Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

This is one of those cakes that looks really impressive, but doesn’t take any time at all.  I have a super narrow bundt pan, so that’s why it has a bit of an odd shape!

This particular cake was on the cover of Cooking with Paula Deen May/June 2013, on sale now, and it caught the eye of my discerning young son.  He was impressed, and figured he could make it to.  So we bought the magazine, a package of raspberries and off we went.

As far as pound cakes go, this one is incredibly moist and has a soft crumb – the kids all gave it rave reviews!

I should note that the raspberries have to cook into a sauce at least 6 hours before baking the cake, so be sure to plan for that.

Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake Adapted from Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine May/June 2013

Raspberry Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 cups fresh raspberries

6 Tablespoons water

In a small pan, combine all of the ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring often crushing the berries.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.  Pour the berries into a sieve – gently pressing and stirring to get all of the sauce out.  Discard the pulp and seeds.  Let the sauce cool for about 20 minutes, then store covered in the refrigerator for 6 hours, or overnight.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and the sour cream together until combined.*  Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the lemon zest and the vanilla and beat until combined.  Add the eggs and the egg yolk, beating after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and beat just until combined.  Your batter will be lumpy, do not continue to beat until smooth!

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray, then add about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of batter to the pan (depending on the size of your bundt pan).  Using a wooden spoon handle, make a trench in the center of the cake batter, all the way around the cake pan.

Next, carefully pour half of the raspberry sauce into the trench – about 3 Tablespoons.  Then spoon more cake batter over the raspberry sauce – using just enough batter to cover it.  The bundt pan should be no more than 2/3 full, to prevent cake overflow.

Next, take a dinner knife and make circles with it in the batter two times, then move on to another section (just pulling your knife through the batter), circling again 2 times, and continue to move until all of the batter has been swirled.

Pour the remaining cake batter into a loaf pan, I used this one.

Place the cakes in the oven for about 1 hour.  Check the cakes by inserting a toothpick in the centers.  After the cakes are done, let them cool for about 10 minutes in their pans, then carefully turn each out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.

Once the cakes are almost completely cool, top with the glaze and serve.

*The cold sour cream will make some of the butter harden, making the batter lumpy, but this is okay!

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

3 Tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, corn syrup, and water together until smooth.  Add the almond extract and whisk until combined.  For a thicker glaze add more powdered sugar, for a thinner glaze add more water.  For easy clean up, place a piece of wax paper under the cooling rack the cake is on, then pour the glaze on top.

Strawberry Thumbprint Scones

These aren’t your typical dry biscuits – nope, these are so much better.  They’re soft, cake-like, moist bits of yumminess, or as my son calls them ”awesome good.”

They come together fast in the food processor and go right into the oven.  My favorite part is the strawberry jam in the middle – I mean, who doesn’t like a little glimpse of summer in the winter?!  That’s why people can summer produce, right?

I almost didn’t make these, being that it’s still Christmas break here and it’s crazy with the kids still at home (happily riding their scooters around the house while dad is at work, because that’s why we have a wood floor, right?).

You see, Christmas Break = verge of a nervous breakdown for me.  I knew if I made these and they failed, then I would have pushed myself over the edge, because nothing puts a wrinkle in my panties like wasting precious resources (I’m talking my time and energy) making a recipe that doesn’t turn out.

And trying said recipe in the midst of wiping crayon off of a laptop, while explaining that “life isn’t fair, which kind of makes it fair” to feuding siblings, and chasing down the offender who keeps throwing candy wrappers on the floor – well, it was a gamble.

But all’s well that ends well, because this one is a keeper.

This recipe came from this cookbook - which is also a keeper.  And I have to add a big thanks to my in-laws for the wonderful homegrown (frozen) strawberries I used to prepare these!

Strawberry Thumbprint Scones Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

2 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup jam (I used strawberry topping – recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse.  Add the pieces of butter and pulse until coarse crumbs appear.  Pour the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla - stir just until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times.  Roll the dough into a large ball and cut into quarters.  Roll each of those into balls and press (or roll) the dough into 1/2 to 3/4 inch circle and, using a pizza cutter, cut each flattened disk into quarters.

Place each scone onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Gently press your thumb in the middle of each scone – I did it a couple of times to make room for more filling - the best part!  Spoon a heaping spoonful into the indentation.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Prepare glaze while the scones are cooling, and drizzle the scones with the glaze.

