Quiche & Cake

I have a friend who loves quiche and peanut butter with chocolate in almost any form, separately not combined of course. So, for her birthday I made two quiches; Quiche Lorraine and Spinach with Mushroom Quiche as well as a chocolate peanut butter bundt cake. 

I like my quiche to be nice and cheesy and with a hint of egg.  It is rich and gooey and good either hot or cold.  I usually prepare it in my tart pan but it can, and has been, made in a pie dish.  If you have never tried making quiche give this a try, you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy and delicious it is.

Since I don't seem to have a fuctioning brain much of the time I only remembered to take pictures as I assembled the spinache and mushroom quiche but, no matter what you choose to put in your quiche just follow the same process; cheese and other fillings of choice first then top with the egg mixture.  As for the pie pastry you can make your own or....use Pillsbury (GASP!) ;)  .....Few people will notice the difference.

Quiche Lorraine (Bacon and swiss cheese)

2 cups shredded swiss cheese
8 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/4 cup chopped onion, raw
1-1/2 to 2 cups half and half
4 eggs
1 pie pastry

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line tart pan or pie dish with the pie pastry.  Sprinkle the shredded cheese, bacon and onions into the pie dish.  In a bowl combine the half and half (start with 1-1/2 sups and add more later if needed to fill the dish) with the eggs and whisk until well mixed.  Pour egg mixture over the cheese, bacon and onions until it fills the pie dish, being carefull not to allow overflow (add the additinal half and half at this point if needed).  Carefully place the pie dish in the center of the oven.

Hint:  You may want to lay some foil on the lower shelf of your oven to catch any egg mixture that may spill as it 'puffs.'

Bake for about 45 minutes until the filling has set.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Spinache and Mushroom Quiche

10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1-1/2 to 2 cups half and half
4 eggs
1/4 salt
2-3 pinches ground black pepper
Olive oil

In a skillet sautee the mushrooms in about a tablespoon of olive oil, over medium heat, until tender.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  Add the chopped onions to the skillet and carmalize over medium heat.  Remove from skillet.

Assemble the quiche as discribed above adding the salt and pepper to the egg mixture mixing.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, until filling is set.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter Tunnel
(no it is not from scratch but no one will ever know)

1 box chocolate cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup sour cream
2 cups chocolate chips, divided
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 - 1-1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray the bundt pan with oil spray, make sure to give it a good coating.  Stir together in a medium bowl the peanut butter, powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.  Stir until well combined adding more cream as needed until the mixture is soft enough to squeeze through and ziplock with a hole but not runny.  You want it to hold its shape and be thicker than cake batter but not so stiff that it will be dificult to squeeze out of the zip lock bag.  Fill zip lock bag with peanut butter filing, cut a one inch hole in one of the lower corners of the bag and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and sour cream and mix until well combined and no large lumps of cake mix remain.  Add 1 cup chocolate chips to the batter and stir to combine.  Pour 2/3 of the batter into bundt pan.  Take yoru zip lock bag with peanut butter filling and squeeze it around the center of the cake batter going all the way around and using all the filling. 

Pour the remaining batter over the filing and place the pan in the center of the oven.  Bake 50 minutes until a toothpick comes our clean.

Allow cake to cool for 20 minutes.  Place a large plate over the top of the bundt pan, and holding both the bundt pan and the plate together flip them both over removing the cake from the pan.  Allow cake to cool completely.

Place remaing cup of chocolate chips in a medium bowl.  Warm 3/4 cup heavy cream in the microwave until hot and steaming.  Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and allow to sit for 2 minutes.  Stir chocolate and cream together until all chocolate is melted.  If you would like you can add a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter at the point and stir until combined. 

Allow to cool slightly to allow to thicken slightly but still pourable and pour of bundt cake allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake.