To the PP who posted the banana pudding recipe. I made it recently and it was DELISH! Thanks!!

dump cake

Google it!

My mom used to make this. Awesome.

Dump your fruit in a bowl. Add a little sugar

For the beginner, I should have said, "Wash and cut up the fruit. Eliminate any pits or stems. Then dump your fruit in a bowl and add a little sugar."

Sorry--I guess that's not fruit cobbler. More like fruit crisp.

Let cool, then serve with whipped cream from a can.

Or Breyer's vanilla bean ice cream.

Really impress them with a fruit cobbler you "just threw together." No recipe--at least not one where you measure anything.

1. Get whatever fruit looks not just ripe, but on the edge of overripe. Berries, cherries, peaches, whatever. The riper the sweeter. It's OK if they're about to fall apart--they're going in cobbler.
2. Get whatever kind of cookies you like or have on hand. Ginger snaps work great, but so do sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies, snickerdoodles, whatever. If you don't have any cookies, use corn flakes.
3. (Optional) Get some nuts, or some rolled oats, or both.


Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9x9 square pan (pyrex if you have it). (Or, if you have individual bakable ramekins, so much the better. Ikea has them for some ridiculous price like $1.50 each.)
Dump your fruit in a bowl. Add a little sugar. Taste it to know how much. You want enough fruit to fill your pan (or ramekins) to a depth of about 1" to 1.5".
Let the bowl of fruit sit for a while to let the juices flow. Somewhere between 15-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat your oven to 350.
Then, in another big mixing bowl, dump in your cookies. Using your hands, or the bottom of a mug, or some favored implement of destruction, smash them to bits. You want enough of this crumble to cover your pan to a depth of about 1/2".
Add a couple of tablespoons of softened butter or tub margarine. Using your (clean) hands, mix the butter and cookies to form a cohesive crumble.
Depending on how sweet your cookies are, you can add some brown sugar. Or not. Taste it. How much sugar depends how sweet you like it. If you have no idea, 1/4 cup would be in the ballpark.
If you're using them, add your rolled oats and/or nuts. Mix some more.
Taste the fruit to make sure it's the right sweetness. What's right? Whatever tastes good to you.
Dump the fruit in the pan (or ramekins).
Spread the crumble mix on top.\
Bake until it's bubbly and the crumble mix on top is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
(If you're using individual ramekins, put them on a heavy baking sheet before you put them in the oven. And they may take less time. If you're using the square pan, it may take a little more time.)

Let cool, then serve with whipped cream from a can.



When your hosts ask where you learned this, tell them, "Jacques Pepin."
(I saw this on one of his tv shows, where he said cobbler is a great way to get rid of whatever leftover fruit and cookies you have lying around. Just add butter, sugar, and bake.)

Just saw the previous debate on whether whipping your own cream is for beginners or not. My two cents: most people have a blender, which is fine and easy. If not, this is a good excuse to spend $15-20 on a stick blender (what Emeril calls a "boat motor") or a hand-held electric beater. Once you have any one of these implements, whipping it till it looks like whipped cream is pretty easy and gives a feeling of accomplishment (and better whipped cream).

BUT--there's a reason God invented whipped cream in a can. Or my childhood favorite, Cool Whip.

Rainbow Sherbet Cake

Buy three ingredients:
1. An angel's food cake. (Don't try to make one. Just buy it whole in the bakery section.)
2. Rainbow sherbet. (Several flavors mixed together.) (Or, if you'd rather, whatever flavor sherbet you like.) Buy more than a pint. You won't need a whole half gallon, but buy one and have leftovers.
3. A half pint of whipping cream. (Or if you're really lazy or in a hurry, whipped cream in a can or Cool Whip.)


At home, leave the sherbet (and the Cool Whip if that's what you're using) out on the shelf for 15-20 min. to soften them up a little. Then,
1. Whip the cream. (Dump it in a mixing bowl, preferably chilled. Using an electric mixer, electric beaters, or a stick blender, whip it until it stands up in stiff peaks. Add a little sugar to taste and whip just a little more. You can also do this in a blender.)
2. Put the cake on a serving plate. Using a big serrated knife, cut the cake horizontally into three layers. Set the top two layers aside.
3. Using a serving spoon, spread the sherbet onto the bottom layer. Maybe 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Add the next layer on top. Repeat. Add the top layer on top.
4. Frost the whole thing with your fresh whipped cream. Or with Cool Whip or whipped cream from a can if that's the way you went. That will still be good, but not as good as fresh whipped.

