GRILLED PEACHES WITH CINNAMON SYRUP

I hope you are having a pleasant summer despite the heat wave that some regions have had. We have had  a few rainy days with nice temperatures :) Nice enough to continue to BBQ. As I stated in a previous post, Time for Barbecuing , I have taken a vacation from the "kitchen" and have been preparing almost everything on the grill. So when I saw this dessert, I went running to buy what I needed to make some grilled peaches PRONTO!

The recipe that I share below was inspired by Christina’s grilled peaches and cinnamon ice-cream recipe. Feel free two visit her blog Desserts for Two , filled with awesome southern recipes.

With Nectarines too!

Unfortunately, peaches are not a common fruit in Dominican Republic, and one is lucky to find a few peaches or nectarines in season. The only ones they had at the store were the cling type, so it was a difficult adventure trying to release the seeds from the nectarines, but I didn’t give up because this dessert is worth the struggle. We were delighted with the results, and I have prepared this recipe several times already. This dessert is to be serve warm with ice cream, but I warn you that the combination of flavors and texture in different temperatures makes it IRRESISTIBLE! Best of all is the aroma of warm peaches, is INDESCRIBABLE! I think this will become our favorite dessert for summer 2011.

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Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon Glaze

by Mari's Cakes August-01-2011

Great summer outdoor dessert for peach lovers! I am sure it will become one of your favorites.

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe freestone peaches or nectarines (do not use cling peaches)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup Frangelico (hazelnut liquor) see notes
• Oil for greasing grille
• Ice cream of your choice (I used Vanilla)

Instructions:

1. For cinnamon syrup: In a saucepan combine brown sugar cinnamon and Frangelico. Let it come to a simmer, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.2. For peaches: Cut the peaches in half and twist apart. Brush each peach with the brown sugar sauce and place on the grill, cut side down. When nice grill marks are formed, brush with syrup again, flip the peaches and cook for a few minutes until tender or to taste.3. Serve peaches topped ice cream or alone. I served with vanilla ice-cream, topped with chopped pecans and left over syrup. Notes:
a) For the cinnamon syrup you can use 40 ml of water or corn syrup + 2 teaspoons of vanilla instead of liquor.
b) DO use freestone peaches for a more pleasant experience and nicer finish.
c) Make sure the grates are clean and brushed with oil before the peaches go on, this keeps them from sticking.

Details:

Total time: 25 mins Yield: 5 servings

Receta de Melocotones a la Parrilla con Almíbar de Canela 

En español: AQUÍ

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. - Psalm 103:13

 

Chocolate Lamington Bar Cake

Today I will be sharing one of my favorites, the Chocolate Lamington Bar Cake. This cake consists of  a chocolate sponge covered with a light chocolate frosting and coconut flakes, is delicious and ideal to serve on a special occasion, meaning.... Any day! To me all days are special and worth celebrating the blessing of being ALIVE. I hope you bake this Lamington Bar Cake soon. Enjoy!

This cake is based on the traditional Australian Lamington cake, named after Lord Lamington, a former Governor of Queensland, in the era of 1900's , who is credited with the origin of this dessert. Lamingtons are sometimes served as two cubed halves with a layer of cream and/or strawberry jam in between. It is commonly found in Australasian outlets such as cafes, lunch bars, bakeries, and supermarkets.

But before we go to the recipe, I would like to show my daughter's new pet, Pochungo.....sometimes country life is just wonderful :)

Now let's continue with the recipe -

It is a great tasting cake.

Chocolate Lamington Bar Cake
This cake makes the perfect dessert for any special occasion. Just imagine a chocolate sponge covered with a delicious light chocolate frosting and coconut flakes... delicious right? Enjoy! Recipe adapted from Baking.

