blueberry peach cobbler

I love me some fruit cobbler!

Yield: 1 cobbler
340 calories per serving, if divided into 12 servings
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 75 minutes

ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar, separated
1/2 cup brown sugar, separated
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons corn starch
7 peaches, sliced into wedges
1 cup blueberries
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup warm water
*the ingredients listed are for 1 cobbler. There are two in the photos because I needed to bake two for a party.

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine the peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Stir well to coat.

3. Pour into a large parchment lined baking dish.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir well to mix.

6. Using your fingers, blend in the butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.

7. Stir in water until combined.

8. Remove baking dish from the oven and evenly drop spoonfuls of topping over the fruit. Use a plastic spatula to evenly cover the fruit with the topping. (You can see that I wasn't as diligent with spreading the topping on the cobbler on left hand side, which meant a not as streamlined look when baked.)

9. Return to the oven and bake at 350 degrees until topping is golden, about 60 minutes.

Original recipe found here.

roasted tomato and caper focaccia

My typical lunch: A Kind bar, yogurt, and fruit.
My typical dinner: A salad.
Time for a change.
Enter focaccia.

Yield: 1 large flatbread
190 calories per slice, if cut into 12
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 225 minutes

ingredients
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic salt (My friend gave me a roasted gray, so I used that.)
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil (or any Italian herb)
4 cups high gluten flour
10 Campari tomatoes
1/4 cup capers

preparation
1. Wash and slice the tomatoes in half, simmering in a pan lightly coated with olive oil under medium heat on your stove top until slightly blackened, about 10 minutes. (Turn the tomatoes occasionally to avoid charring.)

 

2. Place the tomatoes to a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the capers. Stir well and set aside.

3. In a 2 cup Pyrex cup, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.

4. In your stand mixer bowl, combine the flour, basil, olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.

5. With the dough hook attached, "stir" the ingredients and slowly add the yeast mixture, continuing to "stir" until a shaggy dough forms.

6. Increase the speed to 2 and knead until a smooth and cohesive dough forms, about 5 minutes.

7. Turn the dough out onto your counter top, knead by hands a few turns, and shape into a ball.

8. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

9. Turn the dough out onto your counter top, punch down, shape into a ball, and let rest for 5 minutes.

10. Grease or arrange your parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet.

11. Pick up the dough and hold it by one end, moving your hands along the edge in a circle to stretch it out. You'll need to move quickly to prevent the dough from getting too thin in the middle.

12. After you've stretched the dough a bit, place it onto the backing sheet and gently stretch the dough, from the middle outwards, to the ends of the baking sheet. Be gentle because the last thing you want to do is rip the dough.

13.  Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour.

14. With you fingertips, make a pattern of dimples throughout the dough.

15. Evenly sprinkle the tomato mixture on the dough.

16. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Original recipe found here.

chocolate cupcakes with mango buttercream frosting

In my continuing quest to creatively use sourdough starter, I discovered this recipe which leaves you with a deliciously fudgy cake.

Yield: 12 cupcakes
340 calories per cupcake
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 5 1/2 hours

ingredients
for the cake
1/2 cup fed sourdough starter
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5/8 cup cocoa powder (this is equivalent to 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons)
1 egg

for the frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup diced mango

preparation
1. Prepare your sourdough starter, by stirring it down, feeding it, and setting it aside for 2 hours.

2. Combine all the cake ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to mix.

3. Cover the bowl and set aside for 3 hours.

4. Uncover the bowl, stir, and scoop into lined muffin tins. The batter is very thick, so you may want to use the two spoon method, by scooping the batter out with one spoon and using the second to drop into the lined muffin tin.

5. Bake at 350 degrees until cake springs back when lightly pressed in the middle, about 20 minutes. (See step 11 of  "roasted strawberry coffee cake" for more resources on testing for cake doneness. Set aside to cool.

6. While the cupcakes are cooling, roast the mango. See "roasted strawberry coffee cake" for more on roasting fruit. Set aside to cool. Alternatively, you could roast the fruit while the cake batter is fermenting. 

7. Using your hand mixer, cream the butter. See step 9 of "oreo cupcakes" for more on creaming butter.

8. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and continue to mix until well blended, about 3 minutes.

9. Add the almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time and mix, on high speed, until a consistency of you liking forms. You may need to add more powdered sugar if you want more fluff.

10. Fold in the roasted mango and chill for 10 minutes in your fridge.

11. Scoop the frosting into a pastry or Ziplock bag.

12. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Original recipes found here and here.