Cinnamon-Crumble Jam Coffee Cake.

About a month and a half ago, our refrigerator started making very loud humming sounds.  This was a very expensive fridge and very new (bought last summer!)  We looked up information on the internet, we disconnected the fridge overnight, we cleaned, we removed ice, we called, we had a repairman come look at it, he ordered a part that the fridge company didn't have anymore.  Needless to say, we got a new fridge this week at the expense of the old fridge's company :)

Long story short, I moved a lot of food from fridge to fridge and realized how much stuff gets pushed aside and neglected.  There was a teeny bit of strawberry jam left in a big jar.  This is what I did with it.  It was absolutely delicious and you should make it with whatever jam you've got hanging about in your fridge!

Cinnamon-Crumble Jam Coffee Cake
Adapted from Cooking Light
Crumb topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, spices and salt.  Using a fork or two knives, cut the cold butter into the dry mixture until crumbs form.  Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Cake:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk, or 6 tablespoons milk plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar
1/4 cup jam of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease an 8x8" square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg.  Add the dry ingredients and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Spoon dollops of the jam over the batter and spread it as evenly as you can, then top with the rest of the batter.  (I found a small off-set spatula was perrrrfect for this!) Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture on top and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Let cool completely before cutting into squares.  Stored at room temperature, this cake keeps for 3 days.

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake.

Summer is my favorite season, if you couldn't tell.  So last week when cherries started popping up in stores and markets, we nabbed some up as quickly as possible!  I would say half of them were sweet as can be while the other half needed some improvement, which is where this coffee cake came in handy.  This is a great, simple and easy recipe for any fruit you need to use this summer that might not be completely ideal for eating out-of-hand - peaches, plums, nectarines, blueberries, I could even see strawberries working here.  It's an absolutely delicious cake to enjoy with iced coffee or tea on summer mornings :)

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake
Adapted from Cooking Light
Streusel topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup oats (quick-cooking or regular)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces, cold

Combine the flour, sugar, oats and cinnamon in a small bowl and cut in the butter until you have a cohesive, crumbly mixture.  Keep this in the fridge while you assemble the cake batter.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt or sour cream
1 1/2 cups pitted cherries, quartered

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease an 8x8" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift or whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.  In a larger bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until well-combined, then add the egg and vanilla extract and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Add the flour and yogurt to the butter mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.  Spread half of the cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, followed by half of the streusel topping.  Place the fruit on top of the streusel evenly, then spread the rest of the cake batter over the fruit, and finally sprinkle the rest of the streusel over. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes.  It should be golden brown on top and a toothpick or knife inserted into the center will come out clean when done. 

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake.

I'm starting to notice fall recipes include many of the same ingredients: apples, pumpkin, spices, oatmeal, etc.  I don't really get sick of the repeat ingredients as long as the final products are different from one another.  This isn't a typical apple cake with tons of oil or butter or nuts - it's very light yet still extremely comforting. 

This is an extremely quick and tasty coffee cake - I think it literally took 5 minutes to put together.  As with most recipes including cinnamon, I increased the amounts of it from the original recipe.  I cut the sugar down to 3/4 cup , used skim milk in place of the 1% called for, and the cake was still incredibly moist and delicious.  I think you can use whatever apple you have lying around, I used a Gala and it was perfect.  If you're looking for a simple and easy cake to throw an apple or two into, I highly recommend this one.

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Adapted from Cooking Light
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 large apple, peeled and coarsely chopped

Streusel:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease an 8x8 baking dish.

Start by making the streusel: in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Add in the pieces of butter and create coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  In a smaller bowl, combine the milk, butter, vanilla extract and the beaten egg until well combined.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until there are a few lumps left.  Add the chopped apple and stir until just mixed to combine.  Pour the batter into the greased pan and then sprinkle the streusel on top.

Bake the coffee cake for 30 minutes, checking for doneness after about 20 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when the cake is done.

Serve warm or let cool completely, cover, and store for up to 3 days.

Blueberry Coffee Cake.

It occurred to me today that this is the last (not even full) week in April and I'd only posted a couple recipes here so far this month but I have been baking!  Laziness, I guess.  But this blueberry coffee cake is too good not to share.  It's Saturday afternoon, I just wanted to make something springy for Sunday brunch and I had some blueberries in the freezer.  These days especially, I really think the world is making things easier for dieters.  It might take a little more research and a few more clicks on Google, but you can find a low calorie recipe for anything, I promise.  Whether or not they taste good is another story - and this does.  This was so delicious!

