Peach Cobbler Cupcakes

I seriously cannot believe it is already August; where has the time gone? It's amazing how at one point, summer felt so far away and in an instant, it's gone in a blink of an eye. I'm still looking forward to my vacation at the end of the month though - it seems like it has taken forever to come. 

I'll be going to Cancun, which I wasn't all too excited about at first because it's a little cliche and overrun with tourists, but I decided I was gonna make the best of it. I started researching all the awesome places to go, like here and here and here, and now I find myself incredibly excited. Underground caves? Yes, I'd like that, I'd like that very much. A fine example of why you shouldn't judge things too quickly.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure I made these last summer, goes to show how much of a procrastinator I am. But since it's summer now, these cupcakes are perfectly fitting for the season. We actually have gorgeous peach trees at home, both yellow and white, so I love baking with them. These cupcakes will inhabit your dreams, they do mine, while I reminisce about eating them last summer...

Full of fresh peach chunks and a tender cake, then topped with a crispy-crunchy top. On top of that, a fluffy frosting made of pudding mix! I wanted to try something new and I'm glad I did. It's perfectly rides the line between being too sweet and not sweet enough and it's velvety on the tongue. Definitely a home-y, comforting little cake.

Peach Cobbler Cupcakes

Yields: 16 cupcakes

Cupcakes adapted from here. Frosting adapted from here.

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cup peaches, skins removed, roughly chopped (about 2 medium)

For the crumble:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

For the peach-pudding buttercream:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 stick salted butter, room temperature

1 pkg. white chocolate instant pudding mix

1/2 - 3/4 cup heavy cream (depending on how thick you want your frosting)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of cardamom

1/2 cup powdered sugar (or more depending on your taste)

To make the crumble, mix everything in a bowl with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugars in a stand mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the peaches. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full. Sprinkle each cupcake with about 1 tbsn. of the crumble mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

To make the frosting, in a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and silky. Turn the speed to low and add the pudding mix, when incorporated, slowly add in the cream, a little at a time. When fully incorporated, bring the speed up to high and beat for 5 - 7 minutes this ensures you beat the grit of the pudding mix out). Turn the speed back down to low and add the powdered sugar, tasting along the way. When it is sweet enough to your taste, beat again at high speed for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and spices then bring the speed back to low and beat for 3 minutes longer.

Frangipane Fruit Tart

This, my friends, is one of my favorite things I've ever made. Ever.

It's the epitome of desserts I love because it is both rich tasting and refreshing at the same time! Plus, it has custard and of course, anything that has custard in it is a win in my book. Let me just emphasize again that this fruit tart is amazing; not only does it taste amazing, it's literally breathtaking to look at. It starts with a chewy and sweet sugar cookie crust, which is then filled with the most fragrant and delicious frangipane filling. On top of that is a layer of creamy vanilla custard that helps keep the whole tart moist and enables the fruit to stick to the tart. If you can imagine anything more this tart needs, it is then topped with a medley of fresh fruit and beautified with an apricot glaze that makes it even more stunning to look at!

I know this sounds really tedious, having five components and all, but the way I make this tart (using shortcuts) makes it do-able and when you take a bite of this gorgeous thing you just made, you'll start thinking of when you're gonna make it again and again! I've made it almost 10 times already... not joking!

French Fruit Tart

Yields: 2 9" tarts

Original frangipane recipe here.

http://gourmeted.com/2010/07/28/blueberry-frangipane-tart/

For the crust:

1 package dry mix sugar cookie dough

+ the ingredients needed to make it, according to the package

For the custard layer:

1 small package of French vanilla pudding

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla 

 For the frangipane layer:

8 tbsn. unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 cup almond meal or ground almonds

4 tsp. cornstarch

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. almond extract

For the glaze:

1/4 cup apricot jam or orange marmalade

2 tbsn. water

For the filling (any assortment of the below will work):

raspberries

golden raspberries

blueberries

strawberries

blackberries

kiwi

peaches

mango

mandarin oranges

First, prepare the frangipane filing. Combine the butter and sugar in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the ground almonds and pulse to blend. Add the cornstarch and pulse. Mix in the egg, egg yolk and almond extract. Scrape into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before using. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the sugar cookie mix according to the directions on the package. Divide the dough among two 9" tart pans with removable bottoms. Spread evenly along the entire surface and up the sides (don't worry if it looks thin - it will puff up during baking). Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until just barely golden. Set aside to cool a bit. Once room temperature, divide the frangipane filling among the two par-baked tart shells and bake for 10 - 15 minutes until slightly puffed and golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

To prepare the custard, combine all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk for 3 - 5 minutes until thickened and smooth. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes to chill and thicken up some more. Once thickened, use a offset spatula to divide the custard among the two tarts, spreading the custard over the entire surface in a smooth layer. Top with your assortment of fruit in any manner that you like. To make the glaze, heat all of the ingredients over medium heat in a small saucepan. Stir to combine. Once thinned, remove from the heat and use a pastry brush to glaze the entire surface of the tart. Chill the tart for at least 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!

