dessert

Name: Strawberry Nutella Tart
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 Pie Crust, unbaked,; 1/2 cup Nutella; 1 cup Strawberries

by Courtney 4 Comments

Easy Strawberry Nutella Tart

Strawberry season is in full swing here, and the pickings have been bountiful. In fact, there was so much rain in our area last week that one of our favorite strawberry farms ran a sale on their u-pick berries. All of the rain was ruining the ripe berries, so we went out and picked what we could to help out. We were clearly suffering through that… Once our sticky red faces came home, I wanted to use up the berries. They were on the brink of being over-ripe, so a quick dessert was needed. Enter this chocolate strawberry dessert! A pie crust, creamy nutella, and fresh strawberries are all that’s needed for this delicious strawberry nutella tart recipe!

Easy Chocolate Strawberry Tart

The combination of crispy crust, smooth hazelnut chocolate nutella, and ripe berries makes for a fabulous and easy dessert. We were providing dinner for friends of ours, so my kids were a little bummed to see this strawberry nutella tart recipe walking out the door without any sampling. The prep is also super simple. While the crust is baking, slice strawberries and take the top off the nutella. Boom. Done.

And let’s not kid ourselves. Nutella has really branded itself as a breakfast food. And having grown up some in Germany, I grew up thinking this amazing chocolate spread on a brotchen roll was the closest thing to Heaven on any given morning. So if you’re so inspired, you can even serve this for breakfast. (I think it would be perfect for a post-slumber party breakfast.) Or simply surprise your kids one morning with this on the table, and you’ll get cheers and hoorays!

Strawberry Nutella Tart Ingredients

1 Pie Crust, unbaked (homemade or store bought)

1/2 cup Nutella hazelnut spread

1 cup sliced ripe strawberries

Strawberry Nutella Tart Recipe

While I make my tart with a whole wheat pie crust, you are welcome to use what you like here. Roll out a store bought crust, or whip one up in the food processor. Either way works. If I’m going for store bought, I prefer the Immaculate Baking Company’s crust. So tasty, and it isn’t full of junk.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prep your pie crust by rolling the chilled crust out onto a parchment lined baking sheet or stone. If you’re using a homemade crust, you can even get fancy by running a fluted pastry wheel around the edge. Place crust in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. While crust is baking, slice clean strawberries into 1/4 inch slices, or halve them for a different look. Set aside.
Once your crust is golden brown, remove from oven and slide crust and parchment paper onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely. (No one wants melted Nutella running off the sides of a warm crust.) Once crust is cool, spread Nutella evenly over the surface. I usually leave a small edge. This makes it easier to serve. I love these plastic spreaders from Sweden; they are so great for anything that needs spreading!
Take sliced or halved strawberries, and beginning at the edge of Nutella, place them tip pointed out along the outer edge. Then begin the next row and so on until you have covered the hazelnut spread in lovely red berries. In the center, you can place one whole strawberry that is sliced and fanned out slightly.
Serve immediately. If you want to make in advance, simply bake your pie crust ahead of time and have sliced berries waiting in the fridge. Assemble right before you’re planning to serve. Use a sharp knife or pie server to cut and garnish with whole strawberries or mint leaves.

This time of year, I’m doing all I can to use up strawberries. Between jam, fresh salads, cobbler, or just plain berry eating, we’re certainly getting our fill and loving it. I’d love to know what your favorite strawberry recipe is because I’m always looking to try new things! Have a great week and happy berry eating!

Yield: 8

Strawberry Nutella Tart

Create this beautiful dessert (or breakfast) with ripe strawberries, creamy Nutella, and one pie crust (store bought or homemade).

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Passive Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

1 Pie Crust, unbaked,
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup Strawberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prep your pie crust by rolling the chilled crust out onto a parchment lined baking sheet or stone. Place crust in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. While crust is baking, slice clean strawberries into 1/4 inch slices, or halve them for a different look. Set aside.
Once crust is golden brown, remove from oven and slide crust and parchment paper onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely. Once crust is cool, spread Nutella evenly over the surface. I usually leave a small edge. This makes it easier to serve.
Take sliced or halved strawberries, and beginning at the edge of Nutella, place them tip pointed out along the outer edge. Then begin the next row and so on until you have covered the hazelnut spread in lovely red berries. In the center, you can place one whole strawberry that is sliced and fanned out slightly.
Serve immediately. If you want to make in advance, simply bake your pie crust ahead of time and assemble right before you're planning to serve. Use a sharp knife or pie server to cut and garnish with whole strawberries or mint leaves.

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by Courtney 1 Comment

Fresh Pear Cake (and it’s whole grain!)

This fresh pear cake recipe is the perfect way to use up extra pears, no matter what type. Rich whole grains and cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg give this fall dessert a spice cake flavor that is a crowd pleaser! Perfect for dessert or even as breakfast, this fresh pear cake is a winner winner!

