Category Archives: Desserts & Sweets

Little Apricot Cakes

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littleapricotcakes3I all but gave up on these adorable little cakes as I was dividing the batter into the muffin tins – it sure didn’t seem like enough! Of course I panicked, I am me after all. But, I carried on anyway, just to see what would happen. I’m so glad I did.

littleapricotcakes1Because that little bit of batter made the perfect-sized little apricot cake. They puffed up nicely. Yes, they’re small, but just the perfect size for a light summer treat. I love that they’re both sweet and tangy too. There’s just a teaspoon of lemon zest in the recipe, but it’s enough to work well in contradicting the sweetness of the 1/3 cup of sugar.

littleapricotcakes2The only thing I changed from the original recipe (from the June issue of Bon Appetit), was the butter. Instead of using regular, unsalted butter as the recipe calls for, I used Earth Balance’s buttery sticks. (Yes, we’re trying to cut back on fat and cholesterol, and this is the best substitute I’ve found for baking). Other than that, I changed nothing. And I wouldn’t want to!

I may play with different fruits though. :)

Our version has 130 calories per serving, 2.5g sat fat (6.2g total fat), 18g cholesterol and 0.6g of fiber. If you use regular butter, your version will have a teeny bit more calories and much, much more cholesterol and fat.

Find the original recipe here at Bon Appetit.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

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Cranberry Upside Down CakeCranberries happen to be a delicious, fall fruit that Wisconsin harvests a lot of. Thankfully, they’re abundant at harvest time, and freeze so easily that I stock up every year. Just for times like this – dreary, cool summer days. I love these little fruits. And, they’re wonderful in this easy to make cake. The subtle tartness of the cranberries mixed with the sweetness of the cake are perfect together, and remarkably light, making this a perfect little desert when Wisconsin weather can’t make up its mind about which season it should be in.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeLike I said, it’s easy to make too, with minimal ingredients and an eight inch cake pan, an electric mixer and a few mixing bowls.

Here’s what you’ll need – the ingredient list:

  • 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature (Earth Balance vegan butter sticks work so good here, and bonus! No cholesterol in them!)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (as always, I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon, it’s fabulous!)
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 3/4 cups cranberries
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk

The first thing you’ll want to do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the last time I posted a baking recipe we got a new Samsung oven that actually heats up to 350 degrees! Quickly! It beats that 20 year old Jenn Air I used to bake with. Yet I do miss it. Don’t tell Hubby please. You know that was an old oven when the new oven’s delivery man says at first sight of the old oven, “Wow, that’s old.” Yeah, whatever, just give me the new one…..

Anyway…

Cranberry Upside Down CakeNext, rub the sides and bottom of the cake pan with a couple of tablespoons of your butter.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeThen, in a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon and allspice and sprinkle your mixture evenly over the bottom of the cake pan.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeThen arrange the cranberries evenly over your cinnamon mixture on the bottom of the pan. Oh how I want to dive into this picture….

Cranberry Upside Down CakeNow, in your electric mixer, cream the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter with the last 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Now add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Yours will look better than this, I promise. I can never achieve the proper creaminess of that fluffy texture. I’m guessing because the butter is never quite at room temperature.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeIn another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeWith the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three separate batches, alternating with the 1/2 cup of milk until all the ingredients are well combined.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeIt will look a lot like this. So pretty, in an appetizing kind of way.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeTake your beautiful cake batter and spoon it over the cranberries in your cake pan.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeI used a small rubber spatula to even out the top for optimum cake beauty.

Bake cake on a cookie sheet for 30-35 minutes.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake Yeah, so much for optimum cake beauty, right? Doesn’t matter, this side is going to be the bottom of the cake. Whew.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeOnce the cake has cooled on a wire rack for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edge of your cake to loosen it up.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeThen invert it onto your favorite cake serving plate.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeYour beautiful cake is done. This is so simple to make. I keep saying that, but it bears repeating because it’s just so good! Honest.

Cranberry Upside Down CakeDive in and enjoy!

