Summer weekends. At the lake, at the beach, in the mountains, at home. It’s a great time for a leisurely breakfast or brunch. Actually at a table, not in the car or at your desk. But that doesn’t have to mean a ton of cooking at the crack of dawn. This make-ahead blintz casserole is a perfect summer morning meal. Creamy and airy and just sweet enough. Add to it a peak season fruit compote and its real crowd pleaser. Make it the day before and cover it in the fridge, ready to bake and serve in the a.m.
Blintz casserole is a recipe that’s been in my files for years, a simplified version of rolled crepe-like blintzes with a cheese filling – all the flavor with half the work. I use ricotta for richness, with a nice dose of vanilla. There’s a little tang in the batter from sour cream too. Don’t fret too much over the assembly. Pour half the thin batter in the dish, then dollop over the cheese filling. It will sink, that’s ok, and do your best to spread it in an even layer. It will mix with the batter, but that’s okay too. It all comes right in the end. I give the shortcut directions here using a blender or a mixer. If you are at a weekend kitchen that isn’t so well equipped, you can whip the batter by hand with a whisk until completely combined and smooth and beat the filling, all ingredients at room temperature, with a fork until completely smooth and combined.
I think the most popular way to serve this dish is with a blueberry sauce, and I love to pair it with this bright blueberry mint compote, but for a switch up, I created this peach basil compote, based on one of my most popular recipes for Peaches Poached in Basil. I love to make both so everyone ha choice. The truth is though, any good jam works well as a topper (you can heat it to loosen it up). Or syrup. Or Nutella. This is a really versatile vehicle.
Ingredients
- For the Batter
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 ½ cups sour cream
½ cup milk
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla paste of extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
- For the Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces whole ricotta cheese
2 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- For the Compote
2 pounds peaches
2 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons water
6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
4 stems of basil leaves
Directions
- For the Batter
- Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the carafe if needed. Set aside.
- For the Filling
- Put the cream cheese and ricotta in the bowl of stand mixer, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, and beat to combine. Beat in the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Pour ½ of the batter into the baking dish, then use a tablespoon to dollop the filling on top of the batter. It will sink some and that is fine. Do your best to spread the filling into an even layer – it will combine with the batter, don’t worry, just try to spread it to as much of the dish as possible. I use an offset spatula. Pour the remaining batter over the top. At this point, you can cover the dish and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake, take the dish out of the fridge to take some of the chill off while the oven heats oven to 350 degrees. Bake the casserole for 50 – 60 minutes until golden brown on the edges and top, puffed and firm. Serve right from the oven or just warm with fruit compote.
- For the Compote
- Peel the peaches by bringing a pot of water to the boil. Fill a bowl with ice water and set aside. Use a small, sharp knife to score a shallow X in the bottom of each peach. It doesn’t need to be deep—just enough to break the skin. Drop the peaches in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, You should see the skin at the X loosening. Transfer the peaches to the ice water with a slotted spoon. After a few second, you should be able to slip the skins right off.
- Cut the peaches in half, remove the stone, then cut into chunks. Put them in a saucepan with the lemon juice, water, sugar. Stir and place over medium heat. Tuck the basil stems into the peaches and cook for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until they have broken down and you have a nice sauce. Mash them with the back of the spoon or spatula as you stir. Remove the basil stems and leaves. You can serve this right away or cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
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