Edges will be puffed up. I like to server with powdered sugar or Nutella or both (that's why I like to make two).

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Squares

These are ridiculously good. And they go great with beer. You should make some.

Makes 24

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  

If you can't find pumpkin-pie spice, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon each allspice and cloves (all ground).

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
4. Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.

From Everyday Food, November 2004

Triple Summer Berry Pie

No summer is complete without this pie. And with an abundance of berries at Costco, it's an easy dessert in under an hour. BUT and this is the part that I am sure to forget the first 2 times I make a recipe like this...it has to chill for 3 hours. I made it the night before a 4th of July party and the only problem was that there was not enough for second helpings. You could make it super-fast if you (ahem) buy a pre-made (eye roll) graham cracker crust. I mean pie crust is hard, but graham cracker crust is uber-easy, even my 7 year old can do it. Like 99.9% of my recipes, this is a tried and true favorite from the Cooks' Illustrated folks. I even took this picture myself. Of course, I had to brush away all of the crumbs, silly bandz, pixos, and old macaroni first.

Triple Summer Berry Pie

For the crust:
9 graham crackers
2 T sugar
5 T unsalted butter melted

For the filling:
2 cups raspberries
2 cups blackberries
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
1/8 t salt
1 T lemon juice
2 T red currant jelly which I never have, so I used Welch's grape jelly last time. I've also used strawberry, apple, etc. whatever I have.

For the topping:
To be honest, I've never made the topping. This pie is too damn good without it. Why ruin it? But here goes for the over-acheivers in the group...
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 T sugar
1 t vanilla

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325. Process graham crackers in a food processor. Add sugar and pulse. Add butter in a stream and pulse until it looks like wet sand. Put crumbs in a 9" glass pie plate, form the crust. Dang, that's the hard part. Use a flat bottom glass. Bake 15-18 min.

For the filling:
Rinse and dry berries. Mix 'em all together, then measure out 2 1/2 cups and put them in your food processor. Yes, you should wash the butter crumbs out first. Puree 2 1/2 cups of the berries for 1 minute. Strain the puree through a mesh sieve into a saucepan. You should have about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of thick seed-free juice. Whisk sugar and cornstarch into puree to combine. Bring puree to boil over medium heat stirring constantly. When it resembles dark purple pudding, remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Cool slightly while you heat jelly til melted (30 sec. in the microwave should do it). Toss remaining berries with jelly.
Pour puree into pie shell. Top with shiny, sticky berries and chill 3 hours.

My hand-written copy of this recipe stops here, but I'm guessing you would mix all of the topping ingredients in a pre-chilled stainless steel bowl with an electric mixer until it forms peaks. Soft or stiff...your guess is as good as mine. Enjoy!

pink meringue cupcakes with raspberry curd

for valentine's day we had the speiers over for dinner.  the menfolk grilled steak (which allie made a delicious italian peppercorn sauce for... perhaps she will share) and i made cauliflower soup and spinach salad.  it was all delicious.  and for dessert i made these tasty (and pretty... although not quite as pretty as martha's, i still thought they looked lovely) little cupcakes.  thank you again, martha stewart.

ingredients:

Makes 1 dozen

• Vegetable oil cooking spray, for baking cups
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• Gel-paste food coloring in Tulip Red (sugarcraft.com)
• 2 cups creme fraiche
• 1 container (6 ounces) raspberries, halved if large
• Raspberry Curd

directions:

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line every other cup of 2 nonstick 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups; coat with cooking spray. Whisk egg whites, vinegar, vanilla, and salt with a mixer on medium-high speed until frothy. Add 1 3/4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, making sure the sugar dissolves. Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in 6 drops food coloring.

Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a plain coupler (no tip), and pipe into prepared baking cups, about 2 inches above rims, finishing with a peak in the centers. Bake, rotating halfway through, 3 to 3 hours and 20 minutes. (Cupcakes should be completely dry on the outside but still soft in the middle. A toothpick inserted horizontally at base of top should have moist but cooked crumbs attached.) Transfer cupcakes in baking cups to wire racks; let cool completely.

