Roasted Red Grape and Brie Appetizer

Roasted Red Grape Autumn Appetizer | Karri Perry Blue Ribbon Favorites

1 baguette sliced-toasted with 3 Tbs melted butter

1 lb. Red grapes-rinsed and dried

2 Tbs olive oil

Salt, cracked pepper to taste

Fresh thyme-to taste

Brie or Fontina, or Goat Cheese

Chopped pistachios 

Honey

On a small sheet pan, place the prepared grapes, drizzle with olive oil, fresh thyme and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for 25-35 minutes at 400 degrees until grapes are softened, and somewhat caramelized.  Allow grapes to cool to warm before assembly.

Add cheese to toasted baguette slices. Heat in the oven on a parchment lined baking sheet to melt cheese and toast bread. 

Assemble Appetizer: 

Top warm cheesy baguette toasts with warm roasted grapes, sprinkle with fresh thyme, chopped pistachio, and drizzle with honey.

For a crowd or a self-serve option, on a platter, serve warmed-melty brie, toasts and roasted grapes, provide chopped pistachios and honey and guests can assemble their own bites.

Pecan Praline Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Pecan Praline Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Karri Perry-Blue Ribbon Favorites

Use a traditional 12-cup Bundt pan

Cake Ingredients 

4 large eggs room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin use Libby's or a brand your trust--not generic.

***

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

Pecan Praline Topping

1 cup chopped pecans

5 Tbs melted salted butter

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

Directions 

Prepare an 12-cup bundt pan by greasing with 1-2 teaspoons of shortening and a light dusting of flour.

Praline Topping Directions:

Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Pour evenly into the bottom of the Bundt pan-set aside.

Cake Directions:

Combine first four cake ingredients into a bowl.  Blend well using mixer.  Combine flour and the remaining dry ingredients together.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, making sure all the flour is incorporated.  If using nuts, stir in by hand, do not over mix batter.

Pour batter evenly over the praline topping filled Bundt pan.  Bake in a preheated 350 oven on the middle rack for 55-60 minutes or until set, a toothpick skewer will come out with no batter. 

Let hot cake rest for 3 minutes in pan —and then turn out onto a cooling rack.  Do not let cake rest in pan longer than 5 minutes or the cooling sugars may not allow the cake to release.

Allow cake to cool before cutting.  It’s wonderful plain, but can be served with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle.

State Fair-Winning Hummingbird Cake

    (This cake recipe was originally posted in 2019, it has been updated for 2024. Enjoy!)

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.  

(This Hummingbird Cake won first-place

at the 2024 Kentucky State Fair.)

This recipe…is a recipe I would choose…

and I would share it with all of

 my best girlfriends… and this…ahem, 

(Spoiler Alert) delicious cake…it’s a good one.

--And isn’t friendship a beautiful thing?

…and to have a collection of people, 

people we chose, to surround ourselves with in life??

  These friends…they make the good times greater…

magnifying the happiness.   

Friends also make the hard times feel manageable, 

by sharing our hurt and cheering us on…

That’s the way I feel about a lot of my 

close friends as I grow older… 

and I am so happy that 

I have all these wonderful (old) friends 

that I do…each one different and 

complex, fun and fabulous in their 

own unique way… 

but also familiar and a little bit 

like family, actually, a lot like family.

This “new “cake recipe I’m rolling out

 is a cake that magnifies my happiness… 

over and over again… 

Old fashioned, and scrumptious…

not too very different from 

many of my dearest friends.

Today, I must introduce you to a close

 relative of one of our favorite cakes...

 …Please meet Carrot Cake’s BFF: Hummingbird Cake.

AND also a fancy first-place winner at the 2024 Kentucky State Fair.

recipe  follows....

Peachy-KEENtucky Cake First Place Kentucky State Fair

Peachy-KEENtucky Cake: 2024 Kentucky State Fair, First Place Cake: by Karri Perry

Almond-Vanilla Cakes filled with fresh peach skillet jam, brown sugar-cinnamon crumbles, frosted with both a peach and vanilla Swiss-meringue buttercream.

 

Peach Skillet Jam-make ahead

4 large fresh peaches-peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 Tbs light brown sugar

1 teaspoon arrowroot powder

 

Cook peaches in a skillet on medium, until sugar melts and the mixture thickens. Allow peach mixture to cool completely before using. In a pinch you can substitute quality peach preserves.

 

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Crumble-make ahead

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

4 Tbs unsalted butter-softened

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

 

Mix together with a fork until mixture is crumbly. Spread mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a 350°F oven for 7-9 minutes. Allow it to cool before using.

 

Vanilla-Almond Cakes

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 Tbs melted butter 

2 large eggs

2 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/3 cup room temperature buttermilk

***

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

 

Mix dry ingredients-set aside.  Mix together sugar, eggs + egg whites, oil, butter, extracts and sour cream.  Mix well, scrape sides of bowl. Begin adding the flour mixture (using 1/3 of dry ingredients, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk.) Alternate flour and buttermilk.  Pour batter evenly into 3 greased and parchment lined 9-inch cake pans.

 

Bake cakes on the middle rack of a preheated 350°F oven.  Bake for 20-24 minutes, until set and a toothpick comes out cleanly.  

 

Turn cakes out onto cooling racks.  Remove parchment paper.  Cool completely before frosting.

 

American Vanilla Buttercream for stacking layers

20 Tbs softened unsalted butter. (2 1/2 sticks)

2 cups confectioners sugar-sifted 

Pinch of salt

1 tsp good vanilla extract

Whip the butter until very light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt. Add sifted confectioners sugar, whip until smooth.

 

Swiss Meringue Buttercream-for frosting the outside of cake

5 egg whites

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp Vanilla 

32 Tbs (4 sticks) cool-unsalted butter cut into cubes. (Be sure butter is softened-but still cool-not oily at all)

4 Tbs Peach Syrup (I used Torani brand link here: Peach Syrup) (for half of frosting)

1 tiny drop of peach food gel to peach flavored frosting if desired.

 

Add sugar and egg whites together-heat to 165°F using a double boiler.  After sugar is dissolved and 165°F is reached, begin whipping up egg whites-until stiff peaks form-add vanilla.  Once bowl is at room temperature, begin adding the butter a little at a time. Continue to mix until frosting is thick.  Trouble-Shooting Tip if frosting is too soft: Refrigerate bowl containing the stiff-peak egg whites along with the whisk attachment for 20 minutes. After chilling for 20 minutes, resume whisking to thicken the frosting.  Divide frosting.  Add vanilla to one half of frosting for accents.  Add peach syrup to flavor the other half (for the body of the cake), if desired add a tiny drop of peach food gel to tint the peach flavored frosting.

 

Assemble the Cake:

Place a cake layer on a plate or platter.  Frost with American buttercream, add crumbles, add peach filling.  Repeat for the second layer, then add the top layer. Frost entire cake with the remaining American buttercream.  Next frost the cake with the peach flavored/tinted Swiss meringue buttercream frosting then add accents with the vanilla buttercream.  

I like to use off-set spatulas for spreading the frosting. I use a piping bag and a decorator tip to add the accents to the cake edges.

 

Garnish:

Create an almond paste peach with leaves. Color the almond paste (Marzipan) with food gel (peach/green). Using peach colored almond paste,  shape a 2” ball into a small peach and use green colored Marzipan to create leaves. Roll candy peach in fine sugar.  Place finished peach in airtight container, place on cake just before serving.  Top cake with remaining crumbles, and the almond paste peach and leaves.

     Here we are entering the cake!!  It's always a huge relief to get to the check-in table.

State Fair Chocolate Chip Cookies

State Fair Chocolate Chip Cookies, Karri Perry 2024

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco shortening

4 Tablespoons unsalted softened butter 

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar-lightly packed

1 extra large egg + 1 yolk-room temperature 

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour (King Arthur Flour)- measure gently-too much flour is an enemy to tender cookies

1 3.5-ounce package of dry vanilla pudding

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips-Ghiradelli 

3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup toasted chopped pecans

fluer de sel (good finishing salt) VERY lightly sprinkle on cookie tops before baking.

Tips:

Use a 1 3/4” inch scoop #30

6 cookies to a tray.

Lightly press cookies down to gently flatten the scoop shape.

Middle rack

Convection oven on-350 degrees -about 10-11 minutes-turning tray once.

Let rest on the warm tray 5-7 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

If adding nuts-toast them first and then chop to about the chip size. Allow nuts to cool completely before adding to the dough.

Directions

In a stand mixer (or using electric mixer), beat the shortening and butter together until fluffy 1-2 mins. Add sugars and vanilla extract. Mix well to combine. 

Add the egg and yolk. Mix to combine.

Add flour, dry vanilla pudding and salt and soda. Mix until just combined-do not over mix.

Fold in chips and nuts (if using).

Scoop cookies 6/ parchment lined tray.

Gently press each scooped cookie down to level off the cookie to about 1/2-3/4 inch in height. Just be sure to press each cookie the same so they bake at the same rate.

Sprinkle with a very small amount of fluer de sel on each cookie.

Bake on the middle rack of a preheated 350 (convection on if possible)

Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until golden edged and matte looking in the middle. Let the baked cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Cooked Strawberry Pie

 Cooked Strawberry Pie

An old fashioned pie with BIG flavor. This post contains affiliate links to products I recommend.

PIE CRUST RECIPE: 

2 1/2 cups flour

1   teaspoon salt

2   tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening cut into small bits-I like butter flavored Crisco 

1 1/2 sticks (12 TBS) of cold unsalted butter cut into small bits

1/4 cup ice water + 2 teaspoons vinegar 

Mix sugar and salt into flour. Cut butter and shortening into flour with pastry blender or a mixer-do not overwork the dough-be gentle. When small pea-sized butter/shortening bits are visible-begin to slowly add just enough water to create a dough.  Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick. 

