Recipe Update

Here are some recipes from previous posts. Enjoy!




Pear Raisin Streusel Bars (low fat)










Butter Tart Squares










Cream Cheese Raspberry Brownies










Triple Chocolate Devil Drops

Benne (Sesame) Seed Wafers

What are benne seeds? Sesame seeds by another name. They came to America from Africa and the Nigerian name for them, "benne", stuck. Today, benne wafers--thin cookies/crackers made with sesame seeds--are closely associated with Low Country cooking, a style of cooking centered in Charleston, South Carolina. And they're often served at Kwanzaa too. From James Beard

These little crispy cookies are deceiving. They look very plain but have a surprisingly crunchy texture. The nutty sesame seeds are very aromatic and make these cookies interesting to bite into. Not only are the cookies crispy, the seeds themselves are as well so, long after you've finished one you find yourself still crunching seeds.

The cookie batter is a cinch to mix together and the cookies bake for less time since they are smaller. They're great anytime and kids seem to really like them. You could make them more colourful by adding some flax seeds and/or black sesame seeds. Try them out and see which mixture works for you!

Recipe: Benne (Sesame) Seed Wafers

Apple Snacking Cake

During my end-of-week pantry clean out I was determined to use up some open packages of dry goods. I found some sultana raisins languishing in the back and a half-full jar of applesauce in the fridge. My solution? Make a super easy, quick and yummy apple cake.

The misleading thing about the title of this recipe is that there are no fresh apples in the actual cake. It uses applesauce and dried apples. I did not have dried apples so I opted to use my raisins. I have made this cake before and it is the perfect definition of a 'snacking cake'. It has a moist, dense crumb and goes well with any type of hot beverage you like. The pecan streusel on top lends a nice crunch to the cake and the house smells great while it is baking - like you've made a pie only with less work involved. If you're looking to make an unpretentious, down-home cake, try it out.

Recipe: Apple Snacking Cake

Toffee Pecan Cookies

Yesterday Elizabeth had a get-together for The Girls. It is not something we get to do often since some friends travel all the way from St. Catharines to get here. I provided cookies for the party and made Toffee Pecan Cookies from The Good Cookie. This cookie is of the drop type and includes three eggs which mixes up into a soft batter. I wasn't sure how they would turn out but the lure of toffee and pecans together had me itching to try.

I made the cookies by the book except that I only baked them for 12 minutes. Any longer and they would have been inedible. Boyle writes that they are 'unattractive but addictive' and they do have a crater-type look to them. The cookies are crispy on the edges and cakey throughout. I used Skor bits that distributed nicely throughout the cookie so each bite had some toffee flavour. On the whole they were well received and are great when you need a lot of cookies - I think I made 4 1/2 dozen. I think next time I might try chopped Skor chocolate bars for extra flavour.


Recipe Update - If you would like to try the Chocolate Raspberry Crumble Bars with white chocolate chips, try prebaking the crust before adding the jam and chips. I did not do this and the white chips ended up looking like butterscotch ones after 40 minutes. They were still good to eat and I dressed them up by adding a drizzle of white chocolate.

Also I'd like to say hi to Bay Area Bakers A. and H. M.. Thanks for reading!



Recipe : Toffee Pecan Cookies

Cocoa Banana Coffee Cake

I seemed to have an abundance of super-ripe bananas on my counter over the past few days and I wanted to make a cake with them. I pulled out an old recipe binder and found the tab called 'Nick Malgieri'. As I looked through what I had, the recipe for Cocoa Banana Coffee Cake caught my eye. I had all the ingredients and the cake was what I was looking for - a no fuss Bundt that packed a chocolate punch and used 4 bananas. We were in business.

I can't rave enough about this cake. The batter mixed up into a deep brown colour that was the consistency of semi-chunky pudding. It baked for exactly 55 minutes and rose beautifully. I turned it out to cool and couldn't wait to try it.

The cake is deliciously moist with a perfect balance of chocolate and banana. It is a notch above regular chocolate cake and Malgieri suggests having a slice with chocolate ice cream. The recipe is a keeper and everyone loved it so much I have none today. Good excuse to make another one sometime soon. If you're interested, the recipe comes from the aptly titled book, Chocolate.

Recipe: Cocoa Banana Bundt Cake

Chocolate Chunk Tea Biscuits

Tea biscuits, or scones, are another favourite treat in our house. They in no way resemble the rock-hard variety that can be purchased at the local grocery store. The great thing about scones is that they can be tailored to suit everybody's tastes. Mr. CB likes his with chocolate chunks and since I had some leftover from Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies, I obliged.

The recipe I used comes from Canadian Living. The dough mixed up nicely and instead of shaping them, I just dropped scoops of dough onto the cookie sheet and flattened them slightly. After a sprinkling of coarse sugar, they were ready to be baked.

Pulling out a fresh tray of scones from the oven really makes my day. They were golden, sparkly and studded with chunks of soft melted chocolate. The outside was lightly browned and crisp and when you bit into them, the fluffy centre revealed itself in all its glory. There's no way you could break a tooth on these! Try them with anything you like - raisins, currants, dried fruit...the possibilities are almost endless.

Recipe: Tea Biscuits

Pistachio Shortbread

I've always loved shortbread. The beautiful simplicity of mixing butter, sugar and flour together to get a crumbly melt-in-your-mouth cookie amazes me. It is an uncomplicated, international buttery morsel that can be dressed up in a whole lot of different ways.

For this version I added pistachios. I usually like to add chocolate chunks to mine but the crowd I was making them for were nut-lovers. Always up for something different, I roughly chopped the yummy red/green nuts and mixed them into my favourite shortbread recipe.

The cookies came out very lightly browned on the bottom and were pleasingly firm yet not dry and chalky. They had a sutble sweetness to them making them perfect for tea. The pistachios added some nice texture and crunch to the finished cookie. I enjoyed the nut shortbread and would like to try them again using pecans and toffee bits.

