Week 20 - Ice Cream Bon Bons

So I made these the same day I made the peach blueberry pie.  They were honestly a cinch.  Would be great for a dinner party to accompany some type of fancy cake, with a little ice cream on the side...

The recipe was from my Food and Wine Magazine that I get each day.

Maybe this one was cheating because it wasn't technically baked but nonetheless, the recipe needs to be shared.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/ice-cream-bonbons

Mine were not as pretty as the ones in the magazine but tasty nonetheless....

Here is my assembly line: Ice Cream, chocolate, cookie crumbs.

A couple of hints - best to have two kinds of ice cream because it melts so fast.  You can switch back and forth....Or two pints of the same kind.  And use the scoop to get the ice cream out of the container but I had more success molding it with my hands into a bon bon shape...

I left off the salt but it it a great coverup for the skewer hole so if I did it again, I would use it!

They were so good.  Mike and I have been having one a night as a treat!

So....I am technically 8 weeks behind so I am probably going to be doing two or three things a week for a while until I catch up so the more the merrier!

Week 19 - Blueberry - Peach Pie with Pecan Crumb Topping

Well, it was Fourth of July and I had to make something to bring to my friend Kristy's holiday party.....She is an awesome baker so I had to come up with something fabulous!

In my Pie book also from Tom, there is a great pie recipe! Blueberry Peach Pie with Pecan Crumb Topping

I made a basic pie crust for the pie.  Then the recipe is as follows:

3 cups blueberries
3 cups peaches
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
Grated zest of 1 lime
3 tbsp cornstarch

For the topping:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp milk

Freeze the pie crust for 15 minutes in the pie shell.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Combine the blueberries, peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, the lime juice and lime zest.  MIx well and set aside for 10 minutes. 

Mix together the cornstarch and remaining sugar in a small bowl and stir the mixture into the fruit.
Turn the filling into the shell and bake for 30 minutes.
Make the topping: Combine flour, pecans, sugar and salt in a food processor.  Pulse several times.  Scatter butter over the top and pulse again.  Sprinkle the milk over the mixture and pulse again. 

Remove the pie from the oven and lower to 375.  Spread the crumbs over the pie and tamp down, return pie to oven with a baking sheet underneath.  Bake for another 30 to 40 minutes. 

Cool 2 hours before serving! Enjoy!

Gotta be honest - it was good.............

Week 18- Orange and Chocolate Cake Balls

Okay so this recipe was sort of a combination of a bunch of different ideas.

First of all, I had a Christmas get together for colleagues from work seven months ago now - one of my colleagues brought a dessert made by his wife - cake balls! They were awesome...

So I did some research and found all the info I needed to know at this article written by a Dallas newspaper. http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/food/latest-recipes/20100614-bite-size-cake-balls-are-popular-new-treat-with-home-cooks-bakeries.ece

However, the recipes at this website called for box cake...which the blog is supposed to be everything from scratch so....
I was on the hunt.

I found a cake recipe in my Fannie Farmer cookbook, one of the cookbooks from my stepdad.  It is so tattered now from all its use, I might have to buy another one!

Anyway, I decided to make Princton Baltimore Cake with orange frosting and chocolate coating.

So the recipe for Princton Baltimore Cake

1 large orange
1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs separated
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsps baking powder

Oven at 350. Butter and flour two round cake pans.  Grate the rind of the orange, cream the butter and add the sugar, beating until light.  Add the egg yolks, orange juice, and orange rind and beat well.  MIx the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking powder, stir into the first mixture and blend until smooth.  Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff but not dry.  Gently stir a third of the eggs whites into the first mixture, then fold in the remaining whites.  Spread the batter ni the pans and bake for 30-40 ,minutes. 

I then whipped up some frosting with confectioners sugar and orange juice.  And combined the cake and frosting.  It was a yummy combo...

I then had to make little balls and freeze it for at least six hours.

I think because I made my cake from scratch, the ratio of cake to frosting was a bit off.  so the balls had trouble sticking together but I just froze them longer.

Once I put the chocolate on, they were tasty....

I gave them to my staff for our recent staff meeting - they were a hit! But I would bet the boxed kind are just as good...

Happy Baking - They are fun to decorate too for holidays!