Beat creme fraiche and remaining cup sugar in a clean mixer bowl on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Carefully slice off tops of cupcakes using a serrated knife. (Run the knife just above the liner and slowly work your way to the center.) Top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons raspberry curd, a few raspberries, and 2 tablespoons creme fraiche mixture. Replace tops, and serve immediately.

raspberry curd:

ingredients:

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 1 container (6 ounces) raspberries
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

directions:

Whisk all ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until slightly thick, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain; refrigerate until cold and thick.

flaky brown sugar (pop) tarts

this recipe was born of christine's and my childhood love for brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts with NO frosting, my desire to bake something last thursday and my obsession with the book once upon a tart.  to top it all off, my sister had left vegetable shortening in my fridge (which i never buy... this was actually my first time ever using it), thus creating one of those "meant to be" kind of mornings.  if you do not own this book, i absolutely recommend it.  it is full of all sorts of buttery goodness (also, delicious soups, salads and sandwiches).

*this is the flaky tart crust recipe from this book (these scones are also from there), but as far as the filling for these, you will just have to make up your own little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon combo because i have no recollection of how much we used of each.  i am sure you cannot go wrong with any combination of those three things, however.  now brace yourself for another recipe with massive amounts of butter (and shortening)...*

Flaky Tart Crust (makes enough for two 9-inch tart crusts)

- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

- 5 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening

- small glass of ice water

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.  dump flour, sugar and salt into bowl of a food processor and pulse.

2. add butter and shortening all at once and pulse 5 to 10 times until it resembles moist crumbs and no chunks of butter or shortening remain. (they are very strict about the fact that you "pulse" not "run" your food processor).

3. dump crumbs into a big bowl.  sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ice water over the surface of the crumbs.

4. use your hands to bring the dough together.  add more water if you have to, 1 tablespoon at a time.  the dough should be just past crumbly and just barely coming together.  you don't want it to be so wet that it sticks.

5. cut the dough in half (if you are making a regular tart with this recipe, each half is enough for a 9 inch tart pan), press each into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap.  refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

6. on a floured surface, roll out disk of dough as thinly as you can.  cut same-size shapes out of dough.  we used a round tart cutter for some, but they looked so much like silly little raviolis, that we decided to just hand-cut our own little rectangles, to more resemble pop tarts.  they would also be very cute in heart shapes for valentine's day...

7. place the first layer of each tart on a baking sheet (we lined ours with parchment paper) and plop a little of your filling (whatever it may be... it would probably also be really delicious with some sort of strawberry preserves to further the valentine's theme) in the middle of each.  then place the top layer of each tart on top of the filling and use a fork to press around all sides.   poke holes in the top of each with your fork.  at this point, you might want to brush the edges with an egg so as to keep them completely pressed, seeing as ours oozed a little, but either way they still come out delicious.  bake until brown around the edges (maybe 15 minutes?  i don't really remember...  just sit close by with your coffee and a good book, magazine, etc. and keep an eye on the first batch).

coco mint cookies

So I have not tried this recepie yet, but I have tasted them. The recepie is from Urban Cookies in Phoenix....some friends of ours who have the cutest place across the street from Xavier HS. Anyhow, I just live for these cookies and dream about them. I asked for them for Christmas even. Just the other day I was thinking I should beg them to give me the recepie, but surely they wouldnt. To my surprise I went on AZ Central's website and they had local cookie recepies noted. Yippee!

I just hope mine turn out as lovely and delicious as theirs! Thanks for sharing Urban Cookies!

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint oil or extract

1 egg

2 egg whites

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup milk

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

For coating: Granulated sugar and Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl with hand beater or a mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and peppermint extract on medium-high speed until everything is well-blended. Add egg and egg whites to bowl. Mix on medium speed until eggs are fully mixed into the sugar mixture.

Sift cocoa powder.

Warm milk in microwave for 30 seconds. Add cocoa powder to the bowl on low speed. Mix until fully incorporated. Stream the milk into the mixture on low speed. Stop and scrape the bowl.

Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl on low speed. Once incorporated, increase speed to medium for 30 seconds.

