"Boscoe Bakes"..."Ocean Kissed Raspberry Banana Bundt Cake"

Summer is in high gear here, and as promised before, I'm going to share with you a little more of this magnificent ocean front community. In fact, if I hadn't gone "yachting" today, my Banana Bundt Cake would have had a totally different flavor profile. ( I use the term "yachting" quite loosely, since my friend's boat is a 21 foot fishing skiff) The raspberries used to make the delightful puree that I drizzled over the cake came courtesy of our yacht club.....Hull Yacht Club. When you arrive there, in addition to the breath taking view, the warm and welcoming ocean breeze and that healthy salt air, you come across a hedge of raspberries waiting to greet you upon arrival.  There they sit, just waiting for some "foodie" like me to dive in and start picking. And pick I did!  Next thing you know, what started out as the desire for a quick, healthy "snack" post ocean cruise, resulted in an overflowing handful of raspberries that forced me to run inside and grab a bowl out of the kitchen.  And it's a good thing indeed that the "officers" still think I am an active member of the club, otherwise I'd probably have been stopped dead in my tracks as I came rushing out of the kitchen, plate in hand. I had catered several high profile weddings and events there a few years ago, and always made sure the bartenders and on duty staff were taken care of handsomely.  And I'm always popping in with friends who are members, so I guess what they don't know, won't kill me.....LOL (Hopefully friends who live in town and follow my blog will zip their lips.......or else.......NO more goodies from the Cookie Doctor!) Anyways, I gathered up the berries and headed home.  I had made the Banana Cake earlier (Today was high in the 80's, sunny with a wonderful ocean breeze, and I was determined to get my baking out of the way at the crack of dawn, so I could go "yachting") so all that remained to be done was the icing.......or in this case the puree.  I quickly dropped the berries (probably around 1-1/2 cups) into a pan with 1/2 cup of sugar, a tablespoon of Chambord and a teaspoon of orange zest. I simmered these lovely beauties until all that remained was the lovely "berry broth" and their seeds. After pouring this very aromatic brew through a fine mess strainer, I let it cool and then did the drizzle dance all over the cake.  The combination was fantastic, and the raspberry puree was sublime.  My guests loved it!  The recipe for the Banana Cake is found here: Classic Banana Bundt Cake. So folks, head down to your local yacht club and start picking those raspberries. And if for some reason you are met with different landscaping options which don't include raspberries, then head to your local farm stand pronto. Happy Summer..............

"Boscoe Bakes"......"Springish" Fruit Pandowdy

The other day my room mate received a "belated" holiday gift basket, and one of the goodies included in this Harry and David assortment was a box of their famous pears.  Now these pears have a relatively short shelf life, so I decided that a pie or tart, mixed with some of my granny smith apples, would be a great way to use them up quickly. However, after a quick trip to the store and being inundated by the fresh strawberry, raspberry and blackberry specials in the produce section, I quickly changed my mind. I had made a pandowdy just a couple of weeks ago, but my Wednesday night group loves that old fashioned dish, so this beautiful bounty learned of it's new destination and pandowdy it was. For the fruit this time, I used 5 pears, 6 apples, 2 quarts of strawberries, 2 pints of raspberries, 1 pint of blackberries and the zest and juice of one orange. Again, I added a touch of rum, but next time I think a splash of Chambord would work nicely as well. The nutmeg and allspice were omitted, but otherwise I followed the recipe as before. I had hoped to share a picture of the pandowdy plated and topped with whipped cream, but before I knew it, everything was gone! Try this recipe next time you have a bounty of fresh fruit and want a wonderful dessert without all the fuss.