Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze

My co-workers are frequent tasters of my baked goods, but this past week I had an experience that surprised me. I had been wanting to try making pumpkin scones with cinnamon chips; I love pumpkin and chocolate together but I had this idea that cinnamon would be even better. Since my dogs get me up super early, I always have a few hours before the library opens, so Friday morning I made these scones. I brought them to the meeting my group has every Friday at 9:30, and then left the rest in the library break room. By 11:15, they were completely gone. One person rolled her eyes back in her head as I walked by her desk, and another said she doubted I could ever top this recipe. In fact she had "been good" and only taken part of one, and when she went back for another taste there was only a partial one left.

So I had to share it with you without waiting until my usual Monday posting date, in case you were going to have house guests for Thanksgiving and you wanted an idea of a simple but stunning breakfast item. I used a recipe from Joy the Baker that she adapted from Alice's Tea Cup in Manhattan (the only cookbook that has ever made me cry), but instead of pecans I used cinnamon chips. And holy goodness, the browned butter glaze really does take it over the top, balancing the sweetness a little bit. This recipe makes a lot, double the amount I usually make when I make scones. But I was feeding a crowd. If you aren't, you might want to cut it in half.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze

makes about 16 scones

3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup, 6 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1 cup buttermilk, cold
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

For the Glaze:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all of the spices.  Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients and toss to coat.  Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, break the butter down into the dry ingredients.  Work quickly so that the butter remains cold. Some of the butter will be the size of oat flakes, others will be the size of small peas. Mix the cinnamon chips to the crumbles.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.

Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients.  Stir together until almost thoroughly combined.  Stir until no dry flour bits remain.

Divide dough into two and shape each half into a flat circle, which you can cut into 8 triangular scones. Spread out around cookie sheet.  Leave about 2-inches of space between each scone (I ended up wishing I had used two sheets.)

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until browned slightly with dry tops.  You can insert a toothpick into the center of a scone to test for doneness.

Allow to cool completely before glazing. (I glazed as soon as the glaze was done.)

To make the glaze, in a small saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat.  The butter will begin to crackle and pop.  After the crackling subsides a bit, the butter will begin to brown.  Continue to cook until the butter smells nutty and the butter solids begin to brown.  Immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, browned butter, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk.  Whisk together and add more milk as necessary until your desired consistency is reached.
Generously drizzle scones with glaze.  These scones are best served within 2 days of of baking. As if they could last that long.

Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake

I was poking around for recipes to make for an after-work fall gathering, and still had a few Mutsu apples left to use. I came across the Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which I had pinned a few years back but never tried. It looked perfect, like a snacking cake, didn't need to feed a lot, and pretty simple to put together.  After reading her notes on it, I decided to use all molasses instead of half molasses and half honey. My conclusion: this is okay. I didn't think the upside down sugar mixture was successful; if I made this again I'd make an actual caramel in a saucepan or maybe make this in a skillet. I also think that Deb (from Smitten Kitchen) has a more delicious gingerbread recipe that I've made for several Christmases, one that I'm not sure can be beat - the Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread. I wonder if I could pour a half recipe of that batter over the apples and use the concept of this recipe! Something to file away for next time! I still wanted to post this recipe, because it is decent, I just felt like I would make a few changes to make it even more delicious the next time.

Gingerbread Apple Upside-Down Cake
Adapted by Deb at Smitten Kitchen from Karen Bates at the Philo Apple Farm via the New York Times
Serves 12

Topping
4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing pan
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges*

Batter
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Very softly whipped cream

Make the topping: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch cake pan. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes, then swirl in salt. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of your cake pan. Make circles of overlapping apple slices on top of the caramel. Chop any remaining slices and place them in the gaps.

Make the batter: Using a mixer, blend 1/2 cup butter and the sugar on medium-low speed. Increase the speed to high and cream until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, molasses, honey and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Alternate mixing the flour and molasses mixtures into the butter mixture, adding the next once the last has been incorporated.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at least 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a platter (one that will catch spills.)

Serve warm or cool with very softly whipped cream.

*I used 2.5 Mutsu apples since they are rather large, and that was too much!

Anzac Biscuits

This recipe has some interesting ties to several projects of mine. First of all, I made these cookies (biscuits) for my self-declared New Zealand November. ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and these are cookies that traveled well and lasted, a standard recipe for the wives and daughters back home to send to their soldiers on the front during World War I. Second of all, the primary battle commemorated by Anzac Day was the battle for Constantinople, a turning point in Turkish military history as well, and a significant moment leading to their own independence. (Cross-reference 2013, where I did a lot of Turkish baking!)