Almond Glaze Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

1/4 cup milk

1 – 2 cups powdered sugar (add as needed to get a thick consistency)

1 teaspoon almond extract

Combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, almond extract, and the milk in a small bowl.  Whisk until thick, but pourable.  If it’s still too thin (mine was) add more powdered sugar.

Strawberry Topping Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

dash of salt

1/3 cup water

4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries

Place the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and whisk together to break up any lumps.  Then add the water and stir well.  Add in the strawberries.

Over medium heat, cook and stir until the sauce is thick and just starting to boil.  Stir for 1 to 2 minutes more, then take off the heat and let cool.  Store in the refrigerator.

Delicious served over ice cream, cheesecake, on top of fresh baked scones, or to coat fresh strawberries for pie!  Yum!

Spiced Apple Hand Pies

My daughter wanted to make apple hand pies, and after I saw this post I knew exactly what recipe I was going to use for the crust.  It’s basically a short-cut puff pastry, and it’s flaky and fun to work with.

We used these cutters for the star.  The trick to using these, is to push the cutter by the base into the dough (like a cookie cutter), then push the plunger down and lift out.  Next, you can push the plunger and out pops the dough shape.

Pie Dough Adapted from this post

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup cold butter, divided and cut into 16 pieces

1/2 cup cold sour cream, full fat

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and baking powder and pulse until combined.  Next, add 1/2 cup (which is 1 stick or, 8 pieces) of butter and pulse until crumbly.  Then add the remaining stick of butter (cut into chunks) and pulse for just a few seconds.

*You want big chunks of butter in the dough so that when you fold it you create layers of butter that puff up really nicely in the oven.

Pour mixture into a bowl and add the sour cream.  Stir until the dough starts to form a ball, and then roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Fold the bottom up,  then the top down, and turn it so the fold is on your left, and roll it again, repeating the folding.

Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for an hour, or overnight.

When you’re ready to roll out the dough, place it on a lightly floured surface and roll to about 1/4 inch thick.  Then cut it into rectangles (a pizza cutter works well for this).

Next, scoop some filling in the center of one pastry, and place a star cut-out pastry on top and then crimp the edges with a fork, and brush with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon water).

Next, place the star cut-outs on the egg washed pastry and press gently to adhere, then coat the star accent with egg wash.  Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 18 minutes.

Coat with glaze (see recipe below) while still hot.

Enjoy!

Apple Filling

3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cut into chunks

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Toss the apples into a bowl with the cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon and stir to coat.  Next, add the salt and lemon juice and continue to mix until the apples are completely coated.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat, and pour in the apple mixture.  Cook until the apple mixture thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes.  If it becomes too thick, add water a Tablespoon at a time until it loosens.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Take off the heat and set aside to fill pastries.

*The apples shouldn’t be completely cooked down, since they’ll continue to cook when the pastry is baked.

Glaze Adapted from this post

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon milk

Whisk together until there are no lumps.  Add more milk as necessary.  Brush onto hot pastries to create that beautiful shine.

Linking to Jam Hands, Lil’ Luna

Apple Fritter Pull-Apart Bread

I love reading other blogs – especially the food ones.  I get so many ideas that I hadn’t thought of before.  This is one of those recipes. . .I found it here.  And since my husband really likes apple fritters I knew this was one I was going to have to try soon.  Like today.  Because I had apples.

I wrote the recipe in the order that I prepared it – so that’s why the filling is listed first!  Skip on over here to see a great tutorial – since I didn’t have time to take pictures of all the steps.

Here are some more “pull-apart” recipes I’ve been wanting to try, so click on over if they sound good to you too!  Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread and Cheddar, Beer, and Mustard Pull-Apart Bread.

Apple Fritter Pull-Apart Bread Adapted from here

Filling:

6 apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I used Granny Smith)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons, unsalted butter

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Place all of the ingredients in a large saucepan, and cook until the apples have cooked down a bit and the sauce has thickened.  Set aside to cool.

Dough Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

1 package active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

1 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

3 – 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

In a medium-size bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.  In a small saucepan whisk the sour cream, sugar, shortening, and salt.  Heat until warmed through (the shortening should be melted) and whisk in the baking soda.

Add the sour cream mix and the egg to the yeast mixture and stir well.  Add the flour – the dough will be soft.  Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface until smooth; cover the dough with a bowl turned upside down for 5 minutes.

