Fruit Crisp

Fruit crisp is one of our go-to desserts. We almost always have fruit on hand: seasonal fresh fruit or freezer berries, peaches and cherries from our fruit trees and shrubs. It's a fast dessert that is always satisfying (and never fails to remind me of my grandmothers).

The topping for this crisp bakes up crunchy - a nice foil to the fruit filling. With the addition of whole grain flour, it's a dessert I feel good about eating (even occasionally for breakfast). If you like lots of topping, load up your crisp. I usually use a portion on the recipe and place the rest in the freezer. With both fruit and crumb topping stashed in the freezer I can assemble dessert in just a few minutes.

I serve this crisp warm from the oven topped with whipped cream, ice cream or yogurt. Feel free to alter the sugar in the filling based on your tastes and the sweetness of the fruit. Also, if berries are juicy, you might want to add additional flour to thicken the filling.

This recipe works with a variety of fruit. I used our
freezer blackberries. A taste of summer in the winter!

Combine flours, sugar and salt.

Mix in melted butter until crumbly.

Add nuts of your choice (or omit). I like pecans
but also use almonds, walnuts and hicans.

Mix thoroughly.

Sprinkle lemon zest and juice over fruit.

Gently toss with sugar, flour and salt.

Place fruit in a 9 inch pie plate. Cover with topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until
fruit is bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving.

Serve with ice cream (optional). Warm, fruity and crunchy!

Fruit Crisp
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Serves 10

Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
10 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup nuts, chopped

Filling
4 generous cups berries or chopped apples or peaches
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Grease a 9-inch pie plate. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare topping by combining all topping ingredients. Set aside.

Prepare filling: Toss fruit with zest and juice. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, and 1/4 tsp salt. Toss to combine. Pour into prepared pie plate. Sprinkle topping over fruit. Bake crisp for 45-50 minutes until filling bubbles. Cool slightly. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or yogurt.

Freezer Fruit Sauce

I preserve the fruit we grow to enjoy all year long. Those summer flavors make the winter more bearable and, since the fruit is ready in the freezer, it also makes a quick dessert or breakfast. While I freeze and dehydrate whole berries, I process much of the harvest into fruit sauce.

I freeze the sauce in 1-2 cup increments, which comes in handy for waffles, shortcakes, over poundcake or angel food cake, or in a breakfast parfait with granola. I've used rhubarb here (not a fruit, but acts like it), but any berry, stone fruit, or a combination can be substituted with the same results. Feel free to alter the sugar to suit your tastes.

Mature rhubarb stalks are both red and green. The leaves contain oxalic acid which is a toxin (you'd
have to eat a lot to get sick). Leaves can be safely added to your compost pile. 

Remove leaves and wash stems. 

Chop stalks. Measure 4 cups and place in a saucepan.

Stir in sugar and cornstarch. Slowly heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Place in freezer containers, label and freeze for up to one year.

Fruit Sauce
4 cups fresh berries, stone fruit, rhubarb, or a combination
3/4 to 1 cup sugar, depending on your tastes
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Squeeze of lemon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and let cool. Use immediately or freeze, consuming within one year.

Homemade Ice Cream

My dad recently celebrated his 76th birthday and in our family, birthday celebrations often include homemade ice cream. Born to hardscrabble Appalachian parents, my pops grew up eating ice cream only during the winter, when snow was available to help freeze the cream while churning. He or my grandfather would hand crank the mixture while the other continued to pack snow and rock salt around the cylinder. Since the snow is gone, and I'm probably incapable of hand churning frozen cream for a half hour, I use a different method.

I've tried lots of ice cream makers: hand crank, electric crank, and an electric crank with a frozen cylinder base. I prefer the latter as the ice cream freezes faster with much smaller ice crystals. The texture is smoother and the frozen cylinder eliminates the need for ice and rock salt. I store the cylinder in the freezer so it's ready whenever we want ice cream.

I usually make vanilla bean ice cream as it's versatile enough to serve with birthday cake, shortcake and fruit pies (standard dessert fare in our family). This base can easily be dressed up with the addition of a fudge ripple, chopped nuts, fruit puree or bits of candy.

Cool the ice cream base complete before freezing. Churning will slow

and the ice cream will become thick, creamy and increase 

in volume. This took about 40 minutes of churning.

After churning, remove the ice cream to a container with a tight fitting lid and place
in the freezer to ripen. I usually make the ice cream the day before I serve it.

Perfect birthday treat: Vanilla bean ice cream with double layer chocolate cake.

Vanilla Ice Cream
From The Perfect Scoop
Makes 1 quart
Because this base doesn't include egg yolks, it's a bit lighter tasting and comes together quick.

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Place one cup cream in a small saucepan. Add sugar and salt. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into saucepan. Add bean pod. Warm over medium heat, stirring, just until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add remaining cream, milk and extract. Chill thoroughly.

