Sweet Peach Cream Cheese Muffins #MuffinMonday

Sweet Peach Cream Cheese Muffins celebrate the best of summer peaches with a wonderfully subtle tang. They are perfect for a summertime brunch, breakfast or snack.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been flitting all about this last week and a half, with a long weekend first in New York City and then a few short days in Quito, Ecuador. Now I am finally back in my hometown of Houston, enjoying time with even more family and taking advantage of local Texas produce, like my favorite crookneck yellow squash, young carrots with greens still attached, glowing golden beets, and especially the fragrant peaches.

In the Dubai grocery stores, peaches rarely smell like peach. They’ve been picked too young and flown in from goodness knows where. The Texas peaches actually smell as a good peach should. I stood in front of the peach bin picking many of them up, one by one, inhaling that glorious aroma and tucking them into a produce bag.

When I got home, my mom reminded me that peaches are her favorite fruit, to which I replied, I know! That’s why I’m making peach cream cheese muffins. I love cooking and baking for Mom because she always loves whatever I make.

Which brings me to this month’s Muffin Monday recipe.

Sweet Peach Cream Cheese Muffins

If you don’t have good fresh peaches, you can substitute frozen or, if you drain them well on some paper towels first, peaches canned in natural juice.

Ingredients
2 ripe but firm peaches (approximate whole weight of both: 10.5 oz or 300g)
2 cups or 250g flour
1 cup or 200g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 oz or 113g cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup or 60g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for the pan
1 large egg, at room temperature
3/4 cup or 180ml milk

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Prepare your muffin pan by buttering it or lining it with muffin cups.

Pit and dice your peaches, setting aside about 1/4 cup to top the muffins with before baking. The larger pile will go in the muffin batter.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Tip in the bigger pile of diced peaches and stir till the peach bits are well coated with the flour. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mash the cream cheese with a fork, then pour in the cool, melted butter. Use the fork to mix the cream cheese and butter together until you have a mixture that looks like small soft curds.

Add in the egg and the milk and beat with the fork until combined. There will still be some tiny lumps of cream cheese.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold until they are just combined.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups in your prepared pan. Top with the reserved diced peach.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden all around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove the muffins and cool on a wire rack. These can be served warm or room temperature.

Enjoy!

Check out the other lovely muffins my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today!

• Cheesy Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chile and Raspberry Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oreo Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Strawberry Banana Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Sweet Peach Cream Cheese Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Inside Out German Chocolate Cake #BundtBakers

Instead of being topped with the traditional icing, for this inside out German chocolate cake a super chocolaty batter is baked in a Bundt pan filled knee deep in coconut and pecans, with dollops of sweetened buttery cream cheese. When you turn it over, the coconut and pecans create a lovely top and the cream cheese lines the bottom.

That said, once I had it turned out, it seemed a little naked, so I brushed the outside with condensed milk and sprinkled on a bit more flaked coconut and chopped pecans. But you don’t need to.

Growing up, German chocolate was often my birthday cake of choice. I loved the chocolate cake, the pecans, the coconut! Absolutely everything about it. But it wasn't until recently that I began to research the origins of the name and recipe.

You all probably knew this, but it turns out that German chocolate cake is wholly American. The "German" in the title is from the surname of the gentleman, one Samuel German, who created the original bakers' chocolate (way back in 1852) that was used in a chocolate cake recipe that was printed in the Dallas Morning News in 1957, more than a century later. Ever since Mrs. George Clay's original recipe was the Recipe of the Day, bakers have been replicating it and adapting it, but they've never stopped baking it.

Two of the variations are upside down German chocolate cake and inside out German chocolate cake, and a Google search turned up an astonishing number of recipes for each. This one, despite its name, is a sort of combination of both.

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

Fudgy chocolate cake with a crunchy curve of pecans and coconut on top, plus a chewy caramelized bottom, this Bundt has got a whole lot going on. All of it delicious.