Fresh Pear Cake

Fresh food is definitely the best; there’s no question about that. But sometimes I do find myself struggling with ideas of what to do with certain fruits and veggies. Yes, many can be eaten raw, and that’s actually pretty fabulous for you, but in the case of the fresh pears that grow around here, they’re usually too hard to be simply picked and eaten, though our kids have definitely tried this technique on multiple occasions. They do eventually soften up, but for the most part, folks around here “put up” or preserve this specific type of pear. For cooking and baking, these crisp and firm pears really can’t be beat.

Our normal supply of pears comes from an old tree at my husband’s grandmother’s home just outside of town. The tree is usually so weighed down with pears that the branches break under the weight, so two years ago the tree received a serious pruning, and we weren’t able to get any pears this past year. But hopes are high that this year the pears will return!

Since I don’t have a lot of free time to put up pears (and since the last time I did it we had canned pears for two years…) I like to use these babies in homemade pear cake. This sweet and cinnamon-spiced cake has the slight crust of a pound cake, but chunks of moist and delicious pear to balance it out. My mom has been making this cake for as long as I can remember, and though she’s an excellent cook, she’ll tell you baking is not her gift. Despite her baking humility, my mom’s pear cake (and coconut cake) are always a fan-favorite at her house, and now the pear cake tradition has passed on to our house as well.

Whole Grain Cake

Over the last few years, I’ve been making some changes to the original recipe to create a “healthier” version, including using whole wheat pastry flour and substituting some of the oil for applesauce. The substitutions have been a success, and the result is a delicious cake that I totally let my kids eat for breakfast the next day, because let’s not get started on the amount of sugar in most processed breakfast foods. I digress. So here’s the low down on how to make this super simple cake.

Ingredients for Fresh Pear Cake

3 cups Whole wheat pastry flour (all purpose can also be used)

4-5 cups chopped pears

1 1/2 cups Sugar (we like an unrefined sugar)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Cloves

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Ginger

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2 Eggs

1/3 cup Oil (I like coconut oil)

1/3 cup applesauce (or pear sauce!)

1 cup nuts (optional)

How to Make Fresh Pear Cake

Dice pears, you can even have smaller helpers do this with a kid’s knife.
Place pears in bowl with sugar and let sit for at least an hour. This will cause the pears to create their own “juice.”
While pears are juicing, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and spices and whisk to combine. Then add eggs, oil, and applesauce to pears and combine with the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Stir in nuts if using.
Pour into a bundt pan and bake at 325 for an hour and 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling.

This cake is delicious served slightly warm, and while you can serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream, it really needs no extras. It’s a simple and delicious cake that isn’t loaded with junk, so just tell yourself you’re eating health food and enjoy every bite.

Fresh Pear Cake (and it's whole grain!)

This whole grain pear cake is the perfect fall dessert with all of the flavors of fresh pear, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

4-5 cups Pears
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1/3 cup Oil
1/3 cup applesauce
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour (or all purpose)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cloves
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Ginger
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 eggs

Instructions

Dice pears, you can even have smaller helpers do this with a kid’s knife.
Place pears in bowl with sugar and let sit for at least an hour. This will cause the pears to create their own “juice.”
While pears are juicing, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and spices and whisk to combine. Then add eggs, oil, and applesauce to pears and combine with the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Pour into a bundt pan and bake at 325 for an hour and 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling.

Strawberry Cobbler with Sugar Cookie Crust

Cobbler, whether strawberry cobbler, peach, blueberry…it’s a southern tradition, like black eyed peas and greens on New Years Day or seersucker in the summer. Cobbler is also one tradition I happily indulge in whenever there’s fresh fruit in season. Traditional cobbler has a fruit base and usually a sticky cobbler dough that bakes into sweet and slightly crusty perfection. See my Skillet Peach Cobbler recipe for a classic. But one of our local restaurants The Chef and the Farmer created a new take on the classic with a sugar cookie crusted berry cobbler that is unbelievably delicious. If you haven’t had a chance to check out their show on PBS, A Chef’s Life, I highly recommend it. Chef Vivian’s recipes and excursions to local farms and businesses are both fun and educational.

A Fast, Seasonal Strawberry Dessert

Back to the cobbler, with our bounty of fresh strawberries last week, I set out to replicate the sugar cookie crusted cobbler that my husband and I both loved. The crispy cookie crust with the bright berry pop within is the perfect way to end a meal, and this recipe is perfect to make ahead. So if you’re having family or friends over, prep the strawberry cobblers, place in the fridge, then slide them in the oven during dinner. These individual strawberry cobblers will be ready to go once dinner is over. Perfect!

Sugar Cookie Strawberry Cobbler Ingredients

Strawberry Filling

3 cups sliced strawberries
3/4 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla

Fresh Strawberry Cobbler Recipe

The first thing to do is put together the sugar cookie dough; it needs to chill in the fridge for at least an hour. It’s a classic recipe, so you can use your favorite or the one I posted below.

2. Once your sugar cookie dough is chilling (or chillin’) in the fridge, get started on your cobbler filling. I tried this two ways, and both ways were delicious. First, slice the strawberries. Then combine your berries with sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch (or arrowroot powder) and let sit on the counter for an hour or so. For a faster result, gently heat the berry mixture in a sauce pan for 5 minutes. (FYI not heating the berries will give your cobbler a juicer base, which my husband preferred. He could then break off chunks of crust and soak up the juice.)

