Blueberry Coffee Cake

Do you feel that family recipes are sacred? I used to. I would stick to the recipes passed to me not daring to deviate in the slightest. But the longer I've been baking, the more I feel open to tweaking. Same goes with recipes from other sources. Perhaps its more about confidence than anything else.

This recipe, listed in my book as "Prize Coffee Cake" due to its history winning ribbons at the LA Country Fair, was a staple in my house growing up. My dad would make it on weekend mornings and I'd always go for a corner piece, because extra topping seemed to collect there.  Over time, I've made a few changes. A bit of wheat flour here, a little less cinnamon there, some blueberries because I live in Maine and have a ton in my freezer. 

In the end, I don't think Dad would mind. Maybe he'd even go for a second slice. :) 

Prize Coffee Cake

• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup (or 1/2 stick) butter, softened 
• 1 egg, room temperature
• ¾ all-purpose flour
• ¾ wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries (optional)

Topping

• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbl melted butter
• 2 Tbl flour
• 1-2 Tbl cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour a 9"x9" pan, line with parchment as desired. 

Cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until fully combined. 

In a separate bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Alternating with the milk, add flour mix to butter cream. Pour into pan.

If using, sprinkle blueberries across top of cake, distributing them evenly, then push them down slightly into the thick batter.

Mix together topping ingredients. If necessary add a little more melted butter until it clumps, but we wary- too much butter will cause the topping to turn molten and sink into the batter instead of staying nice and crispy on top.  Sprinkle topping on top of the batter.

Bake 25-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting and serve warm, with butter as desired.

Recipe doubles well, just add 5-10 minutes cooking time for a 9"x18" pan. 

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Prize Coffee Cake with Blueberries

Serves 8 Ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 egg, 3/4 cup wheat flour, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup blueberries 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 Tbl melted butter 2 Tbl flour 2 Tbl cinnamon

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Quick Buttercream Frosting

Life can be intense sometimes. Flavors can be intense. While I love 70% dark chocolate with sea salt caramel as much as the next person, some days, I just don't want intense. 

Some days I just want something easy to make and easy to eat.

These chocolate chip cupcakes hit on both marks. The simple cake base receives a punch of sweetness from mini chocolate chips and a few tablespoons of orange juice in both the batter and frosting keep it bright, without tasting overly citrus-y. The frosting is so easy, you'll wonder why you ever popped open a can. 

As for being easy to eat? Let's just say that most times in my household, I end up eating the majority of my bakes because the rest of my family isn't all that into dessert. These cupcakes, however, were devoured two at a time and didn't last the weekend. :D

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Quick Buttercream Frosting

Makes 20-24 cupcakes, depending on how full you fill the muffin cups.

Cake

• 2 1/3 cup cake flour (or 2 cups all-purpose flour + 1/3 cup cornstarch)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperture)
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons orange juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Slightly less than 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Measure out lemon and orange juice into a liquid measuring cup and add milk until total liquid is 1 cup. Set aside.

Using a wooden spoon or mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Add vanilla to mixture. 

In a separate bowl or sifter, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. If using bowl, mix together dry ingredients.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture, add flour and milk to egg/sugar mixture in alternating portions, fully incorporating each addition before adding the next.

Add chocolate chips and mix to combine.

Scoop batter into prepared pans, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Clean up any drips and place pans in the center of the oven and bake from 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean and the top of the cake springs backs when touched.

After about  five minutes, remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup salted butter, softened
• a pinch of salt
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• up to 1 Tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt chocolate in a double-boiler or microwave and allow to cool. Mix together powdered sugar, butter and salt until well-combined. Add melted chocolate, vanilla, milk and orange juice. Mix until well combined, adding additional milk or orange juice until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes. 

See the bottom of this post for a print-friendly button!!

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December is for Dabbling

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For Christmas, I gave Mr. Cleaver a skein of sock yarn. 

