Category Archives: Fruit

Puffed Pear Pancake

December 13, 2013

puffed pear pancake

Every Christmas morning I get talked into making cinnamon rolls. Not that it takes much coercion because I love them just as much as (probably more than) the next person. But that’s the problem- I can eat a whole pan-full on my own. (And usually do, it’s part of the ritual.) They’re dangerous and thus saved for special occasions when I don’t have to feel as guilty about such gluttony.

puffed pear pancake

When I want to avoid over-indulgence and still treat myself to breakfast, I make this. (Or something like it.) Puffed pancakes are traditionally a mixture of eggs and milk and flour, sometimes sweetened and served with lemon and fruit and syrup. This time I added vanilla, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the batter and dropped ripe sliced pears on top before baking. The pancake puffs up all around them and looks and tastes irresistible. Stunning enough for a special occasion, but simple and nutritious enough for every day.

Puffed Pear Pancake

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp. butter
4 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or spelt or all-purpose flour)
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1-2 ripe Bartlett pears, cored and thinly sliced

for serving:
lemon wedges
powdered sugar
maple syrup

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Place butter in a large (12-inch) cast iron or other oven-proof skillet and place in oven until butter is melted.

2. In a large bowl (this can also be done in a blender) whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Remove the skillet from the oven (carefully, it will be HOT) and swirl the butter to coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Pour in the batter and top with the pears.

3. Return skillet to oven and bake for about 18-2o minutes, until puffed and golden and the center is set. Serve with lemon, powdered sugar, and/or maple syrup.

Serves 2-4.

(Adapted from Whole Foods and Real Simple)

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

September 17, 2013

IMG_0511.55
My mom and sister stopped for a short visit on their cross-country road trip at the beginning of the month. (They were actually on their way from Virginia- my home- to Canada, via Chicago and Utah and Idaho. Quite the expedition. I wasn’t a bit jealous of the drive but somewhat of the destination. My mom grew up in Alberta and it’s been forever since I’ve been to visit. Her small hometown of High River- what a fitting name- was recently devastated by floods and my parents were heading to lend a hand to my family there.)

During her stay my mom generously stocked us up on groceries from Costco, to include an enormous (as is everything from said store) amount of plums. Italian prune plums exactly. They are marvelous for snacking, but we three can only eat so many so fast. Threatened by their impending expiration, I was searching for another way to use them. And then I remembered this muffin recipe from my Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. (Which I adore and cook from obsessively lately.)

These muffins are plump with plums and speckled with poppy seeds. They’re rich and moist and healthy too! I replaced the butter (browned butter would have been divine but I knew Clara and I would be eating way too many for the next few days and wanted to feel good about it) with unsweetened applesauce and cut the sugar in half. 1/4 cup brown sugar was enough (the applesauce and a dusting of turbinado on top contributed as well) for a lightly sweet muffin. And I used all whole wheat flour with no problem. Even lightened up they turned out absolutely delicious! If plums are scarce I bet you could use any available stone fruit with similar results- pears, apricots, pluots. Oh, and they freeze great. So if you have some self control and don’t devour them all immediately, you can pop them in the microwave for a warm homemade muffin anytime!

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

INGREDIENTS

6 Tbsp. melted butter, browned and cooled (I replaced the butter with 6 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar (or honey or pure maple syrup)
up to 1/4 cup white sugar (I omitted)
3/4 cup sour cream or plain whole-milk yogurt (or even buttermilk- you want something tangy)
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flours)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. fine grain (table) salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
2 cups pitted and diced plums (from about 3/4 lb. Italian prune plums, though any variety would do)
turbinado sugar, for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan or coat with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the egg and sugars. Stir in the butter (or applesauce) and sour cream (or yogurt). In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and poppy seeds. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in the plums.

3. Divide batter among the prepared muffins cups. Sprinkle with a small amount of turbinado sugar (optional). Bake for 15-18 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.

(Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

September 3, 2013

blueberry buckwheat pancakes

I’ve eaten and shared a lot of pancakes with you lately. I’m realizing that much like tacos or pizza there are infinite ways to make them. Some better than others. But many delicious. So it’s OK to have a stack of pancake recipes. Especially if they’re are irresistible, each in their unique way.

Buckwheat has been on my to-cook-with list lately. (I don’t actually have a list. I’m not that organized. I just keep thinking about something and soon enough get around to making it.) Perhaps I’ve been inspired by my brother’s (who is no health food fanatic, trust me) recent obsession with this healthy grain. He spent 2 years on a mission in Ukraine and came back with a love of buckwheat and beets. One time when we were all home he cooked us up a pot of gritty unsweetened buckwheat for breakfast. He was shoveling it down but no one else would touch it. (Except Clara who at that age ate anything.) His buckwheat porridge wasn’t completely horrible- just missing something. Butter? Perhaps sugar?

