Every so often I absolutely crave coconut. I usually make Coconut Macaroons… they’re a favorite around our house. But this Mango Coconut Cream Pie sure did the trick for my craving! I used a store bought pie crust, but feel free to make your own pie crust, if you’re ambitious.

INGREDIENTS
1 Pie Crust, pre-baked

For Filling:
2/3 cup Sugar
¼ cup Cornstarch
¼ tsp Salt
1 can coconut cream (13.66 oz)
1 cup Mango Juice
4 Egg Yolks, beaten
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tsp pure Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Coconut Extract
1 cup sweetened shredded Coconut
Optional – 3 Tbsp toasted Coconut for garnish

For Topping:
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp pure Vanilla Extract

METHOD
Pre-bake the pie shell in a 350 oven until lightly golden.
Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

For Filling:
In a medium saucepan mix together the sugar, cornstarch and salt.
Whisk in the coconut cream, mango juice and egg yolks, stirring until well blended.
Turn on the heat to medium.
Continue to whisk until mixture begins to thicken and bubble.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter, vanilla extract, coconut extract and shredded coconut.
Pour mixture into the baked pie crust.
Put pie in refrigerator to cool and set.

For Topping:
Whisk the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract together until a whipped cream is achieved.
Spread the whipped cream over the cooled coconut pie filling.
Top with toasted coconut.
Enjoy!

Note: Store in refrigerator for up to 7 days.

I’m happy to say that I had more figs this year from our tree than ever before. Figs and Chocolate make this cake dense and decadent, with a rich texture. It was incredible. I made a simple mascarpone cream to serve alongside it, which was delicious with the fresh figs, as well…

Chocolate Fig Cake

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups figs, chopped

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Generously butter a 9 inch cake pan, then coat the pan with sugar… shake out excess and set aside.
Melt butter and chocolate chips together.
Beat in the sugar.
Add in the eggs and thoroughly combine.
Stir in all the dry ingredients and once combined, mix in the chopped figs.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is set and cake is firm to the touch.
Be sure not to overcook, the center of the cake should be moist… you cannot rely on using the toothpick method.
Allow cake to cool for about 15 minutes, before removing from the cake pan to a cooling rack.
Once the cake is cool, place on serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Note: This cake keeps well in the refrigerator for about 7 days.

For Mascarpone Cream – mix together softened mascarpone, vanilla, a little honey and heavy cream.

Spring is in the air… and this cake tastes like spring with it’s delicate floral flavor.

The cake has a sweet crisp crust, which is the result of coating the cake pans with sugar instead of flour. I do that for all my vanilla or light cakes. If I’m making a chocolate cake I will give the buttered cake pans a dusting of cocoa powder. So much better than using flour. Plus, you don’t get that residual white coating from the flour on your cake!

INGREDIENTS
For Cake:
1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened (plus more for cake pans)
1 ½ cups Sugar (plus more for dusting cake pans)
3 Eggs
2 tsp Rose Water
½ cup Milk
½ cup Cherry Juice (from canned cherries – used in frosting)
2 cups Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

For Frosting:
1 can of Cherries packed in their own juice (drain cherries and reserve the juice)
1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened
4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
6 cups Confectioner’s Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
2-3 Tbsp Heavy Cream
1 tsp Rose Water

Rose Petals, for garnish – optional

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Thoroughly butter two 8-inch round cake pans and dust with sugar (not flour) and set aside.
We need ½ cup of cherry juice from the canned cherries for our cake batter, so drain the juice from the cherries and place cherries on a paper towel to absorb any excess liquid (we’ll need the cherries when we make the frosting).

For Cake:
In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine 1 stick of softened butter with the sugar.
Cream together until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and rose water.
Continue to beat together for another minute.
On low speed slowly add in the milk and cherry juice until combined.
Stop mixer and add in the flour, baking powder and salt.
Beat until combined, about 2 minutes.
Pour batter equally into the two prepared cake pans.
Bake for about 35 minutes, or until cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn cakes onto racks to cool completely.
Meanwhile, you can make the frosting.

For the Frosting:
Chop the drained cherries into small pieces and set aside.
Mix together butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
Reduce the speed to slow and add in confectioner’s sugar.
Add salt, heavy cream, rose water and cherries.
Continue to beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Once the cakes are completely cool, place one layer on the cake plate and spread 1 ½ cups of frosting evenly over the top.
Place remaining cake layer on top.
Ice the top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, and top with rose petals (be sure they’re all natural).
Enjoy!

Note: Store cake, covered, in the refrigerator.

The scent of this Almond Cherry Crisp baking filled the house. We couldn’t wait to get a warm scoop of the Crisp with a cold scoop of Vanilla Frozen Yogurt. It was so good. I love the flavor of the slivered almonds in the crust, and the additional almond flavor in the syrup. It’s amazing how it enhances the cherry flavor!

INGREDIENTS
Crumb Crust & Topping:
1 cup Oats, toasted
½ cup slivered Almonds, toasted
¾ cup Flour
1 cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Butter, melted

Fruit:
4 cups pitted Cherries (fresh, canned, or frozen)

Syrup for Filling:
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 cup Water
¼ tsp Pure Almond Extract

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toast the oats and almonds for 8 minutes.
In a large bowl combine the oats, almonds, flour, and brown sugar.
Stir in the melted butter, mixing thoroughly.
Place half of the mixture into the bottom of a 8” or 9” pan or your choice.
Cover the crust with the cherries (minus any excess juice).
Next you can make the syrup for filling.
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
Stir in the water and cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil.
Lower heat to medium and allow to boil for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract.
Pour the hot sauce over the cherries.
Top cherries with the rest of the oatmeal crumb topping.
Cook for 45 to 50 minutes until it’s golden and bubbly.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, frozen yogurt, or fresh whipped cream.
Enjoy!