Martha knows cake: This recipe is adapted from one by Martha Stewart in her cookbook, Everyday Food.

Serves 8. (We actually got about 12 smaller servings)

Per (8 piece) serving:

  • Calories – 349
  • carbs – 55g
  • fat – 13g (7g saturated)
  • protein – 4g
  • cholesterol- 31g

(These numbers were figured on the Fitness Pal recipe calculator using regular butter. Calories, fat and cholesterol levels go down quite a bit when using Earth Balance buttery sticks instead.)

Blueberry Dumplings

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It’s shameful that I’ve never shared this recipe before. It’s one of my favorites. I’ve been eating these blueberry dumplings for several years now. They make a sweet little weekend breakfast for us, but an equally good dessert. If you like blueberries you will love this, I promise.
BlueberryDumplings2One of the reasons I love this recipe is because it’s from one of my favorite places:

contextThe Gunflint Trail region of northern Minnesota.

The Gunflint Trail is a 57 mile scenic byway from the north shore of Lake Superior to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The scenery is incredible, the people are some of the nicest I’ve met in my travels and I love the quiet places I always seem to find up there. The trail has been, and still is, dotted with little inns and lodges filled with history, and yes, some pretty amazing old family recipes. This recipe comes from The Rockwood Lodge, and it’s owner Ann Clark, who served it to her guests when she and her husband Dave owned the lodge in the late 1940′s. It’s still in business today.

I have to wonder what else they served at the lodges back in the day? If these dumplings are any indication of the food they served on a daily basis, I’m sure I would have lived there. :)

There are three things I adore about this recipe: 1. It comes from a place I love; 2. It’s very simple to make; and, 3. It has blueberries! I have such a big crush on blueberries…

Want to try it?

To make the dumplings:

BlueberryDumplings5Mix together 3/4 of a cup of all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, 3/4 of a teaspoon of baking powder, a 1/2 of a tablespoon of butter, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup of milk. I used a hand mixer, but you can do it by hand too. Either way you’ll get a little ball of sticky dough that looks like this. Set it aside, and move on to the blueberry mixture:

BlueberryDumplings4Heat 2 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen), 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, then drop teaspoons of the dumpling dough into the blueberries.

BlueberryDumplings3Place a cover over the mixture and let it cook for 10 minutes. Don’t take the cover off while it’s cooking, just let everything boil. After the 10 minutes, your mix will look like this and your house will smell terrific. You’re welcome :)

BlueberryDumplings1Serve warm for breakfast, or for dessert.

This recipe makes 4-6 servings, depending on the portion size. I used an 8 ounce ramekin to serve it to myself today. It is so hard to control myself with this one! But I promised to save some for Hubby. If you have leftovers like I did this morning, just store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat over medium heat.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Dumplings Recipe

from Ann Clark, late 1940′s owner of The Rockwood Lodge on The Gunflint Trail

Ingredients for the dumplings:

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup milk

Ingredients for blueberry sauce:

  • 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

For the dumplings: Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, salt and milk until a sticky dough is made.

Combine blueberries, water, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until berries are tender and mixture just begins to boil. Drop dough by teaspoons full in boiling blueberry mix. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Cool slightly, but serve warm.

Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake With Ginger Mascarpone Frosting

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I worry too much. I panic sometimes. While I’ve succeeded, somewhat, in my goal of slowing down the pace of my life, my mind often takes off on its own chaotic adventure. I still need to work on that – i.e., I need more of this kind of baking. Baking (or cooking) something as fantastic as this old-fashioned carrot cake (with ginger mascarpone frosting!!!) is the only thing I know of right now that can completely slow down my runaway brain. It relaxes me. It is pure joy.

I thoroughly enjoy the process…

…and the reward. This is my therapy.

After making this carrot cake, I had to send some to work with Hubby – there was no way we’d be able to finish it all ourselves. Of course, his office mates were thrilled. The BFF said, “it’s a very special cake.” It is, and I just HAD to share it with you guys.

