German Sunken Apple Cake

For this apple cake you need to cut the apples like a fan not only for looks — this little trick makes the cake especially moist. I like to use tart apples. You will need between 5 and 7 apples, depending on their size.

Ingredients

• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 10 tablespoons white sugar

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3 medium apples, or as needed

• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting, or as needed

Directions

• Step 1

  Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar and mix until well combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.

• Step 2

  Mix 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoon flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to batter and mix until batter is smooth.

• Step 3

  Peel and quarter apples. Remove core and cut apples like a fan from the outside towards the inside but do not cut all the way through.

• Step 4

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a springform pan with butter.

• Step 5

  Spoon batter into the prepared springform pan and spread out evenly. Set cut apple quarters in a circle into the batter with the round, cut side facing up. Gently push apples into the batter.

• Step 6

  Bake in the preheated oven until cake is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

• Step 7

  Remove from oven, allow to cool, and dust cooled cake with confectioners' sugar.

Autumn Cheesecake

With fresh apple arriving at our markets, this is the perfect recipe to get you in the autumn spirit.

Ingredients

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

• 3 tablespoons white sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 cups apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced

• 1/3 cup white sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and melted butter; press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix at medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in vanilla; pour filling into the baked crust.

3. In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Toss the cinnamon-sugar with the apples to coat. Arrange apple mixture over cream cheese layer and sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped pecans.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes. With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Chill cake before serving.

Strawberry Jam

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

If you grow everbearing strawberry varieties, there’s still a harvest of strawberry goodness to be had this summer. Give this simple jam recipe a try.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled

• 4 cups white sugar

• ¼ cup lemon juice

Directions

• In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry.

• In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.

• Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C).

• Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath.

• If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

Pineapple Cheesecake Dessert

This pineapple dessert is the perfect cool treat for hot summer days.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs

• 1/2 C unsalted butter melted

Cream Cheese mixture:

• 8 oz Cream cheese softened

• 1/2 C unsalted butter softened

• 2 C powdered sugar

• 20 oz can of crushed pineapple drained (You will using about 3/4 of the crushed pineapple and the other 1/4 in the cool whip)

Cool whip mixture

• 1 8 oz cool whip

• 1/4 C crushed pineapple

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the 2 1/2 C crushed graham cracker crumbs and melted butter and mix until combined

• Using only 2 C of the mixture, press into a 9x9 baking dish

• Place into the oven and bake for 9 minutes

• Remove and allow to cool completely

• Then, place a can of crushed pineapple into a strainer and drain the juice completely

• Using a standing mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy

• Mix in the powdered sugar until incorporated

• Fold in 3/4 of the crushed pineapple into the cream cheese mixture

• Spread cream cheese mixture onto the cooled crust

• Using a large mixing bowl, mix together the last of the pineapple and cool whip together

• Spread onto the top of the cream cheese mixture

• Using the remaining graham cracker crust, sprinkle onto the top of the cool whip layer

• Cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge overnight

Fresh Lemon Bundt Cake

With fresh lemon, this cake is the perfect, refreshing dessert for a spring cookout.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 2 cups white sugar

• 5 large eggs

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 large lemon, zested

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a bundt pan.

• Step 2

  Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add eggs one at a time, alternating with flour, allowing each egg and portion of flour to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Stir lemon juice and zest into flour mixture until batter is just combined; pour into prepared pan.

• Step 3

  Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.

Pull Apart Easter Blossom Bread

A rich eggy dough is twisted into pretty flowers, then filled with jam in this decadent Easter bread. Be sure to look at the pictures for how it is formed. Lemon curd is an option to replace the jam.

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed (divided)

• 1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast

• ½ cup white sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup unsalted butter

• 1 ¾ cups milk

• 3 eggs, beaten

• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 tablespoon water

• ½ cup seedless raspberry jam

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

• Step 1

  In a large bowl, whisk together 4 cups of flour, the yeast, white sugar, and salt. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the unsalted butter with the milk until the mixture is warm, about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Gradually whisk about 1/3 of the butter-milk mixture into the beaten eggs, then return the egg mixture back into the remaining milk mixture. Stir the lemon zest into the liquid ingredients (set aside lemon juice for later). Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture, and stir until thoroughly combined.

• Step 2

  Add enough flour to make a soft dough; turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Place dough into an oiled bowl, and turn the dough around to cover surface lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

• Step 3

  Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a round ball. On a floured surface, roll out a ball into a 12-inch circle. Place a drinking glass, face down, into the center of the circle to prevent cutting the dough too far into the center. Cut the dough with a knife, from the edge of the dough circle to the rim of the glass, into quarters. Cut each quarter into 5 narrow wedge-shaped strips. (Center of the dough is uncut.) Remove the drinking glass. There are 20 narrow wedge-shaped strips surrounding the uncut center of the dough.

• Step 4

  Pick up two adjacent strips, and twist them together about 4 times; pinch the ends of the two pieces together at the top. Gently coil to form a rough flower shape. Arrange the round into the middle of the circle, where the drinking glass was.

• Step 5

  Pick up two more adjacent strips, and twist and pinch them as before; coil them into a rough round, and arrange the new petal next to the center rosette. Repeat with remaining 16 strips, twisting and pinching them in twos, coiling and arranging them into 8 more petals around the center rosette. Finished bread has 9 petals surrounding the center round. Repeat steps with the second ball of dough to make two breads.

• Step 6

  Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper. Place the shaped breads onto the prepared baking sheet, reshaping them into rounds if needed; cover with a clean kitchen towel, and place into a warm spot to rise until almost doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.

• Step 7

  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat the egg yolk with water in a small bowl, and brush the mixture over both the breads.

• Step 8

  Bake in the preheated oven until the breads have turned golden brown, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool.

• Step 9

  Use your fingers to gently deepen the indentations in the center of each petal, and fill each with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam. Mix the reserved lemon juice and confectioners' sugar in a bowl to form a glaze; drizzle the glaze in thin lines all over both the breads. Allow glaze to set. To serve, pull the petals apart.