Apple Nut Cake

I was craving an apple fritter on a lovely autumn Sunday and couldn't bring myself to drive 20 minutes away to my favorite apple orchard (http://www.pattersonfarm.com/) when I knew I had all the ingredients and talent to make an apple cake at home.

I know this sounds crazy, but when I was 8 years old I won Best in Show in a baking contest (against adults!) with an apple nut cake. Hoping to recreate this awesome cake, I ransacked my kitchen (which admittedly still has a few boxes from moving 6 months ago) and could not for the life of me find my old award-winning recipe.

A little research found a similar recipe in my Southern Living Cookbook. Adapted to be very slightly healthier, this recipe was delicious and definitely put me in the mood for cooler weather and colorful leaves. It has quickly become a favorite in my house and I have already been asked to make it again.

Ingredients

½ cup (one stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
2 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
4 apples*
1 cup walnuts, chopped

*A note on choosing apples for baking: I like to use a 50-50 mix of green Granny Smith apples and tart red apples. For this recipe I used Fuji as my red apples, but Gala, Pink Lady, Melrose, and Jonagold all have a similar tart flavor. NEVER use Red Delicious apples for baking; they do not have enough flavor and your baked goods will be terribly boring.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and cut up four apples. This should give you about four cups of apple pieces.

Stir together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sift together both types of flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended. Slowly add dry ingredients to above wet ingredients, stirring until mixed well. Fold in apples and walnuts. The resulting mixture will be VERY thick, resembling cookie dough.

Spread dough into a non-stick or greased glass 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool on a wire rack.

This cake is best served warm, and I swear the taste got even better the next day as the moisture from the apples permeated the cake.

References:

"Chunky Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting." Southern Living Cookbook. Birmingham, Alabama: Oxmoor House, 2006. 154.

http://www.food.com/recipe/apple-nut-cake-60893

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I was recently asked to make a coffee cake for a wedding shower. I was surprised to realize I have never made anything like this, so I was excited to find this recipe online and see that it had excellent reviews. The recipe was a success; it disappeared so quickly at the wedding shower that I wished I had doubled it.

Ingredients: 

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Zest from 1 whole lemon

7/8 cup sugar*

1 egg

1 t vanilla

2 cups flour

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons

Before starting, allow butter and eggs to come to room temperature. Tip - if you want to speed up the butter warming from frozen or refrigerated temperatures, slice it into a bowl and it will thaw/soften faster. Putting it in the microwave is not the best idea, as this will effect the texture and fluffiness of your final product.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss blueberries with 1/4 cup flour and set aside. Combine remaining flour (1 3/4 cups) with baking powder and salt and mix well with a wire whisk.

Combine butter, lemon zest and sugar and beat until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well until mixed. Add flour and buttermilk slowly, alternating between the two ingredients and mixing well. Add blueberries last, folding into dough with a large spatula or spoon.

Grease a 9x9 pan or similar size pan with butter. Spread dough into pan and sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.

I am also thinking this recipe would make great blueberry muffins too... maybe next time I will try that.

References:
http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/06/29/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake/

Somewhat-Healthier Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

It's been a few weeks since my last post - I've still been cooking and baking, I just haven't had time to post the recipes. I had an awful migraine this week, which often means I get to eat whatever I want in an attempt to kill the headache. That resulted in this masterpiece dessert that I found on Pinterest and just had to eat immediately. I adjusted the recipe a little, making it healthier by eliminating the chocolate frosting and using fat-free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

*Drool*

Ingredients:


1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ t baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ t salt
½ stick (4 T) unsalted butter (salted is OK if that’s all you have)
3 oz. creamy peanut butter (a little less than ½ cup)
½ cup tightly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
¼ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup hot water
½ t vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.


Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. I like to stir flour mixtures with a wire whisk or a fork to avoid the bad taste of chunks of baking soda in your baked goods.


In a separate bowl, cream butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Fun tip - if you are out of brown sugar (or if it’s solidified beyond saving like mine was), mix ½ cup white sugar plus 1 ½ tablespoons molasses in a food processor for an easy substitute.

Homemade brown sugar

Add egg and egg yolk and mix for a minute or two. Add half of flour mixture and mix until combined, scraping sides as you mix. Add yogurt and mix at medium-high speed for two minutes. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Continue to scrape sides eventually to include all ingredients. Add hot water and vanilla extract, beating on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.


Abandon the mixer at this point, and mix in the chocolate chips using a large spoon or spatula. The original recipe only called for a ½ cup of chocolate chips, but who doesn’t want more chocolate? I used miniature chocolate chips because I had some left over from my last batch of biscotti.

Grease a 9x9 pan. I used coconut oil to grease the pan for a little extra flavor. Spread batter into pan using a spatula. Bake for at least 30 minutes, until center appears baked through. A knife inserted in the center won't help you know if it's done because the melted chocolate chips stick to the knife no matter what. Let cool for a few minutes in pan. Cut into 9 pieces and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top.

*Note: After making this recipe once, I recommend baking it in a 13x9 pan for a shorter time - maybe 20-25 minutes. In a 9x9 pan, the center was too thick and not completely baked while the edges were starting to burn.

Yum!

References:
http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2006/10/01/life-can-be-cruel/