Apple Maple Boursin Muffins w/ Sweet Potato

Boursin’s story began in 1957, in a small Normandy village, located in France, when cheese maker François Boursin set up a factory producing soft cheese. At that time, he had no idea his name would become internationally famous.

Boursin Garlic & Herbs was launched in 1963 and quickly became a household name across France. Sixty years later, the original recipe remains unchanged and food lovers in more than 35 countries have spread their passion for Boursin all around the world. Perfect on bread, as appetizers or in a creamy sauce for main or side dishes. Since 2011, Boursin has been made in Canada in St. Hyacinthe, Québec, by Agropur, the Canadian dairy co-operative, for Bel Cheese Canada, the Canadian arm of Bel Group, the France-based multinational. 

There are seven flavors of Boursin Cheese sold in Canada: Garlic & Fine Herbs, Shallot & Chive, Bouquet of Basil & Chive, Cranberry & Pepper, Cracked Black Pepper, Fig & Balsamic, Apple & Maple.

Boursin is sometimes dubbed a Gournay cheese, Gournay being the name of the region in Normandy where Boursin was first made. The cheesemaker used the name when he was first asked to classify the cheese for customs purposes.

Today, I am doing a bit of recipe development with Apple Maple Boursin. The apple flavor and the silkiness of maple syrup perfectly complement Boursin’s incomparable texture along with some sweet potato, dates and dried cranberries. The whole combination creates an exceptional sweet and savory cheese muffin. Brion & I really enjoyed my new muffin creation.

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Apple Maple Boursin Muffins w/ Sweet Potato
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Instructions
Topping
  1. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Spread out on a large plate & place in freezer until; ready to use.
Muffin Batter
  1. Cook, peel & mash sweet potato. Chop dates. Slice, core & grate apple. Grate orange (zest). Chop pecans. Crumble Boursin.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with baking cups.
  3. In a large bowl, combine first 12 ingredients using a fork. Make a well in center.
  4. Beat egg until frothy. Whisk in sugar, oil, sweet potato & sour cream. Crumble in 75 gm of the Boursin cheese.
  5. Pour into well & stir only to moisten. Divide between the 12 muffin cups. Remove topping from freezer & place some on top of each muffin.
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes then remove from pan. BEST SERVED WARM!

Fresh Fruit Slab Pie

CELEBRATING LABOR DAY!

Although, we have not officially reached the first day of fall (Sept. 22), this part of the year often begins with a tinge of melancholy. Even so, there are many ways to appreciate Canada’s most sentimental season.

Part of our country’s appeal is its four season’s: Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall. We are entering the season of the fall harvest and the leaves on the trees begin their transformation to stunning shades of orange, red and yellow.

Labor day week-end gives us an opportunity to enjoy family and friends before summer is officially over. Whatever your choice of relaxation is, you know good food will play a big part in the week-end gatherings.

I’m sure you are all familiar with ‘slab’ pies. If not …. a slab pie is a shallow pie baked in a rimmed baking sheet instead of a pie pan. These are a genius way to serve a crowd with less fuss and less mess. Almost any fruit pie recipe will work in this format. Just double you pie recipe, bake it in a jelly-roll pan (15 x 10 x 1) which are a little smaller than the typical baking sheet and have 1-inch sides. Most will serve 15-20 people.

For the sake of choice, I went with four different fruits in one slab pie. That should cover it I think!

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Fresh Fruit Slab Pie
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Servings
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
Fruit Filling
Streusel Topping
Servings
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
Fruit Filling
Streusel Topping
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Crust
  1. Line a 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter & sugar until light & fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla & lemon zest; beat another minute, or until blended. Add flour & salt, mix until fully incorporated, taking care not to over-mix the dough.
  2. Turn dough out onto paper-lined baking pan & evenly press into the bottom & about 1/2-inch up the sides of the pan. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour or overnight.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 F. With a fork, prick crust all over & bake for 20 minutes until JUST PALE golden in color. Remove from oven & cool slightly on a wire rack.
Filling
  1. In a small saucepan, combine rhubarb with 1/4 cup water. Simmer 5-7 minutes ONLY until slightly softened. Strain rhubarb juice into a one-cup measure. Set aside. Place rhubarb in a dish until ready to assemble pie for baking.
Streusel
  1. In a bowl, combine oats, brown sugar & flour. Add butter & mix until coarse crumbs form; stir in pecans.
Sauce
  1. To reserved rhubarb juice in one-cup measure, add cherry juice & 3 Tbsp lemon juice. Add enough water to make one full cup. Return juice/water to small saucepan; add sugars & cornstarch. Cook until mixture boils & thickens.
Assembly
  1. Place rhubarb, saskatoon berries, peaches & cherries in partially baked crust. Form each fruit in a diamond shape to give it a bit of pizzazz!
  2. Drizzle hot sauce evenly over entire slab pie. Sprinkle streusel topping over all & bake in a 350 F oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven & allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.