I am not sure what I expected, but I thought these would be more historical than tasty. I was wrong! The golden syrup (which I just happened to have in the pantry; it's a key ingredient in sticky toffee pudding and treacle tart) adds a delicious dark caramel flavor. The cookies can be enjoyed as is, where they are somehow both crunchy and chewy, or my favorite way - dipped in milk.

Anzac Biscuits

(recipes comes from Martha Stewart, but retains the original formula of 2+2+2+2. If you use a recipe that calls for eggs, corn syrup, or nuts, that is not an Anzac biscuit!)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, and coconut. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with syrup. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water, and add to butter mixture. Stir to combine. (Be careful; if the butter is hot, it will bubble up considerably.)
3. Add butter mixture to dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop, drop onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart (be sure to pack the scoop tightly so the mixture doesn't crumble). Flatten cookies slightly with the heel of your hand.
4. Bake until golden brown and firm but not hard, about 15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Rock Cakes

I declared November to be New Zealand November. If you are interested in what I'm reading, you can check out my initial post as well as my first week update.

One of the first books I read was the first volume of an autobiography by Lauris Dorothy Edmond - Hot October. Edmond is a well-loved New Zealand poet. You can read more about her life in my book review, but the book was also useful as an insight into food of the 1930s and 1940s. The following passage comes from her childhood.

"Greenmeadows was a village, and we took part in local activities and performances without question. Our mother was a faithful member of the Women's Institute, intermittently secretary or president of the Gardening Circle and always president of the Drama Circle. They wrote away to Samuel French and Co for hired sets of plays, English drawing-room comedies mostly, and either rehearsed or performed them in the Taradale Town Hall or did readings in one another's sitting rooms.  When it was our turn there was much preparation, the making of peanut brownies, rock cakes, Sydney Special (a concoction of rolled oats, coconut, sugar, butter, also known as Doormat) and orange cake."

Doormat! Well I did find a recipe for Sydney Special but that will be a post for another day. I decided to make rock cakes one morning when I had a few hours before work. Rock cakes are very similar to scones but include eggs, which a traditional scone would not do. You can find them all over the British empire so while I found some New Zealand recipes, I ended up making a version of an Caribbean one. I liked the use of sultanas and coconut in this one, which was pretty standard for the recipes I found from NZ too. Despite its British empire, NZ is located in a place with easy access to coconut! Even in Edmond's childhood, that would not have been a surprising ingredient.

Coconut and Sultana Rock Cakes

(adapted from recipe for Coconut Rock Buns by Immaculate Bites, an Afro-Caribbean cooking blog, which she adapted from Trini Gourmet.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1-2 teaspoon grated orange (I didn't have this so added a bit of cinnamon)
• ½ cup butter diced (I forgot this and added buttermilk to the eggs)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ cup raisins (I used golden since that is what I had on hand)
• ½ cup coconut flakes (I used the larger unsweetened variety but anything would work!)
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, grated orange, nutmeg and salt.
3. Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it's OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated. Stir in the raisins and coconut flakes
4. Whisk together eggs and vanilla
5. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together.
6. For true rock cakes, drop portions of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making 8-10. The crags and uneven bits will look more like rocks.
7.  Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. (This step of the recipe mystifies me. Is it wrong? Do we actually preheat to 400? I am not sure what I did at the end but 425 isn't too hot for this kind of baked good.)
8. Remove, let  cool and serve.

Pumpkin Cobbler

Tired of pumpkin pie? Pumpkin cobbler is a nice change from the ordinary and comes together fast. Thanks to my friend Kasia (from Kasia's Kitchen) for pointing me in the direction of this recipe. She says it is now her go-to fall dessert to bring to parties. It isn't as custardy as pumpkin pie, because the pumpkin mixture has flour in it. Personally, I preferred it because it was easier to tell when it was done. I think it is best served warm but can be baked ahead and warmed up.

This version is an adaptation to best fit a 9x13 pan, but really it is just 1.5x the original recipe, so full credit goes to the original author at Taste and Tell.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Custard

• 1 1/2 cans (22.5 oz) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour (exactly 1.5x a recipe would be 1/2 cup but I found it a bit too stiff)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour
• 10.5 teaspoons sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 tsp teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk and eggs in a bowl. Add in both sugars, the flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, 7.5 teaspoons of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the butter, and with a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the butter until it resembles crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk and stir just until the mixture comes together. (If the mixture is still dry and doesn’t come together, add in more buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time.) Do not over stir.
4. Drop the topping mixture in dollops over the custard. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
5. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 45-50 minutes.

Bakery Adventures: Rise Bake Shop in Columbia, SC

I spent most of last week in Columbia, SC, for the South Carolina Library Association. A librarian who lives in town knows I look for new bakeries and had just the place to visit. We drove over during a session we both weren't attending anything. (Thanks Susan for letting me know and taking me!) It is the Rise Bake Shop and is definitely worth a visit!

