Blueberry Lemon Poundcake.

I'm back!

It's been about a 6 month hiatus but I'm gonna get back at 'er.  I have still been baking these last few months, even though I haven't actually posted anything. I'll do my best to do some back tracking and post some of the delicious treats I've made.

I think I've said it before, but I'll  say it again: I love baking with fresh fruit. Honestly. A batch of muffins or a loaf loaded with fresh berries or peaches or whatever always satifies my sweet tooth. I've started a bit of health kick (got a gym membership and heathy eating!) but I didn't want that to affect all the fun I have in the kitchen. The result is my family, friends, and coworkers and being force fed everything that comes out the oven. Which, if you ask me, isn't such a bad deal.

So, today, I've attempted a recipe I've been eyeing for a little while: Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake. I came across Chef in Training on Pinterest and she had adapted it from another website. A little zest from the lemons and a ton of blueberries. I made it in my bundt pan instead of the loaf pan hat was suggested. Mostly because it's fancier looking and I don't really like using loaf pans.  The edges always dry out, and the middle isn't cooked through.

Here are the ingredients

1 c. butter

1 3/4 c. sugar

zest of 1 lemon

3 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 c. buttermilk

3 c. fresh blueberries

2 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 c. icing sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. Cream together butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 3 to 5 minutes

3. Add eggs 1 at a time, and add an additional minute for each egg

4. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients 

5. Add dry ingredients alternatively with the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/egg/lemon mixture

6. Fold in blueberries

7. Pour batter into pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes 

8. Allow to cool

9. Whisk together glaze ingredients and pour over cake

More Muffins.

Mid afternoon on a Sunday, and all I can think about is my Netflix queue and ordering pizza. Unfortunately, I've got cleaning to do. What better way to procrastinate on cleaning than to bake (and I still feel productive :) )

We're lean on groceries today, so I was running out of things to pack into Joel's lunch for work. I remembered all the blueberries I had in my fridge and I knew exactly what I wanted to make: blueberry muffins. Now, I am a muffin lover. Chocolate chip, blueberry, raspberry, carrot, nutty... doesn't matter, I love them all. As a kid, my parents would bring us to Tim Horton's every week and after I outgrew my jelly donut phase, blueberry muffins have been my love ever since. Something about fresh fruit, yummy carbs, and being able to throw together a recipe in under an hour makes me happy. 

I quickly perused Pinterest and found an easy recipe from Mess for Less. When a blogger says " I made these with my kids," I interpret that as "SARAH YOU CAN MAKE THESE QUICKLY AND EASILY".  I'm not lazy, but it's already 4:00pm on Sunday afternoon and I haven't actually done any of the things I was supposed to do today - so I'm on a time crunch.  

Half the batter I used for mini muffins (because who doesn't love those) and the other half I made regular sized ones. No regrets here. Warm, moist muffins straight from the oven that you can just pop in your mouth? Yes please. The normal sized muffins will be perfect for Joel's lunch. 

Ingredients 

(adapted from Mess for Less)

2 c. of flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. of brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 large egg

1/4 c. butter, melted and cooled

1 c. milk

1 c. fresh blueberries

(Mess for Less said the recipe serves 12. But

I made 24 mini-muffins and 12 regular muffins. Just sayin'.)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, & salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, beat the egg. Then add sugars and milk. Combine. Add melted (& cooled) butter and mix.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just combined.

5. Fold in the blueberries and spoon into lined muffin pan. Fill each until 3/4 full.

6. Bake for 15-20 mins at 400 degrees.

*Note: the mini-muffins baked more quickly, so if you're going to try it, keep an eye on them while they bake. 

Raspberry Lemon Muffins.

It's been a little crazy around our house for the last couple weeks. Joel's gone back to work after being laid off for the winter, and with March Break upon us, I've had extra shifts at the restaurant. We've given in a few times this week and ordered take out but no more! I went to the grocery store yesterday and picked up some stuff for Joel's lunches and some fresh fruit for baking. 

This recipe is great for breakfast on the go, lunch hour snack, or nighttime indulgence. The lemon zest and raspberries give them the perfect tart flavour. I've made them a few times over the last couple weeks because they do not last! 

As most of my recipes, this is a pinterest find. After a cursory look at my cupboards, I browse pinterest for a recipe based on ingredients I already have. Thanks to Crumb Blog for this great find! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 lemon

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

2 cups frozen raspberries (unthawed)

*I've used both fresh and frozen raspberries. Both turned out great!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.In a large mixing bowl, stir together the buttermilk, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until smooth. Zest and juice the lemon into the buttermilk mixture; stir again until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and fold until almost combined. Gently fold in the still-frozen raspberries, being careful not to break them up. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of each muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

(I baked mine for approximately 15-18 minutes and they came out a perfect golden colour).

Enjoy :) !

Repeat Offender

I was feeling a little under the weather today (self-induced, I might add) and had resigned to staying in bed all day. Then I remembered I had a pint of perfectly good blueberries in my fridge and had to put them to good use. I knew exactly what I was craving - Bluberry Banana Loaves. Damn Delicious is responsible for the fantastic recipe. I found this it early December, and have made 3 or 4 batches since. They are so YUMMY. I even gave them as Christmas gifts to the girls at my office.  Also I love the idea of making mini loaves instead. So cute.

I baked with butter today (usually I use margarine because it's more convenient - already soft) but careless me, just threw it in the bowl and started to blend it with the sugar. I assumed that because I had been out on the counter for the last day or two that it would be malleable enough to work with. Wrong. It was a little too hard/cold and it didn't blend very well. I went at it anyways and hoped for the best. Stuff like this reminds me that I'm not a pro. 