If you try this, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about it. Here’s the step-by-step, but the full recipes, the carrot cake and the ginger mascarpone frosting (!!!!), are printed below.

To begin, you’ll need 2 nine inch cake pans. Mine are 2 inches tall, and were the perfect size for this recipe. First, grease the cake pans, then cover the bottoms with parchment and sprinkle with flour.

Now, with your electric mixer and its paddle attachment, beat 2 cups of sugar with 1 1/3 cups of vegetable oil and 3 large eggs (at room temperature) until it all becomes a beautiful little mixture of light yellow, thickened batter. Once that’s done, add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Let me stress the “pure” part here. Those of you that know me, already know I can’t stand the thought of using imitation anything. But ESPECIALLY for this cake, you’ll want the real stuff.

Next, in another large bowl, whisk together (or sift) 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt.

With your mixer on low, add these dry ingredients slowly, until combined. Your cake batter will look a lot like this.

In yet another bowl, toss 1 pound of grated carrots, 1 cup of SunMaid’s baking raisins (found them in the baking aisle, they come in little 1 cup bags…love’em!), 1 cup of chopped walnuts and 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour.

Stir the carrots into the cake batter with a rubber spatula and evenly divide your mixture between your two prepared cake pans. Smooth the tops with your rubber spatula.

Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees for another 30-35 minutes. When they’re done, a toothpick stuck into the center of each cake will come out clean. Let your cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes or so, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Seriously, let them completely cool before moving on.

Now, place one cake, rounded side down, on the serving plate you want to use. Using half the recipe (printed below) of the ginger mascarpone frosting (!!!) cover the top of the cake only. Then, take the second cake, rounded side up, and place it on the first cake. Spread the remaining ginger mascarpone frosting (!!!) on top.

Next, admire your creation. Take a picture or 12. Look at that frosting!!! Did I mention it was ginger mascarpone frosting?!!! No doubt about it, this is the best frosting I’ve ever had, anywhere. Un. Believe. Able.

All that’s left to do is simply enjoy. And you will, I promise.

Do you like moist, dense cakes? This one’s for you.

Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake With Ginger Mascarpone Frosting (!!!) Recipe

Barely dapted from a recipe by Ina Garten from her cookbook, Foolproof that you really should get if you love amazing food from simple ingredients:

I say it a lot, so most of you already know what a huge fan of Ina’s I am. Cooking her recipes always, always, always makes me feel great…..and they always let us eat well. It’s a win-win!

For the carrot cake:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (preferably Saigon cinnamon)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 pound grated carrots
  • 1 cup baking raisins (by SunMaid, in the baking aisle)
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • Ginger Mascarpone Frosting (recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 2 nine inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, then sprinkle each pan with flour.

With the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil and eggs on medium-high speed with your electric mixer for 2 minutes or until your mixture is light yellow and thickened. Stir in the vanilla. In another large bowl, sift together the 2 cups of flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the mix of dry ingredients to the sugar mixture with the mixer’s speed on low.

In a medium bowl, toss the carrots, raising, walnuts and the 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir into the batter with a rubber spatula. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 30-35 minutes. When it’s done, a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to let cool completely.

Place one cake on a flat serving plate, rounded side down. Spread half the frosting (recipe below) on the top only. Place the second cake on top of the first, frosted cake, rounded side up. Frost the top of the second cake.

For the ginger mascarpone frosting (!!!):

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger (not in syrup)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, cream and vanilla together for 1 minute, or until it has become light and fluffy. Add the crystallized ginger and salt and beat for 30 seconds.

Thank Goodness For Pie

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How’s everyone doing? I hope this finds you all well and happy. Me? Well, as most of you know, I’m a professional worrier, so I’m worrying. This time about Sandy the hurricane. The BFF lives in a suburb of D.C. in Virginia, and for the second time in 14 months, they’re about to be hit by hurricane.