Rise Bake Shop has breakfast and lunch options, as well as breads, pastries, cookies, and spreads like blended butters and shmears. What I loved is that the flavor combinations seemed unusual and atypical. The Sally Lunn bread has a significant place on the menu, as well as their baguettes. The day I was there they also had biscoff cakelets (not the official name), a variety of cookies including a gluten-free option, english muffins, biscuits, turnovers, an enormous filled cream puff, and a cabinet of gourmet packaged treats.

I had to try the preserved lemon blended butter, so I got some with a buttermilk biscuit. The butter was not sweet but had a bit of an herb mixed in, so my treat was on the savory side. The biscuit was tender and a bit crunchy on top.

Susan ordered the Sally Lunn Toast off the menu, which is the Sally Lunn bread, toasted and spread with ricotta cheese, topped with pickled peaches and thai basil. I had a bite of hers and had major order envy. In Susan's family, pickled peaches are a holiday treat, so I'm guessing they are a southern thing, but that was my first taste of them. The concept of the bake shop is "southern boulangerie" so this dish embodies that entire concept.  It was a lovely - savory but fresh tasting, and the bread was perfection - dense but not dry.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones (low-carb, gluten-free, low-sugar)

Add this recipe to the numerous attempts at a pumpkin chocolate chip fall celebration! These are repeated flavors at JennyBakes because they are a favorite in my family.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones (lower carb, lower sugar, gluten-free)
(adapted from the marvelous All Day I Dream About Food blog)

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin
• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup sugar substitute (I used coconut sugar)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar free or super dark chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tbsp cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Add pumpkin, eggs, melted butter and 2 tbsp cream and stir until dough comes together.
4. Turn out onto prepared baking sheet and pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick (about 6 by 8 inches in size). With a sharp knife, cut rectangle into 6 even squares, and then cut each square into two triangles.
5. Gently lift scones and spread them around the baking sheet so they aren't touching. Bake 23 minutes, or until firm to the touch and lightly browned.
6. Remove and let cool on pan.

 

Low Carb Gluten-Free Marionberry Scones

Something standard in practically every Oregon coffee shop is the marionberry scone. Marionberries were tested in Marion County, Oregon, a blend of raspberry and blackberry, and is central to the Oregon berry experience. Once you move outside the state, they are much harder to find! During our last trip to our home state, Nathaniel went to the Willamette Valley Pie Company for pie with his Dad, and learned he could order berries from them. Recently a variety of berries showed up at our door, so I had to make marionberry scones before anything else. Since I wanted him to eat them too, I had to find a low-carb recipe, which we thought was pretty great. I adapted it slightly using coconut sugar instead of a chemical - it has slightly higher carbs but I just can't stand the taste of chemical sweeteners.  I also made regular sized scones in a scone pan, which were a little hard to get out while warm; next time I make these I might just do drop scones on a pan.

Marionberry Scones
(adapted from a recipe by Carolyn at All Day I Dream About Food)

2 ½ cups almond flour
½ cup golden flax seed meal
½ cup granulated erythritol or sweetener of choice (I used coconut sugar)
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup almond milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup frozen marionberries

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, flax seed meal, sweetener, baking powder and salt.
3. Stir in eggs, coconut oil, almond milk and vanilla extract until dough comes together. It will be quite sticky.
4. Stir in raspberries until well distributed.
5. Turn out dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and pat into a rough rectangle, 6 by 8 inches. Cut into 6 even portions, and then cut each portion in half diagonally to make 12 triangular scones.
6. Gently separate scones and place around cookie sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between them. Bake 28 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
7. Remove and let cool on pan.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pancakes (lower carb, low-sugar, gluten-free)

This is a version of the recipe that we have almost every Saturday. We vary it by making it as crepes and filling it with fruit, as pancakes and adding berries or sugar-free chocolate chips or nuts to the batter, or baking it in the oven with apples or stone fruit for another texture. Nathaniel was craving Mexican hot chocolate, so I added a few ingredients to our standard recipe.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pancakes 
from JennyBakes.com
 
For two thick 6" pancakes or 4-6 thinner crepes:

4 large eggs
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Splenda packets or equivalent sweetener (we don't like ours too sweet so you should find what works for you)
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Sugar-free chocolate chips or super dark chocolate chips (optional)

Blend everything except chocolate chips together. (I use an immersion blender.) Heat small skillet pan to medium heat. Add about half the batter if you're making two thick pancakes, sprinkling chocolate chips in the pan if you choose to use them. Cook until set and flip.

We ate our pancakes with bananas, sugar-free maple syrup and sugar-free whipped cream. It would have been nice with pecans too!

