gingerbread cake

This was good – “addictive” Sylvie said as she and I stood over the pan taking mini chunks with our fingers.  Filled with seasonal spices – this dark and smooth cake is a winner for the holidays.  (I know I’m a little late!)   Very simple and easy to make – this is a good one to bake with the kids.  No mixer – just a 2 bowls and voila – you are done!  You can serve it in the afternoon for a snack, or dress it up in the evening with home made whipped cream and maybe some roasted pears.  Oh, and while it is baking the house will smell divine.  Once Upon a Chef just posted this and it is worth a look and sample.  Enjoy –

gingerbread cake

From Once Upon a Chef – click here for the link and recipe.  The only advice I have is to line the pans with foil, and butter.  Or, parchment paper as it is easier to get the cake out and I get lazy about butter and flour.

yellow cupcakes

So yummy!  Hanna said “Lisi, I never ever like cupcakes and I actually like these!!”  Sylvie and I agreed 100 percent.  And mind you – this tasting was w/out the icing.  Sylvie picked this recipe — eager to bake from this very pretty decorating book called Hello, Cupcake!  We were baking for My Sister’s Place again – and she wanted to make something a little more special and exciting.  And that meant decorating.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to let the girls decorate because I wanted the cupcakes to look just so – but soon remembered that they are very capable and creative 11 year olds!  Thank goodness we were all in it together because their help cut my time in half.  But don’t worry, these are super simple to make.  I promise.  The key is baking time (as usual) try to remove from oven when there is only a tiny moist crumb on a toothpick.  I know a pain, but worth the extra effort to check, and check again and again toward the end of baking time.

vanilla cupcakes (from Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson):

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin cups with liners.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine the milk, oil, and vanilla extract (I do this in liquid measuring cup).

With the paddle attachment of your electric mixer (or hand held beaters) beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the bowl after a few minutes and beat for a few minutes longer.  Around 6-7 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time and once combined, scrape again.  On the lowest speed, add the the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture in batches.  Begin, and end with flour.  Mix until JUST blended.

Fill the cupcake liners two thirds full. Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out JUST clean — 15 – 20 minutes. Once you are able to handle the cupcakes, remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for the easiest treat – or many any frosting of your choice! Decorate and have fun – Enjoy –

apple cinnamon muffins (very healthy – made with almond meal)

Andy came into the kitchen and said omgoodness what is that smell?  It smells sooo good!  I told him I was making muffins but didn’t mention the healthy part of the description.  Hot out of the oven Andy asked if he could have one – I said sure and his eyes lit up with joy and disbelief because he usually does not get to eat a muffin close to dinner.  He mmmmed and mmmmed and declared these AMAZING!  I said you know these muffins are healthy and he smiled and said, “good, I can have them for breakfast!”  I will say that he said (on his second one) that the consistency was a little soft and that they were best when hot and fresh out of the oven.  And yes, all that is true – but my thought is that if you have a kid like him – who loves muffins and loaf breads, it is awesome to have a treat that is full of protein and apples and cinnamon!  Unfortunately, Sylvie didn’t love them as much.  The consistency bothered her a bit more and Greg too – thought they were ok but not memorable.  So – well – after reading all that you can decide whether you think your family (or a member of your family) might enjoy.  Oh and btw, I did!

I kept the muffins unwrapped and out so that they wouldn’t get even softer.  You could slice and toast the next day to recreate the warm flavor.

apple cinnamon muffins (from elana amsterdam’s book The Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook):

2 cups blanched almond flour (almond meal)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced into 1/4 inch cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin cups with paper liners.  Peel, core and dice apples.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, salt, baking soda, arrowroot powder and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, agave, egg, and vanilla extract.

Next, stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix fairly well  then fold in the apples.

Bake for 30-35 m – until the muffins are golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

These are best warm outta the oven or soon after.  Remember though – they are soft,  so you might need a spoon when hot!