To assemble: roll out the dough into a large rectangle and spread cooled filling evenly on top.  Cut into slices to fit your pan (a pizza cutter makes this a breeze) - and stack three or four on top of one another (using a sturdy spatula).  I was able to get 16 slices out of my dough.

Spray a loaf pan (I used this one) with non-stick spray.  Have another person hold the loaf pan at an angle so you can layer the loaf without all of it sliding to the bottom of your pan.  Place one stack at a time in the pan.

Place the loaf in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until nicely golden and cooked through in the middle.  I’ve found that I can touch the dough in the center of the loaf (carefully – it’s hot!) and if it’s still squishy it isn’t cooked through.

Take out of the oven to cool for about 20 minutes.  Move onto a serving dish and top with glaze.

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the half and half (adding more as necessary to make it pourable).  Add the vanilla.  Drizzle over the fritter.

Linking to Chef In Training, Inside BruCrew Life, Tidy Mom, Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, I Heart Naptime

Roasted Vegetable Quiche

This is the roasted vegetable quiche that we served at my mom’s New Years Birthday Tea Party.  My sister likes to make the pie crust and saute the veggies the night before to make dinner prep a breeze.  Who doesn’t love that?!

Roasted Vegetable Quiche Adapted from here

pie crust, recipe from here

4 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into small pieces

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup of grated Gruyere cheese

1 medium onion, chopped

1 package of mushrooms, sliced

After refrigerating the dough for at least an hour, roll it out to fit your pan and trim the dough along the edges - tucking the rough edges under and crimping.  Prick the pie crust with a fork and cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Before baking the crust, place a sheet of parchment in the center of the pie and fill it with uncooked dry beans.*  Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment and dried beans, and return the pie to the oven to brown – about 10 to 15 minutes more.

When done, take the pie crust out of the oven to cool.

In the meantime, cook the bacon in a saucepan until crisp.  Place the cooked bacon onto a plate with a paper towel on top to drain.

In the bacon drippings, saute the onion and mushrooms until cooked down and slightly tender (you don’t want mushy veggies).

Take the pan off the heat, and add the bacon back in and give it a good stir.**

Place the veggie mixture (and bacon drippings) into the bottom of the pie crust, top with cheese, and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and heavy cream.  Season with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and cheese, and place the quiche in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown and puffy, and jiggles slightly (like Jello) in the center.

Remove the quiche from the oven, and let it cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Any leftovers need to be stored in the refrigerator - enjoy!

*This is an optional step if you don’t mind a little puffiness in the middle of your quiche.

**If you’re making this the night before, pour the mixture into a separate bowl – drippings and all, and set it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Blueberry Banana Scones

I set out to help my sister create this recipe after my mom and her raved about having blueberry banana scones at a local tea shop.  I thought the flavor combination was so unique that I was up for the challenge.

Top these with Meyer Lemon Curd, like they do at the tea shop!

Blueberry Banana Scones

3 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon baking powder

pinch of cinnamon

1 stick of chilled butter, unsalted – cut into Tablespoons

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 – 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Heat the oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment and dust lightly with flour; set aside.

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Cut in the butter until crumbly.  Toss in the blueberries to coat with the butter/flour mixture.  Set aside.

In a blender, puree the banana, vanilla, and buttermilk together until smooth.  Pour into the flour/blueberry mixture.

Next, add 1 cup heavy cream to the mixture.  Stir gently – the dough should be moist, but not sticky, and all of the flour should be moistened.  Add more heavy cream if necessary.

Turn the dough out onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Gently roll the dough into a ball and lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, then flatten and pat it into the shape of a square (about 1 1/2 inches thick).

Cut the dough into squares with a sharp knife.

In a small bowl, beat 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of cream together until well combined.  Brush the egg wash on the tops and sides of the scones.  Place the scones into the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Check for doneness by slicing into the cuts (previously made) with a butter knife – if the knife comes out clean, they’re done!

Slide scones (and parchment) onto a cooling rack.  Eat scones plain, or top with Meyer Lemon Curd.

Linking to Tidy Mom

Meyer Lemon Curd

This lemon curd is really delicious.  You can eat it straight from a spoon, in large mounds on top of pound cake sprinkled with berries, spread on toast, scones, or biscuits, or sandwich it between soft layers of white cake.  It’s really versatile!

At the Tea Party ladies were spreading the curd on Blueberry Banana Scones (recipe coming soon). . .yum!

