Orange Buttermilk Cake with Summer Fruit

Here is another wonderful dessert that uses the juicy stone fruits of summer and the fresh citrus flavor. This is definitely a "company" dessert as guests will be impressed. The macerated fruit is so delicious over this cake, which is something you will like if you are a fan of lemon poppy muffins or bread. Use your prettiest bundt pan for the cake. When you remove and cake has cooled, dust with some powdered sugar before cutting. Now for the fruit.........this is also a nice topping for brunchtime waffles. Set out with fresh whipped cream that is flavored with orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau. And to make it family and kid friendly, just use some orange extract in the fruit and cake. Either way, this is a lovely and delicious way to enjoy the fruits of summer. The fruit mixture can also enliven store-bought angel food cake. Serve this to your guests with a cordial of cold Ice Wine....excellent!

ORANGE BUTTERMILK CAKE WITH SUMMER FRUIT

Fruit: 1 1/2 cups cherries, pitted and halved 1 cup sliced peaches 1 cup sliced nectarines 1 cup sliced strawberries 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

Cake: Cooking spray 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided (about 13 1/2 ounces) 4 teaspoons poppy seeds 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 3/4 cups sugar 1/2 cup butter, softened 3 large eggs 1 cup fat-free buttermilk 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare fruit, combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently. Cover and chill.
3. To prepare cake, coat a 12-cup tube pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 tablespoons flour.
4. Lightly spoon remaining 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place 1 3/4 cups sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine buttermilk and 1/4 cup juice. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 43 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Serve with fruit mixture.
Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice cake and about 1/4 cup fruit mixture)

It's Summer...how about a Frozen Fruit Tart?

Fresh raspberries are in abundance and I couldn't help but notice the beautiful nectarine and raspberry tart on the cover of the August issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. And when I read how easy it was, I decided I am going to try it this weekend. You use mango or passion fruit sorbet in this. Have you ever tried the Haagen-Dazs Mango Sorbet? It is like biting into fresh fruit....so delicious. I have served it with some fresh raspberries or even some frozen raspberries (Thawed of course). I am a big fan! So now I have a super recipe to use it in. I can't wait to try this with all of the fresh fruit now in season.
Frozen Fruit Tart
8 graham crackers
2 Tbsp whole natural almonds
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp water
1 1/2 cups light vanilla ice cream (such as slow or double churned...my fave here is Edy's Vanilla) 1 1/2 cup mango or passion fruit sorbet
3 ripe nectarines, pitted and cut into 8 wedges
2 ripe plums, pitted and cut into 8 wedges
1 cup raspberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare crust: In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse graham crackers until fine crumbs form. Add whole almonds and sugar; pulse until almonds are finely chopped. In cup, mix canola oil, honey, and water; drizzle over crumb mixture.
Pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up side of a 9" round tart pan with removable bottom. Bake crust 8 to 10 minutes or until set and lightly browned at edges. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Remove ice cream and sorbet from freezer; let stand at room temperature 10 minutes or until slightly softened. Spoon ice cream and sorbet alternately into tart shell, pressing with back of spoon to smooth; cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight. Carefully remove side of pan and place tart on round platter. Arrange circle of nectarine wedges 1 inch from edge of tart, then circle of plum wedges inside of nectarines. Mound raspberries in center of tart. Serve immediately.
This serves 8 and is only 8 g of fat per serving, so you don't break the calorie bank with this little indulgence! It is also a good way to get the kids to try new fruits! Let them help you put the ice cream and sorbet in the shell and when it is frozen they can pile on the fruits themselves. It may not look perfect, but it will taste great and once they try the juicy goodness, you may have helped them try something new!

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