Vanilla Bean and Blackberry Bundt Cake

I found this in my internet travels recently. It looked simple and delicious. Perfect treat to cap off a crazy weekend.....or any time really.



I just love bundt cakes. Just enough frills to make the simplest cake look fancy.


It's "National (*insert your last name here*) Eat What's Already in the Pantry and Freezer Week" at our house. I had frozen blackberries. They called to me from the freezer. I had no choice but to oblige.




The glaze is best if thick. However, it's a little hard to apply when you're in the middle of a nervous breakdown....don't ask. And thus, this is about all you'll ever see of this particular icing job. It was a mess. Next time, perhaps some deep breathing exercises prior to icing......


And voila!


Can you see all the little speckles of vanilla?


Is your mouth watering yet???



Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake
adapted from sweetapolita.com

for the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste (or 2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise, or 2 tablespoons vanilla extract)
4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 12oz bag blackberries (or berry of your choice)

for the glaze:
1 tablespoon Madagascar Vanilla Bean paste (or 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a bundt pan and dust with flour.

In a bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together well.

Mix together butter and sugar in a at medium speed until pale and fluffy(about 5 minutes). Add vanilla bean paste and mix until combined. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add orange extract and mix until combined. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, mixing until just combined. When batter is thoroughly mixed, add berries and gently mix with a spatula until dispersed evenly.

Spoon batter into pan, smoothing and spreading evenly. Gently tap pan on counter to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a cake tester can be inserted and removed clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour more.

While cake is cooling, mix vanilla glaze.
Mix together confectioners sugar, heavy cream and vanilla paste together. Glaze should be slightly thick and not runny. Add either more confectioners sugar or more heavy cream until glaze is the desired consistency.

Once cake is cool, spoon on glaze.

Stout and Chocolate Snacking Cake

Stout and Chocolate Snacking Cake with Chocolate-Stout Glaze
taken from 'Easy Desserts' magazine by Fine Cooking

for the cake:
1/2 cup stout (such as guiness)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup sour cream

for the glaze:
1/4 cup stout
2 tablespoons light corn syrup or molasses
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter an 8" x 8" baking pan and then line with parchment paper, so you can easily remove cake for cooling later. (I use 2 8" pieces and lay them perpendicular to each other in the bottom of the pan.)

Combine the stout and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon stir in the stout mixture, egg and sour cream until just combined. The batter may be lumpy at this point.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set pan aside on a cooling rack to cool for about 15 or 20 minutes. Then remove from pan and set directly on cooling rack to cool completely.

Now it's time to make the glaze. Combine stout and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces until shiny and smooth. Let glaze cool to room temperature, then spoon and spread over top of cooled cake.

Blackberry Crumb Cake

I feel like it's been a while since I shared a cake. Today seemed as good a time as any, so here ya go.



Blackberry Crumb Cake. Blackberries are one of my favorite things on this earth.



This recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa. She used fresh blueberries, but you can use any berry you'd like. I'm sure she won't mind. I have made this particular cake 3 times now. The first couple times I did indeed use fresh blueberries, but they aren't in season any more, and I had some frozen blackberries in my freezer. It was killer. Both ways.



Streusel topping also ranks pretty darn high on my list of favorite things...yours too? Oh good.
This one's a keeper. Trust me.

Blackberry Crumb Cake
adapted from Ina Garten and foodnetwork.com

To make the streusel topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

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

To make the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups fresh/frozen blackberries, roughly chopped (or 1 cup fresh blueberries)


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

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, and mix until just combined, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Gently mix the berries with about a tablespoon or so of flour...just enough to barely coat them. Gently fold in the berries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife.

With your fingers, crumble the streusel topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve.

Apple Cake...Williams-Sonoma Style...

Aaaaahhhhhh fall.....

The weather has taken a huge turn for the better, the kids are back in school, and guess what? The apples are back!!! Oh, how I love the apples.



Everyone, meet Apple Cake. Apple Cake, this is everyone.



This was a perfect fall treat. Delicious with tea, but then again, I eat all desserts with tea.



A little apple, a little walnuts, and everyone can use a little cream cheese frosting every once in a while, right? This was very reminiscent of spice cake with little pieces of sweet apple mixed in there. It was delicious. A definite keeper.



I have another apple cake recipe up my sleeve...so stay tuned for Apple Cake Round 2!!!

Apple Cake
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Baking Essentials

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (6 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups peeled and diced apples (I used Granny Smith, about 1 and 1/2 apples did the trick. I diced my apples pretty small, which required fairly thin slices.)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

for frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 pound confectioners sugar
(next time I make this icing, I will probably use half of all 3 ingredients. I always have extra, and there is always way too much icing on the cake, if you ask me.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x13x2 inch cake pan.