Now here's the only important part: Cover carefully with plastic wrap. Use toothpicks if you want to keep the wrap off the frosting. Or, put it in a tupperware cake carrier. It's OK if there's air inside the wrap, but you want to completely seal off the cake from outside air. This is because the whipped cream will pick up off freezer flavors in a heartbeat.

Then freeze the cake in your freezer for an hour (or more if you want, but at least an hour).

Keep frozen until 10-15 min. before serving. Slice 'n' serve.

Key lime

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/4 cup (125 grams) graham cracker crumbs (can use crushed digestive biscuits)

2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar

5 - 6 tablespoons (70 - 85 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

3 large egg yolks, room temperature

One 14 - ounce (390 grams) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup (120 ml) key lime juice (can use regular limes)

2 teaspoons grated lime zest (outer skin)

Key Lime Pie: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter or lightly spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) pie or tart pan.

Graham Cracker Crust: Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for about 10 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool while you make the filling

Filling: In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks until pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Gradually add the condensed milk and beat until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the lime juice and zest. 

Pour the filling over the crust and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once it has completely cooled, cover and refrigerator for several hours or overnight.


Makes 1 - 9 inch (23 cm) pie or tart. 

References:

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/KeyLimePie.html#ixzz22Rf9PWLe

Anonymous wrote:
Ps pudding poster here: it is peak season, if you make a peach cobbler PLEASE use fresh peaches!


Yes, usually fresh is best, but not in this case.

This recipe needs the syrup from the canned peaches to turn out right. Fresh peaches don't work quite right.

Plus, nothing is easier/quicker than opening a can and dumping it in a can.

You just made me lol!

OP here - Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My very favorite and super easy berry tart -

Whip 1 cup heavy cream until it makes stiff peaks. Beat together 8oz cream cheese, 1/3 c powdered sugar, 2T lemon juice and 1/2t vanilla then add the whipped cream and beat until smooth.

Smooth that mixture into a graham cracker crust, and make a pretty design on top with assorted berries. Voila!

I usually make my own pecan graham cracker crust, which isn't too hard to do and tastes really really good, but I've also used store bought crusts when feeling lazy and it's still pretty yummy.


I'm not trying to be mean, but (1) whipping cream into heavy peaks is not for a beginning cook and (2) neither is making a pretty design with assorted berries; and (3) neither is making your own crust.

Seriously, you dump in the cream and turn on the mixer until it looks like whipped cream. It's not rocket science. Neither is putting a bunch of blueberries in a circle. She want's something that looked impressive. And there was a reason I didn't bother with a recipe for the crust

NP here. Seriously, I'm an experienced baker (e.g., I've done croissants, pain au chocolat, cakes and cookies of all types, baguettes) and even I don't own a stand mixer. No way a novice is going to have a stand mixer just sitting around to just toss heavy cream into.

Plus, folding whipped cream into a heavier mixture is fairly advanced. I think your recipe is more of an intermediate one. Cute idea, though!

Love this recipe! But I agree, if the person has no cooking skills she is going to end up with hunks of cream cheese in her final product.

Thanks for posting it though; you are making me hungry.

Anonymous wrote:Ps pudding poster here: it is peak season, if you make a peach cobbler PLEASE use fresh peaches!

Yes, usually fresh is best, but not in this case.

This recipe needs the syrup from the canned peaches to turn out right. Fresh peaches don't work quite right.

Plus, nothing is easier/quicker than opening a can and dumping it in a can.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My very favorite and super easy berry tart -

Whip 1 cup heavy cream until it makes stiff peaks. Beat together 8oz cream cheese, 1/3 c powdered sugar, 2T lemon juice and 1/2t vanilla then add the whipped cream and beat until smooth.

Smooth that mixture into a graham cracker crust, and make a pretty design on top with assorted berries. Voila!

I usually make my own pecan graham cracker crust, which isn't too hard to do and tastes really really good, but I've also used store bought crusts when feeling lazy and it's still pretty yummy.


I'm not trying to be mean, but (1) whipping cream into heavy peaks is not for a beginning cook and (2) neither is making a pretty design with assorted berries; and (3) neither is making your own crust.

Seriously, you dump in the cream and turn on the mixer until it looks like whipped cream. It's not rocket science. Neither is putting a bunch of blueberries in a circle. She want's something that looked impressive. And there was a reason I didn't bother with a recipe for the crust

NP here. Seriously, I'm an experienced baker (e.g., I've done croissants, pain au chocolat, cakes and cookies of all types, baguettes) and even I don't own a stand mixer. No way a novice is going to have a stand mixer just sitting around to just toss heavy cream into.

Plus, folding whipped cream into a heavier mixture is fairly advanced. I think your recipe is more of an intermediate one. Cute idea, though!

Lemon bars