Blueberry Lemon Cream Pie

7/9/03 This makes a nice 4th of July dessert. Add strawberries in a pattern on top for that patriotic look.

8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sour cream
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 graham cracker pie crust
2 c.fresh blueberries
fresh strawberries, optional

In a medium sized bowl, cream the cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in brown sugar and sour cream and flavorings.Blend well. Pour mixture into the piecrust and smooth out. Place blueberries on top. Chill well. Before serving, dust with powdered sugar if you like.

Strawberry Xpresso
7/2/03 This recipe, submitted by 9 year old Brittney Broadmore, was the winner of the "Mix It with Milk and Jello Mix Off Contest."

2 c. milk
2 1/2 c. vanilla ice cream, softened
1 box Jello strawberry banana gelatin
fresh sliced strawberries, whipped cream, sugar sprinkles

In a container with a tight fitting lid, add milk, ice cream and gelatin. Put the lid on the container and shake well until blended. Place fresh strawberries in the bottom of a chilled glass. Top with whipped cream. Pour ice cream mixture over. Top with more whipped cream and sprinkles. Serves 2-4

Lemon Cake-Pudding

2 large lemons, grated zest and juice (should be 1/3 c.)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/3 cups whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Finely grate 1 tablespoon zest from lemons, then squeeze 1/3 cup juice.
Whisk together flour, salt, and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together yolks, milk, zest, and juice in a small bowl and add to flour mixture, whisking until just combined.
Beat whites in another large bowl with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks. Whisk about one fourth of whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly (batter will be thin).
Pour into a buttered 1 1/2-quart ceramic gratin or other shallow baking dish and bake in a hot water bath until puffed and golden, 45 to 50 minutes.
Makes 6 servings.

Panna Cotta with Strawberries

I haven't tried the panna cotta part of this recipe, but the strawberries, by themselves or on ice cream, are outstanding.

2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/4 cups plain goat's-milk or whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar

2 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For panna cotta:
Pour 2 tablespoons water into small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand until softened, about 15 minutes. Whisk 1 cup cream, yogurt, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Heat remaining 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup sugar in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and cream comes to simmer. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture, stirring to dissolve gelatin. Mix hot cream-gelatin mixture into yogurt mixture in bowl. Divide mixture among six 3/4-cup ramekins, using about 1/2 cup for each. Refrigerate desserts uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

For strawberries:
Toss strawberries, vinegar, sugar, and pepper in large bowl to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Spoon strawberries over panna cotta and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Villa Teo Pecan-Cheese Pie

1/1/03 This pie was one of the most popular deserts served at the Villa Teo in the early seventies. It came from my handwritten highschool cookbook and must have been from a 1960's era magazine, most likely the winner of a Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe contest, a mongrel pie typical of the time. I like this combination--the cream cheese nicely balances the sweetness of the Karo layer.

8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
3 eggs
¼ c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. dark Karo syrup
1 uncooked pie shell
1 ¼ c. pecans, chopped coarsely
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream together the cream cheese and 1/3 cup of sugar. Add one egg, the salt and one teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until well mixed.
In another small bowl, beat three eggs, ¼ cup of sugar, Karo syrup and vanilla until well blended, but not thick.
Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on the bottom of the uncooked pie shell. Top with the pecans. Pour the syrup mixture over the pecans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the middle of the pie is puffed and solid.

Hot Fudge Sundae

9/22/02 Fred and I were proud to see that our little neck of the woods was well represented in this month's Bon Appetit's issue on "Neighborhood Restaurants." Crook's, Magnolia, Pop's were cited as well as Carrboro's Acme Food and Beverage Co.which regularly serves this luscious dessert.

vanilla ice cream (Acme makes its own)
Bourbon Hot Fudge Sauce (recipe below)
Dried Cherry Topping (recipe below)
whipped cream

Pour warm Bourbon Hot Fudge Sauce over vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle a few cherries on top, then spoon on a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Bourbon Hot Fudge Sauce

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 T. instant espresso or coffee powder
10 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. bourbon

Whisk cocoa powder and suger in heavy large saucepan to blend. Gradually whisk in water and espresso powder. Whisk over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Whisk in bourbon. Store in the refridgerator until ready to use.Then rewarm over low heat just until pourable.

Dried Cherry Topping

1 1/2 c. Merlot wine
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. dried tart cherries

Stir together wine and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Add cherries. Simmer for about 20 minutes until liquid is almost evaporated.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

7/31/02 Here's a recipe I made often as a teenager. It's quite simple and pretty foolproof. Cooking Light Magazine published the recipe in its July issue using lowfat milk and buttermilk. That should save you about a half calorie per serving! Try the Inside Scoop's coffee ice cream on the side for a real decadent treat.

2 c.all purpose flour
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. salted butter
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Grease and flour a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan (or 13x9 inch baking pan).
Mix together the first 5 ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.
In a small saucepan, combine water, butter and cocoa. Heat and stir until butter is melted. Pour this mixture into flour mixture. Beat until blended. Add vanilla, buttermilk and eggs, beat until well mixed.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 375 until it pulls away from the side, about 17 minutes or longer if using the smaller pan.

Ice while hot with this icing:

Melt 6 T. butter, 1/3 c. milk and 1/4 c. cocoa in a medium- sized saucepan. Stir in 3 c. sifted powdered sugar. Mix well. Add pecans and vanilla . Pour over warm cake. Cool. Cut into squares to serve.

Apple Pie Cake

I've been looking for a really good apple cake recipe for years. Recently I stumbled upon this one in my husband's personal recipe collection and tried it, to the delight of both my stepdaughter Erin and daughter Madeline who requested the recipe. Here it is, girls. Bon appetit!

1/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. hot water
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream butter with sugar. Add egg, blending well. Stir together dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Mix in water and vanilla. Fold in apples and pecans. Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured square or 9 inch round pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until firm in the middle. Serve with whipped cream and rum butter sauce.

Rum Butter Sauce

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 T. dark rum

Stir together all ingredients except rum in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in rum.

Chocolate Chess Pie

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c. butter
4 eggs
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T. flour
2 T. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T. bourbon or rum
1 raw pieshell

Melt together the butter and chocolate. Let cool to room temperature. Beat the eggs lightly. Mix together the dry ingredients.Stir them into the eggs. Stir in the chocolate mixture, cream and flavorings. Pour into the shell. Bake at 400 degrees 5 minutes. Turn down temperature to 325 and continue baking until the custard is set, about 35 minutes.

Ginger Ice Cream

I fell in love with ginger ice cream after tasting it at the Georgetown Asian restaurant, Germaine's, back in the 70's. The combination of its cool smooth texture and hot spicy flavor fascinated me. Back in Chapel Hill, I tried to replicate the recipe, and it was offered at La Residence for years. I sometimes serve it with fresh mango slices, or sprinkled with chopped crystallised ginger, but it's delicious absolutely plain.

2 inches of ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
21/2 cups milk, or half and half, or mixture of both
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks

In a non-aluminum pan, heat milk and ginger root to the boiling point. Remove from heat and let sit for at least one-half hour. Beat the eggs lightly with sugar and salt. Reheat the milk until it steams, then strain out the ginger. Pour hot milk slowly into the yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat, stirring until it thickens and coats a spoon.
Chill, then freeze in your favorite ice cream maker. Serve plain or with mango slices.

World's Best Banana Pudding

from Hazel's Hot Dish: Cooking With Country Stars by Hazel Smith

1 and one-half cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 and one-half cups evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 bananas
Three-fourths box vanilla wafers

Mix sugar and flour in a saucepan. Separate eggs. Stir yolks with a fork until blended. Add milk in same cup as egg yolks. Slowly stir egg/milk mixture into sugar/flour mixture until well-blended. Put saucepan on low heat and allow to cook until a custard forms and thickens (stirring frequently). Remove thickened custard from heat, add butter and allow to melt. Cool. Add vanilla flavoring. (Alternate sliced bananas and wafers with three layers of each in a Pyrex bowl that measures 9 inches by 5 and one-half inches by 2 and one-half inches.) Pour cooled custard over wafers/bananas. Add a couple of sprinkles of cream of tartar to the egg whites. Using electric mixer, beat until frothy. Continue beating and add one-half cup sugar and one-half teaspoon vanilla. Spread on top. Bake at 375 degrees in a
pre-heated oven until brown, for 10-15 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.

