In the Dumps, Sweet Dumps!

One of my husband’s favorite desserts is black forest cake. I stumbled across this easy, no brainer recipe for a black forest dump cake and thought I’d give it a try. The result? It was chocolatey, sweet and the hubby approved! Here’s my recipe for Black Forest Dump Cake that was adapted from this one:

1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 (16.5 ounce) jar sweet cherries, drained (Morello cherries from Trader Joes)
1 (18.25 ounce) package fudge brownie mix, batter prepared as directed
1 cup chopped Oreo cookies
3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Dump cherry pie filling into dish and spread evenly. Repeat with jarred cherries, not including juice.

Prepare brownie mix as directed and spread over the top – DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle with chopped Oreo cookied. Distribute butter pieces evenly over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.

Cherry Clafouti

The following recipe was made and shared at my Chef Spotlight dinner, highlighting Julia Child. You can read and view links to the other recipes HERE.

Lisa’s Cherry Clafouti
recipe from Julia Child

1 1/4 cups milk<!–milk–><!––>
2/3 cup sugar<!–sugar–><!––>, divided
3 egg<!–eggs–><!––>
1 tablespoon vanilla<!–vanilla–><!––>
1/8 teaspoon salt<!–salt–><!––>
1/2 cup flour<!–flour–><!––>
3 cups cherry<!–cherries–><!––>, pitted
powdered sugar<!–powdered sugar–><!––>, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a blender, combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and blend.
Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish, and pour a 1/4-inch layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. Set remaining batter aside.
Place dish into the oven for about 7-10 minutes, until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don’t turn the oven off, yet).
Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the pan, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.
Servings: 6-8 for dessert, 4 for breakfast.

Mini Cherry Tartlettes

We made these appetizers during the holiday appetizer cooking class I hosted. You can view pictures, the entire appetizer menu and get links to the other recipes from the class HERE.

Mini Cherry Tartlettes

Prepared pie crust
canned cherry pie filling
whipped cream (canned)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare muffin pan by spraying each well with cooking spray.
Cut pie crust into rounds and place a piece in each well.
With tart shaper, push each round up sides of each well.
Bake pie crusts in preheated oven until lightly browned.
When cooled, top with cherry topping and whipped cream.

Caroline’s Cherry Cobbler with Crumb Topping

I made the following dessert during my Crisps & Cobblers cooking class, which you can read about HERE.

Caroline’s Cherry Cobbler with Crumb Topping

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
¾ cup half & half
1 can cherry pie filling
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Melt the stick of butter and pour into an 8-inch square baking dish.
In a medium bowl, stir together the 1 cup sugar, the 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 3/4 cup half & half.
Pour the batter on top of the melted butter. Do not stir.
Without mixing, pour the cherry pie filling over the batter.

In a mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, remaining 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 1/2 cups flour, oatmeal, and butter. Using your fingers, work the mixture together until it resembles a coarse crumb-like mixture. Sprinkle the oatmeal topping over the top of the cherry mixture.
Evenly sprinkle the topping over the cobbler.
Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown.
The batter will migrate from the bottom of the pan to cover the cherries partially.
Serve warm or at room temperature; Yield 6 to 8 servings.