raspberry crumb cake

I had a punnet of raspberries and an orange sitting in the fridge (can you guess what's about to happen?) because Tesco had their usual 2 for £4 offer on raspberries (and I only managed to use one punnet) and the orange was purchased for the purpose of making orange buttercream or perhaps orange flavoured macarons - as it turned out I made only one flavour of macarons (cocoa) and I had way too much raspberry buttercream to be even thinking about making another batch. So, what to do with an orange and raspberries? I wasn't sure that it would be possible to combine the orange and raspberry flavours - they're both rather dominant and I thought they might clash. However a search through the vast internet brought up some orange and raspberry results, although not many. But not many was enough to convince me that it could work. Eventually I settled on this recipe, which actually uses lemon zest. But I thought I'd substitute the lemon for orange and if the flavours really turned out disastrous at least the crumble would save it. Luckily I didn't have to rely on the crumble to save the cake as it really did work! It probably would have worked better with lemon, but I had an orange and not a lemon in my fridge :)

Verdict: Who would have thought orange and raspberries could actually go well together?
Score: 9.5/10

Raspberry Crumb Cake

Ingredients

Crumble topping:

* 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp flour
* 3 tbsp sugar
* 3 tbsp brown sugar
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 5 tbsp chilled butter

Cake batter:

* 2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
* 2 cups plus 2 tsp all-purpose flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 2/3 cup sugar
* grated zest of half a lemon
* 3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 2 eggs, room temperature
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup buttermilk

Method

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.
2. For the crumb topping: In a food processor, pulse flour, salt and sugars. Cut butter into 1/4-inch cubes and add to the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter is pea-sized and coated with flour. Do not let the dough come together in a ball. Set aside at room temperature.
3. For the cake: Using your fingertips, toss the raspberries and 2 tsp of flour together in a small bowl just to coat the berries; set aside. Whisk together the remaining 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Working in the bowl of a stand mixer, rub together the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beat for about 1 minutes after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract. Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled-it will soon smooth out.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2(begin with the dry ingredients). You will have a thick, cream batter. With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.
6. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula. Pull the crumb mix from the refrigerator and scatter over the batter.
7. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool just until it is warm or until it reaches room temperature.

chai cake

There was another birthday at work the other day, two in fact, so one of the girls offered to buy a cake and I offered to make one too. As one cake was being purchased I knew it would be a standard flavour and guaranteed to be yummy and edible, so I felt I could be a bit more adventurous in my choice of cake. I was originally planning on a spiced apple cake (ok not that adventurous) but then I stumbled upon this chai cake recipe. Chai flavoured cake? The recipe looked like it would work (ie ingredients looked like they were in the right proportion and the method didn't look too out there) so I decided to give it a go. Having said that, I didn't fully trust the method, so I modified it a bit, which you will see below. I also opted for maple icing (from this recipe) instead of the honey icing as it looked ridiculously sweet - not a problem for my sweet tooth, but probably a bit too much for normal people. The result was a deliciously fluffy spicy chai-y cake.

Verdict: Yum! A winner!
Score: 10/10

Chai Cake

I halved the recipe, but I don't think you'd end up with too much cake if you made the whole amount

Ingredients
* 2/3 cups milk
* 4 chai tea bags
* 2 whole eggs
* 1 egg yolk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 3/8 cups all purpose flour
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temp

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Line the bottom and sides of the pans with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan bring the milk to a simmer over low med-low heat. Add the tea bags, careful not to let the paper tag fall into the milk. Remove from heat and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the teabags and squeeze out the milk. Let the chai milk cool completely.

In a medium bowl mix the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/3 cup of the chai milk. Whisk together. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Next alternate folding in the flour and milk (ie flour, milk, flour, milk, flour). (I did add some of the milk to the eggs but I'm not sure that this is necessary with my method - didn't seem to affect the outcome though :) I divided the batter evenly among 2 8-inch (? I think they were 8 inch - I must check...) tins, but I think this would be good for one slightly larger cake.

Bake the cakes for 26-28 minutes (longer if you're baking in one tin), or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from tins and peel off parchment paper. Cool completely on a wire rack.

apple cake

I had some sour cream left in the fridge from making this spiced apple cake recipe. Not wanting to let the sour cream go to waste, I found this recipe which I thought would be able to use up the remainder of my sour cream (when halved). Note that I think buttermilk and sour cream are interchangeable. It's a tasty and moist apple cake, and a bit quicker to make than the spiced apple cake as this recipe doesn't require the apples to be stewed beforehand. The recipe comes with maple icing, but I thought it was perfectly scrumptious without.

Verdict: It reminds me of the apple cinnamon muffins from Muffin Break :)
Score: 8/10

The halved recipe below.