Ingredients
1 cup, lightly packed, or 145g sweetened coconut flakes
1 1/2 cups or 200g pecans, chopped
1 1/2 cups or 190g all-purpose or plain flour
1 1/2 cups or 300g white granulated sugar
1/2 cup or 40g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml buttermilk
1/3 cup or 80ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup or 180ml boiling water
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
4 oz or  113g cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup or 57g butter, softened
1 3/4 cups or 226g powdered sugar

Optional extras for decorating:
condensed milk
sweetened coconut flakes
chopped pecans

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Liberally grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Mix the coconut flakes and chopped pecans together then spoon them into the bottom of the Bundt pan. Use your clean hands or the back of a spoon to create a channel all the way around, pressing the coconut and chopped pecans up the sides of the pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Add the oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk to the flour mixture and beat well to combine. Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water then pour it into the bowl. Beat until fully incorporated and glossy.

Pour the cake batter into the channel of the coconut and pecans. Keep pouring until all the batter is in the Bundt pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar in medium bowl until well blended.

Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the cake batter - Do NOT mix it in.

Bake on middle rack in oven for 45-50 minutes. The cream cheese mixture will initially sink, then it will start bubbling up and browning.

The cake is done when a skewer comes out of the cake with no more than light crumbs sticking to it.

Remove the Bundt pan from the oven and set to cool on a rack for no more than 10 minutes. Use your skewer to loosen the sticky bits from the edges of the pan, then turn your Inside Out German Chocolate Bundt over onto a parchment lined cutting board. Set aside to cool completely.

Once it’s cooled, you can brush it with condensed milk and sprinkle on some more coconut and chopped pecans, if desired.

Enjoy!

This month our Bundt Baker host is Sue from Palatable Pastime and, as you might have guessed from the list below, our theme/ingredient is chocolate! Check out all the chocolatey cakes we have for you today!

• Alcohol Chocolate Fruit Mini Bundts from Sneha's Recipe
• White Chocolate Bundt Cake from Merce’s Cake
• Caramel Mocha Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Chocolate Brownie Bundt from Cookaholic Wife
• Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake from Tartacadabra
• Chocolate Oreo Bundt from Living the Gourmet
• Chocolate Tres Leches Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake
• Extra Dark Chocolate and Moka Bundt Cake from Pat y Co. Candy Bar
• Inside Out German Chocolate Cake from Food Lust People Love
• Low Sugar Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake from Palatable Pastime
• Martha Stewart Chocolate Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes
• White Chocolate, Almond and Strawberry Curd Bundt Cake from Nunca es Demasiado Dulce

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

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Grilled Pineapple Shrimp Salad #FishFridayFoodies

More than just the sum of its simple parts, this beautiful grilled pineapple shrimp salad will impress your friends and family with its looks and flavor.

Years ago when we lived in Brazil, the churrascaria near our house would serve grilled pineapple as a dessert option. No cinnamon or other seasonings, just pineapple with the natural caramelization that comes from the application of heat to sugar. It makes the pineapple taste sweeter.

Which made me think. Surely I could create the same effect with my grill pan. (It’s already way too hot to light the barbecue pit here in Dubai!) I am pleased to report it works! And grilled pineapple is the perfect base for a small salad topped with shrimp.

This month my Fish Friday Foodies friends are sharing salads with seafood so make sure to scroll down to check out the rest.

Grilled Pineapple Shrimp Salad

Pretty and tasty, perfect for your next dinner party. I use fresh pineapple here, even leaving in the core because it is usually tender enough to eat. If you must substitute canned pineapple, choose the unsweetened ones in plain juice.

Ingredients - to serve 4 as an appetizer or first course
For the salad:
4 slices fresh pineapple
Small handful cilantro
4-5 leaves baby cos lettuce
1 cucumber
1 small red chili pepper
4 jumbo shrimp, cooked and peeled - I leave just the tail on because it's pretty
Freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch salt

Method
Heat your grill pan over a high heat then grill the pineapple slices for just a few minutes on each side, until you have created charred lines where the natural sugars have caramelized. Remove to a plate and leave to cool.

Chop the cilantro and set aside a few leaves for garnish. Quarter the cucumber lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut the cucumbers in little cubes. Chop the lettuce roughly  into small pieces. Slice the chili pepper.