Refrigerate dough for 2 hours or until stiff. Using an ice-cream scoop, make evenly sized portions of dough, or roll dough into balls, about 3 ounces each, using hands. Roll each dough ball in the granulated sugar until completely covered. Next, roll the dough ball in powdered sugar. Make sure it is completely coated with no brown showing. Place on cookie sheet with a non-stick surface or covered with parchment paper. Bake about 25 minutes, or until done. For crispier cookie, bake longer.

Makes 1 dozen.

Chocolate Pretzel Kisses

I discovered this recipe in the White Family Fare Volume II, published by Isabel, but the recipe is from Aunt Deb. I must make these every October, even though I can't find Hershey Hugs, Halloween M&Ms, and pretzel rings sold at the same stores. Target is the only place I can find Hugs, Jewel Osco for the pretzels. Now, there is no Jewel in most parts of the country and my mother and sister claim that they have had much success with mini pretzels, or snaps would work too, I suppose.
Ingredients:
50 pretzel rings (who counts these? I just make 'em til the Hugs are gone.
1 package milk chocolate kisses, or hugs, or the candy corn kisses you see in the pic.
1/4 cup M&Ms plain chocolate candies (but again, whose counting? There's no such thing as too many M&Ms in the house.)

1. Have your little ones wash their hands.
2. Preheat the oven to 275F.
3. Have the little ones unwrap all of the kisses or hugs, and no sampling til we are finished!
4. Put aluminum foil (or parchment paper) over a cookie sheet.
5. Place ring shaped pretzels in rows (or not) covering the cookie sheet. Place an unwrapped chocolate kiss (or hug) in the center of each ring.
6. Bake at 275F for 2-3 minutes, no longer. Remove from oven.
7. Immediately, smush one m&m onto each kiss, pressing lightly until the chocolate fills the pretzel. I like to put my m&ms "m" side down. I can be ocd sometimes.
8. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes. At this point, we count the remaining m&ms and practice division among me and my 4 chocolate addicts. Nothing goes to waste around here.
9. Eat or store at room temperature.

Isabel uses mint kisses for Christmas, and they do sell the red and green M&Ms too. You could adapt this recipe for every major holiday!

Whoopie Pies!

Cakes

2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (Droste brand is pretty easy to find), 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 cup packed lt. brown sugar, 8 Tbl. unsalted butter-softened but still cool, 1 large egg-room temp., 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 cup buttermilk

Filling

12 Tbl. unsalted butter-softened but cool, 1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp. salt, 2 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

1.For the cakes: Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions and heat to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets w/ parchment. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

2.With electric mixer on med., beat sugar and butter until fluffy(few minutes). Beat in egg, scrape down bowl, and add vanilla.Reduce speed to low and beat in 1/3 of flour mixture, then half of buttermilk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the buttermilk, and finally the rest of the flour mix. Use a spatula to give batter final stir.

3.Using a 1/4-cup measure, scoop 6 mounds onto each sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Baked until the cakes spring back when touched, 15-18 minutes. Switch and rotate pans half-way through baking. Cool completely-atleast an hour!

4.For the Filling: With mixer on med. speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and salt. Beat in marshmallow creme until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate filling for atleast 30 minutes!!(You can't skip this-believe me, I tried!)

5. Dollop 1/4 cup filling on flat side of 6 cakes. Top with flat side of 6 remaining cakes. Enjoy!! You will need a strong cup of coffee to counteract the sweet richness of these cakes!

I made slightly smaller ones for the kids, and though they all took a whole one, I don't think any of them finished one! But that was quite alright because we enjoyed the rest the next day. I think they might have even been better the next day!

whoopie pies - coming soon!

my fabulous sister-in-law mary made these saturday night and they are so good, i cannot even tell you. i am going to drag mary into the blogging world so she will share the recipe with you. think of this as a coming soon post...

frozen key lime pie

christine made this for dessert one night in california and it was so tasty that i had to make it again back home so pete could try it (he missed most of the good food at the beach). i just made the pie and then topped it with whipped cream instead of "decorating" it like the directions suggest. less time and i like creamy whipped cream better than frozen whipped cream anyway. it is another recipe from my good friend ina garten. i was also very lucky to have three excellent helpers...

a juicer and a mixer...

and even my own dishwasher...

and lots of hungry little mouths to eat it... even though finn announced he only likes "the white stuff and the brown stuff" (whipped cream and crust). what to do with a kid that doesn't like any form of fruitiness...