The recipe I used is from Canadian Living and it is suitable for many types of add-ins. The only step I missed (because I was in a rush) was the chilling of the dough for 1 hour. I'm not sure how much of a difference this makes since the cookies came out great regardless. If anyone does know, please enlighten me. :)


Recipe: Shortbread Cookies

Welcome Back Cake

Today long-time friends who live overseas came back to Canada for a visit. This was very exciting since I haven't seen them in 3 years. My neighbour Elizabeth (who happens to be the sister of one friend) asked me to make a carrot cake for dessert. I happily obliged and iced it with cream cheese icing. The big decision was how to decorate it. Elizabeth said she wanted chocolate flowers so I said no problem. While I was at the library this morning I was looking through the cookbook aisle and saw The Whimsical Bakehouse. I had already looked through this book before and I knew they used melted chocolate to make designs. I took it home for inspiration.

A couple hours later this was the final product. I apologize for the poor picture quality but the Ontario skies did not co-operate with me and remained cloudy all day. The flowers, sun, stems, clouds and words are all melted and tinted white chocolate wafers. I drew the pictures out on parchment paper and traced them with the chocolate. I piped the grass on afterwards as well as the ubiquitous "V" birds most commonly seen in grade 5 drawings. It was great fun working with the melted chocolate. You can pretty much make any design your heart desires and hopefully I'll get better the more I try. I'm waiting in anticipation to do it again soon...its much easier to snack on chocolate wafers than buttercream icing.

Mix-In-The-Pan Chocolate Cake

My little neighbour Y loves chocolate cake. He's a four year old chocoholic in the making. Whenever I'm visiting his house he always asks for it even though he knows there isn't any around. He sits patiently at the kitchen table with such a hopeful look that I always want to make one magically appear just to make him happy and smile. This morning I made him his very own chocolate cake complete with sprinkles. I also told him that he didn't have to share it with anyone but his mom vetoed this idea - I'm apparently supposed to encourage sharing.

Needless to say, he was very happy with his cake and succeeded in eating the top half with the icing. He made my day when he looked at me across the table and said, "This cake is very good."

If you want to make someone smile, make this cake. It is super easy and can be mixed in one bowl. It is dark, moist and chocolaty. The recipe is from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book by Marion Cunningham. If you don't have time to make icing use Nutella. I iced this cake with it and I think it was more popular than the cake itself. Great in a pinch.

Mix-in-the-Pan Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.
Combine the flour, baking soda, sugar, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
Make 3 holes and pour vinegar into one, the vanilla into another and the oil in the remaining one. Pour water over all. Using a fork, stir mixture well. The batter will almost be smooth - a few small lumps are okay, and will disappear in baking.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a rack. Cool completely before icing or dusting with icing sugar.

*I used an 8-inch round pan.

Pecan Sticky Buns

What do you make at 9pm on a Sunday night when your household is looking for a sweet treat? Nothing too involved, right? Well not at my house. We whip up homemade pecan sticky buns just like that. After much begging from Mr. CB and several incredulous looks from me as well as many "Are you serious?" statements, I relented and got the goods out and went to work with the promise of getting help in the kitchen. (When I did ask I got, "Really? I didn't actually mean help, you know?") Right.

Since I derive so much happiness from baking (because, you know, its an addiction), I kneaded, rolled, filled and baked until finally at 11pm we all got to enjoy warm, soft, sweet buns. I must admit, they were well worth the wait. The outside was crispy and the sugary-cinnamony goodness melted into the fluffy white dough. I had to make them in a round pan so they weren't exactly circular but no one seemed to mind. Once everyone had their fill they went to bed after much praise and thanks. I, however, stayed up waiting for them to cool so I could pack them away. The things you do for family. :)

If you're interested, the recipe is from The Clueless Baker by Evelyn Raab. The buns are made from a sweet dough filled with a basic butter, sugar cinnamon filling and topped with pecans, butter and brown sugar. Finding comarable recipes on the Internet should not be too hard or just use your own favourite family recipe. It's all good.

Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Last night my sister had some friends over for a small get together. Everyone usually contributes to the food stash and we decided to make hot artichoke dip for something savoury and ultra yummy triple chocolate chunk cookies for the sweet.

This is another one of my favourite recipes and it comes from Wanda's Pie in the Sky. Milk, bittersweet and white chocolate are combined with pecans in a delicious brown sugar cookie dough. I made the chunks large because when they come out of the oven the chocolate melts in your mouth. The next day they are equally as good even with the firmed-up chocolate. Wanda writes that "this is a chocolate chip cookie all grown up". Well I agree, but don't be fooled - little kids love these too.

Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
3/4 cup milk chocolate chunks
3/4 cup white chocolate chunks
1 cup macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks and nuts. Using 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are slightly raised in the centre and browned on the edges. Cool 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire rack to cool completely. Store in a tightly closed container for up to 4 days.
Makes 2 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Chocolate Raspberry Crumble Bars

I was debating whether or not to bake something today. I really didn't need too but then when friends called to come over it was all the motivation I needed to whip up this tasty treat.

These raspberry bars are so simple and easy to make. I've made them many, many times before and they have never failed me. The bars consist of a shortbread crust topped with raspberry jam and chocolate chips. That's it. Reserved crumb mixture is sprinkled on top and then baked for 40 minutes until golden.

We ate them warm out of the oven and they were perfect - crisp buttery crust with just the right amount of tart jam and sweet chocolate to satisfy any sweet craving. Try them today!