3. Once your strawberries are ready, assemble the cobblers. Shallow ramekins filled about a half inch from the top with the strawberry filling is perfect. Roll out a portion of cookie dough and cover the top of each ramekin, letting it drape over the side. There’s no need to make your dough a perfect circle; it’s looks (and tastes) great regardless.

4. Place your ramekins on a baking sheet (trust me, you want to do this. I didn’t the first time and ended up with cookie dough baking on the bottom of the oven). Place in preheated oven and bake until tops are golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

5. For your tongue’s sake, give it a few minutes to cool, then dig in!

Another wonderful thing about this dessert is it can be made mostly in advance. The cookie dough will last in the fridge for days if it’s wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and the strawberry filling will do the same. So when you’re ready to have dessert, simply assemble and bake!

Additions to Strawberry Cobbler

You can definitely serve this with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to make it more indulgent, but it’s wonderful plain as well. I’d love to know what your favorite strawberry desserts are or if you’ve seen A Chef’s Life on PBS. Enjoy!

Yield: 6

Strawberry Cobbler with Sugar Cookie Crust

Sweet and juicy strawberry cobbler topped with a crisp sugar cookie crust.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Passive Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

Sugar Cookie Crust

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt

Strawberry Filling

3 cups sliced strawberries
3/4 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla

Instructions

Cream butter and sugar in mixer until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Slowly add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at listen hour.

Strawberry Cobbler

To assemble cobblers, spoon strawberry filling into the bottom of ramekins, not quite to the top. Break of 1/4 cup size pieces of sugar cookie dough and roll out into a rough circle. Lay dough on top of ramekin and press around the edges, letting the dough overhang.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 613Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 484mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 3gSugar: 46gProtein: 8g

Other Fruit Dessert Recipes:

Skillet Peach Cobbler

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cream Pies

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

by Courtney 6 Comments

Fresh Blueberry Pie

Pie, oh sweet blueberry pie! It can be quite an elusive dessert if you’re easily intimidated by crust, but man are the possibilities endless. Chocolate cream, lemon meringue, peach, pecan, blueberry, strawberry… I’ve gotta stop, or I’ll start drooling and/or instantly begin gaining weight just thinking about them. Now, I haven’t always been a big pie fan, apart from the traditional pumpkin and pecan during the holidays. I’m more of a cobbler (like my peach and strawberry cobblers!) girl. My mom wasn’t a big pie maker. She can flat-out make a coconut cake, but for whatever reason, we never thought to have pie for dessert. Feel sorry for my pie-less childhood, but enjoy this fresh blueberry pie recipe!

How to Make No-Bake Blueberry Pie

Fast forward twenty(ish) years, and since my pie-knowledge was lacking, I have literally begged my friends to teach me how to make some of the most delicious pies. I kid you not. Over the years, I have shamelessly invited friends over and asked them to teach me how to make (enter name of food item here). In fact, some of my favorite recipes come from the kitchens of friends. This can lead me down a whole rabbit trail of why I think it’s essential to have solid and real friendships, but I’ll save that for another day.

My sweet friend Christy, who I actually met on a friend “blind date” when we first moved to the area, introduced me to blueberry pie. (Strangely enough, this was not the only time friends have “set me up” to meet other friends. What are people trying to tell me?) Either way, Christy lives in a beautiful historic town about 45 minutes away where there are fabulous blueberry farms. In our earlier days of motherhood, the kids and I made that drive quite a bit to visit. During one of those visits, Christy shared this incredible blueberry pie recipe with me.

So without further ado, here is the friendship-building recipe that I’ve been using for quite a few years, and if you aren’t a big fan of blueberries, you can use strawberries or peaches that are fresh or frozen. So, it’s definitely versatile! I love that frozen blueberries can be used for this pie. Use a homemade or store bought pie crust; it’s delicious either way. Think about what sweet friend you can share this recipe with, or maybe you’ll luck out, and they will make it for you. Enjoy!

Fresh Blueberry Pie Ingredients

4 cups blueberries (strawberries or peaches) fresh or frozen
3/4 cup Sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pre-baked pie shell homemade or store bought

Fresh Blueberry Pie Recipe

If using frozen fruit, simply rinse off any ice crystals. Mix 2 cups blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt and water in a small saucepan. Cook mixture on med-high until very thick. The color will change from pink to dark purple. Stir constantly when it starts to thicken.
Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Let cool about 15 minutes.
Add the rest of the blueberries. Pour into cooked and cooled pie shell.
Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream, or splurge and have it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

I’d love to know your favorite fruit desserts, especially any that are easy to whip up like this! Have a great week!

Yield: 8

Fresh Blueberry Pie (or peach or strawberry!)

A simple and delicious fresh blueberry pie that is a cinch to make and is no bake! And you can even use frozen blueberries for this quick dessert!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups blueberries (strawberries or peaches), fresh or frozen
3/4 cup Sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch, or arrowroot powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 already baked pie shell, homemade or store bought