peach

I Really Like Your Peaches: Peach Bundt Coffee Cake

Aug 20, 2012 By Love & Flour in Cakes 4 Comments Tags: peach

I have held onto this post for three days now simply because, there it is again, pesky Writer’s Block. Refusing to wait any longer, I set out to find inspiration in the form of quotes about peaches. Instead, I found quotes from James and the Giant Peach. That’s a book I have not thought about in quite a long while, which saddens me given it contains statements like, “I’d rather be fried alive and eaten by Mexicans.” For the record, I would not.

“The walls were wet and sticky, and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling. James opened his mouth and caught some of it on his tongue. It tasted delicious.” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach

I loved Roald Dahl’s books when I was a kid. The first I ever read was Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, followed closely by Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Just the other night the newer version of the movie was on television. I still cannot decide if I like the newer Johnny Depp version or the older Gene Wilder version better. Each are creepy in their own right. How about you?

“Poor Earthworm,’ the Ladybird said, whispering in James’s ear. ‘He loves to make everything into a disaster. He hates to be happy. He is only happy when he is gloomy.” - Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach

I know I have read George’s Marvelous Medicine, but I can not for the life of me remember anything about it. Same goes for Danny Champion of the World. I gave my niece a Matilda book the last time I saw her, though I should probably stop giving nothing but books as gifts. I am likely on track to become known as the aunt who gives boring gifts. Did you have a favorite Roald Dahl book?

I never read Revolting Recipes, but I am so amused by the title I might check it out soon. Rest assured, this Peach Coffee Cake is anything but revolting. The peaches lend just the right amount of sweetness and contribute to its soft crumb. The sugar-cinnamon–nut filling lends the perfect spice and crunch to the soft cake. It makes for a lovely breakfast (that is another thing I should probably stop doing – eating sweets for breakfast), afternoon snack or evening dessert.

And wouldn’t you know it, Roald Dahl’s grandaughter Sophie Dahl is a chef. And former supermodel. And accomplished writer. Some girls have it all.

“My dear young fellow,’ the Old-Green-Grasshopper said gently, ‘there are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven’t started wondering about yet.” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach

Peach Coffee Cake

Author: The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the Coffee Cake
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon mild vinegar
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1⅔ cups sugar
¾ cup oil
1, 6-ounce container plain yogurt*
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups peaches, chopped
For the Filling
⅔ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
⅓ cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
For an Optional Glaze Topping
1 cup confectioners sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Stir together the milk and the vinegar. Allow the mixture to set while you prepare the dry and the wet ingredients.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and oil.
Add the yogurt and vanilla to the sugar and oil in the large bowl. Stir until well combined.
Add the dry flour mixture, then the milk mixture, to the mixture in the large bowl. Do this in separate additions, adding first the flour, then the milk. Follow with flour, milk, and flour.
Stir well to combine, then fold in the peaches.
Allow the batter to sit for a moment while you prepare the filling.
Simply stir together the sugar, cinnamon and pecans to make the filling.
Pour ½ of the batter into a lightly greased and floured bundt pan.
Sprinkle the filling atop the batter. Try to keep the filling from touching the edge of the pan.
Pour the remaining batter on top of the filling.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean when the cake is fully baked.
Allow the cake to cool in its pan for 25-30 minutes, then invert the pan over a cooling rack to remove the cake.
Once the cake has fully cooled, pour a glaze over the cake or sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
To make the glaze, sift (to remove lumps) the confectioners’ sugar over a small to medium bowl.
Add the milk and whisk to combine. You may wish to add one tablespoon of milk at a time to achieve your desired consistency.

Notes

*A 6-ounce container is equal to ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons. The cake is best eaten within a day or two after baking.

It’s Hip to be Square: Ricotta Cheese and Dried Fruit Bar Cookies

Sep 4, 2011 By Love & Flour in Cookies 2 Comments Tags: bars, peach, ricotta cheese

When I was considering what to do with all of the peaches I had a couple of weeks ago, I came across a recipe for Creamy Fig and Peach Squares in Catherine Atkinson’s 500 Cookies, Biscuits and Bakes. Since the recipe called for dried, rather than fresh, peaches, I filed it away in my mind for future use.

The recipe also called for ricotta cheese, and since I had some leftover ricotta cheese after the peach pizza, I figured the time was right to bake these creamy squares. Instead of dried peaches and figs, I used a mixture of dried fruits (Sunmaid’s Fruit Bits) that included not only peaches but also purple raisins, golden raisins, apples, apricots plums and cherries. In place of the mint called for in the recipe, I used ginger and cinnamon.

I realize it is the Sunday before Labor Day, not Memorial Day, but my Grandmother Spicer has been on my mind. She passed away just over a year ago, and I still think of her often. I think she would have liked this recipe, mostly because of the dried apricots. Two foods are forever linked to her in my mind: lemon meringue pie and dried apricots rolled in sugar. There always seemed to be a bowl of the latter in her kitchen. You’d grab two or three slices, thinking that would be a nice little bite of something, and before you knew it, the entire bowl was empty. Those suckers were dangerous!

I baked these creamy squares last night before I went to bed, and of course I took a sample bite while they were just out of the oven and still warm. This morning, I ate one for breakfast as I sipped my coffee, and I found they tasted even better. It must be the ginger and the cinnamon, but they almost tasted a bit like pumpkin pie. The creamy, sweet filling is perfectly matched to the plain, flaky crust. These squares only take about 10 minutes to assemble and bake in 30 minutes, so they are a super-easy dessert or snack to bake. Try them!

