Raspberry Crumb Cake

Summer is the season of eating.

Who am I kidding?   Every season is the season of eating.    But I've actually been back in my kitchen trying new recipes and baking things over the past month, so that's a win.   

In fact, I've been making dinner - thinking that vegetables and protein should probably be a thing.   Eating cheese is also a thing, however, there needs to be a balance.

If you're looking for vegetables and protein, can I recommend this recipe for Egg Roll in a Bowl from 40 Aprons?  I've made it twice in the past month.   Yum!

Now...back to the cake

Cake with berries.  

Cake with a cream cheese layer.

Cake with a crumb topping.

Have your breakfast cake and eat it too!

Giving credit where it's due, this delicious crumb cake recipe came from Sally's Baking Addiction.   I just traded the blackberries for raspberries.   So in the spirit of making a summer breakfast cake that will make you sing into your coffee cup, bust out your springform pan and hop over to the recipe on her page and get on it.    

In other summer food news....

Have  you tried these Doritos?  It's two (count 'em) experiences in one chip.    

How do food scientists do it?      

You can't just eat a chip, you have to have an experience!

I love ahi.  
Sushi - yes
Poke - yes
In this sandwich at Sally's - yes

I went to Long Beach a week ago, and happily stumbled upon the Pie Bar.  
Talk about the perfect bar.    Hello Mississippi Mud Pie.  

I also ate my way through Ecuador in May.    

If you ever have the chance to visit, you should go.    

Eating in Ecuador

What are you eating this summer?   Recipes you love?  New things you're trying?

Amaretto Mocha Pudding Cake

Alas, this is the third and final recipe from my Saturday Snowday adventures in the kitchen.    The sun came out on Sunday and I could no longer, guilt-free, hole up inside.   I had to go and do things.  Gym.   Work.   Errands.  

You know the drill.  

Pudding cake, and it's fancy restaurant-issue cousin, the molten lava cake, is a combination of actual cake and cake/brownie batter that is rich, delicious and not quite cooked.  And it's all on purpose. 

Once you cut into it, it oozes all over, just like it's supposed to.   It's not the most photogenic dessert on the planet, but who cares?   You have warm chocolate dripping down your chin.  

What You Need

A snow day.   If you don't have a snow day, than any day that ends in -y where you want chocolate will do.

You will also need....

Level 1:
1 cup flour
1 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk (I used 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup of skim milk just for fun)
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla

Level 2:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

Level 3:
1/2 cup water, heated
1/4 cup amaretto liquor
1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee granules

What You Do

Heat the oven to 350 and put the rack in the middle.   Grease an 8x8 pan with butter and set aside.

Combine flour, 1 cup cocoa powder, baking powder and salt (all Level 1 items) in a medium bowl and whisk together.     In a large bowl whisk together the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, milk, butter, egg and vanilla until combined and smooth.    Add flour mix to milk mixture and whisk until just combined.   Lumps are ok.     Transfer the batter to your 8x8 pan and smooth it out.

Combine 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/4 granulated sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar in a small bowl until mixed.  Then sprinkle over batter evenly.

Heat up a 1/2 cup of water.  Then add the amaretto and dissolve the instant coffee powder.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, then pour it over the batter (no stirring) and put the pan in the oven.

Bake until cake is bubbling, puffy and set at the edges while jiggly in the center, about 25 minutes.    Let cool for 5 minutes before diving in!

From personal experience this cake is delicious the day after for breakfast.


Adapted from Chow.com (original recipe)

Toasted Coconut Pound Cake

 

I love shopping at Goodwill.   Your purchase benefits a great organization and provides jobs.   And you have the chance to score big.   My recent purchase was a 49 cent silicone loaf pan.   At any retail store or online, you'll pay at least $10.   Do I care that my pre-loved loaf pan is a burnt orange color?   Not at all.   I just keep baking away. 

There is a first for me in this recipe.   Friends, it is the first time that I have purchased buttermilk.   Usually I opt for one of the buttermilk tradeouts, such as yogurt, sour cream, or milk with a little lemon juice.   But in pound cake, where there aren't a lot of ingredients and you can taste each one, I thought I'd go with what the recipe indicated.    This cake is awesome and got rave reviews from the Breakfast Club at church on Sunday morning.   

What You Need

For the cake:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups toasted coconut

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons buttermilk (plus a little more to make it a better pouring consistency)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup toasted coconut

What You Do

Preheat your oven to 350.    Spray your silicone loaf pan with a little bit of cooking spray.

Toast your coconut, by laying out the 1 1/2 cups of shredded coconut on a baking sheet and putting the pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes, stirring often.   When it starts to brown, take it out.  It can go from beautiful to burnt really quick if you aren't paying attention.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.   Add the vanilla then the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl.    With the mixer on low add the flour in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk.  Beat until combined.   Fold in the 1 1/4 cups toasted coconut. 

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick put in the center comes out with just a few crumbs.   I put my silicone pans on a flat baking sheet when cooking.     Let cool in the pan on a wire rack.   When the cake is cool, invert onto your serving plate, or onto the wire rack.