"I am supposed to learn to knit?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

"No," I replied, "This gift is two-fold. 1) Sometime this year you'll get a new pair of socks and 2) I didn't try to knit them before Christmas."

As creatives and makers, it's easy to get overwhelmed with a desire to try to make our holidays as handmade as possible. I've definitely stayed up far too late many a December trying to finish a gift or two before that deadline on the 24th. 

In 2016, my creative life was ruled by deadlines more than ever before, and it was incredibly stressful. So when I had a month of no deadlines and over two weeks of vacation from my day job planned, I decided that I wasn't going to give myself any new deadlines. 

So I gave my husband a skein of yarn for Christmas and I didn't make my daughter a thing. And I'm okay with that. 

Instead, I decided to play. 

I spun yarn for the first time since LMC was born. I baked my way through a 5 pound bag of flour with whatever inspiration struck my fancy. I needle-felted, and needle-felted some more. I wet-felted a pair of slippers for the first time. I was able to sew for the first time in months. I crocheted snowflakes and learned how to steek. I picked out yarn for a sweater, for me, from someone else's pattern and have knit most of it. I made snowmen and ice skated and took naps with my daughter. 

It was like summer camp in the winter and it was glorious. 

I want to make this a new holiday tradition for myself. December is for dabbling. It's the best gift I could receive. 

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Gingerbread Cake and Glühwein

I love baking for the Holidays.  There's just something about the flavors of winter I find so appealing , the combination of nutmeg and cinnamon and citrus. The depth of molasses and wine. That's why this pairing is perfect combination for any winter gathering, and since there's a lot of overlap in ingredients, they're easy to make together. 

Gingerbread Cake with Orange Glaze

Serves 8-12

Gingerbread is an obvious choice for the holidays, but this take on the classic has a soft and light crumb, and isn't overly dense or spicy, as I find some gingerbread to be. The cake is best when the spices are allowed to meld for a bit, so make the day ahead, if possible. For a spicier cake, increase the amount of ginger, or replace powdered with fresh. You may also increase the amount of molasses, as desired.

For the Cake:

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
• ½ cup molasses
• ½ cup brewed coffee, at room temperature
• 1½ sticks ( 1¼ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1¼ cups light brown sugar
• 3 eggs + 2 egg yolks, at room temperature

For the Glaze:

• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbl milk
• 2 Tbl orange juice
• Zest of 1 orange
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour or spray a 10-cup Bundt pan (I find Pam with Flour works the best for those tricky Bundt pans). 

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until smooth using a wooden spoon or mixer. Add brown sugar and cream until light and fluffy, making sure butter is fully integrated and there are no visible chunks. Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time, mixing in completely before adding the next egg.

In a separate bowl, shift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

In a small bowl or cup, mix together room temperature coffee with the molasses.

Add the 1/3 of the flour to the egg/butter mix, then 1/2 the molasses, 1/3 of the flour, the remaining molasses, then the remaining flour. Mix until just combined. 

Pour batter into prepared pan and snap against the counter to remove any large bubbles. Smooth out the top with a rubber spatula.  Place in center of oven an bake for approximately 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 

Let cake cool in pan for about 7 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack. Let cake cool completely, transfer to serving plate, and then glaze.

To make glaze: mix all ingredients, adding liquid slowly until desired consistency is achieved. Pour over cooled Bundt cake, making sure to allow glaze to drip down both sides. Scoop extra glaze out of cake center and re-drizzle as desired.

Glühwein, or German Mulled Wine, is perhaps less familiar, but a wonderful addition to winter gatherings. I discovered Glühwein when searching for mulled wine recipes, and then immediately emailed a German friend for her take on the tradition. I've merged her recipe with some I found online, but mulled wine is something that is easy to vary to meet your own tastes. Throughout my wine-mulling process, I kept running to Mr. Cleaver with a hot mug and saying "taste this." We quickly ran through the batch at my knitting group's annual Christmas fête, so I think my test-taster served me well.