When ready to churn, remove bean pod and freeze mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Old School Dessert: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I had forgotten how much I like pineapple upside down cake until I came across this recipe. My first recollection of eating PUD cake was during my parent's card club soirees. As a kid with a budding interest in food, I would sneak out of my room to the kitchen where I would eye the buffet, set with food we didn't normally eat. Tiny sandwiches, meatballs, and other savory appetizers next to a fancy lime sherbet punch served in pretty glasses. And then that cake. Glistening pineapple studded with bright red cherries. Like a jeweled, exotic dessert! I'm pretty sure those card club nights shaped my young world view of food.

This particular recipe takes me right back to that childhood memory. A tender cake with not-too-sweet topping. I'm not a fan of maraschino cherries, so I replaced them with pecan halves. Feel free to use either, both or omit. This cake would be just as tasty with the pineapple alone.

Combine topping ingredients in a medium saucepan. Boil
until a candy thermometer registers 235-240 degrees. 

Place topping in cake pan. Top with pineapple slices. Set aside.

Use the same pan to mix up the cake batter. No need to clean!
 

Place batter on top of filling and bake.

Bake cake until golden brown. Let cool in pan 10 minutes.
Run a spatula around the edge to loosen.

Place serving platter over cake in pan. Holding the
platter and cake pan, flip cake over. Remove pan.

Cake can be served with ice cream or whipped
cream. I like it without the extras.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Yield: 8-10 servings

Topping
20-ounce can pineapple rings, well drained, juice reserved
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pineapple juice, reserved from rings 

maraschino cherries or pecan halves, optional

Cake
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup pineapple juice, reserved from rings

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" cake pan.

Make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the brown sugar and pineapple juice until well blended. Cook over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Increase the heat and boil until the mixture thickens a little, and the temperature reaches 235°F to 240°F (soft-ball stage). Depending on pan size, this will take between 3 and 5 minutes. If you don't have a thermometer, drop a bit of the syrup into a glass of cold water; it will form a soft, flexible ball when it's reached the proper temperature. 

Pour the sauce into the prepared pan. Set your saucepan aside; don't wash it, you'll be using it again. Arrange the drained pineapple slices in the pan. Place a maraschino cherry or pecan half into the middle of each pineapple slice, if desired. Set aside.

Make the cake: Place the butter for the cake into the saucepan. Swirl the butter around to melt it, and mix in any remaining sugar syrup; don't worry if it has some lumps. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the flour and pineapple juice to the mixture. Whisk until fairly smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes, until evenly browned. Cool cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a spatula around the edges to loosen, and turn it out onto a serving plate. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Old School Dessert: Graham Cracker Pudding

Graham cracker pudding is a dessert I make for just the two of us - too provincial for company,  it's something we eat out of our everyday bowls (or salad plates, if nearby), scraping up the crumbs with our spoons (ahem, fingers). I was introduced to it during visits to Amish restaurants. I found a recipe in Bountiful Ohio (a cookbook devoted to recipes from Ohio food enthusiasts) and modified it slightly to suit our tastes.

Despite being a pudding, the recipe doesn't require tempering of eggs, or pre-baking of the crust. It comes together fast and is a real family pleaser. I mean, what's not to like about grahams and pudding topped with silky meringue?

This is a great dessert to make if you have extra milk on hand. I've used 1%, 2% and whole milk; all work well, although whole milk makes the creamiest pudding.

Combine crust ingredients and press into the bottom and halfway up sides of a 2 quart baking dish.
Tip: use the bottom of a glass to tightly pack the crumbs for a uniform crust.

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a
medium saucepan. Add slightly beaten egg yolks.

Add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Don't worry if you notice egg solids -
they'll smooth out as the pudding is heated. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir one
minute longer (see video below for correct consistency).
Pour the pudding into the crust and prepare meringue.

For meringue, whip egg whites and cream of tarter just until frothy. Slowly add 2 Tbsp sugar and
whip until peaks form. Tip: whip egg whites in a stainless steel
or copper bowl to increase volume.

Meringue will be shiny but able to hold a peak.

Place meringue on top of pudding, making sure it touches the side of the baking dish.
Tip: add a decorative element by using spatula to draw up peaks.

Bake pudding at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Meringue should be nicely browned.
Allow to cool, cover and refrigerate for at least three hours.

Because the crust isn't baked prior to filling,
it's more tender and looser than a traditional graham crust.

Graham Cracker Pudding
6 generous servings

Crust:
14 whole graham crackers, crushed
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup salted butter, melted

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
3 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of cream of tartar
2 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine crust ingredients and press into the bottom and halfway up sides of a 2-quart baking dish. In a large saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Slightly beat egg yolks and add to saucepan along with milk; mix well. Cook over medium heat until bubbly, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula until very thick. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Pour into crust.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy; gradually add 2 Tbsp sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Top pudding with beaten egg whites, making sure meringue touches sides of baking dish. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool, cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

What sorts of old school desserts do you make?