Also, the recipe calls for ripe bananas, but I keep bananas in the freezer, after they've gone too ripe to eat, for baking and find they work just as well. I usually throw them in the mircrowave for a minute or two to defrost.

I stole this picture - my photography skills aren't quite as nice.

Anyhoot. Here it is - minorly adapted from Damn Delicious:

• 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 c. blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat four 5 3/4-inch mini loaf pans with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until well combined. Beat in bananas until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture to the sugar mixture at low speed, beating just until incorporated.

4. Add blueberries and gently toss to combine.

5. Scoop the batter evenly into the loaf pans. Place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack.

Voila. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I do!

Feeling inspired!

Second recipe of the day: soft pretzels!! 

Joel & I are enjoying a quiet day around the house (aka he fell asleep watching movies and I'm perusing Pinterest for more recipes), & I'm trying to decide what we can do as a cheap date night. Maybe see a movie? But if we see a movie, I have to get a pretzel. Actually, screw the movie, I'm much more interested in the pretzels. 

Took this recipe from The Food Network  and went boldly where I have never baked before: yeast. I'll admit, as a newbie, I was a little nervous to try it out, but in the spirit of my New Year's Resolution, I gave it a shot. 

They're quite yummy-- I interrupted Joel's nap for his approval as well. 

Before you toss 'em in the oven, the recipe recommends brushing them with an egg yolk/water mixture. I may have used too much, because the baked pretzels have a mild case of jaundice. Oh well. As it wast first ever attempt, I'd say it went pretty well. Next time, I'd either dilute the egg yolk with a little extra water or use a little less.

(Note: if you try this recipe, make sure you don't add the baking soda to already boiling water. Or do. It's a bit of a -messy- science experiment. 

Soft Pretzels

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

You can see that they turned out a little yellow from the egg yolk

• 
  
•                                                    Instructions
• 
  
• Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
• 
  
• Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
• 
  
• In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
• 
  
• Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. 
• 
  
• Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

It's a Learning Process.

I had every intention of posting earlier this week of my continuing adventures, however, they did not go as planned. Monday was the second time I had made these Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins; the first time being much more successful. Instead of butter, this recipe uses unsweetened apple sauce to lighten the calorie load. Delicious. This time, I was out of applesauce and attempted to use butter as a replacement. (Note to self: DONT DO IT).  I quickly googled a ratio for exchanging one for the other and went at it without a second thought. I'll have to do more research before every doing that again. The texture was all wrong. Instead of a light yet moist muffin, they tasted more like a shortbread cookie with a kind of flour-ish taste. So gross. I tossed the whole batch. I should have taken a picture to remind myself not to make that mistake again - although I'm sure merely tasting these awful cookie-muffins will be enough. I will definitely be making these muffins again - the RIGHT way - because they're actually delish. 

Onward and upward. 

Today, my recipe was slightly adapted from the blog Damn Delicious. I've only ever tried a store bought coffee cake, so  its been my determination to bake one from scratch - with the belief that anything from scratch is better than store bought. It was soooo good. The cake was fantastic. I wasn't thrilled about the final result of the brown sugar & cinnamon crumble on top. I'm not sure if I didn't mix it well enough, or if there's too much flour in the recipe. Its likely my fault, as I was scared to overmix and cause the crumble to become dry and tough. 

My husband and I gobbled up a large serving with our morning coffee far too quickly. I'm hoping to have some people over in the next day or two, so I dont eat the whole thing myself. Anyways, Joel loved it - even more than the store bought (I say with pride :P). Definitely worth making. I might even add in some nuts or replace the glaze with caramel sauce instead. 

Mmm. Might go grab myself another piece. Anyhoo, here's the recipe: 

Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping & Brown Sugar Glaze

Ingredients (cake)

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temp (I used margarine -- Shhh)

1 1/4 c. brown sugar, packed

2 lrg eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. greek yogurt

(for the crumb topping)

1 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

(for the brown sugar glaze)

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 t. water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 dish and set aside.

To make the crumb topping, combine sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in melted butter. Add flour and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Spread out mixture on parchment paper to dry until ready to use. 

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

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy (approx 2-3 mins). Beat in eggs 1 at a time, until well combined. Add vanilla extract until mixture is even.

With the mixer on low speed, add Greek yogurt and dry ingredients alternately in 3 parts - beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Beat just until corporated.

Scoop the batter evenly into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with reserved topping, using your fingertips to gently press the crumbs into the batter.

Place into oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

To make the glaze, combine brown sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons water. Whisk until smooth.

When the cake is done, cool for 10 minutes and drizzle the glaze evenly over the top.

Something New

My New Year's resolution is to bake more. I've loved baking since I can remember. In the last couple months I've been doing much more (thank you Pinterest), so I've decided to chronicle my adventures in the kitchen. Here goes nothing. 

My first recipe of the year is a tried and true Pinterest find: the BEST chocolate chip cookies. Not much compares to the warm, gooey deliciousness of a fresh-from-the-oven-homemade cookie. If you have any measure of self control (I do not) and have cookies after the first day you baked them, more often than not, they get hard and crunchy. That's what makes these cookies so magnificent. They stay chewy and soft. The secret is cornstarch. 

This recipe came from Anna Olson (The Food Network), however, it was thanks to the fantastic Apple A Day blog that I found it. 

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350F

2) Blend butter and sugars together until smooth. Add egg & vanilla and mix well

3) Slowly add the rest of the ingredients. Once mixed, fold in chocolate chips.

4) Bake for 8-10 minutes on a greased baking sheet (will be golden brown around the edges)

5) Let cool and enjoy :)