Pecan Persimmon Sticky Buns

As I mentioned in a previous blog, persimmons are definitely underrated. If you haven’t used them before, now is a good time to give them a try. Where we are, here in Canada, you start seeing them in the grocery stores around October. A bit pricey at first but they get better as the winter rolls along. There are unlimited ways to use them posted on the internet.

The persimmon is Japan’s national fruit. The most commonly found varieties are the ‘Hachiya’, round with a slightly elongated, pointed base and the ‘Fuyu’, smaller and more tomato shaped. When ripe, both have a red-orange skin and flesh, creamy texture and a tangy-sweet, vanilla like flavor.

Today, I’m using a Fuyu persimmon to make some nice little sticky buns. This recipe makes a small amount and tastes amazing.


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Pecan Persimmon Sticky Buns

Votes: 1
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Course dessert
Cuisine American, Asia, European

Servings

Course dessert
Cuisine American, Asia, European

Servings

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Butter 5 or 6 custard cups. In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter; add brown sugar. Stir until sugar is melted & begins to bubble. Divide sugar mixture between custard cups. Place a pecan half (upside down) in center of each cup. Place sliced persimmon quarters in a circular fashion on top of sugar & pecan. Set aside.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl, beat remaining 4 Tbsp butter & granulated sugar until fluffy. Whisk in vanilla, egg & milk until fully blended.

  3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt. Add to wet ingredients, mixing ONLY until blended. Carefully fold in chopped pecans.

  4. Divide batter between custard cups & bake for 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in custard cups. Invert on serving platter & serve.

Pumpkin Chai Cheesecake Trifle

In the winter of 2011, Brion and I spent a month travelling Turkey. While in Istanbul, we happened to be staying in a hotel next to a Starbucks  coffee shop. By chance I tasted a ‘Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte’. That unique flavor left a lasting memory with me. Back at home, I wanted to recreate that flavor. The recipe today is what developed from that memory.

The word trifle comes from the old French term, ‘trufle’ and literally means something whimsical or of little consequence.  In actual food terms, it’s anything but. A proper English trifle is made with real egg custard poured over sponge cake, soaked in fruit and sherry then topped with whipped cream.

Though a simple dessert to make, trifle looks gorgeous with its multiple layers, colors and textures. It is not only served as a dessert but used as a centerpiece on occasion.

Many puddings evolved as a way of using leftovers, thus trifle originating from stale cake. Some of the many cake choices are sponge, Genoise, ladyfingers, pound cake and macaroons. Alcohol used, often ranges greatly from sherry, white wine, rum, liqueurs and scotch as well as just using a fruit juice. In order for the flavors to marry properly, trifle needs about 8 hours of refrigeration time. In North America, trifle is synonymous with the festive Christmas season.

My blog picture is a PUMPKIN CHIA CHEESECAKE TRIFLE  that I made for a Christmas event. If you like pumpkin and cheesecake this trifle is for you! 

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Pumpkin Chai Cheesecake Trifle
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Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Servings
Course dessert
Servings
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Pound Cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 9-inch square pan with baking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (through allspice). In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, egg white, milk, oil and pumpkin until thoroughly blended. Combine wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, stirring until just blended. Spread batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top.
  3. Bake until lightly browned & a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack & allow to cool completely. With a wooden skewer, poke holes in cake about 2-inches apart. Slowly pour 1/2 cup Apricot Brandy over cake. Refrigerate overnight.
Pumpkin Filling
  1. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese & pumpkin with a mixer until well blended. Add spices & dry pudding mix; beat until well blended. Gradually blend in milk.
Creme Filling
  1. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with a mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; blend well. Fold in thawed Cool Whip.
Topping
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, coarsely crush wafers; place in medium bowl. Add butter, nuts, sugar & 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice; mix well. Spread onto the bottom of a shallow pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown; cool. Break cooled, baked nut mixture into smaller pieces; store in airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.
ASSEMBLY
  1. Cut pound cake into 1-inch cubes. Line bottom of a straight-sided trifle bowl with 1/3 of cake cubes, 1/3 pumpkin filling, 1/3 creme filling & 1/3 of the nut mixture. Repeat 2 more times. Decorate as desired. Drizzle with bottled Dulce de Leche Creme.

Apfel-Streuselkuchen – German Apple Coffee Cake

German-inspired yeasted coffee cake is a very popular type of cake all over Germany and Austria. It is very different from the typical butter cake associated with streusel coffee cake in North America. Whereas a butter cake is rich, sweet and fine grained, kuchen is light and slightly porous with a complexity of flavor that can only be found in yeast leavened baked goods. Of course, there are many different variations, but the important part is the streusel or crumbled topping, which consists  of a combination of flour, sugar, butter and spices.

In the past, most German towns and cities had orchards planted all around them, on land that belonged to the community. Cows or sheep grazed underneath the trees and people were free to pick the fruits when they became ripe. Today most of those common lands have been turned into suburbs and the trees are gone. Destruction of the remnants of ancient orchards is ongoing, contributing to the loss of heirloom varieties. Even though the diversity of choice is decreasing, the apple is still by far the most popular fruit in Germany.

Here is my best adaptation of an  APPLE STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE   that I think you might enjoy to try.

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Apfel-Streuselkuchen - German Apple Coffee Cake
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
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Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine European, German
Servings
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
Apple Filling
Streusel Topping
Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine European, German
Servings
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
Apple Filling
Streusel Topping
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
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Instructions
Coffee cake
  1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, 1/8 cup sugar & lukewarm water; allow to dissolve. Stir in remaining 1/8 cup of sugar, salt, milk, sour cream, lemon juice & vanilla; mix well. Add egg & blend.
  2. With fingertips, rapidly work the butter into 2 1/2 cups of the flour until coarse, meal-like consistency. Add to the yeast mixture & knead in bowl, adding more flour if necessary to make a smooth, elastic dough. Shape into a ball & place in a lightly buttered bowl. Cover tightly and let rise in a draft-free place until doubled in bulk.
Apple Filling
  1. Peel & slice apples. In a small saucepan, combine all filling ingredients except pecans. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until apples are tender, & juice has evaporated. Stir in pecans; set aside to cool.
Streusel Topping
  1. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon & lemon zest. With fingertips, rub in butter until mixture is coarse & crumbly. Set aside.
  2. When dough has doubled in size, turn out on a lightly floured piece of wax paper. Press out gently into a rectangle about 10 x 14-inches in size. Spread apple filling to within 1/4-inch of edges & very gently press into dough. Roll up from the wide end, jelly-roll fashion.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 9-inch tube or bundt pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel in pan. Carefully, (dough will be very soft) with the help of the wax paper, fit the roll into the pan so that the ends of the dough join. Pinch ends of together. Sprinkle cake with remaining streusel. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven & allow cake to cool before slicing.

Raspberry Vanilla Cream Pie

Summer’s bounty of fresh fruit is so hard to resist. Raspberries for instance — vividly pink, exquisitely perfumed and very delicate. I think I’ve tried to use them in everything imaginable. For one company event some years ago, I was trying to come up with a sauce that would take my cream puffs to the ‘next level’. I decided to put some Chambord raspberry liqueur in it. Chambord is created using black and red raspberries, vanilla, citrus peel, honey and hints of fragrant herbs. I definitely could say I think I ‘nailed it’ with that raspberry drizzle.

Although the red raspberries seem to be the most popular and well known, I have tasted the gold ones as well. Fall Gold raspberries ripen in the late part of the season becoming very large and sweet. If you get a chance, they are certainly worth trying.

It seems strange that raspberries are actually a member of the rose ‘family’ and not considered a true berry. Irregardless, they are certainly delicious to eat and always give such great eye appeal to everything they are used in. Pie has become such a global favorite, you might say, it’s a work of art that comes easily. Today’s blog recipe for Raspberry Vanilla Cream Pie  has always been one of my favorites. 

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Raspberry Vanilla Cream Pie
Showy and delicious!
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Oat Pie Crust
Raspberry Filling
Course dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Oat Pie Crust
Raspberry Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Oat Pie Crust
  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, pecans, (sugar) & salt; bend in margarine until resembles coarse crumbs. Press onto the bottom & up the sides of a 9" pie pan. Bake at 400 F. for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Raspberry Filling
  1. In a large saucepan, heat water over medium heat. Whisk in pudding mix. Cook & stir for 5 minutes or until thickened & bubbly. Whisk in jell-o until completely dissolved. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Gently fold in raspberries. Spoon into cooled crust. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve with a dollop of Cool Whip or Dessert Topping or decorate with a design.
Recipe Notes