Glühwein - German Mulled Wine

• 1.5 L dry red wine
• 2 1/3 cup orange juice (juiced oranges + pre-made orange jucie)
• 2/3 cup brandy
• 4-5 oranges, peeled (see instructions below) and juiced
• 1 lemon, peeled and juiced
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 20 cloves
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• up to 1/3 cup sugar, to taste

Using a paring knife or vegetable peeler, peel all citrus into wide strips, avoiding as much of the bitter white pith as possible. Juice all fruit, making up the difference with pre-made orange juice as needed.  Reserve some peels for garnish.

Combine wine, juice, remaining peels, and spices in a heavy covered stockpot. Bring pot to a low simmer. Add Brandy and continue to simmer. Add sugar to taste. 

Serve hot, not warm.

What are your favorite holiday recipes? Share links below!!

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Fall-Spiced Apple Hand Pies

Fall-Spiced Apple Hand Pies

Serves 8

Crust

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup shortening or unsalted butter
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup cold water

Filling

• 8 medium apples, I recommend a variety of firm apples. The photos above use Jonagolds and Macs.
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup flour or cornstarch
• Caramel sauce (optional) (I like the one from the Joy of Cooking)

Topping

• 1 egg whisked with a Tablespoon of water
• Demerara/raw sugar

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. 

Make crust. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut in shortening until mixture resembles damp sand. Add water, a little bit at a time, until dough sticks together. You will want it slightly more elastic than crust for a pan pie. Break dough into two evenly sized pieces, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator up to a day in advance.

Prepare filling. Peel, core, and dice apples into small chunks. In a large mixing bowl, combine diced apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and flour. Mix well, until all apple pieces are coated. 

Line two rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Remove crust from refrigerator. Cut each ball of dough into four equal pieces. On a well-floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 7 to 8 inch square. Place dough on cookie sheet. Using a slotted spoon, scoop filling into the center of the square. If desired, drizzle caramel sauce generously over filling.

Fold dough over filling, so top portion of crust is about 1/4 inch shy of the edge of the bottom. Fold up bottom crust to meet top crust and pinch/crimp to seal. Repeat for remaining pies.

Whisk together 1 egg with 1 Tablespoon water. Brush egg wash generously over pies. Sprinkle the top of each pie with a small amount of demerara sugar. 

Place cookie sheets in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until filling bubbles and crust is golden brown, rotating pans halfway through cooking time.

Cool pies on wire rack prior to storage. To store, wrap in tin foil and place in refrigerator for up to one week. Serve cool, or reheat for 10-15 minutes in a 350 degree F oven. 

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Things I Made This Summer

There's been so much knitting stuff this summer (which seems like an odd phrase to write) that I've sorely neglected sharing some of the other projects I've been working on!

Which is a shame, because I've been working on some cool stuff these past few months.

Like, I made a backpack!

The pattern is Made by Rae's Toddler Backpack, to which I added the optional lining, and some self-drafted pockets on the outside with mesh fabric, elastic and bias tape. It looks super-impressive, but is surprisingly easy to make.

Also awesome?

Lobster shorts!!

There's been three different Renfrew tees that have been getting a lot of wear (including the white one above and this beauty):

I made baklava  for the first time and garlic scape hummus. I've baked tiny cherry pies and at least three versions of a buttermilk tea cake trying to get my recipe perfect (almost there...)

I've done some embroidery:

I've whipped up quick little projects:

And sewn another dress LMC refuses to wear even though she picked out the fabric from my stash.

Let's just say, it's been a productive summer. :) 

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Recipe: Chocolate-Raspberry Tart with Shortbread Crust

I was recently discussing my s'more pie with a friend who had made it sans marshmallows. We were talking about how the filling could work well with a variety of different toppings/fillings and I mentioned that I thought it would be particularly good with crushed raspberries and a shortbread crust. 