Mix buttermilk and powdered sugar to form the glaze.   Drizzle over the cake and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of toasted coconut. 

Share your cake with friends and family!


Recipe Source:  Everday Food Magazine, October 2012

Sticky Orange Cake

We are having a record heatwave in Denver.   On Saturday it was officially 104 degrees (although my car said 109 and it felt like 115).    It's optimal weather to: go to the movies, go to work (if it's indoors), read The Hunger Games  (finally - I'd been on hold at the library forever) and go for sunset bike rides.   Why a sunset ride?   The Bike MS is next weekend and if I don't ride in preparation, I'm going to be sorry.   I may still be sorry, since my training hasn't been as good as years past.    And at sunset the sun isn't baking you, even if it is still in the mid 90s.  

In the coolness of the AC I was prowling in the pantry and saw a box of cake mix.   What can I make to take to Jazz in the (really hot) Park?   I can't just bring sangria, can I?   Using the nifty ingredient search feature on All Recipes, I found a recipe for Orange Cake.   Citrus is nice and summery, and I was ok to turn on the oven for 35 minutes.    After reading the original recipe and some of the reader reviews and modifications, this was my creation. 

What You Need

1 box yellow cake mix

1 3oz box vanilla pudding

zest of one orange

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

The sticky sweet delicious drizzle

1/3 cup orange juice (use that orange you zested as part of it)

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

What You Do

Line a 13x9 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 375 (for high altitude - probably 350 everywhere else).    Mix cake mix, vanilla pudding mix and orange zest in a large mixing bowl.   Form a well in the middle.   Add remaining ingredients and mix on medium for 2-3 minutes.    Pour into pan.   Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is in the last 10 minutes of baking, it's time for the sticky sweet delicious drizzle.   Combine the juice, sugar and butter (and a little extra orange zest if you have it) into a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes then remove from heat.

Once the cake is out of the oven, let it rest a minute or two, then poke holes all over the top of it with a toothpick.   Slowly spoon the drizzle (similar to what you do with rum cake) over the cake and give it a little time to sink in.   Pause.  Repeat until the drizzle is gone.    Allow cake to cool.   I cut mine into about 40 small square pieces.  Perfect for sharing.  Perfect for summer.  Perfect for sangria. 

Lemon Pound Cake

Sometimes I bake for the sake of  baking.   And sometimes it's for a purpose.   I feel less guilty making sweet treats when I know they are destined for someone else.   It removes some of the temptation from my path.   Today at the gym my trainer asked what I was having for lunch after the work out.   I said that I didn't know.  He said that it was a good question that deserved an answer.   I deliberately misheard "desserts are the answer" and said he was right.   But I had deli chicken on a mini wheat bagel and carrots with homemade hummus instead.  

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago in an email and was holding on to it for the right occasion.    And the birthday of my friend and co-worker was the right occasion.   This cake is delicious with a kick of lemon and not too sweet.    Have a slice and enjoy.

What You Need

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, plus more for the pan

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 6 tablespoons lemon juice (I bought two mammoth lemons at the store and was good to go)
6 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup plain full fat greek yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar

What You Do

Heat oven to 325° F. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice, then the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Add half the flour mixture, then the yogurt, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not overmix).  Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65 to 75 minutes (Colorado time was closer to 75 minutes). Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn it out* onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of the remaining lemon juice.  I used my electric beaters for ease and to eliminate any lumps.   Add additional juice if needed to get the glaze to a thick, but drizzle-worthy consistency. 

*The flaw in my design For reasons unknown to me, the cake would not come out of the pan.    So the whole "turn it out onto a wire rack" never really happened.    I sliced large sections and took them individually from the pan, sliced them smaller and then drizzled the glaze.  


Recipe Source: Real Simple

Ruby Red Pound Cake

Again I am reminded that I like grapefruit.  It's rare to see it featured in a country song recipe.   You can see where my mind is at....listening to Kenny Chesney's song "Coastal."  The song does not feature grapefruit.  It does feature tropical climates...close enough.   

This turned out so well, I know I will make it again.  I imagine it would be delicious with any citrus fruit.  I didn't have a tube pan, called for in the original recipe.  I used one regular loaf pan and two small "gift-size" loaf pans. 

What You Need

Cooking spray

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

5/8 teaspoon salt, divided

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

6 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

2 large eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons grated ruby red grapefruit rind (I zested the two grapefruits I had and don't think I got 2 tablespoons...I gave in and said "close enough!")

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup fresh ruby red grapefruit juice (squeeze it from one of the grapefruits that you zested so vigorously)

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

What You Do

Coat your loaf pans with baking spray. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring well. 

Place granulated sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in oil, rind, and vanilla.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour. Spoon batter into pan; bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging.  I did not make any adjustments for Denver altitude and had no problems.  My mini cakes cooked for about an hour. 

Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Invert cake. Cool on rack.

Place juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons (about 4 minutes). Cool slightly. Stir in powdered sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Drizzle over cake.

Recipe Source: Cooking Light