WND : Nutella Crumb Cake

Finally! I get to participate in World Nutella Day!

Originally created by Misadventures in Italy, with her co-host Bleeding Espresso, WND is a celebration of that food of the gods, Nutella. Personally, the discovery of such divinity was truly an eye-opening moment, and since then, I've converted many a Nutella-deprived soul into its cult of worshippers. (My mom no longer believes in brownies if they don't have Nutella in them.) :)

For this, I wanted to do something different, something that I hadn't found online. A quick bread came to mind at first, but evolution took its course and now we have a Nutella Crumb Cake.

It comes together very quickly and it's probably best to not eat all of the batter, despite how delicious it is. ;) It's loosely adapted from a peanut butter crumb cake recipe, but I think this way is much better. :)



Ingredients:
2¼ cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
¼-½ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
14 oz. Nutella
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda in mixing bowl. Add Nutella and butter, beating until crumbly. Remove 1 cup of crumbs for topping.

Add milk, eggs, and vanilla, beating on low until combined. Continue to beat on medium speed for three minutes. Pour into an ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips, then the crumb topping.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool before cutting. Enjoy at room temperature or cooled.

Thanksgiving Preview: Caramel Apple Cake

As of right now, I have a pretty set menu of baked goods for Thursday. Pumpkin cheesecake is a must, Nutella brownies, pumpkin oats bars (per request), and the newcomer to the group: Caramel Apple Cake.

Found on the King Arthur Flour website, it sounded great. But, just in case, I wanted to do a test-run. After all, some new recipes need... tweaking. I did keep in mind some of the comments that were left: lower temperature, less baking time, maybe pushing some apples inside the cake instead of just on top.

My mom couldn't stop raving about it. With a denser cake base, it's not overly sweet. Dave said it'd be a good after-dinner, with-coffee sort of treat. My dad just said it was really good and wondered how much would be left for tomorrow. :D I'm slowly getting him to actually like food. (He's one of those "eats because he has to" kind of guys. I obviously took after the Portuguese side that is my mom's)

So, yep, this will be on the table on Thursday. I still need to work out exactly what's getting baked when (I figure the kitchen will be mine on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, leaving it to my mom and Dave on Thursday), so hopefully everything will work out well. :)



Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ tsp. cinnamon
1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
½ cup sour cream

2 large apples, peeled, cut into wedges
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Homemade caramel or the jarred variety

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch round cakepan.

Beat sugar, butter, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, beating until incorporated completely. Alternately add flour and sour cream. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Toss apple wedges with sugar and vanilla, coating completely. Press apples into and on top of the batter.

Bake at 325F for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about an hour before transfering to a wire rack. Spoon caramel on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pear Cake

This weekend threw my normal Saturday morning routine out of whack.

Yep, Dave had the day off. He's been doing six days a week for, well, a while, and I had grown very accustomed to my way of doing things on the Saturday AM: wake up around 9, bake two different things, do some laundry - all done before noon. But, as much as I love the guy, my morning all kinds of thrown off. (Love you, honey!) ;)

So I only made one thing yesterday morning, and it never even got photographed. Hmph. On one hand, that's a good thing, but at the same time... again, hmph.

A while back, when in CA still, my best friend Johanna told me that while I don't like pears, that I might enjoy asian pears. I always kept that in mind, just never acted on it. So when they were spotted at Whole Foods, it was obviously meant to be. And it turns out, Jo was right. I do like the asian pears. :)

The recipe is originally from Culinate, I switched out the apples in their cake for my pears. And what with the lack of time, no frosting, as yummy as it sounded. The cake came out well. Very fruity, and the pears towards the top get caramelized and yummy. :)

Ingredients:
2⅓ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ginger
⅛ tsp. ground cloves
⅛ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups pears (about 2 large apples), peeled and finely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and ground spices; set aside.

In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix for another minute, until the eggs are blended into the butter and sugar. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. The batter will be very thick and stiff. Fold in the pears and stir just enough to evenly distribute the apples and nuts through the batter. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 40-50 minutes. When the top of the cake is firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool on a wire rack.

Applesauce Cake

This is really the post that just didn't want to be posted. I made this on Saturday night, but never had the chance to post about it until now. And it has to be fast because I have to get ready for work soon!

After spending Thursday and Friday not feeling very well, I wanted something really simple. And this totally fit the bill.

Classic flavors, which despite seeing more autumnal, it works for mid-August. Very moist and flavorful. My mom was raving about it for a full five minutes after trying it. :)



Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼-½ tsp. ginger (if desired)
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup applesauce
¼ cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and applesauce. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

Chocolate Decadence Cake

I had a very simple, very direct request from my mom for baking this weekend. Chocolate. A self-described chocoholic, she started hinting at it on Wednesday or Thursday. By yesterday evening, it became a flat-out, "Are you baking something with chocolate yet?" So I thought I'd be a good daughter and make something super chocolatey for her.