A few pints of raspberries and one satisfied taste-tester later, here we are.  :)

Chocolate & Raspberry Tart 

Shortbread crust

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ sticks cold butter, 6 ounces, cut in small pieces
• If your dough isn't holding together, you can add up to 1 egg

Chocolate filling

• 1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) heavy cream
• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (not more than 65% cacao if marked)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pints fresh raspberries, plus more for decoration (~2 pints in total)

NB: depending on the size of your pan(s) you may not need all the dough or filling.

Make and "Blind Bake" Tart Shell

Make and Blind Bake Tart ShellSpray a tart pan, or several mini tart pans with cooking spray. Combine crust ingredients with a pastry cutter or food processor, until the mixture clumps, if needed, add up to one egg. Using fingers, press dough evenly into tart pan bottom and up sides past edge of pan. Prick the dough with a fork, line crust with foil and fill with pie weights/rice/beans etc.

Cover crust and chill for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Place tart pan(s) on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Make Filling

Bring cream to a boil, then pour over chocolate in a bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and salt in another bowl until frothy, then fold into melted chocolate.

Set aside about dozen raspberries for decorating (or 1 per mini tart ) Crush the remaining raspberries in a sieve to drain the excess juice and spread crushed berries along the bottom of the cooled crust and then pour filling on top.

Bake until filling is set about 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly, 20 to 25 minutes. (Center will continue to set as tart cools.) Cool completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour.

Remove from tart pan and decorate with remaining raspberries.

If kept at room temperature, chocolate will have a mousse-like texture, chilling the tart in the refrigerator will give it a firmer texture.

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6th Annual National Pie Day

This is the sixth year I've hosted a "pie-luck" for National Pie Day and I don't have much new to say. Pie is awesome. You can do so many different things with it: sweet pies, savory pies; tarts and quiches; empanadas and shepherd's pies; fruit and ganache and meringue. There's a reason I call Pie Day the most delicious day of the year. I love that my knitting friends bring such an amazing variety of pie and that we get to sit and eat and knit. I love that Ms. Maggie surprised us all by coming down from Orono. I love that I get to try something new and complex (in this year's case, a brown-butter lemon zest and cranberry tart) that puts all that Great British Bake-Off watching to good use. But mostly I love that there's no happier combination than good food and good friends.

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Pecan Oatmeal Apple Crisp (and Apple Abundance)

So we went a little overboard on the apple picking this year and picked a ton on our annual trip to Ricker Hill a few weeks back. (also we went on a weekday, so we had the full run of the bounce houses to ourselves and had to take advantage of that!) So even after two sizable pies, I still had about a bushel left and no gumption to make more pie, and so, enter crisp! This recipe is a mashup of three different ones, so it has a little bit of everything in it, which makes it totally delicious.And it's a big batch recipe (3 Qt baking pan), so it means that I'm down to only 2 dozen apples now!!

Filling

• ~10 apples, peeled and chopped
• 3 Tbl sugar
• 1.5 Tbl cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbl orange juice

Topping

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups flour (Up to 1/2 cup can be whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbl white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1.5 sticks salted butter, softened
• 1 cup chopped pecans 

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F

Place all filling ingredients into a 9x13 (3 QT) baking pan and mix together. Adding more apples as needed to fill pan.

In a separate bowl, mix all topping ingredients, except nuts, together until they make a consistency like wet sand. Mix in nuts as desired. Sprinkle topping loosely over apple mixture.

Bake for ~ 50 minutes until topping is browned and apples are soft.

Serve warm with ice cream 

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4th of July Weekend

We had a wonderful, summery long 4th of July weekend. There were strawberries, birthday cake (for Mr. Cleaver) and Inside Out at the Drive-In, which LMC stayed up for the entirety of, and fireworks watching on PBS.

What are your favorite summer things to do?

• Martha Stewart's Marvelous Black Forest Cake
• Maxwell's Strawberry Farm
• Pride's Corner Drive In

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