Make the salad dressing by whisking all of the ingredients together in small bowl.

Put the cucumber, lettuce and cilantro (saving a sprig or two for garnish) into a small bowl and spoon over three quarters of the dressing. Toss lightly.

Divide the salad into four and place one pile on top of each of the cooled pineapple slices.

Top with the sliced chili pepper and shrimp. Garnish with the reserved cilantro. Drizzle over the last of the dressing on top of the shrimp.

Finish with a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy!

If you are a food blogger and would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies, please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 at gmail.com. We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month.  Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

Many thanks to Sid from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking for this month's great Fish Fridays Foodies theme. Check out all the wonderful salads with seafood we are sharing!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Feta Sun-Dried Tomato Quick Bread #BreadBakers

A savory loaf that would be as welcome for breakfast as for lunch or dinner, this feta sun-dried tomato quick bread is delightful on its own, or smeared with butter or cream cheese.

I have to be honest, I’ve never really thought about the color of bread. The desired delicious ingredients go in and it turns out the color it turns out, right? Well, this month for Bread Bakers our host Mireille of The Schizo Chef challenged us to bake colorful breads, using only natural colorants. Of course, breads have to taste good, but suddenly color became important too.

I started my search for ideas by looking up natural ways to dye Easter eggs and homemade Play-Do. Loads of good ideas but none of them sounded particularly tasty. And then it popped into my head: Sun-dried tomatoes! Those are both tasty and colorful, plus I have a bagful of homemade sun-dried tomatoes. And since I wasn’t sure just how colorful those would be, I added some ground annatto as well.

The original recipe for this very adapted version comes from the long, deep rabbit hole that is the interwebs. I found it first on gottagetbaked, but as I read the post, my friend Nancy revealed that she had adapted it from this recipe by Jen at Juanita’s Cocina. Oh, good. A source to quote, I thought.

But that wasn’t the end of the trail. Jen had actually made the bread as part of a Secret Recipe post using instructions from Debra at Eliot’s Eats. Sooooo, I clicked through. Turns out that Deb was inspired to create the recipe after reading the essay Ploughman’s Lunch from Outlaw Cook* by John Thorne and Matt Lewis Thorne.

And there was a whole afternoon happily gone. But never wasted.

Feta Sun-dried Tomato Quick Bread

This recipe is adapted from one called “A Simple Plowman’s Lunch: Beer, Onion and Cheese Bread” from Elliot’s Eats. If you haven’t met Deb yet, go on over and pay her a visit. She’s got some great recipes.

Ingredients (1 standard loaf)
1/2 cup or 45g sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
7 oz or 200g feta cheese, crumbled
3 cups or 375g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground annatto
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
12 oz or 355ml beer – use a lager rather than an ale or bitter
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon oregano, optional

N.B. If, like mine, your can of beer is only 11 oz or 330ml, make up the difference in the volume with the water used to rehydrate the sun-dried tomatoes.

Tip: Making your own sun-dried tomatoes is easy! Check out my simple instructions here: Homemade sun-dried tomatoes.

Method
Divide the sun-dried tomatoes into two equal piles. Chop one into small pieces with a sharp knife. In a small bowl, pour boiling water to cover over the other pile. Set aside to rehydrate. Depending on how dried your tomatoes are, they could take up to an hour to plump back up and you might need to top up with more water.

Use a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder to make a powder out of it the chopped pile.

Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium heat with oil. Sauté the onion for 10-12 minutes, or until it is translucent. Set the pan aside and allow the onion to cool.

When the tomatoes are plump and soft, drain and reserve the soaking water, if you need it for extra liquid. (See ingredient list.) Chop the tomatoes roughly.

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a standard loaf pan with baking parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, annatto powder and salt. Add the crumbled cheese, cooled onions and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and toss everything together so that the other ingredients are evenly mixed into the flour.

Add the beer and honey to the flour and fold until all ingredients are incorporated and there are no dry bits of flour.

Spoon the thick dough into the prepared bread pan and smooth the top of the dough. Sprinkle on some oregano, if desired.

Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is a golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning the loaf out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Slice and serve. It’s great natural or toasted, plain or embuttered or, since I like to gild the lily, spread with softened cream cheese.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to our host, Mireille from The Schizo Chef for this fun challenge! Check out all the naturally colorful breads we have for you this month!

• Cheesy Kale, Tomato and Chile Focaccia from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Coriander Butterflake Bread from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Coriander Cumin Bread from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Feta Sun-dried Tomato Quick Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Purple Yam Sweet Potato Bread from The Schizo Chef
• Spinach Beetroot Wheat Bread from Anybody Can Bake
• Spinach Sandwich Rolls from Cook's Hideout
• Tangzhong Method Spinach Bread from Sneha's Recipe
• Turmeric & Garlic Pull Apart Bread from Mayuri's Jikoni

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert #BakingBloggers

Super simple to make, especially if you use store-bought puff pastry, this colorful Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert makes the perfect appetizer for your dinner party, to serve along with cocktails and wine or to present as the cheese course at the end of your meal.

I mean really. Take a look at this guy. Isn’t he gorgeous? I’m here to tell you that he’s as tasty as he is pretty. And so easy! Creamy Camembert cheese is the perfect savory accompaniment to the sweet dried apricots, vibrant pistachios and tart pomegranate arils. And who doesn’t love flakey puff pastry?

This month the theme for my Baking Bloggers group is puff pastry so make sure to scroll down past the recipe to see all of the other links!

I’m not a big dessert lover so anytime a set menu offers me a cheeseboard instead; I’m on it. I love the way the typical accompaniments of dried fruits like figs and apricots complement the salty rich cheeses. And if there are some crunchy pistachios, almonds or walnuts on the board, I like to make sure my every bite has all three: cheese, fruit and nuts.

This Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert makes that easier than ever, putting the whole combo in a crunchy crust. And when most of the Camembert is gone, you can cut the puff pastry into slices like a pie and sprinkle on a few of the spare apricots and pistachios. Delicious!

Tip: To choose a ripe Camembert, check the sell by date. Buy the one dated closest to the date you plan to make this appetizer. If it’s still in date weeks later, it’s not ripe enough now!

Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert 

Crispy puff pastry makes the perfect vessel for creamy baked Camembert, sprinkled with dried apricots, slivered pistachios and some pomegranate arils for extra crunch, flavor and color.

Ingredients
1 package ready rolled puff pastry (about 131⁄4 oz or 375g)
1 ripe Camembert cheese (8 3⁄4 oz or 250g) – best quality you can afford – I prefer the ones made with raw milk, when I can find them.
1⁄4 cup or 50g chopped dried apricots
1⁄4 cup or 25g slivered or chopped pistachios
1⁄4 cup or 37g pomegranate arils
To serve: water crackers or toasted slices of baguette

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line a baking pan with parchment or a silicone liner.

Remove the Camembert from its wooden box and set it on a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fold up the sides of the foil, crimping as you go, using the cheese to create a large bowl out of the foil.

Unroll the puff pastry. We are going to make two circles on the pastry in order to begin building our crust. Place your Camembert on the puff pastry sheet and gently score a line around the outside of the foil­ covered cheese with the point of a knife. Mark another spot with your knife, about 1 1⁄2 inches or 4cm farther out. Set the foil­ covered Camembert aside.

Look around your house for something round – a saucer or small lid, perhaps? – the same size as that outer circle. Use your found object as a guide to cut a round circle out of the puff pastry.

Repeat the process a second time, but instead of just scoring the circle around the cheese, cut through the puff pastry. Carefully lift the circle of pastry and place it on top of the first circle.
Use a sharp knife to cut the rest of the puff pastry into wide curved strips and use them to build up the sides of the puff pastry crust.

Dock the middle of the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork or the tip of your knife.

Transfer the unbaked crust to the baking pan.

Gently remove the Camembert from the foil so it retains its shape. Place the foil “bowl” into the middle of the puff pastry. Fill with pastry beads or dried beans.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Take the crust from the oven and remove the foil filled with baking beads.

Unwrap your Camembert and carefully cut off the top rind, trying not to cut away the creamy cheese inside.