One of my earliest food-related memories involves chocolate. I can still easily see myself stirring the pudding, standing on my stepstool, and wanting so badly to taste it. And then the absolute HORROR of having to wait for it firm up! But what I remember even more? Licking the wooden spoon. There are pictures of three-year-old me, with chocolate smeared all over my chubby cheeks.

And, hey, sometimes when licking the spoon or the beaters nowadays, sometimes chocolate still makes its way onto my face. ;)

Found over at VeryBestBaking.com, it pulls together VERY easily. The batter is very light in texture, almost mousse-like. As a finished product, it's very fudgey, very rich. Definitely meeting my mom's chocolate criteria. :)



Ingredients:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
¼ cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan.

Microwave 1 cup of chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute, then stir. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, then beat for 2-3 minutes. Add melted chocolate. Alternately add flour and milk. Stir in remaining morsels. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Devil's Food Cake

On Thursday, the 6th, it's Johanna's birthday. She's my best friend, my partner in crime, completely the Rachel to my Monica. She returns stuff, and I'm very... organized. :)

So when she asked for a cake version of the cupcakes I made last week (was it last week?), of course I agreed. And then went searching for a cake recipe version, since I lack the confidence still in judging times versus pan size. Anyways, I found a good recipe and halved it, since there wasn't any way that I could get a layer cake into work without injury to myself or the cake.

I'm very happy to report that the soon-to-be-birthday girl enjoyed her cake and did share it with others. Tasted just like the cupcakes, including the desire for a glass of milk afterwards. :) And for the frosting, I just used the remaining ganache from the cupcakes of last week. Went simple for decorating, since I know Jo's picky about sprinkles, so I just used all the jimmies I had left for the outer rim, and sprinkled some colored sugar over the center. All were pleased. :D

Happy Birthday, Jo! <3



Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. salt
5½ Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 large egg
½ tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup warm water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Line the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper, grease and dust the sides with flour.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar at medium speed until mixture becomes pale and well blended. Add the cocoa powder and beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Beat in egg, followed by vanilla.

Add the flour mixture and warm water, alternately, to the butter mixture; starting and ending with the flour. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes. Unmold cake and let cool completely before frosting.

Blueberry Crumble Cake

I had a really hard time this week, figuring out what to make. By last night, I narrowed it down to two: this and a lemon pound cake. Obviously you can tell the winner. ;)

This is my first recipe that's by Ina Garten. I know some people swear by her brownies, and I've seen the lemon yogurt cake on many a blog. But the idea of blueberries and lemon sounded really good. A bit of history: for years and years, I said that I didn't like lemon-flavored foods. Probably for about twenty years I said this. Why? Because I hadn't ever tried any. There are still a long list of foods that I say that I don't like, even though I've never tried them. This is why I bake and not cook. Just kidding. But, really, there is a mental list. Don't judge me too harshly, okay? I was sheltered as a kid. (But that's a whole 'nother post!)

Onto the good stuff. This batter is so good. I could've easily just sat there with a spoon and ate it from the bowl. Post-baking, it didn't have the lemon flavor that I wanted, but is still yummy. Light, but moist. I'm a little sad my blueberries sank, despite the flour, but oh well. Doesn't affect the taste, obviously. I'm curious to try this with other berries as well. Perhaps when it's more of the berry-season. :)




Ingredients:
For the streusel:
¼ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:
In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter.

Bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I originally set out today to make Cranberry Cobbler Bars. But after my usual Friday trip to Whole Foods, I remembered to buy the cranberries, but failed to get the lemon. Oops. This is why I really should write a shopping list out more often than I do.

Thus began the search for a good cranberry recipe. When - quite suddenly - my brain decided to work for good, and not for evil. Amazing! LOL I remembered this recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I was hesitant at first. I don't often use the stove, and was convinced that somehow I'd mess it up. But something reared up inside and said, "Kristen, you can do this," and this time I actually listened. :)

It came out better than I expected. The sweetness of the cake and the tartness of the cranberries go well together. I think the only thing I'd change is maybe using brown sugar instead of regular sugar. But it's pretty, tasty, and I didn't ruin it. Go me! :)



Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup jam, melted (I used Ikea's Queen's Blend jam)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Place a 9-inch round cake pan onto a baking sheet.

Melt butter in saucepan. Sprinkle in sugar, stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Pour evenly over bottom of cake pan and top with cranberries, smoothing them out.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Slowly add half of the flour mixture into butter mixture. Pour in milk. Add remaining dry ingredients. Spoon over berries and smooth.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Run a blunt knife along sides of pan/cake. Carefully turn out onto serving plate. Melt jam and gently pour over cranberries.

