Mochi Doughnuts ~ #BreadBakers

Doughnuts. An excuse to eat cake for breakfast.

Blueberry Sour Cream Crumb Cake

It is berry season, and this crumb cake definitely takes advantage of the beautiful blueberries that are making their appearance at farmers markets and supermarkets.  A soft crumb, juicy berries, and a sweet-tart drizzle all add up to an amazing cake.

Turkish Yogurt Cake ~ #CakeSliceBakers

The Turkish Yogurt Cake is a cake that puffs up like a soufflé before it subsides and is then liberally dusted with powdered sugar, and it was my choice for this months #CakeSliceBakers.

Victoria Sponge - #CakeSliceBakers

The #CakeSliceBakers are back with their next cake from World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey. There were some great choices again this month and I am looking forward to seeing which cake my fellow bakers chose to make.

Queen Mother's Cake - #CakeSliceBakers

I am once again baking with the #CakeSliceBakers, and in a lot of ways it feels like I am going home. The Cake Slice Bakers was the first baking group I joined, and I have been in and out of the group over the years.  They are currently baking from Maida Heatter's Cakes.

Apple French Cruller Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

“Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.” — Henry David Thoreau.  Apples are one of my favorite fruits, and I love using them in both sweet and savory recipes.  Perfect timing because our theme for #BundtBakers this month is apples.

Italian Ricotta Cookies ~ #CreativeCookieExchange

This month it is all about cheese for the members of the #CreativeCookieExchange.  When I first saw this my first thought was, wow, this is going to be fun.  I love the variety of themes that we are presented with as it usually means you will be stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new.

Aloha Linzer Cookies - #Creative Cookie Exchange

Aloha.  Most people think of this word as hello or goodbye but it is so much more.  You could say it is the word for love, but that would not be totally accurate either.  Aloha can mean love, affection, peace, compassion, respect, kindness, and sympathy but the simple truth is that it is a way of life. It is a connection to each other and to nature, and a code of behavior as to how we should live our lives.

Cardamom Snowdrop Cookies

Everyone seems to be in major cookie mode at the moment, and I'm loving it.  I saw these cookies over at Savory Simple and knew that I would have to make them. Cardamom has to be one of my favorite spices - it is extremely aromatic and since it comes from a plant belonging to the ginger family it has a nice zing to it. Cardamom pods are native to southern India and, by weight, they are the third most expensive spice in the world. Luckily a little goes a long way.

Candy Cane Bundt Cake - #BundtaMonth

It is time for Bundtamonth!  The theme for this month was to bake a bundt that captures the holiday theme.  I immediately thought of candy canes and how I could incorporate them into a cake. Peppermint alone may have a little overwhelming so I decided to go with a ribbon of peppermint through the middle of the cake, and crushed candy canes on top.

It's always said that it is the most wonderful time of the year right now, but it is the also the busiest time of the year, so for my bundt this month I took a shortcut and used a boxed cake mix.  Don't get me wrong, I love to bake from scratch but there are those times where having a cake mix in the cupboard can be a life saver. This cake can be put together and in the oven in about 15 minutes, and while it is baking you can make the icing.  From start to finish this cake should take you no more than two hours, and you will have an impressive treat to share.  You could even make it as mini bundt and give them away to family and friends as holidays gifts.

Blueberries & Cream Crumb Bars

Blueberries and cream is a match made in heaven.  Although it is now possible to get blueberries year-round, this is the time of year that they are the most affordable. Fresh blueberries make a great snack on their own but when you add them to baked goods the results are amazing.

Recently I used them when I made some scones, but this time I wanted a creamy layer for them to nestle in.  While looking for recipes I saw a lot of blueberry crumb bars and a few blueberry custard bars, but none that combined the custard and a crumb topping.  I decided to use the base and crumb topping from my recent post for Razzeleberry bars and a custard filling, and the combination was a great success.

Last night I had a compulsory parent meeting for my daughters JV volleyball team, and there was to be a potluck afterwards, so I thought these would be perfect.  I think they must have been because when the container I brought them in was returned to me there were a few crumbs and a lone blueberry in the bottom.  I was so glad that I had kept a few small pieces at home or I would not have gotten to try the bars at all.

I just love the base of these bars.  The almond meal gives it such a distinct nutty taste, and the hint of lemon complimented the blueberries perfectly, and it just seems to melt in your mouth once you bite into it. They were prefect on their own, but I think that a la mode may just put them over the top.