This is the point when I usually make my buttermilk. I measure out almost the amount of buttermilk that the recipe calls for in whole milk, and then top it off with a little white vinegar. By the time you are ready to add the buttermilk to the recipe, it will be ready to go. I believe the rule of thumb is 1 cup of milk to a tablespoon or so of vinegar.

Measure flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves into a bowl. Mix with a fork until well combined.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined. Once you've finished adding the eggs it's time to add the dry ingredients. Add the flour/spice mixture in 3 batches, starting with the flour and alternating with the buttermilk. ***Be very careful not to overmix.*** When you add the third and final round of flour, throw the apples and walnuts in there too, and remove the batter from the mixer. At this point, I mixed the apples, walnuts and remaining batter til combined by hand. Warning: If you overmix the batter, you will perhaps get a heavier and not so light cake.

Once batter, apples and walnuts are all evenly combined, spread batter in cake pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. Let cool for 20 minutes and then ice with frosting and eat!

Semi-Dark Chocolate Brownies

Brownies are one of my all time favorites.....


I tend to think that they speak for themselves.  Can you see all that rich, chewy goodness?  Can ya?



I have to say that my favorite part of a brownie is, and has always been the crispy, crunchy, crust that forms on the top.  I always break that off and eat it first.



These were heaven.  If you love dark chocolate, these are a must.  Heck, if you love brownies, these are a must. 

Williams-Sonoma,  I love you....and your brownies.



Semi-Dark Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

4 oz unsweetened chocolate (1 bar), broken roughly into 1/2 inch pieces
2 oz semisweet chocolate (1/2 bar), broken roughly into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup unsalted butter (6 oz)
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.  Then fold two separate pieces of parchment paper to the width of the dish, and then lay them in the dish cross-wise, for easy removal of brownies after baking.

Place both chocolates and the butter in a double boiler and heat, stirring frequently, until melted and combined.  Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla until combined.  Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, add it to the egg mixture and combine slowly until just blended.  Add the flour to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

Pour brownie batter into prepared dish and spread evenly.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean or with crumbs.  Note:  The directions in the original recipe say to bake for 35-40 minutes.  I baked my brownies in an 8 inch square glass pyrex dish.  They took at least 60-65 minutes to bake thoroughly.  Rule of thumb...when the brownies are done, the top should be crispy and firm and the toothpick should not have batter on it when inserted and removed.  To be safe, I baked the brownies the recommended 40 minutes and then added in 5 minute increments from there.  If there's anything I hate, it's brownies with a mushy center and bottom. If you prefer your brownies to have a more moist or chewy consistency, 40 to 45 minutes may be fine.

When brownies are done baking, remove from oven and place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes.  Then gently lift the brownies out of the dish for further cooling using the placed parchment paper.  Slice and eat.

Grand Central Chocolate Chips

In search of that perfect chocolate chip cookie.....



...or at least for something to keep the 'natives' happy for another week.


Chocolate chip cookies are universally accepted by the natives.....at least by my natives.



When I buy cookies from the store these days, there is usually a small uprising....my natives are rather spoiled. 


The natives were a little restless on this particular day, and so my sous chef (a native himself) baked these cookies for me, after I prepared the dough, of course. 


The cookies are fabulous, the natives were happy for yet another week, and what can I say, life was good.


Life is always good with chocolate chip cookies in the mix...... at least that's my theory.



Adapted from The Grand Central Baking Book by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson
a fabulous baking book, that I highly recommend, by the way..... I love it for this as well.  If you love baking, it's a worthwhile investment for any cookbook collection.

Recipe makes about 3 dozen

2 cups all purpose flouir
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (or 2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar (lightly packed)
2 eggs, at room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or more milk chocolate)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Measure the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and combine.

In a stand mixer, beat together butter, and both sugars until combined and 'fluffy' (about 3 to 5 minutes).  Make sure you scrape the sides and get it combined well.  Add eggs one at a time, and mix til just combined.  Add in vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet in 2 to three batches.  Mixing after each addition until just incorporated.  Combine both chocolate chips and oatmeal together in a separate bowl and add in batches once again, until just combined.

Use cookie scoop, or desired cookie scooping utensil and place dough in desired amounts on cookie sheet.  I am a big fan of the 1 tablespoon-sized cookie, myself.  Bake 10 to 13 minutes until evenly browned and golden along the edges.

Remove from oven, let cool, and call in the official cookie taste testers!

Ina's Tiramisu

Indulge  verb
to yield to an inclination or desire; allow oneself to follow one's will




Oh my goodness, is all I have to say.


This was heaven.


That Ina, she's really onto something. 


Although I do blame Ina for the several sessions I spent on the elliptical trainer to rid myself of the guilt of eating a piece of this.  


On the other hand, it only had 1/4 of a cup of sugar in the recipe, so it was practically healthy, right?  Not.  This has 'danger' written all over it, but I was all done fooling around just gazing at the picture in the cookbook.  I just had to have some for myself and oh my goodness..... did I say heaven?  Heaven.  Definitely.



