Topping:

2-3 pears cut into 1/2 inch wedges
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

Melt butter and sugar in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Arrange pears in a circular pattern.

Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add in molasses and egg and beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, soda, cloves, allspice, ginger and cinnamon, mix well.

Stir 1 tsp of vanilla extract into milk.

Add half dry ingredients into butter/sugar mixture. Stir in half the milk. Repeat until all ingredients are well blended

Pour cake batter over pears and bake at 350 F for 30 to 35 min. or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a plate.

Let cool to room temperature before serving

Peach Almond Tart

350 g finely ground almonds

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 peaches, peeled and sliced into eighths

1 tsp vanilla.

One pastry shell for a 10" tart (use this recipe)

Prep

Blind bake pastry by pressing into tart shell and trimming excess. Cover with a layer of parchment paper and weigh down with some pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, then remove parchment and beans, and let brown for another 5 minutes.

To peel peaches, mark a small "x" with a knive at the bottom of each peach and plunge for 30 seconds into boiling water. Remove and immediately place into cold water. Peels should slip off easily.

Cream together butter and sugar, add ground almonds and mix thoroughly. Add eggs one at time, incorporating each into mixture before adding the next. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture into baked tart shell. Add peaches in a concentric pattern.

Bake

Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes to an hour, checking for a brown top and firm centre.

Adapted from Plum Almond Tart-- Jamie's Kitchen

(adapted from a recipe on Epicurious.com)

2 ¼ cup of all purpose flour

¾ cup of cocoa

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup of sugar

½ cup of butter

2 eggs

½ cup of apple butter

1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup of buttermilk

2 cups of grated zucchini

1 cup of chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts (optional)

Sift together first four ingredients.

In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Add in eggs, one at a time. Stir in apple butter and vanilla to mixture. Add in half of dry mixture, stirring well. Add half of buttermilk, and continue alternating dry mixture and buttermilk until well blended. Mix in zucchini, chocolate chips.

Grease and flour a 9 by 13” pan. Pour mixture into pan and bake at 325F for 30 to 35 min., or until an inserted toothpick comes out with a moist crumb.

2 cups of pine nutslemon sabayon and pine nut tart

3 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz butter (room temperature)

1 egg

Pulse pine nuts in food processor until ground. Add flour and sugar, and pulse some more until a fine mixture is formed. Turn mixture out into a bowl. Mix in vanilla, egg and butter, until well combined. (Use your hands to blend butter in. Form a ball, cut into three equal sized pieces and refrigerate at least 10 minutes before using.

½ cup of butter

1 cup of packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 ½ tbsp of balsamic reduction

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of orange zest

½ tsp of nutmeg (I like freshly grated nutmeg)

½ tsp of baking powder

½ tsp of baking soda

1 ¾ cup of whole wheat flour

½ cup of quick oats

½ cup of walnuts

1 8-oz package of chocolate chunks

Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add in egg and continue to beat until incorporated. Add balsamic reduction, vanilla and orange zest, and blend. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg together. Incorporate dry ingredients into wet mixture. Add oats, walnuts and chocolate chunks and mix until well distributed through batter.

Divide batter into three logs, 2” in diameter. Put into freezer, for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice cookies into half inch rounds and place on cookie sheet. Bake between 12 and 15 minutes, if batter is still frozen, 8 to 10 minutes if not frozen.

Source: inspired by the Neiman Marcus Cookie recipe

jam

½ cup of brown sugar

½ cup of tamarind paste

2 tbps of rum

Put all three ingredients in a small pot. Heat to a simmer, and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Mixture will become glossy. Set aside and cool.

Cookies

½ cup icing sugar

½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 ¼ cups of white flour

½ tsp of lime zest

½ tsp salt

1 tsp of ground cardamom

Cream together butter, and icing sugar. Add in zest, salt and cardamom, mix thoroughly.

Add in flour and combine until mixture forms a dough.

Roll into about 12 1-inch balls.

Press thumb into centre of each ball. Refrigerate for ½ hour.

Put 1 tsp of jam mixture into centre well of each cookie. Bake at 350F

Special equipment 1 jumbo muffin tin (makes six servings)

topping

1/3 cup of butter

6 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar

1 cup of sliced rhubarb

3 tbsp of candied ginger

Cake

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

½ cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp of vanilla

½ cup of milk

½ cup of yogurt

2 eggs

topping

Melt the butter and divide evenly into six jumbo muffin tins, swirling the tin to coat sides. Add a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar to each and spread over bottom. Add a layer of rubarb and sprinkle with candied ginger.

For cake

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Whisk milk and yogurt together until smooth. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add in eggs, one at time, beating between each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Add half of dry ingredients, stirring gently. Add in half of yogurt and milk mixture and stir to incorporate. Repeat with remaining wet and dry ingredients.

Pour cake batter evenly over topping. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into cake should come out dry and clean.

Run a knife around the edge of cakes. Invert tin onto a flat surface. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.

Source: A Kitchen Vixen creation.