I followed the recipe exactly as it appears except I cut it into 16 squares instead of 12, which means the calories went down from 210 per piece to 160.

Even if you aren't dieting, I highly suggest this recipe.  It tastes just as good as any full fat, sour cream, cream cheese, butter-laden coffee cake - but it's so much better for you.

Blueberry Coffee Cake, adapted from Ellie Krieger
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I increased this from 1/2 teaspoon... I love cinnamon)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray an 8'' or 9'' square baking pan with cooking spray.

Sift or whisk together the flours, baking soda and salt in a small bowl until well combined.  In another small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter, canola oil and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one is added, and then add in the vanilla.  Next, add in the dry ingredients and the yogurt alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Finally, fold in the blueberries gently.

Spread half the batter into the bottom of the greased pan.  Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar/walnut mixture.  Spread the rest of the batter on top of the nuts and then sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar/walnuts on top.  Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea :)

Apples and fall-ish things.

I really don't like fall. I can get into all the other seasons. Winter I have Christmas, the holidays, my birthday to look forward to. Spring is great because the snow will eventually melt and it gets warmer and everything becomes green again. Summer. Glorious summer. It is my favourite. So obviously when fall rolls around it feels like the death of the best season, you know? There are too many changes in September and I've always hated it.

Apple picking, hay rides, pumpkins, Halloween, apple cider. None of these things are very nostalgic for me or bring me much joy I have to say. But sometimes I do feel like the people I live with deserve to have these things that they themselves might enjoy. And also we have a crap load of McIntosh apples sitting on the counter and no one is eating them because it's still kind of warm out at the moment. Plus this is one of the few apple recipes I found not using Granny Smiths. I mean, yes I'm a baker but who actually keeps Granny Smiths around for eating? They don't because they're not meant to be eaten. I only buy them when I'm making apple pie.

Anyway, I promise this will be the last recipe from Carole Walter's Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More. Well I can't promise anything because sometimes on Saturday nights I have a desire for something with a buttery crumb topping and this is the book I immediately go to. But hopefully I'll be doing more of a variety of baked goods now that the heat won't prevent me from baking. Maybe.

Just a note this recipe originally called for a different crumb topping, something called "country crumb topping" which included whole wheat flour, oatmeal and things that sounded good and fine but much too much for my sleepy brain to think about when all I wanted were buttery crumbs. Therefore I went for the rustic maple pecan streusel on the page next to it. Much more my thing anyway :D

Apple Muffins with Maple Pecan Streusel
Recipes from Carole Walter's Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More
(Both these recipes originally call for dark brown sugar. I would have used it if I had it but light brown worked just fine in both cases.)

Streusel (make this first):
7 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
(I added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped a bit

Place the butter in a small saucepan and heat until almost melted and add the extract. Set it aside and let the rest of it melt and cool down a bit. Add the other ingredients and stir with a fork until crumbs form. Set aside until you need it for the muffins.



Muffin batter:
3 medium McIntosh apples (about a pound) peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces
1 3/4 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Originally the recipe says you can peel and core the apples and then chop them in the food processor. If you're that lazy, go for it. But I am never opposed to a little chopping with a chef's knife and in this case it makes no difference whatsoever.

So anyway, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, paper some muffin cups (this made 18 for me, the recipe says 16 though) and sift the dry ingredients together and set them aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs until they're lighter in colour on medium high speed, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and whisk again for another minute. Add the honey and the vanilla and then combine the butter and oil. Now you want to add this to the eggs and basically emulsify the situation, so drizzle them in very slowly, making it take about a minute. Add the apples, raisins and pecans, stir and then add the dry ingredients all at once and stir until combined.

Portion the batter out into the cups. It can really go almost to the top and it won't overflow, promise. Then crumble the streusel on top. Each muffin can get a generous amount. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans for even browning halfway through.

Let cool or don't and enjoy. These are good enough that I forget it's fall anyway.

Last of summer.

So originally for brunch this weekend I was going to make this because I haven't made cinnamon buns in forever but I didn't have the time or energy to do so. However, we also had a container of blueberries sitting in the fridge. Being that it is still TECHNICALLY summer, I decided to use the blueberries instead. I really hate fall by the way.

