Happy Fourth Apple Cherry Pie!

 

Happy Fourth of July! Fourth of July is about family, BBQ, hot dogs, parades, fireworks, patriotism, beer on front lawns mid-day, walking in the middle of the street, staying out late when you are a kid!

I still have that sense of wonderment and excitement around the Fourth, that feeling that I will be allowed to stay out and walk around by myself with my friends, and gallivant as I please. It is funny that I still get this way when I am a grown (kind of) adult, and I can do as I please! It is still more fun however when you are running to go get the best view for fireworks.

Though my experience growing up by the ocean in beautiful Pacific Palisade California is different from Michael’s in Bethesda Maryland, one thing absolutely holds ours and everyone else’s experiences together is a good old fashion pie!

We were unable to tell which pie is more American; apple or cherry, so we made an apple cherry pie!

Enjoy, and have a wonderful Fourth!

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/4 sticks (18 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk

Filling:
½ lb sweet cherries
4 granny smith apples
1 lemon
1 cup sugar plus a pinch
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter, and process until it looks like meal. While still processing, pour in ice water in a slow steady stream until it just combines.

Divide batter in two and let chill for 1 hour to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375.

To create the pie filling, pit and halve your cherries, place in a bowl. Core and cut the apples into quarters and then really thin slices. Place in bowl as well, and squeeze the lemon juice over it. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in with the fruit and stir.

To assemble pie spread flour on a flat surface and roll out to about 11 inches wide. Lay on the bottom of your pie pan. Pour your fruit into the pie pan, and dot with butter.

Roll the second dough out and slice into long 1 inch wide pieces. Create a lattice of pie crust by laying one strip down and then another, to create a weaving pattern.

Brush the pie crust with a mix or egg and milk, and sprinkle with sugar.

Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes, then cover the pie with tinfoil, and bake for another 20.

 Finito! Put that pie in the window, but don’t let anyone steal it. Happy 4^th!

 

All American Fourth of July Cake

What is more awesome than feeling patriotic this time of year….We know, feeling patriotic through sweets! What we love about this cake is that it is so beautiful (as well as tasty), it almost transports you to feeling like you are sitting next to Marie Antoinette stuffing your faces with pastries. This cake is slightly rustic, and easy on the eyes, and the tongue.

Side note- We were lucky enough to pick and use blueberries from our own yard, so we highly suggest starting to grow your own!

Ingredients:

Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks (reserving whites for meringue, plus 1 additional white)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Blue food coloring
1 cup blueberries (some set aside for decoration)

Frosting:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
Red food coloring

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take two 8 inch round cake pines, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter, it, and dust with flour. Sometimes I butter the pan before I put the parchment down so it sticks better. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt together and put aside.
In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer beat butter (make sure it is soft, so leave out for a while before baking), with sugar until completely smooth. Add your eggs and your yolks one at a time while blending, once you finish adding the eggs, add the vanilla and blend. Now you alternate adding the flour and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour- a tip Francesca learned from her beloved Martha Stewart.

Fun part now is adding the food coloring, add as many drops as you need for the desired depth of color, and then fold the blueberries in with a spatula so you don’t break them.

Divide the batter in between both pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until you poke with a toothpick and it comes out clean. Once done baking let cool in the pan for ten minutes, then flip out of the pans onto cooling racks so they are upside down, and let completely cool.

Frosting:

Super easy frosting…just place all of the ingredients into a bowl and blend, and add food coloring until it is pink or red as you like.
Now assemble all the elements of the cake. Frost in between the two layers, and then all around. Don’t worry about all the frosting being perfect, some runny frosting will add some beautiful character. Add a dash of blueberries for character. Slice. Eat! Let them eat cake…in the name of the USA!