Spiced Peach Pancakes

Guess what friends?! This week at Une-deux senses is PANCAKE WEEK!

There's no shortage in my love for pancakes here. You've seen me make oodles of pancakes, from chai-spiced, to creme fraiche & pear, to matcha, to mango & coconut, to ricotta hotcakes, and even cornmeal hoecakes! Whew, that was exhausting going through all the kinds of pancakes I've made... so it's pretty clear then that I love them so dearly right?!

If you can believe it, I have tons more of pancake recipes just waiting to be published in my arsenal of good eats here at Une-deux senses. So I decided to just bang them out in a lovely week I've entitled: PANCAKE WEEK. I just realized I repeated myself but oh well, the excitement here is beyond!

What better way to celebrate a summer breakfast with fresh, juicy peaches? Surrounded in a slightly spiced and fluffy batter and topped with even more juicy, sweet peaches? Dang, I'm in heaven. I caramelized some peaches in butter and brown sugar to top my pancakes with, but that's completely optional. What a great start to my PANCAKE WEEK!

Spiced Peach Pancakes

Yields: about 12 large pancakes

Adapted from my favorite pancake recipe, here.

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1 cup cake flour or ap flour

3 tbsn. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

pinch of salt

2 eggs

2 cups lowfat buttermilk

2 tbsn. butter, melted

2 - 3 large, ripe peaches, sliced thin

crème anglaise, for serving (recipe here)

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Throw some water on the griddle, if it sizzles, it's ready. Turn down the heat to medium-low and grease the griddle with cooking spray. Ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle and lay about 3 - 4 slices of the peaches on top. Cook until bubbles start to arise to the top of the pancakes and the edges lose their sheen. Flip, then cook until golden brown. 

Peach Cobbler Bars, Mango Mojitos & A Farewell to Summer

I love summer, but I love fall & winter more! There's something about cold weather, scarves, boots and mittens that make me so incredibly happy. I seriously cannot wait for all things hot chocolate, pumpkin and spiced! Fortunately though, even though summer is incredibly hot and sticky, it provides us with the most luscious fruits of the year: the juicy peach and the perfect mango, two of my favorites! Fruit desserts have always been one of my favorites because their freshness cuts into the sweetness, since I like my desserts not overly sweet.

These bars taught me something important: not all bars have to be super sweet or crispy/ chewy. I'd always had a certain vision of what bars are supposed to be and these are the total opposite! They're cake-y, subtly sweet, delicate and quite possibly the best farewell to summer I could have asked for.

Peach Cobbler Bars

Yields: about 20 bars

Original recipe here.

For the bars:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

4 eggs

3 cups flour

3/4 pinch tsp. salt

For the filling:

6 - 8 peaches, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsn. cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a large cookie sheet, set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time making sure well incorporated after each addition. Add in vanilla and almond extracts. Slowly add flour and salt and mix until incorporated. Spread 3/4 of the mixture into the prepared pan. Mix peaches, brown sugar and cinnamon together then evenly distribute over the batter. Drop the rest of the batter by tablespoons over the peaches and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until edges start to turn brown. Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and cream and drizzle half of the mixture over the warm bars. Allow to cool, cut into 3 inch squares and drizzle over the remaining glaze.

Mojitos are one of my favorite mixed drinks on this earth. Most often, I'd prefer a beer or a glass of wine rather than a mixed drink but Mojitos are just always, always sublime. The mix of lime and mint is perfection and so refreshing on a hot summer day!

Add mango, and you've got perfection x 100! Mango is my favorite fruit ever and when you use a perfectly ripe, summer mango in this recipe, it's flavor is just heightened to infinity. Please enjoy this on your last summer day!

Mango Mojitos

Yields: 4 servings

Original recipe here.

several mint leaves

6 oz. rum (I used mango rum)

2 cups club soda

4 oz. simple syrup

4 oz. fresh mango puree

Muddle the mint with a muddler or the bottom of a wooden spoon. Mix all the ingredients together, then serve over ice. Enjoy!

Latticed Peach Pie

I was studying at the dining room table in our family living room, when my dad emerges from our backyard clutching onto a basket with a smile on his face. He called me to the door and when I looked inside, I smiled too! He had a big basket of small, pretty, little fuzzy peaches. Our garden has been sprouting all kinds of goodness lately, from Chinese apples to plums to mint and basil! It's such a joy for our family to enjoy things that we have grown from our garden.

Well to grow something is one thing. But to grow something that is delicious, is a whole other thing. These peaches, homely and small they might be, were perfect. Just a bit soft to the touch but still firm, bright and yellow on the inside and sweet like nobody's business. My dad, who loves pie, begged me to make a pie with them. So I did, and here it is!

I used my favorite pie crust, one that is unctuous and incredibly flaky. I sort of created my own recipe, drawing inspiration from many sources. I wanted to make sure I didn't spice it too much, so that the peach flavor would shine and I also wanted to make sure it wasn't overly gooey or runny, which is why I decided to pre-cook the peaches slightly in a pan before baking them in the pie. This pie, simply put, was perfect, just like the peaches. I really felt I did them right, which they deserve, quite frankly!

Not the perfect lattice top, but I like how rustic it is.

Latticed Peach Pie

Yields: 1 9-inch pie, about 8 servings

Pastry for a double-crust pie, my favorite

2 1/2 lbs. peaches, about 5 large peaches

2/3 cup brown sugar

4 tbsn. flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 tbsn. butter

To prepare the crust, sprinkle a clean surface with some flour. Roll out one disk, large enough to fit a 9-inch pie tin. Fit to the tin and leave one inch hanging over the side, removing the excess. Refrigerate until ready to use, and save other disk for the top.

To prepare the filling, combine the peaches, sugar, flour, salt, and spices in a large pan. Heat over medium heat until the peaches release their juices. Remove the peaches from the pan, using a slotted spoon, leaving the juice mixture. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes to allow the liquid to thicken, then add the peach pieces back and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie tin. With the remaining disk of dough, roll out large enough to fit the pie tin. Cut into 9 even strips and lattice across the top of the pie, 5 going widthwise and 4 going lengthwise. Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 F and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until the crust is lightly browned and the filling is bubbly.

Add some lightly sweetened cream, and you're all set!

All hail the perfect peach pie!

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

I think peaches have to be the ultimate summer fruit. Every time I think of a sweet, juicy, fuzzy peach it makes me think of sunshine, rainbows and happy, carefree days. These cupcakes live up to the same standards as the peaches they were made from, and are jam-packed with all kinds of tastiness.

Once I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, I bookmarked it immediately. First of all, peach cupcakes? Sold. It had me at hello. Plus, cream cheese frosting with brown sugar in it?! I had never heard of such a thing, but since brown sugar is one of my first loves, I knew it had to be one of the best things on the planet, and guess what? It was.

These cupcakes are beyond amazing. The cake is nice and moist and has great flavor while the frosting is seriously out of this world, especially if you have a hankering for brown sugar. The only strife I have is probably that the peach flavor isn't prominent enough. Actually, my friends said if they didn't already know it was peach they wouldn't have guessed it but that they were so delicious anyway, they could care less. I think that's a win if I ever did see one.

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

Yields: 12 - 14 cupcakes

Original recipe here.

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of nutmeg

6 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar

1/4 + 1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cups buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt

2 medium peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped small-sh

For the frosting:

3/4 cups light brown sugar

1/8 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, scraping down the sides and bottom after added. Then add the vanilla, and gently mix in the buttermilk/ sour cream/ yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tin, about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop onto the cooled cupcakes.

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

This summer has pretty much fostered my obsession with everything peaches. I've been glued to everything having to do with the furry, sweet, gorgeous things. When I choose recipes I love to read how the baker feels about the product. Most of the time most people don't even write about how the thing actually tastes which makes me so mad!!! Something pretty and something tasty can be two absolutely different things. That's why I love The Pioneer Woman!

She includes step to step photos which help me make sure I am doing everything right and that everything looks right as well. But besides that her recipes always look effing glorious and she includes descriptions of the flavors that make me drool all over my computer. Trust me people, start drooling because this peach crisp is all that and more! Gooey, sweet peaches with crispy, buttery crumble. I DIE for this crumble... oh gosh so good!!!! And the maple cream sauce?!?!? I've died and gone to heaven. One problem I had with this recipe was that it was a bit too sweet for me though. So next time I make it (trust me, there will be a next time), I'd cut back on the sugar a lot (I've included the original recipe and adjustments).

Before being baked:

After being baked:

The maple cream sauce:

Pioneer Woman's Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

Yields: approximately 8 - 10 servings

Original recipe from The Pioneer Woman, which can be found here.

For the peach crisp:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar (I would eliminate this)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2.5 - 3 cups of peaches

zest of 1/4 a lemon

juice of 1/4 a lemon

1 tbsn. maple syrup (I would eliminate this as well unless you peaches were super sour)

For the maple cream sauce:

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2.5 tbsn. maple syrup (reduce to 1 tbsn.)

1.5 tbsn. light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 F. Add flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl and mix well. Cut butter into bits and add it to the bowl and cut into flour mixture. Peel and slice the peaches, not overly ripe or soft. Add the zest, lemon juice and maple syrup to the peaches and mix well. Pour into a small baking pan and then top with the crumb topping. Cover tightly with foil and pop into oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 - 30 minutes until top is crispy and brown. To make the sauce, stir all of the ingredients together over moderate heat, stirring constantly until thick and reduced by about 1/3, about 15 minutes. Chill until cooled and thickened. Serve over your peach crisp and enjoy!