Peach Pit Ice Cream

Designer and columnist Lee Bailey has written several gorgeously photograghed cookbooks including one of my favorites, "Country Desserts." His ice creams are particularly good, especially this intensely flavored version of traditional peach custard.

8 medium or 6 large peaches
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 c. milk
3/4-1 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of peaches)
4 egg yolks
1 T. brandy or light rum

Peel and pit peaches, reserving pits and skins. Puree the peach flesh in a blender, then add the lemon juice. Refrigerate until cold.
In a saucepan, simmer the cream and milk along with the pits and skins for about twenty minutes without letting it boil. Stir in the sugar and strain, saving the liquid. Reheat the liquid to the simmering point. Beat the yolks until well mixed, then gradually stir a small amount of the hot liquid into the yolks, stirring constantly. Mix yolks back into the hot liquid. Continue to heat while stirring until the mixture thickens slightly and coats a spoon. Remove from heat immediately and cool. Add brandy or rum. Mix together the custard with the peach puree and freeze according to the instructions of your ice cream maker.

Old-fashioned Coconut Cake

For the cake, use your favorite three layer yellow cake recipe. Fred uses the old classic 1-2-3-4 Cake, the recipe for which is on the box of Swansdown Cake Flour. When the cake has cooled, make the following icing:
In a saucepan, add two cups water and two cups granulated white sugar. Boil until sugar is dissolved. Add three packs fresh or fresh-frozen coconut and one-third stick butter. Stirring constantly, allow to boil for about 3 minutes until
mixture is thick. Spread icing between layers of cake ending up with a top layer of icing. Allow cake to cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight before serving. FB

Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

3 c. flour (all purpose)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, at room temperature
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 c. buttermilk or yoghurt
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla

Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325.
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time beating after each addition. Add the flour in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix until blended, but do not overbeat.
Bake for one hour, or until it shrinks from the side of the pan. Cool the cake for ten to twelve minutes before inverting the pan and releasing the cake.

Carolina Inn
Chocolate Chip Cookies

These luscious cookies are given to each guest of the Carolina Inn. We thank executive chef Brian Stapleton for sharing his secret (until now) recipe with us.

1 lb. butter
1 lb. sugar
5 oz. brown sugar
6 eggs
1 cup oatmeal
1 lb. 8 oz. flour
1/2 tsp.baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cinnamon
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 lb. walnuts
2 lb. chocolate chips

Cream sugars and butter. Add oatmeal and mix until incorporated. Add eggs slowly and mix thoroughly. Add lemon juice and vanilla.
Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture and continue to mix until thoroughly combined. Add walnuts and chocolate and mix thoroughly.
Scoop onto buttered pan and bake in a 325 degree oven for 12-14 minutes.

This is the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving. Ordinary mushy sweet potato pie is "kicked up a notch," with the crunchy texture of pecans. Adapted from a recipe by New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme.

1 raw pie crust

Sweet Potato Filling:
1 cup cooked sweet potato pulp, mashed
1/3 c. light brown sugar
1 small egg, beaten
1 T. heavy cream
1 T. butter
1 T. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamin
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Pecan Filling:
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. dark corn syrup
2 eggs
2 T. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
3/4 c. pecan pieces

Combine all sweet potato filling ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix about 2 minutes, or until smooth. Combine all pecan filling ingredients except pecans in a second bowl and mix
about a minute, or until smooth. Stir in pecans. Pour the sweet potato filling into the pie crust. Pour the pecan mixture on top. Bake at 325 degrees about 1 3/4 hours until set. Serve with whipped cream.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

11/4/02 Recycle that jack-o-lantern by cutting it into large pieces and roasting for 40 or more minutes (until the flesh is soft) in a 375 degree oven. Scrape the flesh into a food processor or blender, add just enough water to make it blendable, and use the puree in this healthy recipe for muffins.
This is a favorite of guests at Fields of Home Guest House, Millersburg, Ohio.