Anyway, this recipe is from Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More by Carole Walter. I have used a couple recipes so far from this book since I bought it and every one has been really great, espcially because they've all used her favourite streusel recipe. Here's my adaptation.

Streusel:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium sized sauce pot, melt the butter over low heat until it's almost melted. Take it off the heat and let it cool to tepid.

Sift the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add this to the tepid butter and stir with a fork until large lumps form and it's crumbly. Set aside.

Muffin batter:
1 3/4 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup unsalted butter, slightly firm
(at this point lemon zest was also called for, I didn't use any and they were still superb.)
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream (originally called for buttermilk, either works, or even yogurt.)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried well (I had about 6 ounces, worked fine.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line fourteen muffin cups with paper liners and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut the butter into chunks and put this in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth, then add the lemon zest if using and the sugar, then the egg and vanilla.

Add the flour and sour cream or buttermilk alternately beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Using just over half the batter, scoop spoonfuls into the bottom of the muffin cups. Then on top of this add the blueberries, I think I ended up using about 8 or 9 berries per muffin. Then using the rest of the batter, spoon a dollop more on top of the berries. It's okay if the berries are showing. Sprinkle the streusel over each muffin generously.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, although yours might take longer. The streusel should be golden brown and when a toothpick is inserted into the muffin it should come out clean. Cool on a wire rack, although these are great warm with coffee or tea. These are definitely fork muffins though - they can get very crumbly - but that's the best part :D

Bars bars bars.

Apricot bars, that is. I like making bars. They're easy and they make a lot (or a little) depending on how small YOU want to cut them. Plus you can basically incorporate any flavours, crusts, and toppings you want to.

To be honest when I get a recipe online or any recipe really, I hardly ever follow it to a T. I like to adapt to my tastes, to the things I already have, and improve the recipe so I absolutely know I'll like the outcome. For example, the original recipe for these bars included no salt. When you bake, you NEED SALT. Yes. It brings out the flavour of everything! Also, the original said to bake/prepare in a 9x13-inch pan, which is great, but the ingredients listed for the filling and crumb topping would never have covered the entire surface of the crust. So this recipe, although I found it online somewhere, I don't feel credit is really necessary because of how much I changed it. I literally changed every single part of it, and I will put THAT recipe here instead of the one I originally found, since that's what gave me the delicious results.



Apricot Crumb Bars

Shortbread Crust:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 cups AP flour
Pinch kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla to combine. Add the flour and salt and mix just until a nice ball of dough forms. Press this into the bottom of the pan, and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and in spots in the middle. Cool completely.

Apricot Filling:
3 cups dried apricots
3 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Amaretto
Pinch kosher salt

Place the apricots and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and cover. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. At this point I used a stick blender to puree the apricots, but you could transfer to a blender or a food processor also. Stir in the sugar, Amaretto and salt. Let cool slightly.

Crumb Topping:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
Pinch kosher salt
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
(You could really add anything you want to this, cinnamon, almonds, nuts of any kind, oatmeal. Have fun imo.)

Combine the flour, salt and sugar until well-mixed. Cut in the butter until large clumps form.

Finishing the bars:
After the crust has cooled completely, spread the apricot filling over it to cover. Then crumble the topping on evenly and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the crumbs are set. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

The magic of streusel AKA crumb toppings.

I don't really plan to make things that have similar attributes at the same time, it just happens. For instance this past week I received the book Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More by Carole Walter from Amazon so that I would never run out of ideas for brunch on Sundays. I decided early Saturday to make one of the first recipes in the book, Butter Crumb Coffee Cake. Looked easy, sounded delicious, and the streusel recipe was intense. I mean, there was a TON of it. And I LOVE streusel, any crumb topping.

Then I remembered about these apples that have been sitting on my counter for a week and a half. I promised myself I'd use them for Easter and never got around to it, so I knew they were almost past their prime, and I'd better use them sooner rather than later. Looked in the fridge, saw a couple packages of cream cheese and then thought "apple cheesecake!" A bit of Googling and I found myself a nice recipe for apple cheesecake bars - that just happened to include a nice recipe for streusel on top. I followed the recipe to a T, except I substituted Tom Sawyer's Gluten-Free Flour for the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe and omitted the oats in the topping (my brother's fiance is a Celiac, her mother wanted me to try this flour. IT IS GREAT! For anyone with wheat intolerance. Try it out for sure.)