Enjoy-

pumpkin choc chip muffins (healthier side)

We all just LOVED these muffins!  So did Sylvie’s new camp friend Kate who came by to meet us — oh, and her mom and her sister too!  Verrry successful.  I froze a bunch of these to save for another day, but throughout the day (and next day) Andy continually defrosted them one by one.  Once defrosted he heats for 5 seconds enjoying the gooeyness of the chocolate with the fresh pumpkin flavor.  He especially loves it when I bake things that are on the moderately healthier side because he thinks he can chow.  I try to dissuade him from overeating but he smiles his sweet smile and well, it is a loosing battle.  I know it is not the season for pumpkin loving, but I had a can of puree that won’t make it to the winter and well – these really are good anytime of year.  Enjoy them!

pumpkin chocolate chip muffins:

I found these on The Very Best Baking Recipes and followed the directions to the T. So I’m just going to send you the link to make my life easier. 🙂

pumpkin muffins (click on that and you will be redirected)

Enjoy!

gluten free banana cake

Another recipe that is gluten and dairy free…and protein packed, and very tasty!  Rob, Alisa and I enjoyed in the morning as it is a healthy way to start the day.  Eggs, bananas, almond flour…dark chocolate.  All good!  The kids didn’t love this one I think because I used bitter chocolate, but I imagine semi-sweet chips would change that a bit.  Just don’t expect a buttery rich cake.  Obviously.  But it is good, and fits the bill especially if you are sensitive to gluten.  I have to make next time John is over and truly see if it passes the test.  I’ll keep you posted…in the meantime, enjoy!

chocolate chip banana cake (from The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam):

3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (she suggests 73 percent – but again for kids or for sweeter flavor go semi-sweet)
1 cup (2 to 3) very ripe bananas (mashed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch pan with grape seed oil and dust with almond flour – or use a parchment or foil liner.

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl whisk together the grape seed oil, agave nectar, eggs and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir to combine.  Fold in the chocolate and mashed bananas and then pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 33-43 minutes – but check often and try not to over bake as usual!

Let the cake cool in the pan then serve.

Enjoy-

blueberry streusel muffins

Andy said – “wow, these might be better than Dunkin Donuts!”  “I love them!”  Andy obviously loves the muffins from DD – so a big compliment, huge.  I worried that I overbaked them a bit, but Andy assured me that all was delicious and then, “can I have another one?”  Greg and friends Matt and Collin also thoroughly enjoyed.  Matt didn’t remember ever having a blueberry muffin and wasn’t sure if he would like, but he tried and did!  Collin tries everything and will probably be a chef one day – so I always know it is good if Collin gives it the ok.  And me, I loved the top.  The streusally top with its buttery, crispy, sugary clumps makes me very happy.  It is really all I need.  Toast the top, spread some extra butter (I know, it’s a lot of butter!) and wow, just scrumptious and decadent.

This recipe makes 12 – double the batter if you you have a crowd.

Do not thaw blueberries.  Keep them frozen until the last minute to avoid streaky greenish batter.

blueberry streusel muffins (very slightly adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine’s Holiday Baking 2010):

streusel-
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 pinches kosher salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

muffins-
2 cups all purpose flour, plus little extra for muffin tin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

For the streusel, combine and whisk together the flour, both sugars, cinnamon and salt.  Add the melted butter and toss with a fork (I used my hand) until evenly wet-ish throughout.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter and lightly flour 12 cup muffin tin (I will probe use paper liners next time.)

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg until pale – for about 30 seconds.  Add the vanilla and sugar and whisk again – vigorously again about 30 seconds.

Slowly whisk in the melted butter and then add the buttermilk and whisk until just combined.

Reserve 1 tablespoon flour (for the blueberries) and whisk remaining flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Fold in the egg mixture until almost combined.

Toss the frozen blueberries with the tablespoon of flour and carefully fold into the batter.

Scoop better evenly into muffin tin and top with the streusel.  I didn’t use all of the streusel – but saved it in the freezer for streusel on the fly.

Bake until just just done.  I overcooked mine a little so watch carefully probably from 23-30 m depending on your oven and muffin tin.

Cool for about 15 minutes then gently remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Enjoy!

chocolate chip crumb cake

It was Zach’s birthday and we decided that we should all sing and celebrate together.  And although Jodi told me repeatedly that I didn’t have to bake (Lauren made a cake at a bday party that she would bring), I really wanted to because Zach (and Lauren) are probably my biggest fans.  I whipped this up super fast – peeked in Cake Keeper Cakes by my fave Lauren Chattman and served up this chippy chocolate chip cake.  Delicious.  Simple.  Tasty.  Easy.  Pretty.  What more can you want?  Enjoy –

Oh, and I think this would be great as a cupcake.  Next time.

chocolate chip cake (slightly adapted from Lauren Chattman’s Cake Keeper Cakes):

streusel –

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

cake –

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

streusel-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 inch spring form pan.  Then combine the flour, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Add the butter and vanilla and smoosh the ingredients with your fingers.  Keep rubbing until large crumbs form.