When I was a little girl my favorite flavor of ice cream was cherry. I loved to find the big juicy cherries in the cold sweet ice cream. I have memories of my Daddy taking me to get ice cream in his convertible. I remember standing on the seat beside him, with my arm around his neck as he drove. I was about 3 years old. That was a while ago… long before mandatory car seats. Somehow we managed to survive without them.

Nowadays, I don’t have to go out to get cherry ice cream, because I can make it at home and know exactly what ingredients are in there! If you don’t want to use fresh cherries, you could use pitted frozen cherries. Just be sure that you thaw them first and instead of using 1/4 cup of water in the recipe, use any cherry juice you get from the package instead.

The almond extract in the ice cream is an important ingredient. Seriously, using vanilla extract just won’t give you the same incredibly rich flavor that the almond does. There’s just something about the almond extract that makes the flavor of the cherries pop.

I sure hope you’ll give my easy and delicious ice cream recipe a try!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups of fresh Cherries
¼ cup Water
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Half and Half
2 tsp Pure Almond Extract

METHOD
In a medium saucepan place the cherries and water over medium heat.
Cook for about 5 minutes, or until cherries have softened.
Remove from heat and allow to cool until just warm.
Now you can easily remove the seeds from the cherries by splitting the cherry with your fingers, it’s messy but it goes fast.
Now place your cherries, along with their juice into a large bowl.
Mix in the sugar, stirring until it’s dissolved.
Add in heavy cream, half and half and almond extract.
Pour mixture into a 1½ quart ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.
Enjoy!

Notes:
My ice cream maker (I have a soft serve) will not work properly with chunks, so I strained the cherries out, put the cream part in my ice cream maker until it froze, then mixed the cherries in right before I put the ice cream into the freezer.
You also have the option of pureeing the mixture until only very small bits of the cherries remain.
It’s up to you, but I like the whole cherries in my ice cream. It’s like finding a treasure!

Tomatoes are in season! If you’re not growing your own tomatoes, you can find so many varieties now in the grocery store or at your local farmer’s market. Such a versatile fruit, yes it’s a fruit! There are so many wonderful ways to use fresh tomatoes such as Homemade Tomato Soup, Marinara Sauce, Pasta Alla Checca, or an all time favorite, the Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich.

I wanted to try something different to really showcase these gorgeous Heirloom Tomatoes, keeping them intact and the star of the show! This tart was absolutely delicious! The Pepper Parmesan crust is divine, and I plan on making it for other veggie tarts in the future.

After a layer of fresh mozzarella, I placed the heirloom tomatoes on top, a little salt and pepper, and for the finale I drizzled some Gia Russo Balsamic Glaze on top of the tart. It’s available in your grocery store near the vinegars. If you haven’t tried it, please put it on your shopping list. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. Nope, I’m not getting paid by this company. It’s just that I absolutely love this glaze! It’s delectable and brought all the flavors to life.

I sure hope you’ll give this simple and delicious tart a try!

INGREDIENTS
For black pepper parmesan pastry:
1 1/4 cups Flour
1 stick cold unsalted Butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbsp Freshly Grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Salt
2 to 4 Tbsp Ice Water

For filling:
3/4 lb fresh Mozzarella (not unsalted), thinly sliced
2 Heirloom Tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
Balsamic Glaze (I use Gia Russo brand)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fresh Basil, for garnish (optional)

Special equipment: pie weights or raw rice

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375°F.

For the crust:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, parmesan, pepper, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size lumps.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water over and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in food processor) until incorporated.
Gently squeeze a small handful: It should hold together without falling apart. If not, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) after each addition until incorporated, continuing to test. (Do not overwork dough, or it will become tough.)
Place dough on a floured work surface and roll out into a 12-inch round.
Fit into a 9-inch round tart pan (the type with a removable rim).
Roll rolling pin over top of pan to trim dough flush with rim.
Lightly prick tart shell all over with a fork.

Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or rice.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Carefully remove foil and weights and continue to bake until golden, about 15 more minutes.
Cool in pan on a rack.

To Assemble Tart:
Remove side of pan and slide shell onto a serving platter.
Arrange the mozzarella slices in the bottom of tart shell.
Place the tomato slices overlapping, on top of the cheese.
Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with Gia Russo Balsamic Glaze.
Garnish with a fresh sprig of basil or two.
Enjoy!

Fresh blueberry pie is so delectable. I love it. The flavors just burst in your mouth, filling it with the sweetness of plump, juicy blueberries. Accompanied with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt it’s one of my favorites. You could use this same recipe and substitute any type of berries you’d like, or a combination of berries.

This pie keeps well, covered, in the fridge for about a week. Ours was gone before that…

INGREDIENTS
Pie crust, for double crust pie

8 cups fresh Blueberries, washed
3/4 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Flour
1 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Butter, cut into small pieces
1 Egg, beaten, if desired (for top of pie crust)
1 tsp Sugar, if desired (to sprinkle on top of pie crust)

METHOD
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl mix the blueberries, sugar, flour and lemon juice together.
Line your pie dish with one pie crust and have the top crust rolled out and ready.
Pour the berry mixture into the pasty lined pie pan.
Dot berry mixture with butter pieces.
Place top crust over the berry mixture, seal by folding edge of dough over or under and flute edges, as desired.
Cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
Brush top of pie with a little beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake pie for about 35 to 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
Allow pie to cool before cutting.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, if desired.
Enjoy!

Note: Halfway through the baking process you may need to cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.