Sharon Gates of Leicester continued to impress judges during the final week of the Mountain State Fair, winning the N.C. Blueberry Council’s From Scratch Contest and $200 for her blueberry mousse recipe. This victory was in addition to Gates’ wins in the Tomato Growers Association’s Fresh Tomatoes Contest and the N.C. Cattlemen’s Beef Council Classic Comfort Food Contest earlier in the Mountain State Fair.
Second prize in the From Scratch Contest and $100 went to Connie Pegg of Asheville for a recipe for spicy sausage blueberry breakfast cornbread cake. Amy Braman of Pisgah Forest earned $75 in third place with a recipe for blueberry stuffed mushrooms with blueberry balsamic sauce and herbs.
Jamie Dumas of Hendersonville won first place and $100 in the N.C. Apple Growers Association’s Just Desserts Contest for her pastila recipe. Jennifer Currie of Clyde won $75 in second place with a recipe for apple cranberry pie with walnuts and Chad McCall of Henderson County’s recipe for German apple pancakes won $50 in third place.
Jordan Robertson of Swanannoa won the N.C. Sweetpotato Commission’s Beat the Heat Contest and earned $250 with a winning recipe for sweet potato maple cheesecake cups.
Gates earned second place and $175 with a recipe for simply southern sweet potato banana pudding, while Susie Zuerner of Arden took home third place and $125 for a sweet potato chili recipe.
Following are the winning recipes:
Blueberry Mousse
Ingredients:
- 2 cups N.C. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 block (3/4 cup) silken firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process for 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Chill until time to serve
Garnish with whipped cream and extra blueberries as desired.
Yields 6-8 servings
Apple Pastila
Ingredients:
- 6 Granny Smith apples, large
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg whites, large
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar for dusting
Directions:
Apple pureé
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash apples and place in 9-inch x 12-inch baking pan. Add ½ cup of water and bake for 1 hour or until apples are saggy and soft when pierced with a knife. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Batter
Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and apple pureé.
Turn the mixture on medium-high speed and slowly add the sugar. Continuing beating on medium-high speed for 10 minutes. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Line a rimmed baking pan (a half-sheet or 2, quarter-sheets) with parchment including the sides.
Reserve 2 cups of batter for gluing the layers.
Spread the remaining batter into the lined pans) and smooth into an even layer.
Bake at 180 degrees for 4-7 hours or until the dry to the touch.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
When the pastila is completely cool, gently peel the parchment paper away. If the pastry sticks to the paper use a spatula to gently scrape it off. If using quarter-sheet pans cut each layer half for a total of 4 rectangles.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and place one layer of pastila.
Scoop a couple of teaspoons of the reserved batter and with an off-set spatula spread it out evenly. Add another layer of pastila. Repeat for the remaining layers.
Coat the sides and top of the layered pastilla with any remaining batter.
Bake at 180 degrees for an hour and a half.
Cool completely.
Using a dampened knife and a sawing motion, slice the pastila into 1-inch wide slices.
Gently roll the pastila slices in powdered sugar. Serve with a cup of tea.
Store in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Sweet Potato Maple Cheesecake Cups
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 6 graham crackers
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
Sweet Potato Layer:
- 1 lbs. sweet potatoes
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 large eggs
Maple Cheesecake Layer:
- 24 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Crust
Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees. Spray 6 small glass bowls
Place graham crackers in food processor and pulse until they become fine crumbs
Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and melted butter. Pulse until fully combined
Add 1/6 of the graham cracker mixture to each glass bowl and press down to form a crust
Bake in air fryer for 7 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and set aside
Sweet Potato Layer
Place sweet potatoes in Potato Express (or similar microwave potato cooking bag) and let cook in microwave for 4 minutes each. Check occasionally to see if done. Once done, allow to cool and peel.
Add sweet potatoes to food processor and pulse until pureed.
Add remaining sweet potato layer ingredients and pulse until smooth and fully combined. Set aside.
Maple Cheesecake Layer
Add cream cheese, brown sugar, and cornstarch to food processor to combine.
Add in sour cream, maple syrup, and vanilla and pulse until smooth
Add in eggs and yolk one at a time and pulse until fully combined.
Prepare Cups
Fill one piping bag with sweet potato layer and another with maple cheesecake layer.
Pipe each layer onto crust, alternating between sweet potato filling and cheesecake layer until cups are 3/4 full
Place in air fryer to cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the edges are set.
Let cool and them place in refrigerator overnight.
To serve, top with marshmallow cream and graham crackers. Enjoy.
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