Raspberry & Peach Short Cake

Ingredients

Pastry
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1T baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. zest of orange
4 oz. butter cut into pieces, chilled
1 cup heavy cream
1egg, beaten
sugar to sprinkle on top

Topping
2 cup raspberries berries, washed
2 cups peaches peeled and sliced
3T granulated sugar
½ cup Amaretto Liquor
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cups Confectioner’s sugar
1tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. Pastry: In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest mix, until combined.

3. With a pastry blender, a fork or your fingers work the butter into the dry ingredients until it is small pieces

4. Add the heavy cream and stir just until the mixture come together, don’t over mix.

5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface; roll dough out ½ inch thick. Cut with a 3-inch biscuit cutter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake at 400° F for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

7. Topping: In a small bowl, toss the berries and peaches with the sugar and Amaretto and allow to sit and hour.

8. In a mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.

9. Assemble: Spilt the short cake biscuits in half, place the bottom on plate or platter, top with boozy fruit, whipped cream and then the top with biscuit top.

10. Serve and enjoy!

TIPS & TRICKS

• Shortcake is best made the day you will eat it.

• I like to stir in the heavy cream with a spoon, but finish incorporating it with hands which seems to work better for me.

• Rolling out the dough to a ½ inch thick will yield 10 cakes, then gather the remaining dough bits and shape into 2 additional cakes. If you wish thicker short cakes, just roll out the dough not as thin.

• I topped the short cakes, with Swedish pearl sugar, which doesn’t melt in the oven. It adds a nice crunch and looks pretty. You can purchase it at: www.kingarthurflour.com You can also top the cakes with turbinado, demerara, or even plain granulated sugar. It will give you a little sweetness to the top of the cake but will melt away and not add the pretty white crystal.

• The fruit is best tossed with the liqueur and sugar 1-2 hours before serving, any longer and the fruit will macerate into small pieces, which tastes good but isn’t really attractive, any left over fruit/sauce is great on yogurt or ice cream.

• Substitute any summer fruit for this recipe. Berries and stone fruit are wonderful.

• You can also use frozen fruit. Defrost on a baking sheet, this way the fruit keeps its shape.

• You can substitute different liqueurs too. Cointreau, Cassis, or rum are delicious.

Peach Clafouti

Ingredients

1 tsp. butter room temperature

3-4 yellow or white peaches

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

2T Amaretto Liqueur

¼ cup heavy or whipping cream

½ cup milk

2T butter, melted

½ cup sliced almonds

Confectioner’s sugar

1. Heat oven to 350º F.

2. Using a paper towel, smear the butter all over the inside of a 4-6 cup baking dish.

3. Place enough water to cover the peaches in a saucepan. Then set on high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat.

4. Place the peaches in the water for 2-3 minutes; remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice. Toss the peaches around until slightly cooled.

5. Using a paring knife, peel the peaches. Remove the pit and cut into medium dice pieces so that you have about 4 cups of fruit. Place in the buttered dish.

6. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until lightly frothy and the sugar is dissolved.

7. Add the flour, vanilla, and Amaretto. Whisk until smooth.

8. Whisk in the milk, heavy cream, and melted butter.

9. Pour the batter on top of the fruit.

10. Sprinkle the almonds on top.

11. Bake until puffed and brown and skewer comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

12. Dust with confectioner’s sugar. Serve warm.

TIPS & TRICKS

• Depending on the size of your peaches, you might only need 3; but I always buy an extra one in case one is mealy or there is a surprise inside. Yellow peaches have the classic peach, slightly acidy tart taste, while the white ones are very floral and sweet. Both are delicious!

• As the seasons change you can use pears, berries, nectarines, plums, or cherries which are the classic fruit used in the clafouti.  I invite you to try them all.

• Use can also change up the liqueur to match the fruits. A little brandy pairs perfectly with the pears or plums, while Cointreau or Grand Marnier works lovely with the nectarines and berries.

• If you don’t have heavy cream, you can use ¾ cup of milk. I use whole milk.

Bellini Cocktail

Ingredients

½ cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
1 16 oz. bag frozen peaches, defrosted
1 bottle prosecco or sparking wine , chilled

1.    In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the water and sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Chill until ready to use.

2.    In your food processor or blender, blend the peaches and ¼ cup sugar syrup. Blend until smooth.

3.    Pass the pureed peaches though a strainer. If not sweet enough add more of the sugar syrup. Chill the puree until ready to serve

4.    Pour 1 or 2 tablespoons of peach puree into a champagne flute. Tilt the glass and slowly add sparking wine. 

5.    Stir and serve immediately.

TIPS & TRICKS

•    I make the simple sugar syrup and peach puree ahead of time and store them in glass jars for easy serving.
•    Traditionally, this cocktail is made with Prosecco, which I feel can tend to be on the sweeter side. I used a very good quality sparkling wine that was a little more brut, or dry. I thought that the brut flavor profile paired very nicely with the meal. 
•    This cocktail can also be made in a pitcher for easy serving