Blueberries & Cream Crumb Bars
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

Base/Topping ~

• ½ cup white granulated sugar
• ½ brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• ¾ cups almond meal
• 1 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Custard ~

• 3 eggs
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ¾ cup sour cream
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups blueberries

Preparation

Crust ~

1. Preheat the oven to 375℉. 
2. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. 
3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla together until combined. 
4. In the bowl of a food processor add ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2½ cups flour, salt, and baking powder; pulse to blend. 
5. Add cold butter; pulse until small crumbs appear. 
6. Remove half of the crumbs and set aside. 
7. Add almond meal, remaining ½ cup of flour, lemon zest, and egg/vanilla mixture to the food processor; pulse until mix comes together. 
8. Press the almond meal-flour mixture evenly into the bottom of prepared pan and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, remove and cool slightly.
9. While the base is baking prepare the custard filling.

Custard ~

1. Place eggs in a medium-sized bowl and whisk the eggs until combined.
2. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until foamy.
3. Add the sour cream, flour, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt and whisk until incorporated. 
4. Fold in the blueberries. 
5. Pour the custard mixture over the crust and smooth the top.
6. Sprinkle the reserved crumb topping over the custard. 
7. Bake until the center is set and the topping is golden, about 30-40 minutes.
8. Let cool, then refrigerate.
9. Once cold, sift powdered sugar over the top and cut into bars/squares/triangles.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs©

Brandied Peach Crumble Bundt with a Spiced Glaze - #BundtAMonth

I am a little late to the BundtAMonth party, but better late than never. The good news is that I won't be late in the future because I have joined the group so you are guaranteed at least one bundt a month from me.  I am super excited to be bundting-along with the other members of the group and getting to know everyone.  Special thanks to Laura from The Spiced Life for introducing me to the group.

This months theme was peaches.  I really wish that I was able to say that I used fresh peaches just purchased at the Farmers' Market, but the truth is that every peach available here is imported from thousands of miles away.  Each time I go to the store I see the boxes of peaches with the slogan "I'm Ripe", but I know that they are just pretending to be ripe.  One gentle squeeze told me that the peaches were rock hard, and having been fooled once or twice before, I have found that most of the time they do get soft but they have a mealy texture.  I decided not to tempt fate and used canned peaches.  At least this way I knew what I was getting and I wasn't paying $10.99 for inedible peaches.

As soon as I saw the theme peaches I immediately thought of peach crumble.  It just seemed like a good combination to translate into a bundt.  I also knew that I wanted some sort of glaze to drizzle over the top of the bundt.  It seemed natural to use a combination of powdered sugar, the syrup left behind after the peaches had been mixed with the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and brandy, and a little of the peach juice from the can.  Yep, that definitely worked.  I may have used my fingers to scoop out what was left in the bowl after spooning the glaze over the bundt, but I'm not telling.  The cake itself was delicious too.  Do make sure that you drain the peaches well before you layer them in the cake, or you will have a problem with the cake splitting.  Mine was a little closer than I would have liked to this scenario.

There were so many great bundts this month featuring the wonderful peach, so please take a look at the list here.  I know I am going to be saving quite a few of the recipes to try out soon. The BundtAMonth group also has a Facebook page featuring all of the wonderful bundts made each month and a Pinterest page with so many amazing recipes (and gorgeous pictures).

Brandied Peach Crumble Bundt with a Spiced Glaze
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients ~ 

Bundt

• 3 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
• 1 cup sour cream

Brandied Peaches 

• 1 15 oz tin peaches, diced and drained (reserving the liquid), about 1cup
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons brandy (optional)

Crumble

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• ½ cup flour
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Spiced Glaze

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• reserved liquid from brandied peaches & drained peaches

Preparation ~ 

Brandied Peaches

1. Dice the peaches and place in a medium bowl. 
2. Toss with sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and brandy. 
3. Set aside until ready to use.

Crumble

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Using a fork, press the cold butter into the mixture until it's the consistency of a course meal.
3. Set aside until ready to use.

Bundt

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ degrees. 
2. Generously grease and flour the inside of a bundt pan, shaking out any excess flour.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. One at a time, add the eggs, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the vanilla and combine.
7. In three additions, add the flour alternating with sour cream.
8. Fill the pan about ⅓ of the way with batter.
9. Using a slotted spoon to drain the liquid, layer the peaches on top of the batter evenly (reserve the liquid from the peaches). 
10. Sprinkle the crumble over the peaches.
11. Scoop batter on top of the peaches and crumble and smooth out using an offset spatula. Make sure you leave about 1 inch of room from the top of the bundt pan.
12. Bake for 60-80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
13. Allow to cool for ONLY 5 minutes in pan before removing a a plate/rack to cool.