Chocolate Raspberry Crumble Bars

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp icing sugar

Filling:
3/4 cup raspberry jam
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Line 9 x 13 metal pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In bowl, beat together butter, sugar and salt until fluffy; using wooden spoon, stir in flour. Set aside 1 cup for crumble; press remaining dough into prepared pan.
Spread jam evenly over base. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Sprinkle fiiling with remaining crumble. Bake in 350 F oven until crumble is golden, about 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. Dust with icing sugar. Makes 40 bars.
Note: Jam spreads easily if warmed in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Source: Canadian Living Holiday Best 2002.

Pear Raisin Streusel Bars

I had very ripe pears sitting on my counter since yesterday that were beyond eating. They were brown and slightly mushy but I knew they could be transformed. The only thing to do with them was bake them into something exciting so I looked around for a recipe that made something small since I only had two.

Well, I looked in Divine Indulgences on a whim. I haven't used this book in a while but had a feeling it might have something appropriate since the recipes do not make large quantities. I found Pear Raisin Streusel Bars and I had all the necessary ingredients so I went to work.

The base was baked for 10 minutes before the pear/raisin filling and streusel went on top. (I have to confess, I added one chopped apple because I was just shy of 2 cups) After 25 minutes I had some nice bars that are similar to a crisp-type dessert. They smelled great and cut into bars perfectly. They would taste even more yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Also, I was all the more impressed since this is a low-fat recipe that replaced some fat with water. (I don't do a lot low-fat baking.) This caused the bars to be less crispy and brown than a full-fat bar but still tasty. You can check out other low-fat dessert options at Rose Reisman's website.

Semolina Cake

Over the weekend, I had my family over for dinner. None of them are big sweet eaters although my aunt does a fair amount of baking herself. I knew I needed to serve something for dessert that would go nicely with tea and coffee and wasn't too over the top so I decided on this semolina cake. I had made it before successfully and, although there is a sugar syrup poured over the hot cake, once cooled the sweetness of the sugar mellows considerably.

Semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat that is highly glutinous. In its package it looks like cornmeal but once baked in a cake, it expands making the cake grainy. There is no flour added so the texture is not like traditional cake. Without the sugar syrup, the cake would be dry and crumbly. With it, each bite was syrupy and moist. It is very similar to the Middle Eastern cake called Basboosa.

The cake was enjoyable to eat and everyone liked it. It is best eaten cut into small squares or diamonds and is an easy recipe to try when the desire to explore foreign baked goods takes hold.

SHF 17 - Citrus Lace Cups

The theme for this month's Sugar High Friday is dairy. When I was deciding what to contribute, I thought about cheesecake or some type of custard. While these desserts are great, I don't usually have the opportunity to make fancier treats unless a special event pops up. Because of this, I chose to make Citrus Lace Cups from Wanda's Pie in the Sky. These fragile little confections consist of a thin crisp almond cookie that is shaped and filled with a cream cheese citrus mousse.

The recipe itself is not hard to prepare and has two major steps: making and shaping the cookies and preparing the filling. The cookies spread a lot in the oven and when they come out they have to be quickly draped over a mini muffin tin to create a cup shape. (see below) They can also be shaped around a wooden spoon handle and I will try that another time.


The mousse is where the dairy component lies. It's a mixture of whipping cream, cream cheese, orange, lime and lemon rinds, sugar and lime juice. Once combined, I scooped it into a pastry bag and filled the cups. The cookie remains crispy and sweet which is a nice contrast to the smooth citrusy tang of the mousse. If left filled for more than 20 minutes, the cookie softens and is less likely to crumble on you when you take a bite. Either way, they're lovely.

My taste testers all agreed that the cups were a great treat and appreciated the refreshing citrus flavour. Some were even surprised to find there was cream cheese in the mix because it was so light and fluffy. Thanks to Andrew at Spittoonextra for hosting this month's extravaganza.

Citrus Lace Cups

From: Wanda's Pie in the Sky

For the cups:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup pastry flour

1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled

12 oz. cream cheese, softened (about 1 1/2 packages)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp lime zest

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp orange zest

1/3 cup lime juice

2 cups fresh raspberries (optional)

candied orange peel (optional)

For the cups: Preheat oven to 375 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine the butter, sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Combine the flour and almonds and add to the sugar mixture. Drop by teaspoonfuls 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for 5-6 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pan while still hot and use a spatula to drape over the back of a mini muffin pan to create little cups. It is important to work quickly before the sugar hardens. However, if it does harden, pop the pan back into the oven for a minute to make it pliable enough to continue. Let the cups cool completely.

For the filling: Using an electric mixer, whip the chilled cream until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar, the lime, lemon and orange zests and the lime juice until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Using a piping bag and star tip, pipe the filling into the cookie cups. Assemble within 20 minutes of serving to maintain crispness. Garnish with raspberries and orange peel, if desired.

Makes 24 cups

The filling with flecks of lime, orange and lemon zests

SHF #17

Quick Little Dinner Buns

Last night we were having lentil soup for dinner and I wanted to make some sort of bread to go with them for dunking. Since it was already late, I didn't have time to do yeast rolls so I decided to go with a savoury drop biscuit. As I was looking for a quick recipe I came across these buns.

They are baked in a muffin tin but aren't really muffins, nor are they rolls. I thought they looked easy enough to whip up quicky and, as I read the ingredients, I realized there was no fat (butter or oil) or eggs included but there was mayonnaise. Wow. I wondered if they would turn out decent so I tried them out exactly as the recipe stated. Well, was I pleasantly surprised. They baked up fantastic! They were not bland and had a fluffy texture while the outside remained crisp. They really are great with soup and the can easily be jazzed up with cheese, finely chopped parsley, a dash of chili powder...whatever you may fancy. The recipe is from The Clueless Baker and since the recipe is short, I'll post it here until I get an archive up and running.

Quick Little Dinner Buns

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
6 tbsp mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk and mayonnaise. Stir with a fork until everything is blended and mixture is smooth. Spoon into well-greased (or paper-lined) muffin pan, filling the cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned.
Remove from pan, let cool and serve slightly warm.
Makes 8-10 quick little buns.

