Blueberry Bran Cake

This cake recipe tastes just like a blueberry bran muffin. It was adapted from a recipe by Anna Olson of Food Network Canada. This easy quickbread starts out with 2 cups of bran cereal (raisin bran or plain). It was perfect for father's day breakfast.

Blueberry Bran Muffin
9x13" pan | Anna Olson

2 cups raisin bran cereal
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and grease a 9x13 inch pan.

2.Toss cereal with sugar, flour, baking soda and salt.

3.In a separate bowl, whisk oil, egg and buttermilk. Add buttermilk mixture to cereal mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in blueberries and spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Apple Butter Cookies

This recipe is the pick for September's Cookie Carnival run by Tami's Kitchen Table Talk. This is a no pressure, easygoing and fun group. (Tami is a sweetheart!)

The recipe comes from Anna Olson of Food Network Canada. It's like a little taste of Fall in every bite. The apple butter is mixed right into the cookie dough and also sandwiched between dollops of dough before it is baked.

A couple of days ago I made my own Honey-Spiced Apple Butter which made my entire house smell better than any air freshener I've ever plugged in. Cinnamonny-sweet apples on a cool, rainy day. I highly suggest making your own apple butter if you haven't already. You can do so many great things with it including these comforting apple butter cookies that remind me of muffin tops. I love muffin tops so by extension, I love these cookies! Have you tried those soft Voortman's brand cookies? These are kinda like that texture. Mmmmm.
I also like to think that with all the apple butter in them, I'm squeezing a fruit serving into my diet too :)

Apple Butter Cookies
Makes 24 | adapted from Anna Olson

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fancy molasses
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 + 1/2 cup apple butter
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
2 cups pastry flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar together until smooth. Stir in molasses, sour cream and 1/2 cup apple butter. Stir in yolks and eggs.
In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients and gently stir into butter mixture. Spoon or pipe 2/3 of batter by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking tray, leaving 1 ½-inches between them. Spoon a teaspoonful of remaining apple butter into centre of each cookie and top each with remaining batter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until cookies lift easily from tray.

Mocha Sables

This morning I woke up an hour earlier than I needed to. Wondering what to do with my morning, my mind wandered to baking and all the lovely recipes I have collected and not yet tried. I made some tea and flipped through my recipe binder and this one stuck out to me because of the short ingredient list and the quick prep time. I knew they would be good but these little gems blew me away! Anna Olson is amazing and I try to catch her Food Network (Canada) TV show "Sugar" as much as I can.

I have decided to participate in Cookbook Sundays with Brenda's Canadian Kitchen. Just like Magazine Mondays with Creampuffs in Venice, this group tries to bake its way through books/magazines that you own but have yet to use. What a great idea - it will give me incentive to actually bake from my existing cookbook collection before buying MORE books, lol.

The cookies are light, crisp with strong coffee flavor. The granulated sugar they are rolled in after baking adds a nice crunch and hit of sweetness. These are the kind of cookie you could nibble on all day long. The photo does not do these cookies justice. You've gotta try them and I promise you will be pleasantly surprised.

Mocha Sables
Adapted from "Sugar" by Anna Olson

1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup espresso or 2 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder in 1/4 cup hot water
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
icing sugar for rolling and granulated sugar for dusting

1) Cream together butter and icing sugar until fluffy.
2) Add in vanilla and cooled espresso.
3) Sift together flour, cocoa and salt. Add to creamed butter mixture.
4) On a surface dusted with icing sugar, shape the dough into 2 logs, approximately 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
5) Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled (or freeze if you want to bake them at a later date).
6) Remove chilled dough and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on baking tray. These do not spread so they can be placed quite close together.
7) Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.
8) In a bowl filled with sugar, toss warm cookies to coat. *To make sure the sugar sticks you need to work quickly while the cookies are still hot/warm.

Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter everyone! We have 4 day weekend ahead! All the more time and excuse to bake. I'm so excited! These buns were a kick-off to my long weekend. There's nothing

According to the Oxford Companion to Food, marking a cross on the bun is of ancient origin and bread is often associated with religious offerings. The Egyptians offered small round cakes, marked with a representation of the horns of an ox, to the goddess of the moon. The Saxons ate buns marked with a cross in honour of the goddess of light, Eostre, whose name was transferred to Easter. Today, the cross on the bun is associated with Christianity and signifies the crucifixion.