Anyhoo, blah blah. Here are the recipes!

Butter Crumb Coffee Cake adapted from Carole Walter's Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More



Streusel:
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put the butter in a heavy saucepan and heat until almost melted. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a small bowl, and add this to the butter and stir until the mixture forms large crumbs. At this point I put the whole pot in the fridge until the batter was ready.

Batter:
2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
1 large egg
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a 10-inch springform pan with baking spray or line the bottom with parchment paper and generously butter the sides and bottom.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and cut it in until the mixture has a very fine crumb texture. In a small bowl combine the egg, milk and vanilla and then add this to the butter/flour mixture, and stir until it is thick and well combined, about 1 minute.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top out. Then take your streusel out of the fridge and make big clumps of it in your hand, then crumble it on top of the batter, scattering it evenly over the entire thing.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely, then take the ring off the springform pan and serve! I like to keep this under a cake dome, seems to stay fresher that way.



Apple Cheesecake Bars found on this blog and modified slightly.

Crust:
2 cups AP (or gluten-free) flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark brown mm)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Combine the flour and sugar until there are no more lumps of sugar left. Add the butter and mix until the butter is nicely distributed throughout. Press this into the bottom of the pan. Bake until it is golden, about 15 minutes.

Streusel:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (again I used dark brown)
1 cup AP (or gluten-free) flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Combine the sugar and flour, and then cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.

Apples:
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger (I added this)

Stir the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together, then pour over the apples and stir well to combine.

Cheesecake Batter:
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons Amaretto (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until lump-free. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the Amaretto or extract and beat on low speed until everything is incorporated.

When the crust is out of the oven, pour the cheesecake batter on top, smoothing to the edges. Then top with the apples, and then finally, the streusel. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cheesecake batter looks set. Chill thoroughly, cut into bars, and enjoy!

Dutch Apple Tarts or Using What's In The Freezer.

This past Thanksgiving, for some reason I wish I could remember, I made extra pie/tart dough and so I rolled it out and put it into mini tart pans and froze them.



They've been taking up a lot of room in there for 2, 3 months whatever now and it can be a pain to look for that bacon or pound of butter you KNOW is in there but you can't find it because of all the other crap involved. My mom found this recipe for Dutch apple crisp on a box of Wegmans pie dough (store-bought pie dough - gross) and it sounded delicious and a great way to get those tart shells out of the freezer. Plus anything with a crumble topping gets extra points from me.

This original recipe is for 1 9-inch pie. Obviously I used 7 small ones. I don't think it really matters too much in the case of apple pie, since the apples tend to get soft and smoosh down a bit while they bake. I packed the apples pretty heavily into these, and it was perfect. If I made these again I might double the crumble recipe and really pack that on top, but these were great with the amount of crumble it calls for. Here I'll give the recipe for the regular 9-inch pie, since I'm assuming most normal people don't randomly have some tart shells stocked in the back of the deep-freeze.

Dutch Apple Crisp adapted from a Wegmans recipe on a box of pie dough.

1 pie crust (homemade, store-bought, whatever I don't care. Whatever is easier for you, really. But I'm a huge stickler for homemade. It's just so much better. Alright moving on.)

Apple mixture:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (originally called for 1/4 teaspoon, I bumped it up)
Pinch of salt

6 medium-sized Granny Smith apples



Crumble topping:
1 cup AP flour
1 stick slightly cold butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Prepare the pie crust, and line a 9-inch pan with it, then place this on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend the sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together in a small bowl.

Peel, core, and slice the apples thinly. I actually cut my apples into quarters like this so they'd fit more into the tart shells:



Then pour the dry sugar-spice mixture on top of the apples in a large bowl and toss them well to combine everything. Let this sit while you make the crumble topping.

Cut the butter into the flour and brown sugar in a medium-sized bowl until the mixture looks something like this:



Then pour the apples into the pie crust, and top with the crumbles, packing lightly to make them not fall off while baking.



Bake for about an hour, or until it gets golden brown on top and the apple mixture is nice and bubbly.

Wait for it to cool off for a while and then dig in. I bet it'd be out of this world with some homemade vanilla ice cream - you know - the kind with real vanilla seeds in it? Yum.