Triple Chocolate Devil Drops

If you like chocolate cake, these are the cookies for you. Made with cocoa powder, sour cream and studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips, these cookies are soft, moist and cakey.

The batter is similar to the banana cookies I made last week. It is soft and not scoopable. I made these cookies a little bigger and they baked for 12 minutes. The white chocolate drizzle is part of the recipe but can be omitted if you like -these cookies are completely tasty on their own.

The recipe comes from The Good Cookie and is one of the easier cookies to make. (Perfect for beginners.) They pack a solid chocolate punch and are satisfying when cravings for a dense, fudgy cookie sneak up in the middle of the night.

Fig and Orange Bars

"Packed with flavour, these golden bars sandwiching a fig puree are similar to (but a lot better than) their store-bought relatives." This is the intro written about these bars by Canadian Living and I can agree that they are quite tasty.

The filling is a mixture of figs, orange juice and peel and the bar is a simple brown sugar dough. There is no sugar added to the filling so the sweetness of the figs shines through. It fits into a 8-inch square pan and bakes up until lightly browned. I cut the bars into triangles just as they are shown in the magazine.

The bars are soft and the filling is very flavourful, with the orange being very pronounced. They do taste like Fig Newtons but are not nearly as sweet. The cookie part balances nicely with the filling and the little fig seeds add some pleasant texture to the overall taste of the bar. They are perfect for snacks and I'll absolutely be adding this recipe to my keeper pile. It might even work with dates, but that's another recipe for another day.

Maple Syrup

It's maple syrup time in Ontario and the sap is flowing. Having grown up here, I have been on numerous memorable school trips to the 'sugar shack' to learn about the maple syrup process. On a recent visit to Mountsberg Conservation Area, we enjoyed a full afternoon doing just this. Maple syrup is a Canadian staple product that can be used in baking as a sweetener or poured on top of ice cream, waffles and pancakes. It has a distinct flavour that no store-bought pancake syrup can compare.

The process for making maple syrup is time consuming and directly affected by the weather. Warm sunny days and frosty nights are perfect for sap flow. To begin, maple trees (there are many types) are tapped with a spile and a bucket is hung to collect the sap. Once enough sap is obtained, it is poured into an evaporator and heated until the sugar content is about 65%. Sap is colourless and, as it boils, it becomes more amber in colour. This colouring determines what grade the syrup is - lighter is not sweet and too dark is only used for baking. Medium amber is best and is what can be found on the grocery shelf. Larger producers will have the trees linked up by tubing that flow into one central container to minimize collecting times. In the days before modern technology, sap was poured into large pots and boiled over an open fire.

Since I'm no expert, this is a just a watered down version of the syrup process but for a more detailed and scientific explanation visit Canadian Maple Syrup where you can also read about the history of maple syrup as well as some interesting facts.

I've used maple syrup in cookies and it lends a lovely sutble maple flavour to the finished product. It can also be used to flavour frostings and glazes. Due to its production process, maple syrup is expensive and rightfully so. It is a reflection of the Canadian spirit where something so simple can be transformed into something truly wonderful.

Butter Tart Squares

Butter tarts are probably one of the Canada's most popular homegrown desserts. According to Wickipedia, butter tarts were a staple of pioneer Canadian cooking, and they remain a characteristic pastry of Canada, considered one of only a few recipes of genuinely Canadian origin.

Butter tarts can come in a multitude of variations and most Canadians have a favourite. They can be made plain or enhanced with chocolate chips, nuts or raisins. The shortbread pastry is topped with a filling consisting of butter, eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and vinegar. Of course, as with all other recipes, there are many adaptations with regards to ingredients. Some people like their filling gooey so that sweet syrup drips down the chin while others prefer their filling a little more set. To prove that Canadians take their butter tarts seriously, check out "What makes a great butter tart?" at the CBC website.

The version of the butter tart I made are actually squares and come from Wanda's Pie in the Sky. They're an easier and faster take on the tart but their essence is the same. This version bakes up handsomely and has a good balance of butter pastry and toothsome filling. I made these plain and they are really at their best at room temperature or chilled in the refrigerator. They are rich, smooth and perfect with tea. A great Canadian treat.

Banana Chocolate Chip Softies

Whenever I have a ripe banana on the counter I always get a request for banana cookies. These cookies are a favourite around here so I make them quite often. I found this recipe years ago in the Treasury of Desserts and initially made them because you only need one banana and they are quicker to make and bake than banana bread. They turned out so well and were enjoyed by eveyone that now I could not imagine ever not making them.

The cookie is a simple drop cookie that can be made plain or with chocolate chips and/or nuts. The batter is soft and cannot be put into a cookie scoop so it must be spooned onto the cookie sheet. These cookies turn out wonderfully soft and cakey. They are not meant to be crisp and taste like little mini banana cakes. Since the recipe only makes about 2 dozen, there are usually never any left for the next day. I found a very similar recipe here, though the measurements are not the same if you'd like to try them out. I used Hershey semi-sweet chocolate chips for this batch, though milk chocolate would work just as well.

Yogurt Bran Muffins

Muffins are ideal for packing in lunches. They're hearty, the variations are endless and they also freeze well so, in theory, you can have muffins all the time. The fantastic muffins I made are yogurt bran and come from Canadian Living. (The exact recipe is not on the website but there are many other bran choices.) The recipe is very easy to put together and the calls for 1 cup of yogurt and a hint of cinnamon. The batter is totally scoopable and has a light, springy texture. Adding raisins is a personal choice, so I put them in half and the rest I left plain just so everyone was happy.

The muffins baked for 20 minutes and are light and not cloying as some bran muffins can be. I especially like them because there is no molasses added which, I find, can make a bran muffin heavy and overly sweet. The bran lends subtle texture to the muffins and most people are pleasantly surprised that bran could taste this good.

Weekend Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are always a fun project to do with kids. Since weekdays are busy, weekends are perfect for getting creative with the sprinkles. Sugar cookies are considered a roll cookie which means the batter needs time in the fridge so that it can be rolled out later. The tried-and-true recipe I used is from Canadian Living and is your basic sugar cookie that can be mixed either by hand or mixer. Once combined, the dough is wrapped, pressed into discs and refrigerated for 60 minutes.

After that, anything goes. You can cut the cookies into any shape you like. I used all the different types of sprinkles I had and made circles even though I have one of the big boxes of 100 cookie cutters in the basement. (Next time I'll haul them out.) The whole pile of circle cookies on the plate looked very uniform and appetizing since they were all uniquely decorated. I love watching everyone choose which one they want - it can be tough deciding between blue sparkles or red, you know. Bake for 11 (or so) minutes, grab some milk and watch these soft, sugary cookies disappear.

Pear Pecan Cake

Sometimes, even the best of intentions can get thwarted. Making this pear pecan cake today was a lesson in patience. After prepping the pan, preparing the ingredients and putting the cake in the oven to bake, I made some tea only to discover that my tube pan sprung a leak and my oven was smoking like crazy. After taking out the unfinished cake, I turned off the oven and waited for it to cool down before cleaning it up and putting the cake back in (on a cookie sheet this time). After 40 minutes, I checked and it was finished and nicely browned. I took it out, very relieved that it was not ruined.

The recipe I made comes from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and is very straightforward. Dry ingredients are combined and then oil, eggs and vanilla are mixed in. The batter is not runny or pourable - it is stiff and I used my wooden spoon to distrubute the batter evenly in the pan. The cake bakes up with a solid, moist crumb. It is a perfect coffee cake studded with soft pear and crunchy pecans. I finished off the cake with a simple sugar glaze and sprinkled reserved nuts on top. Considering what it took to make it, this cake was well worth it.

Crumbly Apple Squares

Going to the grocery store mid-February in Ontario will yield very little choice in the fruit department. The most abundant choice right now are apples - Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Royal Gala...the list goes on. (Although, finding a bag of Northern Spy apples can be a daunting task.) Ontario has numerous apple orchards and, in autumn, there are no shortage welcoming you to come "pick your own". Even though picking season is over, apples keep well in coolers so we see them looking fresh and shiny months later.

I bought a bag of Royal Galas last weekend to pack in lunches but, since baked apple desserts are a favourite around here, I made Crumbly Apple Squares from the Clueless Baker. The recipe is reminiscent of apple crisp except that it slices up in even squares rather than being scooped. The butter in the crumble is cut in, not melted, making it very crumbly but surprisingly not dry. The squares were enjoyed by all, but I wonder if it would be better to melt the butter next time so the crumb is not so 'loose'. If you'd like to try it out, here is a simliar recipe by Evelyn Raab that uses cranberries as well.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I don't make oatmeal raisin cookies that often because I am seriously lacking one thing - people who love raisins. When I say 'raisin' I get turned-up noses and faces that looked like they just sucked on a lemon. No one ever says "Yes! I love raisins." so, I end up making a lot of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead. Today I decided to give raisins their due and try a recipe from Wanda's Pie in the Sky. The recipe is for a classic oatmeal raisin cookie, with no cinnamon added, just a whole lot of raisins. The cookies mixed and baked up wonderfully and took about 12 minutes to finish. They came out very nice - not too flat and not overly rounded. The raisins lend a nice chewiness to the crisp oat cookie. The are not too sweet and perfect for a day when the windchill makes it feel like -15 C.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies

My sister and her friends are going up to the cottage this weekend. (15cm of snow and -2 C, so not bad) Each one of them is responsible for one day's worth of food, including dessert. She was told, "You can't let your sister make anything for you!" (cheating, you know), but when they heard what I was making, they relented. I love my recipe for these brownies. They come out perfect everytime - fudgy, creamy and fruity all at the same time. The chocolate brownie base is topped with a cream cheese mixture and to finish it off, dollops of raspberry jam and reserved batter are swirled on top. They are truly decadent, especially when you want something over-the-top satisfying. They are extraordinarily good chilled and eaten straight out of the refrigerator.

The recipe is from a Canadian Living publication called Canadian Living's Best Chocolate.
The recipe comes from Dufflet Rosenberg, a celebrated Toronto pastry chef.

Aunt Daisy's Fresh Fruit Torte

What is the difference between a cake and a torte? Here's what I found out:

• Cake is defined as "a sweet baked food made of flour, liquid, eggs and other ingredients, such as rising agents and flavorings." Source: Dictionary.com
• Torte is defined as "a rich cake made with many eggs and little flour and usually containing chopped nuts". Source: Dictionary.com
• Torte is a decorated cake with several layers. The layers of the torte are often made with ground nuts or breadcrumbs. About
• "Torte" is the Eastern European word for cake. The plural is torten. Chowbaby.com
• The term torte is used primarily to define round cakes, with a large amount of ground nuts to replace the flour. They are made without chemical leaveners, using egg foams to lighten them. They are most often multi-layered, filled with buttercreams, whipped creams and iced with glazes, marzipan or buttercreams. The recipes are more typical of Austria, Hungary and Germany and are named after princes and politicians. Dufflet

I made the Aunt Daisy's Fresh Fruit Torte from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and the main similarity it had to the above definitions was that it used a small amount of flour as compared to a regular cake. The batter was stiff, but spreadable, and no liquid was added in. The recipe did call for baking powder but no nuts. Did I really end up making a torte? Hmmm, well I think that 'torte' is used in the title because the cake is one layer and it does not rise as much as a plain cake. It came out moist, had a tender crumb and tasted fantastic - just like it came from a bakery. I used unpeeled Bartlett pears for the top and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar. This torte is easily made in less than 30 minutes (not including baking time) and if there are no pears around, apples work just as well.