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons grated lime zest
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 limes)

For the decoration:

• 1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Thin lime wedges

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with lime. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

dining alfresco

we had the speiers and the mchales over for swimming and some alfresco dining while the weather is still so lovely. allie made her amazing marinated eggplant and bruschetta. we made spiedini (basically this is fontina cheese wrapped in prosciutto, skewered and grilled, then served warm over arugula tossed with olive oil and pepper - so, so good...) and grilled pizzas (these deserve their own post, but i didn't take any pictures... maybe next time). for dessert we made nutella and banana calzones with vanilla ice cream. try this. it won't disappoint. decadent? yes. worth it? absolutely.

almond-plum buckle

christine made this at her house one day and it was so delicious i just had to try it for my family. while mine was still good, christine's was amazing. you can even tell how very different they look... oh, well. i will just have to beg christine to make it at her house again...

and whipped cream is a must (especially if it is homemade). just look at how amazing christine's looks...

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole almonds (about 2 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 1/4 pounds plums (about 8 medium), halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round.

Finely grind almonds in processor. Transfer to medium bowl; whisk in flour, baking powder, and salt. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add 1 cup sugar; beat until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and almond extract, then flour mixture just until incorporated.

Transfer batter to prepared pan; spread evenly and smooth top with spatula. Gently press plum slices, flesh side down, into batter in spoke pattern around outer rim and center of cake, placing close together. Mix cinnamon and 4 teaspoons sugar in small bowl. Sprinkle over plums.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Run small knife between cake and pan sides to loosen. Invert cake onto platter; remove parchment paper. Place another platter atop cake. Using both hands, hold both platters firmly together and invert cake, plum side up. Cool cake completely. Cut into wedges.

i have also seen this made with apples or strawberries instead of plums and i think basically any fruit would be delicious. i will have to try the apple version since i have apples coming out of my ears...

Vacherin with whipped cream and berries

I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart Living: A Taste of Summer magazine we got with Luke's useless frequent flyer points...it was delicious....perfect for summer. Here's the link:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/berry-vacherin

The version of the recipe in the magazine did not have the raspberry sauce, and I thought it was perfect without it...

strawberry cream cake

i made this cake last year for lucy's birthday and i thought it was delicious. try it the next time you need to make a dessert for something...


Ingredients

Serves 12
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper and sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.
Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes. Place saucepan over very low heat, and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool.
Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form. Continue to beat, and gradually add gelatin mixture; beat until soft peaks form.
Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.

More Peach Homework

Wow, those peach bombs look fantastic! So here's a few more recipes for you to try:
Julia Roberts' Peach Crisp

3 lbs. peaches, cut in 1 in. chunks
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. Scotch
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
12 T. butter, cut up
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400F. Toss peaches, lemon juice, scotch, 1/4 c. sugar, and 1/4 c. brown sugar. Spread in 9x13 pan. Dot with 2 T. butter. Sprinkle topping over (for topping, combine flour, cinnamon, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 10 T. butter, and cut into coarse crumbs). Bake 30-35 min.

I copied this from a magazine a long time ago. It might be perfect for Pete... not because of J.Roberts, but because of the Scotch!

Peach-Blueberry Crisp
Mary Burch made this for us one time in Michigan. My brother Joe claims it's his favorite dessert... he asked for it on his birthday.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
2 c. peaches
2 c. blueberries
1/2 c. sugar (optional - if your fruit is sweet, you don't need it)

Melt butter in 2 1/2 quart oven proof dish. Combine flour, sugar, bking pwdr, and milk and spoon over butter; don't stir. Add 1/2 c. sugar to fruit (if desired) and toss; put fruit over batter. Bake at 350F until crust comes to top and browns, at least 45 minutes.

we tried the peach bombs...

and they were unbelievable.


the way your spoon cuts right into the crust and peach is so fabulous...


nothing left but the pit...