Blueberry Cream Pie

Last week I was given a bunch of blueberries from my in-laws and of course Daniella’s request was pie.  I finally got around to making it this past Sunday.  I decided to try a Blueberry Cream Pie for a change.  I found this recipe over at Little Indiana . My only issue with it, was the orange zest, it was far too much, next time I think I will use lemon and half the amount, so it doesn’t take away from the blueberries.

Blueberry Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 3 Cups Blueberries
• 1 Cup Heavy Cream
• 2/3 Cup Sugar
• 4 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Orange Zest (or Lemon)
• 1 Pastry Pie Crust (homemade or store-bought)

Instructions

1. 400* oven.
2. Pour Blueberries into unbaked Pie Crust.
3. Whisk together Heavy Cream, Sugar, Flour, Salt, and Orange Zest.
4. Pour over Blueberries.
5. Bake 35-42 minutes or until a light golden brown on the top.
6. Cool.
7. Store in refrigerator. Best when eaten chilled.

 

I looked at the calendar and noticed that yesterday Unconventional Cakery turned 1! A lot has changed over the past year, Munchkin is almost a year older, Jodi and I saw our best friend get married, and I started doing kickboxing. Im so excited that Jodi and I have made it a year and here is to many more.

 

I wanted to share my recipe for blueberry cheesecake smoothie. But please excuse the picture…I guess for some reason my flash isn’t working…maybe that water did more damage than I thought…

 

Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie

 

1 Cup vanilla yogurt

 

2 Tbs greek yogurt cream cheese

 

¼ cup milk

 

½ cup blueberries

 

½ tsp vanilla extract

 

1 tsp sugar

 

Directions

 

1) place all ingredients into a blender and blend

 

2) place in glass and enjoy.

 

Death Star Cake

This past weekend was my youngest nephew’s birthday party.  The request this year was Star Wars or more particularly, a Death Star Cake.  I really enjoyed making this one, having a little girl who is into everything pink makes it hard for my geeky side to come out at times.

 

Morning everyone! Yes I know I know I missed you guys on Friday …two weeks in a row…I swear this past Friday I had a really good excuse…I went to turn on my camera to load my pictures and it was sitting in an inch of water…someone thought it was a great idea to leave it near the sink…so I let it dry out and low and behold it works…but it didn’t dry out completely until Saturday morning… (#fail)

 

Anyways back to the grind stone I suppose. I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was good, got a lot done and even knocked a few things off my outstanding to-do list. Although I did have to make a drive to go grocery shopping this weekend…I’m not sure if you all heard of the whole Market Basket strike…and my only other option in town doesn’t have very good produce…so I ventured out to Stop and Shop…I do have to say those scan devices are nice, I can make sure I don’t over spend and can second guess some of my choices…even with that said…I want my Market Basket back…(ok end of rant)…

 

This week I wanted to share with you my recipe for lime pineapple margarita bunt cakes…these didn’t last one day in my house and my mother in-law and sister in-law have requested more…I hope you all enjoy!…Its always 5 o’clock in Margaritaville…so cheers to hopefully a painless Monday…

 

pineapple margarita bunt cakes

Bunt Cake

 

1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (divided)

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoons salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon lime zest

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

⅓ cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tablespoon tequila

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 cup pineapples, crushed

 

For Lime Rum Glaze

 

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting

2 teaspoon lime juice

1 tablespoon tequila

 

Steps

 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 6 mini Bundt pans with baking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1½ cups of flours, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the tequila and lime juice.

 

2) In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the sugar, oil and butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the lime zest and beat for additional minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the eggs, one at a time and beating until combined. Beat in vanilla extract.

 

3) Add in a third of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Then add another third of flour and the rest of the buttermilk. Mix again until just combined. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed. Add the rest of the flour and mix for 30 seconds. Finish incorporating the flour into the batter by hand with a rubber spatula to avoid over mixing.

 

4) Drain crushed pineapple. In a small bowl, toss the pineapples with the remaining two tablespoons of flour. Spoon batter into individual mini bundt pans, filling halfway before sprinkling the pineapples on top of the batter. Then top until two-third full. Smooth the top. Repeat for each.

 

5) Bake until cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow cake to cool in pan for 30 minutes. Using a small sharp knife, run it around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake and then invert the cake onto a cooling rack (lined with parchment paper) to cool completely.

 

For the glaze

 

1) Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl. If the glaze is too thick, whisk in rum or lime juice, a teaspoon at a time.

 

2) Just before serving, pour the glaze over the cake and allowing it to drip down the sides. Let glaze set for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

 

There are many great things about summer, the sun, family events and no snow. However I do have to admit, I tend to find meals that do no require my oven this time of year…my air conditioners only cool off my place so far…and I don’t think Dan wants added salt to his meals (from me sweating over the hot oven). So I opt to use my grill as much and as often as I can…speaking of which…I think Im out of propane…(note to self)…any ways…

Normally Im not a huge fan of ground turkey or chicken…I’ve tried to do the healthy thing and substitute it in my meal plan…but its just not the same…and there is no amount of condiments that can change it into anything resembling ground beef…I think its a texture thing…

So this recipe was out of my comfort zone to say the least…and you know it wasn’t bad…Dan had no complaints…and this coming from a man who likes his meat (preferably beef) and potatoes…so on this hot and humid day…I give you Chicken Gyro Burgers

Ingredients
ground chicken
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 minced clove of garlic
1/2 tsp of basil
1/2 tsp of oregano
1 cup feta
1 package of sandwich thins
tzatziki sauce

Steps

1) Mix all ingredients together.

2) Form into burgers and cook

3) Serve on sandwich thins with lettuce, cucumbers and tzatziki sauce.