All the hype on TV about Sandy is driving me nuts with worry. So, like I always do, I turn to cooking to take my mind off of it. After all, as the BFF reminds me, there’s nothing I can do about it, I might as well cook. We agreed that if she were here with me, we’d make and enjoy some pie. When we lived next door to each other in Chicago, we were ALWAYS up for a good pie.

As it turns out, we still are. We found one! This time it’s Caramel-Apple Pie. Talk about the right choice. This is the best apple pie I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a few. I’m not kidding!  I love warm apple pies in the fall, don’t you? I only wish BFF was here to help eat it.

This recipe is adapted from one in Midwest Living’s “Favorite Fall Pie Series” (there’s a series!!). This particular one comes from Nebraska City, Nebraska. I’ll bet they never get hit by hurricanes…

Want to try it? Here’s what you’ll need for our version:

Pie Crust Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons milk, divided into individual tablespoon increments

First, in a large bowl, cut 1/3 cup of butter into 1 1/4 cups of flour using your pastry blender until you have pea-sized pieces. (Alternatively, use your fingertips)

Then, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of milk over the mix and stir gently with a fork. Do this 3 more times, until the dough is completely moistened.

Now, shape it into a ball.

Next, roll out dough, on a lightly floured surface, into a 12 inch circle. I wrapped my dough around my rolling pin and gently unwrapped it into a 9-inch pie plate. Then, I trimmed the dough so it hung over the pie plate about 1/2 an inch. Without crimping it, I folded the dough under itself. You can crimp it if you’d like. No need to prick the dough for this one. Then, just set the crust aside while you make the filling.

Time for the apples! Peel and coarsely chop the apples of your choice. I used Galas. You’ll need 6 cups of apples.

For the filling you’ll need:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk those three ingredients together in a large bowl…

add the apples, and toss so all the apples are coated.

Transfer the apples to your pastry-lined pie plate.

Now, stir together 2 tablespoons of your favorite caramel dip to 2 tablespoons of milk…

…and drizzle over your apples.

It’ll look a lot like this.

Next, prepare the topping:

Topping ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes.

Put the topping ingredients into a medium bowl…

…and combine with that pastry blender again (or your finger tips) You’ll want it to look something like this.

Sprinkle the filling over your pie….

…until you’ve completely covered it.

Cover the edges of your pie with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. I placed my pie on a rimmed baking sheet, just in case it bubbled over. (It didn’t) Remove the foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes…

…until your pie is a beautiful golden color.

Let the pie cool on a wire rack and serve with another drizzle of the caramel dip.

I love that you can taste the caramel in the pie, but not so much that it overpowers the apples. After all, the apples are the stars of the show, and are simply highlighted by the other ingredients. Yes, making pies takes a little time, but this one is worth every second. And, if you’re a professional worrier like yours truly, it’s just what you need to take your mind off of any worries. Thank goodness for pie :)

This blog turned 2 years old today. It’s been through a lot of starts, stops and even a couple of moves, but it’s still here thanks to you guys. Thank you so much! I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for stopping by.

Caramel Apple Pie

Adapted from Midwest Living

Ingredients:

  • Piecrust (recipe below, or use your own, or even a frozen 9-inch crust)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 6 cups peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped Gala apples or other cooking apples (2 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 cup purchased caramel-apple dip or caramel ice cream topping
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter

Directions

  1. Prepare Piecrust (directions below, or use a frozen piecrust). On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, without stretching it. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Do not prick pastry.
  2. For filling: In a large bowl, stir together granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour and cinnamon. Add the apples. Gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. In a small bowl, whisk milk into 2 tablespoons of the caramel-apple dip; drizzle over apples.
  3. For topping: In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apple filling. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Place pie on a foil-lined baking sheet.
  4. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes more or until apples are tender and top is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Drizzle remaining caramel dip over top. Cool on a wire rack.

Piecrust

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 – 5 tablespoons milk

Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, use a pastry blender to cut butter into flour until pieces are the pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon milk over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening the flour mixture, using 3 to 4 tablespoons more milk (1 tablespoon at a time), until all the flour mixture is moistened. Shape dough into a ball.