Put the cheese, open side up in the puff pastry crust. Make little cuts all around the sides of the Camembert so it can run out and collapse as it melts.

Bake for about 15­-20 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving platter.

Sprinkle on the apricots, pistachios and pomegranate arils.

Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices. Several small spoons will allow folks to help themselves. Grab a spoon and dig in!

Many thanks to Sue from Palatable Pastime for organizing this month's Baking Bloggers event. Check out all the great puff pasty recipes we have for you today!

• Apple Butter Tart by Palatable Pastime
• Baked Apricot Pistachip Camembert by Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Turnovers by The Redhead Baker
• Cinnamon Roll Twists by Sneha's Recipe
• Homemade Taco Hot Pockets by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Matcha Puff Pastry Twists by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Puff Pastry Chicken Packets by Hardly a Goddess
• Spinach Ham and Cheese Bites by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interesting in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Spring Minestrone #FoodieExtravaganza

Spring Minestrone is the perfect light meal, with tender young vegetables in a clear broth, topped with crème fraîche. You can, of course, substitute whatever fresh from the garden veggies you have available.

I called this recipe Spring Minestrone because I used those itty bitty baby vegetables that often appear in shops in late spring. Many are harvested early while still young and some are actually varieties that will never get much bigger. I went poking about the internet and found a couple of different articles that were very enlightening. This one in particular from Business Insider will give you the low down on some of our favorite tiny vegetables.

And this article on Slate goes into the culinary history of what they call micro-vegetables.

What I know for sure is that most "baby" carrots aren't really, but the rest of the little guys are adorable and, most importantly, make a beautiful tasty soup.

Spring Minestrone

This ingredient list is not set in stone! You can use vegetables in amounts and combinations that please you, so don’t get too hung up on the weights or measures. The amounts below are what I used. The whole recipe is also easily doubled or trebled to feed a crowd.

Ingredients to serve 4-5 as a first course, 2-3 as a main course
1/2 cup or 80g dried tiny pasta, like ditalini rigate
Big handful fine green beans
2 spring carrots
2 small zucchini
1 small bulb fennel (Choose one with fronds for garnish)
1/2 cup or 75g fresh-hulled peas (sub frozen petit pois if fresh aren't available)
2 baby corn on cobs
2 baby leeks
2/3 cup or 117g canned borlotti beans, rinsed and drained
4 1/4 cups or 1L good quality chicken stock

To serve:
Crème fraîche or lightly soured cream
Fennel fronds or chopped spring onions

Tip: Make this vegetarian by substituting a good quality vegetable stock instead.

Method
Scrub your carrots and zucchini and cut them into small pieces. These tender vegetables don’t need to be peeled, just cleaned.

Cut the stalks off the fennel and keep any fronds for garnish. Thinly slice the bulb. Top and tail the green beans and cut them into thirds.

Trim the ends of the corn and the dark green off of the baby leeks and then cut them both into short pieces.

Boil your pasta according to package instructions. Drain, rinse and set aside.

Place the vegetables in a soup pot then pour in the chicken stock.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through, but still firm, about 5-7 minutes tops.

Add in the cooked pasta and beans. Warm through, then ladle into bowls and top each with a dollop of crème fraîche and a sprinkle of chopped fennel fronds and/or spring onions.

Enjoy!

June is National Fruit andVegetable Month! Many thanks to Ellen of Family Around the Table for this month's Foodie Extravaganza theme and for her behind the scenes work. Check out all of the other fabulous recipes we are sharing today.

• Farmers' Market Walk + Chilled Cantaloupe Soup with Preserved Lemon-Herb Salsa by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Fresh Fruit Tart with Orange Curd by My Pinterventures
• Fresh Strawberry Salsa by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Fried Onion Strings by Family Around the Table
• Fruity Rice Paper Rolls by Sneha's Recipe
• Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum) by Palatable Pastime
• Grilled Ratatouille by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Shaved Asparagus Pizza with Brie by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spring Minestrone by Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Avocado Salad by Cookaholic Wife
• Watermelon Lemonade by Caroline's Cooking

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays, and we all post recipes using the same ingredient. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

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