Toasted Coconut Bread

Making quick breads is one of the easiest ways to get baked goods on the table with a minimum of effort. Last night I made toasted coconut bread from a tried and true recipe that I've had for years. It comes from Joie Warner's All the Best Muffins and Quick Breads which I picked up at the World's Biggest Bookstore in Toronto. Warner writes, "Reminiscent of macaroons, this delectable bread is wonderful with tea or curry dinners."

The first thing you need to do is toast some coconut to release its nutty flavour and turn it a light shade of brown. Once it has cooled, the batter is mixed up with the sugar being added to the dry ingredients and the butter melted and beat together with the wet ingredients. Once it is all incorporated, it bakes for 60 minutes and, once cooled, the bread has a wonderful coconut scent and flavour. It is moist and goes extremely well with a cup of Chai tea.

Since this book seems to not be in stock, I'll reproduce the recipe below so you can see for yourself how great and easy this bread is.

Toasted Coconut Bread

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Adjust oven rack to top third position; preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with vegetable spray. (I used butter)
Toast coconut, stirring constantly, in a small ungreased nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, being careful not to let it burn. Let stand until cool.
Thoroughly mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and coconut in large bowl. In medium bowl, whisk egg, milk, butter and vanilla until blended. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and fold in with rubber spatula just until combined; do not overmix.
Spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake for 1 hour or until tested comes out clean. Turn out onto rack to cool completely before slicing. Makes 1 loaf.

From Joie Warner's "All the Best Muffins and Quick Breads" 1992.

Orange Vanilla Chip Cookies

What do you make when you have oranges and white chocolate chips? Orange Vanilla Chip cookies of course. Unfortunately, I don't have vanilla chips but the recipe I used said it was fine to substitute white ones. (If anyone knows where to get vanilla chips in the GTA, please let me know)

This cookie is truly simple to make. It is a drop cookie with a plain cookie base and orange rind and white chocolate chips added in. The recipe comes from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I've had this book for quite a while and have only made a handful of recipes. (Not for lack of wanting, though)

I made these cookies years ago and decided to give then another try since I don't think the first batch came out well. There seems to be a lot of differing opinion on Magnolia Bakery - all the way from "it's heaven" to "the cupcakes are dry". If you'd like to read a review of Magnolia, check out the post on Lovescool.

Having never been to NY to try out their baked wonders, I can only say for certain that the cookies are great. They're not overly sweet with a nice orange tang and are more sophisticated than a regular chocolate chip cookie. A definite keeper.

SHF #16 - Banana Cream Pie

For this month’s SHF, stimulating desserts were the topic of choice. Well, considering Valentine’s Day is less than a week away, creating a passionate confection seemed very timely and I got to it. The most obvious aphrodisiac connected to sweets is chocolate so I thought I would travel down a different road and make a classic Banana Cream Pie.

At first thought, bananas would not come to mind as an aphrodisiac. I searched the Internet and found some interesting facts about this common yellow fruit and why it would be suited for a Valentine’s Day dessert.

1. The banana flower has a marvelous phallic shape and is partially responsible for popularity of the banana as an aphrodisiac food. An Islamic myth tells the tale that after Adam and Eve succumbed to the "Apple" they started covering their "nudity" with banana leaves rather than fig. From a more practical standpoint bananas are rich in potassium and B vitamins, necessities for sex hormone production.

2. Due not only to its shape, but also its creamy, lush texture, some studies show its enzyme bromelain enhances male performance.

The recipe I made came from the Clueless Baker and, although there were multiple steps and long cooling times, the pie was incredibly easy to make and assemble. The stovetop custard set up nicely in about 8 minutes. The only problem I had was trying to cut a decent piece for my picture.

The custard was creamy and thick with sliced bananas in the middle letting their subtle flavour infuse the pie. It was all topped of with fresh whipped cream (who doesn’t love whipped cream) and encased in a homemade graham cracker crust.

If you would like to try out the recipe, you can find it here.

Also, thanks to Jennifer at Taste Everything Once for hosting SHF this month.

Banana info was obtained from Gourmet Sleuth and About.com


SHF #16

Overnight Buttermilk Coffeecake

Last night I felt like making cake. Just a simple coffee cake that could be made and baked in less than two hours. I looked in a couple of my books and found the perfect recipe in The Clueless Baker called Overnight Buttermilk Coffee Cake. It is called 'overnight' because the cake is able to be assembled the night before and baked in the morning in time for breakfast. I didn't wait until the next day and baked it immediately.

The cake came out moist and cinnamony and was latte coloured. The topping is a simple mix of brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon but no butter. It was sprinkled over the cake before baking. I found that I could have used less topping and next time I will sprinkle some in the cake between batter layers or just make less. It was crunchy and sweet so when taking a bite of cake, there was a mix of textures - soft cake and hard topping. I didn't mind this as it added character to the cake but, the cake alone would have sufficed. I would make this again for a quick sweet fix and the topping lends itself to almost any type of nut you have on hand - pecans, walnuts or almonds.

If you'd like to try it out, you can find the recipe on the Today's Parent website.

Fudgy Cheesecake Cupcakes

I had half a block of cream cheese left over from a previous dessert and I wanted to make something quick and simple for some friends I had over. I decided on Fudgy Cheesecake Cupcakes since the chocolate cake recipe is almost the same as 'Mix in the Pan' chocolate cake. This usually means that everything can be mixed in one bowl. Another feature of this cake recipe is that eggs are not required. (Except one yolk in the cream cheese mixture) It is similar to the recipe for Eggless Chocolate Cake posted on the Bakingsheet blog.

