Peach Cobbler from The Pastry Queen

I am way up my sleeves for unposted blogs, unread online newsletters, and un-updated subscription! I think with the internet and a whole lot of other media form available, everyone can get almost every other recipe available in the world! With my own collection from online subscriptions, magazines and books, I think the number of recipes I have on hand can outlast the number of days I'll ever live! Well..maybe that's an exaggeration... the number of months possibly. :o) I guess there just isn't enough days (and money!) to make all of them!

I had a chance encounter with a really nice baking book at my favorite bookstore one day. I was just browsing around, looking for new additions that I can include in my "to-buy-someday" list of baking books. Now when I'm browsing books, of course I usually look at the price.. and this one, The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather & Alison Oresman, immediately grabbed my attention when I saw that it only costs Php195!!! I mean, it was rather large and thick, and it was hardbound and glossy, and everything that an expensive cookbook usually looked like! I was pretty sure there was some sort of a mistake with the price tag, so I asked assistance from one of the sales lady to confirm if the price was right. :o) I was ready to buy it, alright! I could feel the excitement building up... and after confirming twice with the cashier that there was no mistake with the tagging, I happily conceded and brought it home with a happy heart. (Although I still think there was a mistake...I mean, I love bargain books but this one is too good, it should cost more than that!) ;o)

Rebecca Rather is the owner of Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe in Fredericksburg, Texas. And in her book, she included snapshots of everyday life in her bakery. I love the scenic views and the mouthwatering photos of the breads and cakes. I so love this book!!! I love the short anecdotes and stories that accompanies each recipe. And I love the method of how she bakes..with ease and informality. Everything about her seems so relaxed and laid back. When I get to own a bakeshop someday, I hope I could at least have the same grace and ease she exudes. ;o)

I made her Hill Country Peach Cobbler, which was so easy and delicious! I didn't have fresh peaches on hand, so I used the canned version in syrup. I guess I should've drained the peaches thoroughly because the cobbler turned out to be too "syrupy" at the bottom. But nevertheless, it still tasted as good as I expected!

♥♥♥

Peaches and Cream

I was craving for peaches when I remembered that there is a recipe on one of my baking books that I've been drooling on for as long as I've bought the book. I usually pass on making it because I didn't have a tart pan that the recipe called for. On that particular day, I thought a regular pie pan would do, so I went ahead and gave in to my craving. I immediately went to the supermarket to buy peaches, whipping cream, and everything else that I didn't have in our fridge. The recipe called for 2 fresh peaches to slice, but since we usually don't have that here in the Philippine Islands, I bought the canned one. I was mentally debating on whether I should just buy the sliced version which would save up a lot of time on slicing, or the halved ones which would be more tart and firm and juicy. I voted on the latter.


It was a particularly easy recipe, the graham cracker crumb crust was crisp and delicious, the peaches are nice, but the custard cream was horrifyingly tasteless! I probably didn't make it right, or I was probably expecting too much from it. Since I can easily make a delicious graham cake with peaches on top using only the simplest ingredient of all purpose cream & sweetened condensed milk (modesty aside :p), I was expecting that this one would surpass my version since this calls for more expensive ingredients and a more intricate procedure. I was really disappointed. But anyway, you learn from your mistakes. Next time, I'll just stick to my version of all purpose cream & condensed milk. ;o)