A Visit to Vortex Doughnuts in Asheville, NC

Asheville has always been the Appalachian brother of Portland, OR, so it was no surprise to see a doughnut shop open there. Vortex Doughnuts opened in October 2014 and is going strong, with freshly made doughnuts, including vegan doughnut and drink options, locally sourced ingredients, and business choices such as paying employees a living wage. Oh Asheville, you complete me.

On Labor Day, with the day to myself and seeing in Instagram that they'd still be open, I decided to journey up there to see what they had going on. I joined the Ashevillians in line for doughnuts and ordered a box of four plus one of the interesting drinks. I ended up with three cake and one yeast raised doughnut - one apple cider, one Black Mountain Chocolate ganache, one blood orange (and chocolate drizzle), and the yeast doughnut was topped with a raspberry and matcha glaze. I chose a Thai Eye Opener for a drink - two shots of espresso, lemongrass syrup, and coconut milk (so a vegan option by default.)

 

It seemed like the flavor options were available as either cake or yeast, and I saw something on the board about chocolate cake, but during the minutes I was ordering, there wasn't a chocolate cake doughnut in sight. I know their flavors change frequently, and following them on Instagram can be quite alluring.  

The yeast doughnut was fine, but these are not my favorite kinds of doughnuts. I always judge a doughnut place on its cake doughnut and I have to say that their cake doughnuts were impressive. The one topped with Black Mountain ganache may have been the most perfect cake doughnut of all cake doughnuts. It had a slight chew instead of being stale or crumbly. It had been freshly topped, unlike a certain unnamed local donutier who makes her doughnuts the night before she sells them, which is doughnut blasphemy.  They are creative with flavor but start with a good base. It isn't just cleverness; it's backed up with quality. I feel I have to clarify after a disappointing trip to Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts, which long ago traded quality for kitsch. 

I try not to eat a lot of sugar but I would probably return to Vortex just to try another creative drink. They have a few details that they would benefit from sorting out - the one public bathroom had a line the entire time I was there, and most of the people there had parked illegally since there aren't enough spaces in the immediate vicinity.  These are practicalities that I hope the business will attend to as they grow their customer base.

Palacsintas (Hungarian Crepes)

 Palacsintas with Apricot Jam and Powdered Sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 cup plus 2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp sugar

2 extra large eggs

4 tbsp unsalted butter

¾ cup apricot jam*

⅓ cup confectioners sugar

Blend the milk, flour, sugar, eggs, and a pinch of salt in a blender. Melt 2 tbsp of the butter and add to the blender. Blend until smooth.

Melt 1 tsp butter in an 8-inch skillet. Coat the bottom of the pan with a very thin layer of batter. Basically make crepes, don’jt feel like typing it all. After flipping and cooking 30 seconds, while still in pan, put a heaping tablespoon of jam down the center of the crepe and roll up, pressing slightly. Transfer to a baking sheet. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Repeat to make 8, adding butter as you go. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar pushed through a sieve.

*I used raspberry!

This recipe comes from Radically Simple: Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease: 325 Inspiring Recipes from Award-Winning Chef Rozanne Gold 

Like pancakes? I seem to make them from around the world! Check out the Finnish pannukakku, Icelandic pönnukökur, Papua New Guinean banana pancakes, the Danish ebleskiver, and what we call the German oven apple pancake. I also made ratio pancakes from Michael Ruhlman's book, which we can call American.

Coffee Cake Banana Bread (low-sugar, low-carb, paleo)

PaleOMG remains one of my go-to websites particularly for weekend breakfasts, and this coffee cake banana bread is no exception. Since I now keep almond flour, coconut sugar, and coconut flour on hand, I had all the ingredients I needed. I did substitute coconut flour for maple syrup in the cake part and found it to definitely be sweet and moist enough with that substitution.

I'm even including a picture of the full loaf because I love how the streusel looks. 

 

Ingredients

• 3 brown bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup maple syrup (or coconut sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup almond butter (or other nut/seed butter)
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt

For the toppings

• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) grass fed butter, at room temperature (or coconut oil)
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons almond flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup pecans, crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8.5×4.5 baking dish with oil then line the middle with parchment paper. It will make it easier to remove from the pan without it coming apart.
2. In a large bowl, mix together bananas, maple syrup, vanilla extract, eggs, and almond butter.
3. Then add coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix well.
4. Pour batter into baking dish. Place on a baking sheet.
5. In a small bowl, add butter, coconut sugar, almond flour, cinnamon, and pecans. Use your hands to mix the toppings together.
6. Place chunks of the toppings all around the top of the banana bread mixture.
7. Place in oven to bake for 50 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Baking Around the World: Spekkoek

Spekkoek is often mistranslated as "spice cake" because you would think it meant that, when you see the ingredients of the cake. But spekkoek actually means "bacon cake," a reflection of the striping effect of the cake rather than its contents.