Transfer to a smaller bowl, and place in fridge until time for topping.

cake–

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

With the paddle attachment of your mixer (or handheld beaters) cream together the butter and sugar together on medium high speed until light and fluffy.  This should take about 5-6 minutes and scrape the bowl down here and there.

Lower the speed and add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla.

Scrape and mix again.

With the mixer on the lowest speed, add 1/3rd of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the buttermilk.  Repeat, alternating flour and buttermilk and end with flour.  Scrape and mix a second more.

Remove from the mixer and fold in one cup of mini chips.  Try not to overwork the batter.

Pour into prepped pan and smooth with a spatula.  Squeeze the cold streusel through your fingers – onto the batter.  Try to spread it evenly and some big chunks are good too.

Bake until the cake is slightly golden and a toothpick comes out just clean.

My cake took only 47 minutes and the recipe calls for 55-60.  So I’d actually check after 45 minutes next time.

Place cake on a rack.  Immediately sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup of chocolate chips over the top of the batter.

Let cake cool for 10 min, then remove from pan (run a knife around the edges first) and continue to cool.  Yummy.

Enjoy-

sunshine bread

I really really enjoyed this bread.  It has warm honey and orange notes, sweet red raspberries and crunchy sliced almonds.  It is delicious sliced and toasted with a little bit of butter – but also really nice alone.  Sylvie and I actually couldn’t stop picking at this bread.  Very addictive to us – but not for everyone.  Andy and Rob really didn’t like it at all which is hard for me to imagine, and Greg thought it was good but the taste too strong.  Hmmm….guess that is what makes the world go round.  I found this recipe in the fictional novel, How To Bake a Perfect Life, which was a nice easy read.  The character writes about this bread she made up on the night that she felt great new love.  She states “Filled with light and juice and tenderness, it is one of my favorite things.”  How romantic is that?  Unfortunately that didn’t work well here with Rob.  Funny.  I wanted to bring some to friends but bumped into a homeless man and decided that he might want a bit of sunshine and tenderness.  It did bring a big smile to his face but I didn’t get to hear his comments. Oh well, try it if you are game – make it for a brunch.  I think it will delight.

Don’t overfill your pan.  I did, and in order to cook it through I had to over-bake a bit.  It was a little dry, so don’t fill all the way, use the leftover for a few mini muffins and problem solved.

sunshine fruit and honey bread (slightly adapted from How To Bake A Perfect Life by Barbara O’Neal):

2 cups all-purpose flour (remember to peek at baking tips to see how to measure flour correctly)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup raw sugar (I used sugar in the raw – this added a slight crunch to the bread)
1/2 cup dark honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 eggs
1 cup raspberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds

glaze –
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from the orange you zested)
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

With the paddle attachment of you electric mixer or with hand held beaters, cream the butter and sugar together for a few minutes until lighter and fluffier.

Add the honey and both extracts and orange zest and continue to beat and scrape down.  Add the eggs one at a time – on medium speed.

On the lowest speed add the dry ingredients in 2 batches  – and mix until just incorporated.

Remove from mixer and gently fold in raspberries and toasted almonds.

Scrape into prepared pan and again, don’t overfill – maybe make a few mini muffins on the side.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes – but check often and before.  Toothpick should come out just clean.  (Muffin time will be shorter.)

Cool for 20 minutes and then invert bread onto a wire rack.

To make the glaze, mix together the orange juice and sugar and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.  Add a pinch of salt and then drizzle over the bread.

Enjoy-

honey corn muffins

Finally – a moist corn muffin and one that we all could say yes, blog-worthy!  I’ve tried so many recipes and they usually fall flat – often dry and tasteless.  The honey and buttermilk in these muffins helps yield a soft, moist, cake-y and just plain good muffin.  The kids all loved – Greg, Andy, Sylvie, Lauren and Zach too.  I liked them sliced, toasted with a little butter on top and oh, delicious.  Shari agreed, thought that warming them really brought out the flavor and commented “a very simple but yummy corn muffin fix.”  Darren agreed with “yummy” and Jake and Bradley wanted more than the one they were allotted – which means good 🙂  Rob thought these could be a little sweeter – and it’s true that these are really more of a traditional breakfast muffin and not a dessert.  (You can add an extra tablespoon or 2 of sugar if you like your muffins sweeter.)  The authors of Baked Explorations (I love this book!) suggest serving these with butter and a drizzle of honey.  A berry compote would nice as well.  Enjoy-

honey corn muffins (from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito):

2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees  Lightly butter or spray each cup of a standard 12 cup muffin pan – and wipe out any excess with a paper towel.  You can also line with paper.

