Blueberry Pecan Muffins

This recipe is only slightly modified from Lost Lake Blueberry-Pecan Muffins in Summer: A Cookbook that I mentioned cooking from earlier this year. I had pecan flour from my boss that I was looking to use so I substituted that plus a little tapioca flour for the process in the book, where you start with nuts that are toasted and ground. I'm not sure they're going to result in the same muffin, so the recipe below is only slightly different, but it is not verbatim from the book. Just to clarify! 

Blueberry Pecan Muffins

1 1/2 cups pecan or almond flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour (optional)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups blueberries
3/4 cup toasted pecan pieces (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat the cups with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add the flours to a bowl. Add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon and whisk or stir to combine.
3. Whisk the egg and 3/4 cup of the sugar in a large bowl until pale, then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and melted butter. Add the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries and pecans, and spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Serve warm.

The original recipe had a more elaborate nut topping as well. These would probably be good with that or a streusel. I used blueberries I'd picked in my backyard last year and kept in the freezer because we're almost ready for a new crop!

pumpkin-mocha swirl bundt cake from Zoë Bakes Cakes

I was ecstatic when Zoë Bakes Cakes was selected for May-June for the Rainy Day Bakes Cookbook Challenge, because I'd been taking notice of her in social media. It was the first book I bought out in the real world after my post-vaccination period was up. The first challenge was a loaf cake, but the loaf recipes make two and I have only ever had one loaf pan! So I made the pumpkin-mocha swirl bundt cake. It's been a bit rainy and cooler here so I just pretended it was fall. I mean, arguably we can have pumpkin year-round, but do we? Zoë makes a slightly different version on her website, leaving out the espresso and making her own pumpkin spice mix (and her own pumpkin!), and an even more different version with Andrew Zimmern where she makes the chocolate layer as a streusel, a much thinner ribbon between pumpkin layers.

I have a fancy new Bundt pan that I'm not used to yet (I was using a 50cent garage sale find from Indiana that looked like my Grandma's, that never released a cake cleanly anymore and my husband bought me a new one) so I set a timer for 45 minutes to check and rotate the cake. I was glad I did because it was almost done at that point (the recipe says 1 hour 15 minutes, a good reminder that all ovens are different, and the pan you use varies too. The picture in the cookbook and at her blog uses a kugelhopf pan for a more dramatic slice and that might also my require more baking time.) My swirl layers are not perfect like Zöe's, but it tasted good.

pumpkin-mocha swirl bundt cake

Dutch-processed cocoa powder for dusting, plus 2 Tbsp
1 cup / 240 ml mild-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil)
1 cup / 200 g granulated sugar
1 cup / 200 g lightly packed brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
One 15-oz / 425 g can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup / 120 ml evaporated milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups / 270 g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice, divided
1 tsp instant espresso
1/4 cup / 25 g confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F / 165 C. Generously grease a 12-cup/2.8 L Bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, both sugars, and eggs and stir until well incorporated. Then stir in the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and 2 tsp of the pumpkin pie spice. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix until it all comes together in a smooth batter.
4. Divide the batter into two bowls and stir the espresso and 2 Tbsp cocoa powder into one of them.
5. Pour one-fourth of the pumpkin batter into the prepared pan. Pour one-fourth of the cocoa batter evenly over the pumpkin. Repeat these layers, alternating the pumpkin and cocoa batters in the pan until they are both used up. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to make sure the batter has fully settled into the nooks of the Bundt.
6. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes (or maybe 45-55!). Let the cake cook in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a serving dish.
7. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and remaining 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice and stir to mix. Sprinkle over the top of the cake before serving.
   

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble from Smitten Kitchen (adapted to lower-sugar and grain-free)

I've had freezer rhubarb burning a hole in my pocket for months. Once it became spring, aka "rhubarb season," I started making stuff with it again like Rhubarb Swamp Pie and Rhubarb Comstock. We also bought a pint of organic strawberries that we somehow kept forgetting to use, and instead of molding in the fridge, they became slightly dehydrated. I decided they were still okay, and this Smitten Kitchen crumble recipe had been made and posted by someone else recently, and I just had to make it too. But I subbed the sugar for coconut sugar and the flour for almond flour, and it was great, delicious. I will put her recipe below (please see her blog for detailed photo instructions and other general deliciousness) and indicate the changes I made.