I think of spekkoek as the "cake of empire." It would have been impossible for this cake to exist without the European influence and the Indonesian spices. Dutch traders and settlers in the Indonesian islands came together to create this cake, and it is one of the remnants of empiricism worth hanging onto.  It seems like a cake designed to be either simple or impressive - a quick Google search will reveal some spekkoek that are complete works of art, simply unbelievable.

The cake uses a pretty unique technique - the two flavors of batter are alternated in thin layers of the pan and broiled until just set. Ideally the cake is quite high; I didn't pay attention and used a regular cake pan. It worked but I ran out of pan before I ran out of batter. The batter is thinner than normal cake batter, and it is almost like a pancake.

Some of the pictures I've seen have a darker brown batter, and I'm not sure if they are using more clove. One idea I had was to add espresso to help with the contrast. I also added some pandan juice to the white layer, but not enough to alter the texture or flavor really. There was a bit of "oh what is that" that can probably be blamed on the combination of six spices and pandan. (Also I used Chinese Five Spice Powder in place of the star anise that I didn't have on its own so that wasn't very traditional.)

One thing I liked about this cake was that once it cooled, I could slice it into wedges and drop them into a ziploc to take to work. It is sturdy and snackable and would be great for lunches the next day!

I used the recipe from Jenessa's Dinner but there are many out there (plus I thought her suggestion of serving this with maple syrup was strange so I did not do that). I also watched a fantastic instructional video in Dutch from an old grandmotherly type who clearly makes spekkoek pretty regularly (3 at a time!).  I'll add it to the end of this post.

Spekkoek

Ingredients: (makes an 8"-9" round cake)

• 2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground anise 
• 3 sticks/1.5 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Process:

1. Prep: Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper, and butter well.  Set the oven to broil.
2. Combine all spices in a small bowl, set aside.  Separate the eggs.
3. Cream the butter, 1/2 cup of sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Add the egg yolks, and mix until smooth.
4. Fold in the flour by hand with a spatula.
5. Combine the egg whites and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, beat with a hand mixer until very stiff.  In four parts, fold the egg whites into the other batter.  Do not over mix.
6. Divide the batter into two large bowls, stirring the spices into one.
7. Add 1/2 cup of the spiced batter to the bottom of the buttered pan, spreading it evenly over the bottom.  Cook under the broiler for 2 minutes, or until lightly browned.   Spread a 1/2 cup of the plain batter on top of the cooked layer, broiling again for 2 minutes.  Repeat this process of layering/cooking with alternating batters until the pan is full.
8. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.
9. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve with maple syrup, whipped cream, or fruit preserves.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap to store

Baking Around the World: Pandan Chiffon Cake

I'm finally back to some Oceania baking experiments. I've hopped on a boat and moved to Indonesia, which isn't far considering I was last in Papua New Guinea and West Papua, part of which is technically a part of Indonesia today.

An ingredient that comes up frequently while researching Indonesian baked goods is pandan.  Pandan is a leafy plant that smells of grassy vanilla. Just like vanilla in other countries, pandan is often imitated with chemicals - artificial flavorings and colorings. Around my area, it can be hard to find the real thing.  I did find some other crucial ingredients for my cooking and baking experiments.

I could find a lot of fake pandan. Fake pandan is easy to spot because it is bright almost neon green, and is a popular flavor throughout Southeast Asia - Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia too. Pandan cakes, pandan bubble tea, pandan ice cream and pandan paste. I really wanted to use the actual thing. Although my local Asian market did not carry the leaves (neither fresh nor frozen), I was able to find pandan juice made from actual pandan leaves, in a can.  And okay, I bought one little packaged cake with artificial pandan and a thai coconut layer jelly cake with artificial pandan, because I was curious!

A recipe I found multiple versions of along the way is Pandan Chiffon Cake. There is a lot of discussion on how the chiffon cake is a reflection of American influence in Southeast Asia, as opposed to the Dutch influence that may be seen in other recipes (stay tuned next week for an example!).  I'm not sure how American the chiffon cake is, but I had never made one. I had made angel food cakes back in my tearoom days, including a mocha version that I thought had more flavor - but angel food cakes are completely free of egg yolks. Chiffon cakes are made in a similar fashion, and folding the egg whites in at the end is a crucial step, but the batter contains a bit more fat in the form of oil and egg yolks.