Meyer Lemon Curd  Adapted from here

6 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup fresh meyer lemon juice (about 3-5 lemons)

2 Tablespoons lemon zest (using zester, if possible)

1 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into Tablespoons

Before you start on the curd, you’ll need to set up a separate saucepan with a sieve propped on top so that you’ll be able to strain any cooked egg pieces and the zest.  Set this aside.

For the Lemon Curd:

Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes (set the timer!).  Then whisk in the lemon juice and zest; continue whisking (constantly) for 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and pour through the sieve (into the clean saucepan).  Gently stir the curd and zest around in the sieve to push most of the curd through.  Then remove the sieve and add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time to the lemon mixture – whisking (with a new, clean whisk – you really don’t want chewy bits in your smooth, creamy lemon curd!) until completely combined.

When the butter has been completely incorporated, spoon into jars (with lids).  Keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

Linking to I Heart Naptime, Tidy Mom

Hot Chocolate Squares with Snowman Marshmallows

I saw a post with hot cocoa squares and homemade marshmallows – yum!  But I wanted my kids to get in on the fun, since I’ll be using these as gifts for their teachers this year.  So I added the package marshmallow with the “painted” on face.

If you prefer the regular size marshmallows, you can package them in their own separate bag to keep them from moving around and getting smudged by the chocolate.

Hot Chocolate Squares Adapted from here

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped

1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Line an 8 inch pan with parchment – the parchment should be covering the bottom and sides.  Set aside.

Heat the cream and milk together until very warm, but not boiling.  Remove from heat and add the chocolates.  Let set for a few minutes, then stir until combined.

Place back on the heat and whisk until the chocolate is thick and glossy, add vanilla and salt.

Pour the thickened chocolate into the parchment-lined pan and let set out until cool – about 30 minutes.  Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Cut into squares – I like mine big so I cut them into 2 x 3 inch squares.  Store in the refrigerator for 1 week, or freeze them for a couple of months.

To make the hot chocolate, add one cube to 1 cup of milk and heat slowly on the stove whisking frequently.  Top with a scoop of your favorite ice cream (to cool it down for the kids) and the marshmallow(s)!

Ice Cream Pancakes

My kids love pancakes, and ice cream (who doesn’t?!).  So when I was flipping through one of their books and found a recipe for Ice Cream Pancakes, I knew I had to try it!  These are a cross between a pancake and french toast since they’re fried in oil.  Yum!

The original recipe called for vanilla ice cream, but I had chocolate chip – so that’s what I used (and that’s why you see chocolate flecks in the pancakes).  So grab the kids and make breakfast for dinner!

Ice Cream Pancakes Adapted from Mouse Cookies & More A Treasury

2 cups ice cream

1 cup water, warm

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1/4 cup canola oil for frying, add more as needed

In a medium bowl (preferably melamine with a pour-spout), place the ice cream, warm water, and egg.  Stir until combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir together until combined – but don’t overmix!  Lumps are okay.

Heat the oil in a cast iron pan (or nonstick skillet) on medium heat, and pour a couple of small pancakes (about 1/3 cup for each).

When the pancakes start to bubble on top (about 1 minute or so), flip them.  Cook for another minute on the other side, or until done.

*Sometimes I cut into the center of a pancake with a spatula to make sure it’s done!

Linking to I Heart Nap Time

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Most of my happiest childhood memories involve food, and this recipe is no exception.

When I was growing up, my grandmother used to make chocolate chip muffins for us when we visited her as kids – those were the only times I remember being allowed to eat chocolate for breakfast!

Back then she used mini chocolate chips, but I love chocolate, so it seemed only fitting to replace them with regular chocolate chips.

This is a one bowl recipe – the kids can help by adding the chocolate chips and scooping the batter into the muffin cups!  Bake some memories!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins Adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Set the oven to 350 and line a 12-cup muffin  pan with baking cups.

Beat the butter and sugar in a medium bowl until fluffy.  Add the eggs, mixing well after each.

Add the vanilla and sour cream; stir until combined.  Next, add in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour.  Stir gently, just until combined.  Lumps are fine!

Add the chocolate chips, then scoop the batter into baking cups.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Leave muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove them and place them on a rack to cool.  Enjoy!

*These freeze really well!  After the muffins are cool, put them in a freezer ziploc-type bag and freeze.  Then just gently reheat in the microwave on the defrost setting for a quick breakfast or snack for the kids.

Linking to I Heart Nap Time