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. each cloves and nutmeg
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned or roasted, pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 chopped peeled apple

In large bowl combine flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine eggs, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill greased muffin cups almost full. For a streusel topping combine 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoon flour and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon over each muffin. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Make 12 muffins.

Caramel Ice Cream

Here's an ice cream that would go sinfully well with Chocolate Sheet Cake. Caramel enhances apple and pear desserts, too. Try this along with a poached pear or on top of a piece of hot apple pie.

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
8 large egg yolks

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, place sugar and 1/4 cup water and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling the pan. Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve, about 4 minutes. Add milk; bring to simmer. Whisk yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk caramel mixture into yolks. Return custard to saucepan and stir over low heat until it thickens and coats a spoon. Refrigerate until cold, then freeze in an ice cream maker.

Blackberry-Peach Slump

7/24/02 A slump, not quite the same as a cobbler or a crisp but roughly equivalent to a grunt, is a dish of cooked fruit with a topping of raised dough. Nothing could be easier than this simple old fashioned dish dating from the middle of the nineteenth century.

Serve it after a summer supper with a big scoop of vanilla or peach ice cream melting on top.

2 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. greated lemon or orange zest
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
2 T. melted butter

Place the berries and peaches and lemon or orange rind in a pie plate or ceramic baking dish. Carefully stir in the citrus rind and 3/4 cup of the sugar.
Sift together the rest of the dry ingredients. Whisk in the milk and butter until smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until top is golden.

Zmmerman Desserts

7/10/02 These recipes were contributed by today's guest Mark Zimmerman using cookies and scones from Chapel Hill's Great Harvest Bread Company. Fred and I especially enjoyed the "Shortcakes."

Double Mint Fun: Mint Chocolate Chip 'Rolling Scones' and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and hot fudge sauce

Simplified Individual "Shortcakes": Raspberry 'Rolling Scones' split horizontally, covered with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich: 'Deadly Dillon' Chocolate Chip Walnut cookies and Vanilla Ben & Jerry's or Haagen Das ice cream. Put cookies in freezer. Carefully cut slices of ice cream with knife heated under hot water, place between two cookies, re-freeze.

Lemon Pots de Creme

Another simple and tasty recipe from Patricia Wells' terrific "At Home in Provence."

Serves 6
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
11/2 c. heavy cream

Stir sugar into the lemon juice. Whisk the cream into the egg yolks, then add the sugar-lemon solution. Strain the mixture and skim off any foam on top. Pour mixture into 6 ramekins.
Place the ramekins in a baking pan . Pour enough warm water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with foil. Carefully place the pan in a 325 degree oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pudding is set around the sides, but still slightly jiggly in the middle. Remove ramekins from pan and let come to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Serve topped with sweetened whipped cream.

Kentucky Derby Pie

A crowd pleasing favorite from my husband's collection. If you like chocolate chip cookies, you'll love this dessert, basically a jazzed up chess pie.

3/4 c. pecans
3/4 c. chocolate chips or chunks
1 c. sugar
1 stick melted salted butter
1/3 c. flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 uncooked pie shell

Sprinkle chips and pecans on the bottm of the pie shell. Mix the other ingredients together and pour into the shell. Bake in 325 degree oven for 35-45 minutes, or until center of pie is firm.

Ginger-Lemon Pound Cake

If you love ginger, you will flip over this cake, especially if you serve it with ginger ice cream.This recipe is adapted from a Gourmet Magazine recipe from April 2001.

5 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter, softened
4 tablespoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
4 large eggs
1/4 c.lemon juice

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Finely chop fresh ginger and mix with 1/2 c. sugar.
Sift together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt.
Stir together milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
Beat together butter, remaining sugar, and zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Alternately add flour and milk mixtures to butter and eggs in 4 batches, beginning with flour and mixing at low speed until each batch is just incorporated. Mix in ginger sugar until just combined, then lemon juice.
Spoon batter into a greased and floured bundt pan, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown on top and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Carefully loosen edges with a knife and immediately invert cake onto a rack to cool completely.
Top with glaze made by stirring together confectioners' sugar and lemon juice.

Katherine Hepburn's Brownies

from an article by one of my favorite food writers, the late great Laurie Colwin.

Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate. Take the saucepan off the heat. Stir in 1 cup sugar, add 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and beat the mixture well. Stir in 1/4 cup flour and1/4 teaspoon salt. Add 1 cup walnuts or pecans if you like. Bake the brownies in a buttered and floured square pan at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan and cut into squares.

Lemon Mousse

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon zest
1 c. sugar
3 oz. (3/4 stick) butter, cut into 6 slices
1 c. heavy cream, whipped

Beat the eggs with the sugar, lemon juice and zest. Place in the top of a double boiler over simmering water and stir constantly until it thickens and coats a spoon. Take off heat. Add the butter, slice by slice, while stirring. Chill. Whip the cream and fold into the cold lemon custard. Pour into wine or parfait glasses and serve sprinkled with raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries.
This mousse can also be frozen in a loaf pan, then served in slices with berries spooned over the top.

Abby Dodge's Rice Pudding

4 c. whole milk
1/2 c. medium grained raw rice
pinch salt
1 1/2 c. vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/3 c. sugar
In a large heavy saucepan dump the milk, rice, and salt. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Cover and simmer gently for fifteen minutes. Uncover and simmer slowly, stirring the whole time, until rice is tender, about 8 minutes.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the yolks, sugar, and vanilla. Slowly add the cooked rice mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Simmer and stir until the mixture has thickened, about a minute. Immediately transfer the pudding into a bowl, and seal with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.

Fred's Pumpkin Ice Cream

1/2 pint heavy cream
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 c. pumpkin filling
1/2 c.up chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Allow ice cream to soften at room temperature for 1/2 hour before beginning.
2. Use eggbeater or electric mixer to whip cream in small mixing bowl. Store in refrigerator.
3. Place all ingredients except whipped cream in large bowl and mix together.
4. Pour mixture into dessert bowls and freeze.
5. Serve with whipped cream on top.

This is my husband Drake'sfavorite cake--so good we made it for Fred's recent birthday dinner.MN

Note: There is nothing more delicious than freshly ground green cardomom right out of the pod, but use powdered cardomom if the pods aren't available. For another appealing though less exotic version of this cake, try apples with cinnamon instead of pears and cardomom.

1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour cream
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
11/2 cup all purpose flour

Topping:

2-3 large juicy pears, peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp. cardomom
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 stick (6 T.) butter
2-3 juicy pears, peeled and sliced

In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating all the while. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition just enough to blend thoroughly. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Add the flour in thirds to the creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Blend well after each addition, careful not to overbeat, as this toughens the cake.

Topping:
Place 3/4 stick butter in a 9 inch wide circular pan with 2 inch sides right on top of a stove burner set on low. When butter is melted, stir in the brown sugar. Sugar-butter mixture should cover the bottom of the pan. Arrange pear slices in a circle covering the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle cardomom evenly over the pears. Gently pour cake batter on top of the pear
slices.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until cake pulls away from side of pan. Immediately place a cake plate on top of cake pan and invert the pan. Leave the pan inverted on plate for about 5 minutes before carefully removing it. Serve warm or room temperature with whipped cream.

Yields 12 pieces.
3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup nuts http://www.bakingshop.com/cakes/halloween/witch.htm
more witches

In a bowl beat eggs and sugar. Add oil and mix until combined. Then add the dry sifted ingredients together with the pumpkin and nuts. Pour in 1/4 sheet (12" x 8") greased baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan and frost, if desired. Cut into 2" x 4" squares.

PUMPKIN BARS RECIPE FROM: WWW.BAKESHOP.COM