Ricotta Cheese and Dried Fruit Squares

Author: adapted from 500 Cookies, Biscuits and Bakes by Catherine Atkinson

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1½ cups ricotta cheese
1½ cups dried fruit
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger

Instructions

Place the flour and butter in a medium bowl, and use your fingers to press the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
Add the egg and the water until a soft dough forms.
Press half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 8 inch x 8 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, dried fruit, ½ cup of the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger together.
Spoon the ricotta cheese and fruit mixture over the bottom layer of crust.
Press the remaining half of the dough onto the top of the filling.
Sprinkle the top layer of crust with the remaining sugar and use a fork to gently poke holes across the crust.
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until the top crust is slightly golden.

Notes

Double the recipe and then bake in a 13 inch x 9 inch jelly roll pan.

I Really Like Your Peaches Pizza with Homemade Ricotta Cheese and Cinnamon Crust

Aug 28, 2011 By Love & Flour in Entrees 7 Comments Tags: cinnamon, peach, pizza, ricotta cheese

I am glad I waited until the weekend because this one took a while: peach pizza with made-from-scratch ricotta cheese and cinnamon pizza crust.

First up was the crust. Using the Valentino’s Pizza Crust recipe from allrecipes.com, stir one packet (1/4 ounce) of rapid-rise yeast into once cup of warm water. Allow the yeast to dissolve for a few minutes while whisking together 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the water and dissolved yeast into the well. Add about two tablespoons of olive oil to the mixture and stir until combined. Form the dough into a ball, coat it with olive oil, and let it sit covered with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel while the other ingredients receive attention.

Next up was the ricotta cheese. The recipe for ricotta is pretty much the same everywhere, but I will credit the pizza feature in my most recent Country Living magazine for making it jump to mind. Bring 1/2 gallon of whole milk and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil. Reduce the boil to a simmer and add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (I used the juice from two lemons). Stir the milk mixture about one minute until curds form, then use a small colander or slotted spoon to transfer the curds to a large colander lined with cheese cloth. The large colander should sit above a large bowl that will catch the draining liquid. Allow the curds to drain and wah lah: fresh, creamy, delicious ricotta cheese.

Finally, it was time to roll out the crust and assemble the pizza. I uncovered the dough, gave it a gentle punch or two, and rolled in out into a greased and floured 11 x 17 jelly roll pan. Any type of flat pan, sheet or pizza stone you have on hand is by all means acceptable. Very finely chopped peaches will act as the sauce. It is a good idea to allow the chopped peaches to drain on a paper towel for a few moments to avoid an overly watery pizza. Top the sauce with sliced peaches, onions, sausage, ricotta cheese, cilantro, and cinnamon. Pop it in the oven at 375 degrees, and wait just a few moments for your lunch, dinner or a delicious snack to bake.

The pizza was superb. The crust baked up like a thick, soft pillow, and the toppings had just the right amount of sweet and savory for my tastes. In regards to the ricotta cheese, my initial uncertainty quickly gave way to the a) ease of the process and b) the delicious taste of fresh, rich, creamy ricotta cheese. I hope to never buy the devoid of taste ricotta that lives in plastic tubs in the dairy section again.

While the pizza bakes, you can use any leftover pizza crust to make cinnamon and sugar bread sticks (or knots, if those are a preferred shape). Brush the remaining dough with butter, roll it in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, cut in thin strips and twist to make bread stick appetizers.

Like the peach salsa, pizza is a make-it-your own type dish. You need a crust, sauce, peach, meat, cheese, and combination of herb or spice. For the meat, I considered bacon, but I had sausage on hand. I also really wanted to use basil, but since my basil plant looked like what you see below, I improvised with the cilantro I also had on hand.

After I baked my pizza for lunch, I went dinner at 300 East. I was very satisfied to see they too had a peach pizza on the menu, but with red onion, ham, blue cheese and basil. Pizza really is a make it your own dish, so please, try it and make it your own. You will be off to a great week!

Peach Pizza

Ingredients

1 pizza crust
2 medium peaches
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 small onion
2 large sausage links
¼ cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup cilantro
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Very finely chop one peach, and cut the other into thin slices. Allow the chopped peaches to drain on a paper towel for a few moments while you prepare the onion and sausage.
In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Add the onion and sausage and cook until lightly browned.
Roll out the pizza crust in a greased and floured jelly roll pan or on a pizza stone.
Top the crust with the chopped peaches, then add the sliced peaches, onions, sausage, ricotta cheese, cilantro, and cinnamon.
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes

Notes

To make homemade pizza crust, stir one packet (1/4 ounce) of rapid-rise yeast into once cup of warm water. Allow the yeast to dissolve for a few minutes while whisking together 2½ cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the water and dissolved yeast into the well. Add about two tablespoons of olive oil to the mixture and stir until combined. Form the dough into a ball, coat it with olive oil, and let it sit covered with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel for up to two hours. To make homemade ricotta cheese, bring ½ gallon of whole milk and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil. Reduce the boil to a simmer and add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (two lemons). Stir the milk mixture about one minute until curds form, then use a small colander or slotted spoon to transfer the curds to a large colander lined with cheese cloth. Allow the curds to drain from the colander into a large bowl. Refrigerate immediately.

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