Which brings us to buckwheat pancakes. With blueberries- because it is still summer and blueberries make life in general better. This recipe uses a combination of buckwheat and whole wheat. You could use all buckwheat I suppose but they would be very strong- definitely not suited for beginners. The sugar (or honey) is optional- I tried them with and without and liked them better a bit sweeter. (Especially if you’re not planning to douse them in syrup.) I always recommend actually using buttermilk. All the substitutions I’ve tried never yield as good a result. And then you can choose between coconut oil and butter. I went with the coconut oil and didn’t regret it. Blueberries in the batter. More blueberries on top. You can’t go wrong.

p.s. Borscht is delicious. He was also right about the beets.

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour (I added a few extra Tbsp. because my batter was very thin)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar or honey (optional but recommended)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extra
1-2 cups fresh blueberries

extra butter, for greasing the pan and serving
maple syrup, powdered sugar, fresh fruit, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar (if using).

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coconut oil or butter, vanilla, and honey (if using). Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined (lumps are OK).

3. Preheat a large skillet or griddle to medium heat. Grease with cooking spray or rub with butter.

4. Pour batter by 1/4-cup-full onto preheated pan (making sure to leave space between the pancakes as they will spread) and sprinkle blueberries on top. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and bubbles are forming on top, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for several minutes on the other side until golden and cooked through. (Cooked pancakes can be kept warm in a 250 F oven while you are cooking the rest.)

5. Serve warm with butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, fresh blueberries, etc.

Serves 4-6.

(Adapted from Williams-Sonoma via The Curvy Carrot)

Peaches and Cream Pound Cake

August 27, 2013

peach pound cake

Oh, this cake. I waited a whole year to make it. My friend Jenna shared the recipe last fall, just after peaches disappeared, and I sat around all winter and spring dreaming of summer and juicy fresh peaches and putting them in pound cake. Yes, that is the type of thing I think about. (When I’m not defining my strategy for getting a baby toddler to sleep past 5 am. If you have solved this one- please enlighten me.) And as anticipated, summer finally arrived and with it just what I needed to bake this perfect summer treat.

I melded two recipes- or actually, three- into my ideal version and call it “peaches and cream pound cake”. The cream portion comes from sour cream in the batter and sweetened whipped cream that you should definitely serve on top. There’s a bit of cinnamon and vanilla and almond in there as well. Everything wonderful. While it was worth the wait, I recommend you make this now. Before summer eludes you too.

Peaches and Cream Pound Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup flour for dusting peaches
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups fresh peaches, pitted and diced (with or without skins- I left them on)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a 10-inch bundt pan and coat with white sugar.

2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition. Stir in the sour cream, and vanilla and almond extracts. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour (reserving 1/4 cup for the peaches), baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually stir into the creamed mixture (I added it slowly with the mixer on low). Toss the diced peaches in the reserved flour to coat, then fold into the batter. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, before removing the cake from the pan to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh sliced peaches and sweetened whipped cream.

(Adapted from A Spicy Perspective and All Recipes via Lahatchita Eats)

Peach and Sour Cream Pancakes

August 13, 2013

peach sour cream pancakeThere are two amazing things going on in this recipe: peaches + cream (a classic and forever marriage that you’ll be seeing again shortly in the form of a cake!) and sour cream + pancakes (which should be happening way more frequently because it is heavenly). Thanks to Deb of Smitten Kitchen for cleverly combining all of the above into a breakfast to-die-for. I’m realizing right now that the only thing that could have made this meal even more perfect would have been fresh sliced peaches and a dollop sweetened real whipped cream right on top. Ah, next time. Because no doubt I’ll be making them again shortly.

Peach and Sour Cream Pancakes

INGREDIENTS

1 large egg
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
butter, for pan
1 peach, halved, pitted, and very thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch slices)

butter, maple syrup, fresh peaches, and/or sweetened whipped cream, for serving (all optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, sour cream, vanilla, and sugar together. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Fold dry ingredients into wet, mixing until just combined and still a little lumpy.

2. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium heat (cast-iron works great). Brush the bottom of the pan with butter and ladle in 1/4 cup batter at a time (making sure to leave room between pancakes for spreading and flipping). Arrange two peach slices over top of the batter. When the pancakes are dry around the edges and bubbles begin to form on the top, after about 3-4 minutes, flip with a spatula in one quick movement. If any peaches slide out from underneath, nudge them back where they belong.

3. Cook for another 5 minutes, until the pancakes are golden brown on the bottom and the peaches are caramelized. (NOTE: Cooked pancakes can be kept warm on a sheet pan in a 250 F oven while you finish cooking the rest.) Serve with butter, warm maple syrup, fresh peaches, and/or sweetened whipped cream (all optional).

Makes 8 pancakes.

(Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)