Hot cross buns are round, rich, slightly sweet and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and/or cloves. They also include dried fruit such as currants, raisins, mixed peel and/or candied fruit but more modern version sometimes include chocolate or dried cranberries and other add-ins.

The cross can be put on the bun a few different ways such as marking it with narrow strips of pastry or with a thick paste made of flour and water before baking. The cross can also be piped on after baking with a simple icing made of icing sugar and milk.

The recipe I used is from Anna Olson and it makes a nice, soft dough that can be made in a mixer, with beaters or by hand. I used my mixer since i doubled the batch to give away to friends and co-workers.



Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12 | Anna Olson

Buns:
1 tablespoon instant dry active yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
1 large egg
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup diced candied orange peel
1/4 cup candied cherries
1/4 cup diced candied pineapple

Crosses:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup water

Hot Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk

1. Buns
In a mixer fitted with the hook attachment or with hand mixer with the dough attachments combine yeast, sugar and milk. Alternatively mix by hand in large bowl. Stir in egg. Add flour, spices, salt and melted butter. Once ingredients are blended add raisins and candied fruits.

With mixer, knead for 5 minutes on low speed or mix for 8 minutes by hand (a large wooden spoon works best). Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, turn out dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece gently to shape in a ball and place in a 10-inch greased springform pan. Cover pan with a tea towel and let rest 20 minutes.

2. Crosses
For crosses, blend flour and water until smooth and spoon into piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe crosses on top of each bun. Alternatively, instead of using a batter, cut an X on the top of each bun with a sharp knife.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for 35 minutes, until buns are a deep brown colour.

3. Hot Glaze
While buns are still hot, prepare glaze. Heat sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Poke holes in buns with a skewer and brush warm glaze over buns, allowing glaze to soak in.

4. Icing
For icing, combine icing sugar and milk and whisk until smooth. Drizzle crosses over buns. If piping the crosses with batter, adding the icing is optional.

Caramel Sauce

One of the best foods ever! A pure rush of sugar. What could be better? It's even better when it's home made, not to mention cheaper. David Lebovitz has some great tips to simplify caramel making and an explanation of why he does not recommend using a thermometer.
See: Making Perfect Caramel and Ten Tips for Caramel.

The recipe I used is a liquid (sugar & water) not a dry caramel (just sugar) from pastry chef Anna Olson. By the way, there are some really great recipes in her little book named after the TV show she hosts: Sugar

Caramel Sauce
Makes 1 cup

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup whipping cream

1. Bring sugar, corn syrup and water up to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Boil without stirring, brushing the sides of the pan occasionally with a brush dipped in water.
2. Cook for about 10 minutes, until sugar turns an amber colour - like the color of a copper penny.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in cream, taking care as it will rise and steam. Allow to cool, then chill until ready to use.

Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Sugar Spirals

This cake was baked for an old high school friend's birthday. I have not kept in touch with anybody from high school but somehow we all ended up getting together for this friend's birthday. It was a total catch-up-fest and a little awkward at first. "So... how have the last 7 years of your life been?"... It's almost like talking to strangers! It was fun though and hope not to let another 7 years go by before we meet again.

There were only 5 girls at the gettogether but the whole cake disappeared. Whatever wasn't finished was quickly divided up upon request so they could take it home. I love the feeling of a baking success and bringing home an empty plate. Here is the link to Anna Olson's Ultimate Chocolate Cake recipe which I frosted using my own recipe submission for Copycat Duncan Hines Frosting to allrecipes.com.

The most fun part of the decorating was making the swirly caramelized sugar spirals for decorating.

Caramelized Sugar Shapes

1. Heat 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp water and 1 tsp light corn syrup in heavy pot over medium heat. Do not stir, just swirl pot around occasionally.
2. Bring temperature up to 295-310 degrees F (hard ball stage). Watch the thermometer closely as this can burn quickly if unattended. Mixture should be amber colored.
3. Immediately drizzle into desired shapes onto greased baking sheet. [I used a pointy grapefruit spoon to drizzle with). Let stand until set. Carefully remove from baking sheet. Can be stored airtight for a few weeks.