The recipe I used is from a Canadian Living publication called Canadian Living's Best Muffins and More. It is very easy to make these muffins. Once you pour the chocolate batter into greased muffin cups, you put a dollop of the filling on top and then let the oven do the rest. The filling should be rather thick so that it doesn't spread throughout the cupcake while baking.

The muffins are moist and the cream cheese filling is suspended perfectly in the middle. The filling is cheesecake-creamy which complements the flavour of the sweet cupcake. I love these cupcakes because they are a notch above regular plain ones and, if you're in the mood for indulgence, a chocolate glaze would definitely raise the bar.

If you're looking for a similar recipe, try the Black Bottom Muffins from Canadian Living. They are basically the same except it calls for a whole egg in the filling, not just the yolk.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the quickest cookies for me to make up are peanut butter cookies. I usually have all the ingredients on hand and they are made as a simple drop cookie which means there is no fussy shaping involved. However, if you want them to be uniform in shape and size, a little rolling will be needed to achieve the desired results.

I decided to use a recipe from my Canadian Living Cookbook.
It did not include the chocolate chip variation but I added some anyways to liven them up. I used natural peanut butter for the recipe as well. The dough mixed up easily and when they baked, the cookies flattened nicely but were not frisbees. The cookies are chewy and dense, but not heavy. Two or three cookies would go perfectly with a cold glass of milk or a hot mug of tea. If you would like to try them out, you can find the recipe on the Canadian Living website.

Tip 3 - All About Flour

One ingredient that is almost always present when we bake is flour. This white powdery substance is the backbone of most recipes and comes in many different forms. In this post I will list the most prominently used flours used for baking as well as some wheat-free alternatives.

Usually, the word "flour" used alone refers to wheat flour, which is one of the most important foods in European and American culture. Wheat flour is the main ingredient in most types of breads and pastries. Wheat is so widely used because of an important property: when wheat flour is mixed with water, a complex protein called gluten develops. The gluten development is what gives wheat dough an elastic structure that allows it to be worked in a variety of ways, and which allows the retention of gas bubbles in an intact structure, resulting in a sponge-like texture to the final product. This is highly desired for breads, cakes and other baked products.

Bread Flour - This type of flour is also known as hard wheat flour. It has a high-gluten content and when water is added to the flour, the gluten causes it to become elastic and stretchy. This is desirable because yeast needs elasticity to help the bread rise.

Cake and Pastry Flour - This flour has a low-gluten content and produces delicate and tender baked goods. It is milled from soft wheat.

All Purpose Flour - This type of flour is a mix of both high-gluten and low-gluten flour. It is ideal for making pastry. There are two kinds: bleached and unbleached. Bleached flour has been chemically bleached to make the flour whiter and easier to blend with ingredients with higher percentages of fat and sugar. Both flours are virtually indistinguishable in baking.

Whole Wheat Flour - This flour is milled from whole wheat kernels and is ususally used in conbination with other flours to a nutty flavour and texture to finished baked goods. It contains more protein than cake flour.

Pastry Flour - This type of flour is made from soft wheat but not as finely ground as cake flour.

Self-Rising Flour - This is all purpose flour with baking powder (calcium acid phosphate and baking soda) and salt added.

Some alternative flours that can be used for baking are listed below.

Gluten Flour - This is a high-protein flour that is relatively starch free. It is primarily used for people on special diets.

Graham Flour - Is the same as whole wheat flour but more finely ground.

Rye Flour - This flour comes as light, medium or dark. It is sticky and tacky when mixed with liquids. It is high in protein and has limited gluten potential so it results in a dense loaf when it is used alone.

Semolina Flour - This is a yellow granular flour made from the endosperm of durum wheat. It is usually used to make pasta.

Soya/Soy Flour - Is a high-protein flour milled from soy beans. It doesn not develop the gluten necessary for making bread so it had to be combined with a bread-making flour.

Buckwheat Flour - Is milled from buckwheat seeds. Its claylike taste gives baked goods a unique flavour.

Corn Flour - This flour is prepared by milling and sifting yellow or white corn. It should not be confused with cornmeal. It is good for adding texture and colour to baked goods.

Rice Flour - This flour is made by grinding either brown or white rice.

Barley Flour - Is finely ground flour made from hulled barley grains. It is low in protein and high in minerals.

Potato Flour - This flour is made from cooked potatoes that are dried and then ground. It has a high-starch content that contributes to a quick rise in yeast doughs.

This was just a quick overview of flour in its many incarnations. To read more, check out my sources listed below!

The Fannie Farmer Baking Book - Marion Cunningham
Wanda's Pie in the Sky - Wanda Beaver
The Good Cookie - Tish Boyle
and finally Wikipedia where there is a wealth of information for your perusal.

Chocolate Crinkles

When you're in the mood for a simple chocolate cookie, Chocolate Crinkles will hit the spot. I was requested to make a 'plain chocolate cookie' the other day and decided to try them out. The one main difference between these cookies and others is that they are made with oil. I wondered why this was and looked around for some information and read that sugar does not fully dissolve in oil so the cookie texture remains sugary. Well, the cookies were indeed sweet, but not granular. I also came across a post on Simply Recipes that says oil makes a wonderful substitute for butter and also includes a Oatmeal
Raisin cookie recipe.
The cookie batter was easy to mix up and had to be chilled for a couple hours. I waited about 2 hours before starting and the dough was thick enough to roll into balls. I had to work fast because the heat from my hands made the dough sticky. (This became frustrating after a while.) Once rolled, they were coated with powdered sugar and baked for 10 minutes. What makes these cookies visually interesting is that they 'crackle' on top and the chocolate dough peeks out from the white icing sugar making it look like a crater. The cookies were soft and had a rich chocolate flavour, just like a fudgy brownie. The recipe made about 4-5 dozen cookies so there was more than enough to share with others.
The recipe I used is from The Clueless Baker by Evelyn Raab.