Apple Cake

Ingredients

# 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
# 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
# 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
# 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
# 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
# 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
# 1/4 cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
# 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
# 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
# 1 large egg
# 1/3 cup buttermilk
# 1 cup Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped into 1/3-inch pieces

Method

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease and line the bottom and sides of a small loaf tin (the original recipe asks for a 9-inch square baking pan, but that would be for the full amount, not the halved recipe).

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda; set aside.

Beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla extract, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Using a spatula add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the buttermilk in two additions and mixing just until blended (flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour). (The original recipe says to beat the flour and buttermilk however I believe in mixing these ingredients by hand.) Stir in the chopped apples.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, until it is golden and toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.

yoghurt loaf cake

I did a search for Dorie Greenspan recipes, and this was one of the recipes that came up and caught my attention. Yesterday I decided that since I had a lemon and a tub of unopened yoghurt waiting to be opened this would be the perfect opportunity to try it. For some reason the cake browned very early on and very quickly, and the crust came out rather tough (the oil perhaps?) but it was still very yummy, especially the next day. As with oil based cakes, the result is a rather spongey cake rather than a 'crummy' cake that you get with butter based cakes. I also opted to use vegetable oil, even though this recipe specifically calls for extra virgin olive oil, because I think olive oil makes cakes a bit heavier than vegetable oil, and I'd rather dunk a good piece of crusty bread in my precious extra virgin olive oil than use it in a cake.

Verdict: Rather yummy and moist, excellent super quick and easy cake
Score: 8.5/10

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* Pinch of salt
* 1 cup sugar
* Finely grated zest of 1 lime
* 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
* 3 large eggs
* 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup EVO (extra-virgin olive oil)

Method
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Generously butter an 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, place the pan on a lined baking sheet and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and keep near by.

Put the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil. The batter will be thick and shiny. Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.

cookie addiction - choc chip cookies

I've been on a bit of a hunt for the perfect cookie recipe for the past year or so. The hubby thinks I already have found it with the white choc and macadamia cookie recipe (still to post), but I'm not entirely convinced... I'm still searching.

I tried this recipe today. I wouldn't go so far to say they're extraordinary, but they are pretty yummy. Nice and chewy too. But not quite the style of chewy I was looking for - more of a soft chewy rather than chewy chewy - if you get what I mean. But that might have been because the cookies needed an extra minute in the oven - next time I'll remember that's what the second tray is for - to experiment with baking times :) I think the key to my perfect cookie recipe lies in the ratio of caster sugar to soft brown sugar (in fact I'm beginning to wonder if my style of cookie needs any brown sugar at all).

Verdict: Nice soft chewy cookies
Score: 8/10

I halved the original recipe - hence the odd sugar measurements.
Makes about 24 (leaving just enough cookie dough to be eaten on its own)

Choc Chip Cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cups butter, softened
1/2 + 1/8 cups granulated sugar
1/2 + 1/8 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Method
1. Heat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips.

2. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly.

3. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

spiced apple cake

I have been very bad at this blogging thing, but I'm going to give it another go (or just start blogging again and ignore the fact that I haven't blogged for months). I haven't stopped baking, not at all, but spending all your spare time baking means there's no time left for blogging. I also had this notion of coming up with a better design for my blog, but after many months I've accepted that that will not happen for a while, and so I will follow the advice of a colleague, and just post recipes, and hopefully polish up the commentary and design later.

I baked this gorgeous apple cake a few weeks ago - it's actually not a very sweet cake, and stewing the apples beforehand means the apples come out soft and full of flavour once the cake is baked. I also topped the cake with demerara sugar which gave it a lovely crunch, but I think it would probably taste just as good without it, if you wanted to be a bit healthier :)

The original recipe can be found here

Verdict: Delicious! Make me again!
Score: 9/10

Spiced Apple Cake

Sauteed Apples

2 tart apples (about 1 pound)

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons sugar

Cake

12 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

4 egg yolks, at room temperature

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sour cream

1/4 cup raw sugar (or granulated if you don’t have raw on hand)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour an 8-inch spring form pan and set aside.

To sautee the apples: peel, core and dice the apples into 1/4-inch cubes. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat until butter beings to bubble. Add the diced apples and cook for one minute, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cook the apples, uncovered for 4-5 minutes until they are softened. Remove from heat and allow to cool. You’ll only use the sauteed apples for the recipe so you can discard any liquids that may have accumulated.

To make the cake: cream the butter, sugar and spices in a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment until light in color and fluffy. This may take 6 to 8 minutes. Stop the mixer occasionally, to scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time and continue beating until fluffy and glossy.

Measure out the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. With the mixer set on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients to the batter. Mix until no flour streaks remain. Add the sour cream all at once and incorporate. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until no traces remain. Fold in the cooked apples with a rubber spatula. The cake batter will be thick.

Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan and distribute evenly. Take a knife and run it in a singular circular motion through the batter 1-inch from the edge of the pan. This will help the cake to rise evenly. Sprinkle the cake with the raw or granulated sugar and bake for 60- 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the spring form pan.