Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake

I wanted a quick and easy dessert for dinner. I had a box of Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake mix and a large jar of cherry pie filling. Perfect, especially with me adding in a half cup of dried cherries to increase the umph!

I’ve done this before with blueberries and a box of yellow cake mix (Khaki’s Blueberry Crunch). The final result from today’s is a delicious cross between a cherry cobbler and a black forrest cake.

This style of dump cake is pretty darn versatile – anything that can be made into pie filling can be the base and nearly every kind of cake mix will work. The only limitation is your imagination!

Just pour the pie filling (if using canned, two cans) into the bottom of a buttered 9X13 baking dish. Spread the contents of a box of cake mix evenly over the top and then pour a stick of melted butter on the top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until it is dry on top and bubbly around the edges. Serve with ice cream.

Yum!

Peaches and Cream Ice Cream

I went to the local farm stand near my parents and got some peaches from Chilton County. This area of Alabama has some of the best peaches I’ve ever tasted. As I was eating my third peach (bent over the sink as the juices dripped down my face and arms), I decided I should probably do more than just gorge on them.

I’ve done peach ice cream before (with brandy, with buttermilk, with Greek yogurt) but not just a plain, simple peaches and cream. While you can also use frozen peaches in this recipe, since the peaches in the South are at their peak, I’ll be making mine with these beauties:

This ice cream is velvety in texture. The fresh peach taste is well complemented by the cream – so very good!

2 cups chopped fresh peaches (4 medium peaches), peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar (divided)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine peaches with 1/2 cup of sugar and the lemon juice. Let stand for one hour.

Place mixture in food processor or blender and pulse until peaches are coarsely chopped. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, milk, cream and vanilla to the peach mixture and mix well. Chill for 30 minutes.

Pour into your ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes or until desired consistency. Place in an airtight container in the freezer to finish firming up.