The texture of the berries made them keep their shape a bit more, so file that thought away for the future! I can also say I have now used all the rhubarb. And I used my trusty oval dish that always seems to be more crumble/crisp/cobbler friendly even though it is smaller in volume to most recommended dishes. It just seems to work for me.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble
(recipe from Smitten Kitchen, see notes below for how I made it lower-sugar and grain-free)

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar*
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw)*
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces*
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar*
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.

2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a (foil-lined, if you really want to think ahead) baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes. 

Notes from JennyBakes:

I used 1 1/3 cup almond flour and 1/3 cup tapioca flour for teh crumble - I often use tapioca with nut flours to increase the elasticity slightly. It isn't required. I subbed coconut sugar for the sugar and only used 3 tbsp in the crumble (did not include the 3 for Demerara/turbinado) and used almost 1/2 cup in the filling - I was running low so might have opted to match it more equally. I didn't have fresh lemons so skipped the zest in the topping and used bottled juice in the filling. Crumbles are pretty forgiveable so it all worked out fine!

Zucchini-Chickpea Waffles with Crispy Eggs

New summer brunch recipe!! I had a review copy of Summer: A Cookbook by Marnie Hanel and Jen Stevenson, and marked almost every page to try. Since it's not quite summer here, I went for this savory waffle recipe for a light weekday dinner. The cookbook includes an "herb salad" component that I didn't make, just sprinkled chives over the top. The zucchini are in there but you don't really taste them, so the flavor you add to the waffles is the flavor you get. I think a remoulade or hollandaise might be another nice addition, but heavier than the summery intent of the recipes in this book. See the end for a few of my notes.

Zucchini-Chickpea Waffles with Crispy Eggs

1 large zucchini, graded (about 1 1/2 cups)*
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
3 scallions, finely sliced
1 cup (90 g) chickpea flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water (so you don't forget!)

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 large eggs
2 tsp minced fresh chives, for garnish
pinch of ground sumac, for garnish (optional)
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. To make the waffles: preheat a 4-slice Belgian waffle maker, or equivalent. Preheat the oven to 200 F.
2. Mix the zucchini, lemon zest, dill, and scallions in a small bowl. Whisk together the chickpea flour, kosher salt, and baking powder in a large bowl, then whisk in the eggs, olive oil, and 1/2 cup water. Add the zucchini mixture and mix well.
3. [Make the herb salad, which I skipped.]
4. Pour half the batter into the waffle maker and cook the waffle until golden and crispy (the exact cooking time will depend on your waffle maker.)* Transfer the finished waffle to the warm oven. Repeat to make the second waffle, if applicable.
5. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil until very hot. Fry 2 of the eggs until the edges are dark brown and crispy and the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny, 2-3 minutes (if runny yolks aren't your thing, cook them longer, or flip them.) Using a slotted spatula, transfer the eggs from the pan to a plate. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and eggs. 
6. Separate each waffle into four sections, place two on each plate, and top with crispy egg. (This depends on your waffle maker too!) Garnish with preferred garnishes and a sprinkle each of salt and pepper, then serve immediate.y.
   

*Um, in my world 1 1/2 cups is a decent sized normal grocery store zucchini. A large zucchini is the watermelon sized squashes most gardeners know well. You do NOT want that much zucchini; best to go by the cup measurement.

Also in my world, a full recipe filled one waffle maker once, leaving 2 substantial waffles for each of us. I felt this was a better meal for 2 if that's all you're eating. 

I will definitely make this again, it's a versatile recipe that could go a hundred different directions.

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake with Chocolate Glaze

I've had this recipe on my to-make list forever. Follow the original at the Hungry Hutch for more specifics on methods and chocolates used! I just used a combination of what I had on hand and called it good! 

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients

Chocolate Loaf Cake

• 1 cup whole milk
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 ounces dark chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, some combo)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons espresso instant coffee powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Glaze

• 4 ounces dark chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, some combo)
• 2 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Make the Chocolate Loaf Cake: Bring the milk to a boil in a sauce pot. Pour the milk over the butter and chocolate and stir until melted. Let cool for at least 15 minutes. (This would be a good time to measure out the remaining ingredients.)
2. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350˚F. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper; set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt into the slightly cooled chocolate mixture. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, and baking soda; add to the chocolate mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. (It will be a fairly loose batter.) Transfer to the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool for a while in the pan, before taking out to cool completely.
4. Make the Chocolate Glaze: Put all of the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at half power for 30 second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute total. Spread the glaze on top of the cake and then serve.0