Spiced Glaze

1. Place powdered sugar in a small bowl.
2. Gradually whisk in the reserved brandied peach liquid, and if needed some of the drained peach liquid, until you reach the desired consistency.
3. Drizzle glaze over the bundt so it covers the top and drizzles down the edges.

Recipe by ATLATC, adapted from Java Cupcake.

Pumpkin Friands

Fall is my favorite season, even though I do not get to experience the beautiful colors of the changing leaves were I live.  I know that I am very fortunate to have a tropical setting to live in, but looking at the beautiful fall colors always makes me a little wishful.  This is also my favorite time of year because I get to bake quite regularly with one of my favorite ingredients, pumpkin.

A few days ago I realized that I hadn't made friands in a long time. They are very popular in Australia, and you will find a version of them in almost every cafe.  They are a little like a muffin, but lighter. The main ingredients in a friand are almond meal, powdered sugar, flour, and egg whites, and chocolate or fruit is a popular additional flavoring.  Most friands are made in an oval-shaped friand pan.  However, you can easily substitute a muffins tin like I did - mine was square.

My choice of flavoring last time was raspberry and I used a recipe from an Australian cookbook.  I searched for a recipe that was pumpkin-flavored but could not find one, so used a basic recipe by Donna Hay and created my own.

Friands are such a nice treat to enjoy because they are not heavy, and the almond meal gives them a nice nutty flavor. As usual the hardest part is waiting for them to cool down so I can dust them with powdered sugar and enjoy them with a cup of coffee.  Next time I am going to make a double batch because 10 friands just don't last very long.



Pumpkin Friands
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond meal
• 1⅔ cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
• 5 eggs whites
• 4½ oz butter, melted
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• powdered sugar to sift over the top

 
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease 10 friand molds (alternatively, use regular muffin pans).
2. Place the almond meal, powdered sugar, flour, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place egg whites in a bowl and and whisk until slightly frothy. Add butter and pumpkin and whisk to combine.
4. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and beat until combined.
5. Spoon the mixture into prepared pans and bake for 20–25 minutes or until the friands are golden and cooked through.
6. Using a knife, loosen the edges and remove the friands from the tins immediately.
7. Allow to cool on a wire rack before serving. 
8. Dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 10.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs (adapted from a recipe by Donna Hay).

To Try Tuesday - Alfajores

A few days ago I was amazed to discover that I have a magic cupboard in my kitchen.  How cool is that?  All I have to do is put a can of condensed milk in there and when I get it back out a few days later, it has turned into dulce de leche.  This is so convenient since I haven't been able to buy a tin of it here. On the other hand it also shows how hot my kitchen has been, which is not so fun.

The condensed milk was to be used in a passion fruit cheesecake, so the fact that it was caramelized was not going to work in that recipe.  I quickly went out and got a new tin so I could make my cheesecake but then I was left with a can of dulce de leche.  After a quick search I found a couple of recipes for alfajores which are a soft shortbread-like cookie that has caramel sandwiched in the middle and powdered sugar sprinkled on top. They are very popular in Latin America and some areas of Spain.  I thought they would be very popular in my household too.

The first recipe that caught my attention during my search was at one of my favorite blogs, Brown Eyed Baker.  Michelle always has great recipes and amazing photos.  I did a little more research and kept seeing that some people like to add cornstarch to their alfajores, so I decided to base my recipe on the one I saw on Brown Eyed Baker, but replace a little of the flour with cornstarch.

These definitely get my seal of approval.  I would definitely describe them as moreish - the more you eat the more you want.  They are just the perfect couple of bites with a cup of coffee.  I am going to have to send them to school with my girls tomorrow or they are going to be calling out to me all day.

Alfajores
Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

• 3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting work surface
• ½ cup cornstarch
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1½ cups unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
• ½ cup cold water
• dulce de leche, chilled
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Preparation

1. Sift together the flour and powdered sugar. 
2. In a food processor, pulse together the flour and sugar mixture with the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. 
3. With the machine running, pour in the water in a slow stream, and process just until the dough comes together, about.
4. Form the dough into two flattened disks, wrap well in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350℉ and line two baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper.
6. On a well-floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to just under a ¼-inch in thickness.
7. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds from the dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. 
8. Repeat with the other disk of dough. Gather up all the scraps and re-roll and cut.
9. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Spread 2 teaspoons of dulce de leche on the bottom of half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies to make a sandwich, and dust with powdered sugar to finish. 
11. Finished cookies should be eaten the same day they are assembled. Unfilled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about days.
12. Makes approximately 20-25 filled cookies. 

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker.