Dessert - Amish style
The Amish influence in American kitchens is profound – it is reflected in simplicity and in down-on-the-farm good taste. My daughter lives near Lancaster County Pennsylvania where a widely marketed Amish community thrives, although the largest group of Amish in this country lives in northeast Ohio. I am well acquainted with the third largest group of Amish in northern Indiana where my wife and I were often slowed by the horse and buggy traffic as we were headed to visit my parents. But, that, after all, is part of the Amish tradition – slow down. We have a lesson to learn there.
The Amish can also teach us a thing or two in the kitchen. While some in Amish country now use electricity (the “new order,”} the “old order” does not use either cars or electricity. Propane is used in those older kitchens and they do turn out some memorable dishes – in fact, I just read one of their dessert recipes I feel compelled to share. It is simple, uses wonderful ingredients and is perfect for a summer gathering. Don’t let the name throw you: it is called a “Platz.” This is merely an Amish description of a dessert served with cake on the bottom, then a layer of fruit, topped off with buttery crumbs. It is the perfect pie-like dessert without the hassle of pastry. It is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The marzipan called for in the recipe is found in 8 oz. tubes in the baking section of the grocery store. If the berries you have available are especially tart, toss them with some sugar. I used berries I found at the Farmer’s Market: wild blueberries, amber raspberries and blackberries – all summer berries are fair game.
The dessert is concocted in two separate stages. The first is the topping. The second is the batter.
Topping
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tube of marzipan, about 3/4 cup, grated and loosely packed
1/4 cup very cold unsalted butter
Batter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
3-4 cups mixed berries
Preheat oven to 350
For topping. In a bowl combine flour and sugar. Using a large-hold box grater, grate marzipan and butter over the flour. Using your fingers, mix the flour, sugar, butter and marzipan until it forms small pea-sized balls.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Beat in cream cheese, egg and sour cream.
Mix in half of the dry ingredients at a time to butter mixture.
Spread batter evenly over the bottom of a buttered 2 inch deep glass plate. Top batter with fruit then sprinkle evenly with topping.
Bake 45 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into bottom cake comes out clean.
Serves 6-8
Judge Kirkendall is a retired Probate Judge. He presently serves on the Elder Law Advisory Board of the Stetson University College of Law. He has taught cooking classes for more than 25 years at various cooking schools in the Ann Arbor area and has himself attended classes at Cordon Bleu and La Varenne in Paris, as well as schools in New York, New Orleans and San Francisco. I am (thankfully) past president of the National College of Probate Judges. He can be reached at Judgejnk@yahoo.com
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