This is one of the versions of Pandan Chiffon Cake that specifically mentioned using pandan juice in place of homemade paste or artificial flavoring. At the same time, I wonder if the change in liquid amount didn't have a slight change to the final product. I wasn't a huge fan of the texture, it was rather dry to my taste, and despite using 2 oz of juice I could hardly taste the flavor of it. While it was baking it smelled divine but I wish more had come across in the cake itself. Perhaps I should have boiled down the rest of the sugary canned juice into a syrup. You also can't taste the coconut milk as much as I would have expected, so I'd like to find a way to magnify that flavor as well. Coconut and pandan seem to be frequent companions.

A co-worker said her chiffon cakes don't normally have the larger holes in them so there is a definite chance I overmixed or underbeat or all the bad things that can happen to chiffon cakes. The 9 egg whites created quite a bit of volume to fold into the other batter and I actually think my standard KitchenAid mixing bowl was not large enough to accommodate it. 

There are quite a few different recipes for this cake out there. It must be one of those standards that every grandmother has a different recipe for. I looked at some that depended on the artificial pastes, and some that started with fresh pandan leaves. I went with the recipe I found on Serious Eats because it allowed for pandan juice and did not seem to rely on artificial extracts for flavor. I'm not sure how it compares to the rest. (The recipe is labeled as part of their "Singapore Stories" series and I have my eye on the Chinese Egg Tarts if I ever do a year of reading in China.)

Pandan Chiffon Cake
recipe from Yvonne Ruperti, Singapore Stories, Serious Eats

Notes: Look in your local Asian market for fresh or frozen pandan leaves. If you can't find it, increase the pandan extract to 2 tablespoons. Either green pandan paste or clear pandan extract can be used.

Ingredients

• 6 pandan leaves, washed and roughly chopped
• 6 large eggs, separated, divided
• 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons pandan extract
• 1 3/4 cup (7 ounces) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of 10-inch tube pan with parchment paper. Place chopped pandan leaves in food processor and add 2 tablespoons water. Blend until leaves are pulverized, about 1 minute (add an extra tablespoon water if mixture is too thick to blend). Strain mixture though cheesecloth, squeezing tightly to extract as much juice as possible. You should have 3 to 4 tablespoons juice.
2. In large bowl, whisk 6 yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until very light, about 1 minute. Whisk in oil until combined. Whisk in coconut milk, pandan extract, and 3 tablespoons pandan juice until combined.
3. Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Gently whisk flour mixture into pandan mixture until smooth.
4. Using standing mixer fitted with whip attachment, beat 9 egg whites on medium low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar, increase speed to medium, and continue to beat until meringue begins to look opaque. Increase speed to medium high and slowly add remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Continue to beat until meringue reaches stiff but not dry peak.
5. Fold 1/3 of meringue into batter until combined. Carefully fold in remaining meringue in two stages until just combined, being careful to not deflate meringue.
6. Pour batter into ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake until cake is golden on top, set, and long skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Completely cool cake in pan, about 2 hours. Invert onto serving plate to serve.

Low-Sugar Blueberry Muffins

I realized as I planned this post that the majority of my posts the last few months have been blueberry baked goods of all varieties. I would apologize but blueberries are in season. You can always substitute another berry or nuts or chocolate chips if you are just not that into them. Plus take heart! I am in the mood to make something, something I've never made before, and I have been eyeing recipes and ingredients from Indonesia today. (If you have any ideas, please let me know!)

This blueberry muffin recipe has its origins on PaleOMG, one of my favorite lower sugar, lower carb baking blogs. We aren't committed to paleo eating at my house (the last paleo book I read said you couldn't be paleo without daily consumption of organ meat and NO COFFEE so that is pretty much never going to happen) but paleo is pretty close to how we try to eat, reducing sugar and carby things. Paleo recipes are often a good place to start, and I have enjoyed some of her recipes in the past.

Not needing to strictly follow Paleo ways, I replaced her coconut oil with oil, her honey with sugar alternatives, and her almond butter with cheaper peanut butter. Because of this I suspect these muffins have a bit too much fat, since peanut butter is nuts PLUS hydrogenated oil. It is worth further experimentation. They weren't awful, in fact they were quite nice, a better muffin texture than those I've made entirely of coconut flour.

Healthier Blueberry Muffins

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup almond meal/almond flour
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1/3 cup sugar alternative (brown sugar Splenda or coconut/palm sugar)
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• pinch of cinnamon
• ½ cup fresh blueberries (I used 1 cup)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, wet with wet, dry with dry, then wet into dry. Gently fold in blueberries last.
3. Spoon into muffin tins or silicone liners (about 10).
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Ratio Pancakes

One of the cookbooks I got for my birthday was Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman. Since baking is absolutely a ratio science, I was excited to try some of the recipes inside. Michael Ruhlman seems to set up each ratio/recipe with a basic ratio and then talks the reader through how to vary it or add to it. Variations might be for sake of the weather, personal preference, or other variables. For pancakes, which fall under "quick cakes" in the book, it is about personal preference - how dense or thick of a pancake do you like? I like mine a bit thinner than Ruhlman, so I added more milk. And blueberries since they are the peak of season right now.