Rice Pudding

Today it's overcast here in Ontario so I thought I'd make something warm and comforting. The first thing that popped into my head was rice pudding. Fantastic! Not only is it easy and quick to make, it made me happy just to think that I'd be having some creamy rice goodness in the near future. My method of making rice pudding is stovetop. I know there are numerous recipes for ovenbaked pudding as well and once I get my hands on one that I like I'll give it a try.

Finding a recipe was a snap. I have Rose Reisman's Divine Indulgences which contains a lovely stovetop recipe called Rice Pudding with Dates and Apricots. I made a few changes to the actual recipe though. For one, it calls for light soy milk which I substituted with 1%. I have made this recipe previously with vanilla soy milk and it has come out great. There was a little soy aftertaste but it was hardly noticeable. I also left out the dates and apricots because I don't have any in the cupboard right now and I also like my rice pudding without add-ins. Sometimes a small handful of raisins get thrown in but on the whole, I like my rice pudding straight-up plain (with a hint of cinnamon). Today's pudding came out just right. Soft arborio rice with thick sweet milk. Yum.

I know many people who don't like rice pudding that much or even at all. I think it is because of the texture. Sometimes 'custardy' desserts don't have a pleasing mouth-feel that turns people off. Perhaps in rice pudding the rice is a detracting factor to some. They want their pudding to be completely smooth and velvety. As for those who adore rice pudding, the variations are endless. Some like more rice, some less. Some like it more milky, others like it thick. Rice pudding is the type of dessert that can be tailored to meet almost any need - the type of milk, rice and method of cooking can be mixed-up to get a swoon-worthy pudding.

To see other great recipes from Rose Reisman, check out her website.

Carrot Cake

Yesterday Elizabeth hosted a gathering at her home for about 50 people. She asked me to make carrot cake since it can feed a large crowd of people. I said no problem and made a the Toll House Carrot Cake from the Treasury of Desserts. The recipe is very easy to prepare and uses all the traditional ingredients including pineapple, nuts and, of course, carrots. There are no raisins in this cake but the recipe did call for chocolate chips which I happily added. From start to finish, the cake took about 1 hour to mix up and bake. It came out very moist and not overly sweet. I did, however, get one request to leave out the chocolate chips next time because it was too sweet. Since I am constantly looking to improve my baking, I asked my sister if she thought this as well and was met with a look of incredulity. The cake was just fine and the cream cheese icing (also from Treasury of Desserts) was complementary. Looking at the 3/4 empty tray I'd say most people agreed with her and thought it was tasty. I will absolutely make this crowd-pleasing cake again and be sure to check out more Toll House recipes at Very Best Baking.

Toffee Bars for the Girls

Last night my sister had some friends over for a girl party. We had all the requisite 'party food' laid out and I decided to make some squares for the occasion. I wanted to make something easy and with chocolate so I consulted my cookbooks and settled on Toffee Bars from Wanda's Pie in the Sky. I bought this book on a whim at a mall booksale a couple years ago. I had vaguely heard of Wanda and after doing the cursory look-through I was sold. (I also really liked the font she used in her book.) Little did I know then that this book would be as useful as it has been. I am now not fazed at making pie crust, although I still do the occasional patch job and her Triple Chunk Cookies are amazing. Back to the toffe bars though, they were simple to make with a wooden spoon - no mixer needed. The crust had the consistency of oatmeal cookie dough and once it was baked all I had to do was melt some semi-sweet chocolate, spread it over the cooled bars and add a sprinkling of pecans and voila, yummy, chewy squares in about an hour. The girls liked them a lot and they tasted even better the next day with some tea for breakfast.

If you're interested check out Wanda's website and see what she's got. If I ever get to Yorkville, I would definitely want to check out one of her classes. A fantastic way to spend 3 hours, at least for me!

SHF #15 - Honey Raisin Scones

This is my first ever SHF (Sugar High Friday) entry. I just started blogging this month and was excited to find a great online community of people who were enthusiastic about all things baked as much as I am. I thought that finding a non-sugar dessert recipe would be an easy task but the more I looked, the harder and more frustrating it got. My cookbooks were not helpful so I turned to the Internet to try and strike gold. My first search of 'sugarless dessert recipes' returned a lot of results but substituted Splenda for sugar. Though I'm not adverse to using Splenda, I don't have any in my cupboard and I really wanted to find something that was naturally sweetened. My next search was simply 'honey' and this is where I found the recipe I'm submitting today. I found a website for the National Honey Board and found that they had a good collection of honey recipes. The one I chose is called Honey Raisin Scones which, not surprisingly, uses honey as a sweetener. The recipe was easy to follow and execute and took less than 30 minutes to have in the oven. It's not glamourous but goes well with a cup of tea or cappuccino. The scones came out light and flaky, not rock hard and dense as some store-bought scones can be. I would definitely make them again - they are just as good as their sugar-scone counterparts.

Honey Raisin Scones

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut up
1/2 cup raisins
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 egg

In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; mix well. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; mix in raisins and orange peel.In small bowl, whisk together honey, whipping cream and egg. Add to flour mixture; stir until just combined. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead 10 times. Pat dough into 9-inch circle; cut into 8 wedges. Place on lightly greased baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Bake at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on wire rack. Makes 8 scones.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 scone)
Calories: 343 Cholesterol: 71 mg Dietary Fiber: 1 g Protein: 5 g Sodium: 409 mg Total Carbohydrates: 46 g Total Fat: 16 g

Note: I baked my batch of scones for 12 minutes at 425 F. I usually use a high temperature for scones because the outside becomes crispy and the inside is still soft and fluffy. If baking them at a lower temperature achieves the same result, please let me know. Thanks!

Thanks to Jennifer at Domestic Goddess for thinking up this great idea and also thanks to Sam at Becks & Posh for hosting SHF this month. Enjoy!

Tagged with: SHF # 15 + Low Sugar