Pumpkin Pound Cake

Well, in my never-ending attempt to waste less food, of course I had to do a pumpkin recipe to use up my 1 cup of leftover pumpkin. I came across this recipe earlier in the year on Slashfood and just hadn't gotten around to make it.

Despite how it may seem, we are trying to lose weight. (More of my baked goods get eaten by other folks *waves to my beloved guinea pigs* than ourselves. Which is good.) I love pound cake, but it's not so loving the waistline in the long run. So when I spotted this recipe, I knew it'd be a winner.

Instead of plain yogurt, I use vanilla. In the end, you don't really taste it all, so I'd use vanilla again. It's more fun to eat the rest out of the container when you like the flavor. :)

I'm really pleased with this. It'd be good for breakfast, snack, or dessert. Or as a Christmas present... housewarming gift... teacher's gift... You get my point. :D



Ingredients:
1½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 large egg white
½ cup vanilla nonfat yogurt
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar, brown sugar, egg and egg white until combined. Beat in the yogurt, pumpkin and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture, stirring only until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, then gently turn the cake out of the pan and let cool completely on the rack before slicing. Serves 10-12, depending on slice size.

Ginger-Frosted Pineapple Cake

I first found this recipe a few years ago, in the Cooking by Moonlight book by Karri Ann Allrich. She had mentioned the ease in which it came together, and I remember being impressed at how true that sentence was. In fact, outside of the frosting, you don't even need the electric mixer; it's all by hand. And, as much as I love the Holy Grail... oh, sorry. The Kitchen Aid mixer as its known to the rest of the world ;) But, yes, sometimes it's nice to mix everything by hand. (Just don't tell that to HG, okay?) ;)

The first time I made this, I just did regular cream cheese frosting. This time around, I added the ginger, and was quite pleased. It's a nice contrast in taste. And my wonderful guinea pigs at work were all happy, too. :)

Oh, and definitely use the crushed pineapple. I didn't have any (nor did Target), so I just went with the chunks. Still good, but the crushed would have been better.



Ingredients:
Cake:
2 large eggs
1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Gingered Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar
¼ tsp. ground ginger
4 to 5 pieces candied ginger, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork until they are light and fluffy. Add the undrained crushed pineapple, and mix well by hand. Add the flour, sugars, and baking soda, and gently beat with a fork. Do not overheat. Fold in the chopped nuts.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan, then frost.

Gingered Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, until desired consistancy is achieved. Add the ground ginger, and beat until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the candied ginger by hand and stir well.

Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake

The first words out of my mouth upon trying this cake? "If I were to marry a cake, this so would be it!"

When pouring the butterscotch sauce over it, a lot of it pooled in the middle of the cake. So when that first slice was cut, it was this mini-flood of sweetness. What I really enjoyed was taking a forkful, then dipping into the sauce. :)

Ingredients:
1-2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) butterscotch morsels, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
½ cup applesauce
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
1/3 cup evaporated milk (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Microwave 1 cup morsels in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on medium-high (70%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in medium bowl. Stir together melted morsels, pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared Bundt pan.

Bake at 350F for 40 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with Butterscotch Sauce.

For Butterscotch Sauce:
Heat 1/3 cup evaporated milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat just to a boil; remove from heat. Add remaining morsels; stir until smooth. Return to heat. Stirring constantly, bring mixture just to a boil. Cool to room temperature. Stir before serving.

Ginger-Frosted Pineapple Cake

from Cooking by Moonlight by Kari Allrich

Having never baked with pineapple before, I thought I'd give this one a try. Plus, I was curious to see if it really would be as easy as it says in the book. Sure enough, it was, I couldn't believe it. LOL

The batter is VERY sweet, but thankfully, in baking, it 'toned down' a bit. :)

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 large eggs
1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Gingered Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar
¼ tsp. ground ginger
4 to 5 pieces candied ginger, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork until they are light and fluffy. Add the undrained crushed pineapple, and mix well by hand. Add the flour, sugars, and baking soda, and gently beat with a fork. Do not overheat. Fold in the chopped nuts.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan, then frost.

Gingered Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, until desired consistancy is achieved. Add the ground ginger, and beat until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the candied ginger by hand and stir well.

Fudge Chocolate Cake

I made this for a chocoholic friend's birthday at work. Needless to say, I had requests for both the recipe and the cake itself for the rest of the week. :D


Ingredients:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter
2½ cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup sour cream
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla, followed by the melted chocolate squares. Add half of the sour cream, and then half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until well blended.

Add the remaining sour cream and dry ingredients to the batter. Stir in boiling water.

Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before icing with frosting of choice.