And since I am trying to make all the pancakes from every region, I suppose I can count this as one of the many American pancakes. The perfect pancake? Well they are pretty good. Creamy and light. I can't think of a better normal pancake.

Basic Pancake Batter
Wet Ingredients

8 ounces milk
2 large eggs
2 ounces butter (1/2 stick), melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

8 ounces flour (1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk until they are thoroughly combined. Combine the dry ingredients (press the baking powder through a strainer if it's pebbly.) Combine the wet and dry ingredients and whisk or stir until the batter is smooth. This ratio results in a fairly thick batter, and thick, cakey pancakes. If you like them thinner, add 1-2 ounces of milk. Cook on a lightly oiled surface, griddle or pan, over medium heat until done.*

Yield: about 8 4-inch pancakes (although I made half the recipe and had a solid six)

*Before the recipe, Ruhlman says he likes to cook his pancakes on a film of bacon fat for a crisp crust. I used oil since we are vegetarian!

Happy Blogiversary to JennyBakes with Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake

On the 24th of July, 2006, I started JennyBakes. I had recently moved to a new state and a new job, one that was a full-time faculty librarian position. No more long commutes, no more juggling multiple jobs... all of the sudden I had time on my hands. With a few years of library school between my culinary jobs and the present (of 2006) I decided it could be time to bake for fun again.

The blog has shifted a bit over time, from building a community with other bloggers to taking on Daring Bakers challenges to experimenting with alternative baking. I have learned a lot, failed from time to time, and made some great discoveries! Thanks to those of you still checking in.

This time of year blueberries are at their peak, so although I had plans to make a fancy apricot mousse cake for my blogiversary, I was faced with three pints of blueberries in my fridge that had to be used! I poured through my cookbooks and stumbled across this recipe, and decided to knock it out. I'll bring it to work on the day this post goes live.

This comes from the marvelous Smitten Kitchen cookbook, a combination of blueberry crumb cake with cornbread. And it really works. I had to bake it longer than suggested but my blueberries were very plump and juicy. Not surprising. This is a marvelous little snacking cake!

Blueberry Cornmeal Butter Cake

(recipe from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, and while recipes are not protected by copyright, I highly recommend having this one on your shelf)

(yields one 8x8" pan - about 16 squares)

Ingredients

Cake Batter:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. cornmeal

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. lemon zest

1/3 c. sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

2 c. blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

Streusel Topping:

1/2 c. sugar

6 tbsp. flour

2 tbsp. cornmeal

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, COLD and cut into small pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*.

Line the bottom of an 8x8" square pan with parchment paper, and then coat the parchment paper and sides with nonstick cooking spray. Wipe the cooking spray to evenly spread and to ensure it gets in all of the corners, thoroughly coating the bottom and sides.

CAKE BATTER:

Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, for at least 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition, then add the vanilla and zest.

Then add a third of the flour mixture, all of the sour cream/yogurt, and another third of the flour mixture - beating until just blended after each addition.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix the remaining third of flour mixture with the blueberries. Gently fold the blueberry-flour mixture into the cake batter.

Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan.

STREUSEL TOPPING:

For the streusel topping, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Mash in the cold butter pieces with a fork, your fingertips, or pastry blender. Scatter the topping evenly over the batter.

Bake the cake 35 minutes until the top is golden brown and center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake, then gently lift out the cake to cool completely. Cut into 16 squares.

The Sweeter Side of Beaufort, SC

At the end of June, my husband Nathaniel and I spent a week in Beaufort, SC to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.  We had the chance to try several sweet spots, and I'll highlight my favorites below.

Best afternoon tea: Southern Graces Bistro (inside the Beaufort Inn)

We stayed several nights at a cottage that makes up part of the Beaufort Inn, so we had the chance to have several meals at Southern Graces Bistro. My favorite was afternoon tea, which we did for our anniversary. You have to make a reservation. The picture on top is how our table looked when we sat down - an entire plate of fresh fruit and sliced cheese, a plate of sandwiches (they accommodated our vegetarian needs nicely), and a cake tier of sweet things (muffins, cakes, scones.)  I'm not sure if you can have afternoon tea anywhere else in Beaufort, but we would recommend this one.