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, add the buttermilk, honey and butter, and whisk again.  Set aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, brown sugar, sugar and salt.

Make a little well in the dry ingredients and then pour the wet into the well, and fold together until just combined.  Try not to over-mix.

Fill each muffin about 3/4’s full.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out just clean.

Place on a rack and let cool for 10 minutes.  Then pop muffins out while still warm and serve with butter (and honey or fruit).

Enjoy-

Oh, if they sit for days (they shouldn’t! – just toast and spread a little butter or jam on – honey or just plain.  Toasting will refresh the flavor.

banana streusel cake

I had to post this again.  Sorry for the repetition but made this last weekend and everyone raved.  It is my kids favorite.  I urge you to try it.  Now back to the original post:  This banana cake is scrumptious.  In the midst dealing with a flat tire, trying to fix the TV volume that was (and still is) stuck on mute, and driving the kids to and from activities…I noticed that I had three very ripe bananas sitting on the counter and decided that I must use them today.  I wanted something different than my basic banana bread (that we do love) – was in the mood to try something new – but something just as simple to make since I was pressed for time.  Well, I found a good one!  I was able to prep the ingredients in between Triple A coming, rushing the car in for service (apparently I had only 10 minutes before the tire deflated again!), picking the car up 25 minutes later (I owe Jack’s Automotive some cake) and continued as I prepped dinner as well (it was a crock pot night which made things easier).  By the time dinner ended I had my mise en place and was ready to combine the measured ingredients and pop in the oven.  This is an incredibly long winded way of telling you that this is easy to make.  More importantly, it is yummy.  I made one with streusel on top and with out chocolate.  And I made one with the streusel and mini chips swirled a bit throughout.  I gave Greg the non-chocolate version in his lunch and as soon as he saw me after school he said, “what was that amazing thing in my lunch?”  Josh and Lauren loved the chippy version and Mike, Zach, Andy, Sylvie and Rob loved both.  This cake is light, delicate and more cake-y than the banana bread (which makes sense).  Anyway, the streusel topping is divine.  I love streusel.  Rambling now, but this in my little mug of ice cream…can’t wait! Enjoy-

banana streusel cake (with or without chocolate chips) only very slightly adapted from Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions:

streusel-
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
6 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into little pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

cake-
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup mashed banana (2 medium or 3 small or 9 oz)
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten, room temp
mini chocolate chips 2/3’s cup (or more or less to your taste)

streusel – in a medium bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt.  Rub the mixture with your hands over and over again until the butter smooshes a bit and the dry ingredients start to look like slightly wet sand.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack in center.  Line the inside of a 9×9 pan with foil or parchment so that it comes up the sides of the pan.  Then you can pull whole cake out of oven using foil as an aide.  Look to baking tips to see photos of this with a cranberry cake.  You can also butter and parchment and flour traditionally – but it is trickier to invert from the pan – yet do-able for sure.  (These would be great in muffin shape as well!  Just adjust baking time – shorter.)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

Mush the bananas and stir in the milk and vanilla and set aside.

With the paddle attachment of the mixer – beat the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes on medium speed.  Scrape down sides beat again for 30 seconds.  Add the egg and beat until incorporated.

Next add the banana mixture (it might look curdled that is ok) – and beat until combined.

On the lowest speed, add the flour in 2’s – and mix until just incorporated.  Finish folding by hand for best results.  If using mini chips you can fold in (some) now or you can wait and place on streusel or a little bit of both!

Spoon the batter into the pan, smooth and then cover evenly with the streusel.  And again, if using the chocolate chips, you can place some on top.  I swirled the chip batter with a knife but I actually prefer the crunch streusel on top vs inside the cake, but up to you.

Bake for about 42-50 minutes, but check often and before with a wooden toothpick.  Let cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan with the foil as aide – or invert if you buttered and floured the pan (carefully).

Let cool, and cut and enjoy!

This cake freezes well.  Wrap with plastic and then foil and freeze up to 2 weeks.