My sous chef topped it with the most perfect chocolate curls for me.  He comes in handy sometimes.  I think I'll keep him.



Have friends coming over for dessert?  Going to someone else's place for dessert?  Just feeling like eating dessert?  Make this.  You won't be sorry.




Ina's Tiramisu
adapted from Ina Garten and foodnetwork.com

6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup good dark rum, divided
1 1/2 cups brewed espresso or coffee, divided
16 to 17 ounces mascarpone cheese (2 containers)
30 Italian ladyfingers, or savoiardi (one package depending on what dish you use)
Bittersweet chocolate, shaved or grated (I used my zester)

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until very thick and light yellow.

Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup rum, 1/4 cup espresso, and the mascarpone. Whisk until smooth.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip 1 side of each ladyfinger in the espresso/rum mixture and line the bottom of a loaf pan (or other similarly sized dish). Spread half the espresso cream mixture evenly on top. Dip 1 side of the remaining ladyfingers in the espresso/rum mixture and place them in a second layer in the dish. Spread the rest of the espresso cream over the top. Smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate.

***Note:  I have only made this recipe once, and I made it as written above, but the next time I make it, there will be a few changes. I used Myers Rum when I made it, cause that was what was in my 'liquor cabinet'.  I have been told that Myers is stronger than your average rum..... the cake reeked of rum, consequently.  Well, maybe 'reeked' is a strong word....but I could smell the cake from across the room.  Don't get me wrong, the cake was very good.  However, my husband made a comment about not being able to pass a breathalizer test after eating a small slice though.... lol, and rum is his alcohol of choice.  I will agree, that perhaps you should not go for a joy ride around the neighborhood after partaking in this, but I think he was exagerrating just a little bit.  Next time though, I might eliminate the 1/4 cup of rum that is put into the mascarpone mixture (perhaps the 1/4 cup of coffee that is thrown in the mascarpone as well).  The 1/4 cup rum that is incorporated into the coffee and used to dip the ladyfingers is plenty, trust me.  Perhaps next time I seek out some plain old Bacardi.....or I suppose you could eliminate the alcohol all together and just run with your favorite coffee....but alas, an experiment for another time.

Ricotta Orange Pound Cake

It's been quite the hectic and crazy busy summer around here..... my oven hasn't seen too much action in the last several weeks....


Last week I found myself in desperate need of a piece of cake.


Something light, sweet, and easy to make.


Naturally, I turned to Giada.  Naturally. My obsession remains undiminished by the passage of time.....just in case you were wondering.


Cake therapy....if you will.


This was just what the doctor ordered... I think I'll have to make this therapy thing a regularly occurring habit.


I drizzled a simple orange flavored glaze over it.


And voila!  Simple.  Perfect.  Delicious.
Thank you Giada.  I needed that.



Ricotta Orange Pound Cake
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis and foodnetwork.com

Note:  I made a few major changes to this recipe.... the original has fresh fruit alongside it, and amaretto in the batter.  I didn't have any strawberries, and I have no amaretto in the house...so I simplified things a little.  A friend of mine made this cake for a cookout recently and used Cointreau instead of Amaretto, and it was also delish.  I think you would have to try pretty hard to screw it up....  You can find the original recipe on foodnetwork.com, or in 'Giada's Kitchen' listed by the same name.

1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese (I used an entire 15 oz container)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested

4 tablespoons orange juice
2 cups confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan.  (I used an 11" x 7" x 1 1/2" stoneware baking dish, and the baking time was unaffected, but if you sub out baking pans, make sure you do the toothpick test for done-ness... I have messed up quite a few cakes due to my need to change the called-for pan for something else.)

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.


Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla and orange zest, and mix until combined.

Add the dry ingredients, in three batches, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mix orange juice and confectioners sugar to the consistency that you would like.  Feel free to add either less sugar or less orange juice to suit your liking... Add more juice if glaze is too thick.  Drizzle over cake and eat.

Olive Oil Cake

I know what you're thinking.  I thought it too.


Olive oil cake?  Really?


I saw this on a couple websites on the internet and had to try it myself.  It's another recipe from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce, and features spelt flour.  I found some in the organic section of my favorite grocery store.


It was classic coffee cake with bits of chocolate mixed in.





Simple, subtle and elegant.

Olive Oil Cake
Recipe from Kim Boyce

Dry mix:
3/4 cup spelt flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Wet mix:
3 eggs
1 cup olive oil (I used pure, not extra virgin, but I don't think that's necessary)
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
8 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao) roughly chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a 9" round cake pan.

Put all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix to combine.

In a second bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly and then add the olive oil, milk and rosemary and whisk them all together well.

Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Now stir in the chocolate pieces.  Pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake for 40 minutes, or until it has passed the toothpick test.

This cake was at it's best within the first couple days after baking.