 
Ingredients: 
For Cake
¾ cup unsalted butter or margarine room temperature
¾ cup superfine sugar
3 eggs
1 ¼ cup self-rising flour (see notes)
¼ cup cocoa powder

Frosting:
2 oz (½ cup) dark chocolate broken in pieces
4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon butter
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar

To decorate:
½ cup coconut flakes
½ cup heavy cream whipped
1 ½ Tablespoons sugar

Instructions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease and line bottom of a 3 x 10 loaf pan.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder.
3. Pour mixture into the pan and bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan then turn on to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Mix chocolate chips, milk and butter in a heat proof bowl and place over a pan of hot water. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add confectioner’s sugar and beat until smooth. Let cool until frosting gets thick enough to spread. Cut a V shape wedge from the top of the cake, reserve cake wedge. Frost the cake and cover with coconut flakes.
5. Beat heavy cream with 2 Tablespoons of sugar until soft peaks are formed. Pipe a line of cream in the center, replace wedge back on, frost and ad coconut flakes, then pipe a row of cream on either side of the wedge of cake. Serve.  


Notes: 
a) If you do not have Self Rising Flour for this recipe you can substitute with 1 ¼ cup all purposes flour, ¼ teaspoon salt + 2 teaspoons baking powder. For more information on substituting Self Rising Flour see note i, at Dominican cake recipe.  
b) This recipe can be doubled easily.

Yield: 10 servings

En español: AQUÍ

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. - Matthew 6:33

Coffee Granita and Guest Post

Summer is here, and we have had a very HOT and humid weather. A glass of coffee granita, is not a bad idea to refresh ourselves, so let's enjoy the recipe that my guest today will share with us.

It is my pleasure to introduce to Marnely Rodriguez, author of the blog, Cooking with Books. A graduate of PUCMM (Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra) and the
Culinary Institute of America, she has worked as an overnight bread baker in Colorado, a chocolate maker in Virginia as well as a pastry cook in Martha’s Vineyard, just to name a few. She currently resides in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where she is on an endless search for Caribbean flavors, tropical fruits and gastronomic inspiration.

Cooking with Books 

Hello! It's so lovely to be guest posting over here at Mari's Cakes. I'm Nelly, over from  Cooking with Books, and am definitely honored to have Mari ask me to be a guest poster on her site, which I've loved ever since discovering. Even better is that fact that we are on the island Caribbean island!

Today, I'll be sharing a gorgeously easily recipe with one of my favorite Caribbean ingredients: Coffee. But first, a few facts as well as a little coffee culture. The Dominican Republic is a well-known coffee grower and exporter, mainly exporting coffee beans to the United States, although some companies do ship their beans overseas to Europe and other continents. Not only are we a coffee producing island, but if you know a Dominican, you know we are big coffee drinkers as well!

Coffee is typically served with breakfast with a side of buttered toast to dip in the coffee; breakfasts range from fresh fruit, a sandwich or eggs with mashed plantains. After the morning brew, if you work in a family business or company that loves their coffee, you will be offered a cup as well. Lunch comes around and the after lunch "cafecito" is in order. Last but not least, some Dominicans love sipping on warm "cafe con leche" before going to bed.

Now that Summer has hit us and the temperatures are in the high 90's, constant coffee drinking has reduced, some resorting to Ice Coffees, but I can't still bring myself to do so. I've lately been on a granita kick, making this Passion Fruit Granita almost every other day, so I wondered: why not make it with rich, deep coffee? You'll still get the jolt of energy, but in a more refreshing way! You can sweeten your granita with your favorite sweetener: brown sugar, honey, diet sugars or even maple syrup. I'd recommend a simple syrup of brown sugar so the sweetness is subtle but still permeates throughout the mixture.

What is a Granita? A liquid, most of the times a fruit juice or puree, sweeten if preferred and then placed in a shallow pan in the freezer. Every 15-30 minutes with a fork, it is scraped and the formed ice crystals will re-incorporate with the rest of the liquid until it all becomes frozen and can be scooped into serving cups.


Coffee Granita
Serves 2

 
Ingredients
1 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons simple syrup (or your preferred sweetener)

Method

1. Brew coffee as usual and mix with milk and sweetener.
2. Place in small shallow pan and reserve in freezer. Every 15 minutes scrape ice crystals with fork. Do this until the entire liquid has frozen into small crystals.
3. Serve in small glasses as a light dessert served with fresh berries or drizzled with dulce de leche.

Hope you all have a great summer filled with picnics, barbeques, frozen drinks and granitas! Happy Summer and don't forget to visit me over at Cooking with Books for more summer recipes, as well as foodie giveaways!
 

En español: AQUÍ

Nothing will change in your life if you don't do something different from what you have been doing. - E. Perry Good, In Pursuit of Happiness