Best candy: The Chocolate Tree

This store is filled wall to wall with homemade chocolates. They have milk and white chocolate too, we just love dark. They have a large sugar free collection, jelly beans of all kinds, pre-made gift baskets, and a back wall of candy making supplies. They do everything in-house and it was just as busy in the heat of summer as it was the week before Christmas. My favorite thing might have been the raspberry jelly covered in chocolate, but that may be a nostalgia chocolate for me. I'm always surprised by how inexpensive it is!

Best espresso: Common Ground Coffeehouse

I don't have a picture representation but we went here almost every day. They are in the perfect location, midway down Bay Street, accessible from the waterfront walk too. They have a variety of savory food, pastries, and gelato, but I really liked their coffee drinks.

Best drink to beat the heat: Scout Southern Market

There is a wine bar in town, but in 99 degree weather that is far from what I want to have. Scout Southern Market is a beautiful store of blues and white with a little sweet tea bar in the back. Their specialty drink is a tea float, which you can have with sweet tea or unsweet tea, with lemon sorbet or peach sorbet. I don't like things super sweet when I'm hot so I went with lemon and unsweet. I had never had anything like it. As the sorbet breaks down, I ended up with what I can only describe as an Arthur Palmer slushie. I left Scout much cooler than I came into it. They also have regular tea and a few snacks to order.

Best sweets with a burger: Fat Patties (Port Royal, SC)

Down the road from Beaufort is a marine base on Parris Island. (All of Beaufort changes every Thursday night and Friday morning because about 300 marines graduate every Friday morning!) The nearby tiny town of Port Royal is a military family town. Fat Patties offers burgers of all kinds (you can even get a shrimp burger!) and homemade icecream. That homemade icecream can be made into milkshakes, even spiked milkshakes. I got the burned marshmallow milkshake and it was delicious.

Best Bakery: Beaufort Bread Company

A quick drive over the bridge (the one used in Forrest Gump!) to Lady's Island and you will find the Beaufort Bread Company in a nondescript strip mall. Excellent artisan breads, unique pastries, and homemade sausages (?). We went here more than once, discarding other breakfast plans. Of what we tried, the raspberry croiffin and kouign amann were my favorite pastries. I wish this was my local bakery!

JennyBakes' Low-Sugar Low-Carb Gluten-Free Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is a spin on the microwave brownie I posted in January. Most of the carbs in the recipe come from the sugar free chocolate chips, so if you can use something else or eat the cookie plain, you'll come out even better. This really hits the spot if you are craving cookies, or if you happen to have egg yolks leftover from a recipe that you need to use (I find this to be a great excuse er I mean reason.)

JennyBakes' Low-Sugar Low-Carb Gluten-Free Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookie
(this is my own recipe, so please link back if you post it, thanks!)

1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp brown sugar Splenda or other lower carb sugar alternative
a few drops vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup almond flour
1-2 tbsp sugar free chocolate chips

Mix together ingredients and spread in microwave safe ramekin or mug. Cook 45 seconds. Let cool before eating! 

Blueberry Ricotta Cake

I love ricotta in baked goods. From the day I tried making the Ricotta Thumbprint Cookies with Fig Jam, Honey & Pistachios from Very Small Anna (which I made the month after she posted them) to the time I had a ricotta filled doughnut from an Italian bakery in The Hill in St. Louis, I have been a huge fan. Ricotta doesn't have much flavor but it makes up for it in texture!

I'm not good at keeping up with blogs these days, in fact I don't think I've even glanced at my thousands of items in Feedly since November, which must have been my last day of actual down time.  But I do follow some great people in Instagram, including Food Librarian, a blogger I've followed forever because of her month-long celebrations of bundt cake that first caught my eye.

A few weeks ago she posted a raspberry ricotta cake and commanded her followers to make it immediately. It sounded good, and I wanted something simple to bring to work. The blueberries looked better than the raspberries so I whipped it up one morning before work. Super easy, super moist, highly recommended with any fruit combination! If I had been feeling incredibly patriotic I would have gone with red and blue. Also I believe the recipe says frozen berries but I used fresh and they were fine.

Raspberry-Ricotta Cake
from Bon Appetit March 2015

Ingredients

Servings: 8

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ cups ricotta
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I used amaretto because I am always out of vanilla)
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries, divided

Preparation

active: 15 min total: 1 hour 35 min

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9”-diameter cake pan* with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• Whisk eggs, ricotta, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth; fold into dry ingredients just until blended. Then fold in butter, followed by ¾ cup raspberries, taking care not to crush berries. Scrape batter into prepared pan and scatter remaining ¼ cup raspberries over top.
• Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–60 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before unmolding.
• Do Ahead: Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

I used a 9x2 cake pan which actually wasn't quite big enough for all the batter. I think they are going for a 9x3 pan, maybe a 9" square, but I removed about a cup of batter and baked it in a separate ramekin for a shorter amount of time, and that was about right.