FRUIT COBBLER

2 - 3 cups of prepared fruit

-I have used blackberries, I also added about 3/4 cup of sugar to my berries and let them sit in the sugar mix for a while.

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 sugar

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter in a 9 x 9 inch baking dish.

Blend together flour, sugar, and milk.

Pour batter in baking dish over the butter. Sprinkle fruit on top of the batter, do not stir. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.

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A few notes about this recipe. This is very versatile. You can use it on any fruit! You can even use canned or frozen fruits too. When I was little mom made these a lot during the summer months. We lived in the country where berries grew wild so this was a quick and easy dessert. 

Red Velvet Cake:

CAKE:

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter - at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

ICING:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

8 cups sifted confectioners' sugar - this equals out to be about 2 lbs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon of Vanilla

Cake Instructions:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees place rack in center of oven. flour two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans.

***as you can see here I have made cupcakes, this makes about 24 average sized cupcakes.***

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. 

-we use Wilton's red red color. 

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. 

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. 

***or spoon evenly into lined cupcake tins, filling about 2/3 full.***

Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. 

Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Icing Instructions:

In medium mixer bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar one cup at a time and milk. Mix well. Beat on high until smooth (30 seconds to 1 minute - do not over mix!).

**Don't use light cream cheese or butter substitute, if margarine is used, icing will be softer. 

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

For the strawberry puree:

1 – 20 ounce bag of frozen unsweetened strawberries or 20 ounces of fresh strawberries

1/4 – 1/3 cup granulated white sugar, or to taste

For the crust:

2 cups Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

For the filling:

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

To make the strawberry puree:

Place the unsweetened frozen strawberries in a large bowl and thaw. This may take a few hours. Once thawed, put the strawberries and their juice in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process the berries until they are pureed. Pour the puree into a 2 cup measuring cup. You should have about 1 1/4 cups of puree. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar to start and stir until sugar dissolves. 

*Another option is using those already surgared strawberries from the freezer section. This is what I use, and remember when using this you need way less sugar added, if any, just taste your puree before adding any to the cheesecake batter. 

To make the crust:

In medium bowl toss together graham crumbs, margarine or butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Chill in freezer while preparing filling.

To make the filling:

Position rack in center of oven. Using mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla.

Transfer 1/3 of filling to prepared crust. Dollop 4-5 small spoonfuls of strawberry puree atop filling and swirl it through with a knife to distribute the puree into the filling. Repeat layering of filling and and puree 2 more times. Using knife again, swirl puree through filling, creating marbled design on the top layer. Try to make this swirling a more decorative effect. 

Bake until cheesecake puffs around edges, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off oven. 

Let cake stand in oven 1 hour, leaving oven door cracked just a bit.

Transfer cake to rack. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Cool completely. 

Cover cake and chill overnight. Remove pan sides. 

You can serve cake with the remaining strawberry puree on the side.

 Enjoy!