The theme for the Saturday Tea class this week at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach was Back to School Autumn Tea. This week the menu was Autumn Harvest Brandy Pear Cake, Apple and Cheddar Bread‚ Autumn Berry Tapioca Parfaits, Caramelized Onion and Brie Croissants, End of Summer Zucchini Soup and Smoked Salmon Tomato Cups. This is Part Two with the second two recipes from that class. I want to post about all of the recipes because every one was wonderful.
Just for your information, the new class schedule just came out that goes through January 25, 2011. Oh my gosh, time is just spinning along, isn’t it. If you click over to the new class schedule on the Bristol Farms website, you will also notice that you can have your special event at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen. You can have tailor-made classes for Birthdays, Weddings, or Baby showers, Anniversaries, Office Parties and Homeschooling. Grace-Marie would help make your event so much fun, and of course, the food would be great.
Here you can see Grace-Marie cutting the Apple and Cheddar Bread she made for us. This bread was moist and a little sweet from the apple and cheesy from the Cheddar. There was a Holiday note from the minced sage and I can imagine this bread toasted, grilled or sauteed in a little butter. It has a marvelous texture and I ate mine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum.
Here are the wonderful ladies who came to tea. I know they had a good time, because they were talking and laughing a lot. And eating and drinking tea!
Next Grace-Marie demonstrated how to make the Autumn Harvest Brandy Pear Cake. First the pears were sauteed in butter and brown sugar, and then poured into a parchment lined pan.
The cake batter was made and poured over the pears and baked for about 30 minutes. It was cooled for 10 minutes and inverted onto a serving platter. This cake has a really nice texture from the addition of a little cornmeal. And what is better than a moist, caramelized pear-covered cake with a big dollop of whipped cream. I think I’m making this for my Christmas dinner buffet!
For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.
For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.
Apple and Cheddar Bread
I usually use a moist apple like a Golden Delicious or Gala – tip – shredding the apple in the food processor by pulsing usually releases more juice, which should also be included in the batter. This is a very thick batter. When it is transferred to the baking pan it should be leveled off and tapped on the counter to release air bubbles – that helps a bit too! Also, as with all quick breads, it is really important not to cut the loaf until completely cool.
Makes 1 Loaf
Bread
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature & fork beaten
2 cups apple (any favorite), unpeeled & finely shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2-3 tablespoons minced sage, to taste
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9″ loaf pan with cooking spray. Insert parchment paper overlapping over the long sides.
- Combine and mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. By hand, mix in the flour mixture. Fold in the apples, cheese and sage. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until risen and a wooden skewer comes out of the center clean (45+ minutes). Cool to room temperature before slicing.
Serve
To garnish — unsalted butter, room temperature
Slice the bread, place it in a basket and serve with the butter!
Note: Optional – Add 1 cup toasted chopped walnuts.
Autumn Harvest Brandy Pear Cake
Serves 8
Pears
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
3+ cups Anjou or Bartlett Pears, peeled or not, cored and diced medium
2 tablespoons brandy
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9″ deep pie pan with cooking spray. Place a round portion of parchment paper onto the bottom of the pan.
- Warm the butter and brown sugar in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pears and sauté just until tender (5 minutes or less). Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the brandy, return the skillet to the heat and cook, stirring, for another minute (be careful as it may flame up).
- Pour pear mixture into prepared pie pan.
Cake
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced small and chilled
1 cup whole milk
1 large egg, room temperature & fork beaten
1 tablespoon brandy
- Using a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Scatter the butter over the top of flour and pulse until crumbly like uncooked oatmeal. Transfer to a bowl.
- Combine milk, egg and brandy. Mix into flour mixture just until blended. Spread over the pears in the pie pan.
- Bake until risen, light golden and a wooden skewer comes out of the center cleanly (30 minutes). Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. Cool completely.
Serve
To garnish – whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Cut into wedges and serve with garnish.
Note: Recipe can be made into 8 muffin cups. Baking time reduces to approximately 20 minutes.