FILLING

4-5 cups rinsed and sliced fresh strawberries-discard tops

1 cup of granulated sugar

1/4 cup arrowroot 

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tiny pinch of salt

2 Tbs unsalted butter-dot filling

Egg wash-egg/water/cream

Cinnamon/sugar sprinkle: 1 Tbs sugar and 1/8 tsp cinnamon 

HOW TO:

Roll out pie dough and place into an 8" or 9" pie plate.

Mix together the sugar, arrowroot, cinnamon and salt, pour over the prepared berries. Add lemon juice. Gently mix all the filling ingredients together.

Pour filling into prepared pie plate. Dot with butter.

Roll out dough round and cover pie.

Crimp edges.

Vent pie by making a few slits on the face of the pie.

*For a different look-use pie crust cutters to create shapes.  Add shapes to create a crust or add to the top of a dough-covered pie.

Pie Crust Cutters

Finishing the Pie:

Egg wash: 1 egg lightly beaten and 1 tablespoon of cool water to thin.

(1 Tablespoon sugar + 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon) -to sprinkle on top of the pie.

Lightly brush egg wash on pie (you will not use all the egg wash,

just enough to lightly glaze the dough. 

While egg wash is wet, sprinkle pie with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Bake in 375 degrees preheated oven-on the lowest rack for 1 hour. Check after 20 minutes-place foil to shield if at any point pie is over-browning.  

Remove pie from oven when pie is golden, bubbling from the center.  Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting.

I like to use a pie drip catcher available on Amazon: Pie Drip Catcher and in some specialty stores.  If you don't have a pie drip catcher, I  would recommend using a foil lined rimmed baking sheet under the pie to catch any drips.

Lemon Meringue Chiffon Cake

Lemon Meringue Chiffon Cake

This post contains affiliate links to products used in this recipe. 

Be sure to use a 10” Angel food pan, to hold all of the light and airy batter.  Many of us might have a hand-me-down Angel food pan from our grandmothers.  If you’re shopping for one, I find vintage Angel food pans when I’m thrifting…new pans are also available online.

Use an UNGREASED 10” Angel food cake pan— an UNGREASED pan allows the batter to rise high, climbing the walls of the cake pan.

Here’s a link to an Angel food cake/chiffon cake pan that resembles the one I use:

Chiffon Cake Pan

Bake at 325 degrees… a slightly lower oven temperature than many cakes— at the end of the bake time, for this cake-turn the oven to 350 and bake an additional 5 minutes.

This cake cools upside down. Be sure to have a wine bottle or a suitable long neck bottle the cake pan will be able to rest on when cooling.

Ingredients:

8 eggs-yolks and whites separated-room temperature 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water-room temperature 

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons LorAnn Bakery Lemon Emulsion (a substitute would be to replace with regular lemon extract-lemon flavor will be less)LorAnn Lemon Extract

(Can be purchased at Jungle Jim’s, or Cincinnati Cake and Candy or Michael’s or online) 

1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, add the egg whites and cream of tarter.  Beat until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.

In a second large mixing bowl.  Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Do not skip the sifting step—this helps cake to rise and have a light texture.

To the sifted flour mixture, add the egg yolks, oil, water, lemon juice, zest and lemon emulsion.  In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, mix on low, then medium for 1 minute, gently scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add one heaping cup of the prepared egg whites to the batter and gently fold in with a spatula. This helps to lighten the batter before it’s combined to the rest of the egg whites.

Next, add the batter back to into the egg whites one cup at a time, folding gently until a uniform batter is created. Batter will be light and foamy.

Pour the light-airy batter evenly into the UNGREASED Angel food cake pan.

Bake on the middle rack of a preheated 325 degree oven for 55 minutes.  Turn oven up to 350 and bake 5 minutes more.

Remove cake from oven to check for done-ness with a wooden skewer.  Skewer should come our cleanly, with no wet batter.

Invert cake pan, onto a long neck bottle.  Cool completely while cake rests upside down.

Use a thin bladed knife to loosen edges.  Remove from pan and place on a cake plate or cake round.

Cooked Meringue Frosting

5 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

1 2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

In a heatproof bowl—create a double boiler. Put on a pot of water with about 2 inches of water- bring to a simmer and rest the heatproof bowl (glass or metal) atop the simmering pot.  Be sure the bowl doesn’t touch the hot water. Add the egg whites, cream or tarter and the sugar.  Gently whisk and stir until the mixture registers 160 on an instant read thermometer.  The sugar will be completely melted-mixture should be smooth-not grainy. Remove egg mixture from heat and place the heated egg whites in a stand mixer with whisk attachment.  Add vanilla. Beat on medium-and then high for a total of 5-7 minutes-or until stiff peaks are achieved. Frost the cooled cake with the meringue.  Using a kitchen torch, lightly toast the meringue. Serve within 6 hours of frosting and toasting for best results.