Cherry Almond Crisp

Yesterday while out grocery shopping I came across cherries for the practically unheard of price of $.99/lb!  I didn't have a plan in mind for what to do with them but figured I'd be able to whip up something with the basics in my pantry.  A simple crisp or cobbler crossed my mind and then I remembered making a Cherry Crisp from Iowa Girl Eats a couple years back, so I decided to go that route again!

The ingredients:

First things first - pit the cherries.  If you don't have a cherry pitter an empty beer or soda bottle and plastic straw works wonderfully!  Next, slice them in half and toss them with some sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Then, mix up the topping ingredients using a fork and knife or your fingers until it's all nice and crumbly, and pour it over the fruit.

Bake until golden brown and crispy! Allow to cool a little bit and serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Almond Crisp

1 to 1 1/2lbs cherries, pitted and halved
1T sugar
2t flour
1t vanilla extract
1/4t cinnamon

Crisp Topping
1/2c old-fashioned oats
1/2c brown sugar
1/4c flour
1/4c cold butter, cubed
1/4c sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine cherries, sugar, flour, vanilla, and cinnamon and spread into greased baking dish or pie pan.

Recipe lightly adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Vanilla Sauce

The rhubarb abundance continues and therefore so do the rhubarb recipes!  This is actually the third rhubarb recipe I've made in the last couple of weeks but only the second I'm posting about.  (The other recipe was a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, which while delicious, was not very pretty.  I'll try again on that one!)

This is one of those recipes that sounds kind of fancy but is actually fairly simple to throw together! First, fold 3 cups of chopped rhubarb into a buttermilk batter.

Next, spread the batter into a greased pan and sprinkle a simple streusel topping over the top.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes and until the top is golden brown.  (Mental note to self:  use Windex on glass cooktop prior to taking and uploading photos for blog post.)

It will look golden and beautiful and you will want to dig right in, but for the love of baking powder, please allow it to cool a bit!  Make the vanilla sauce while you wait.

Once the cake (and sauce) have cooled to a not mouth-scorching temperature, pour over a generous amount of the vanilla sauce and serve!

Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Vanilla Sauce

Batter
2T salted butter, softened
1c sugar
1 egg
2c all-purpose flour
1t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1c buttermilk
3c fresh rhubarb, chopped

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat in egg.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk.  Beat just until moistened - do not overmix.  Fold in the rhubarb and pour into a greased 9" square baking dish.

Streusel Topping
1/4c all-purpose flour
1/4c sugar
2T butter, melted
Combine all ingredients.  Sprinkle over prepared rhubarb batter.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool.  Top with Vanilla Sauce and serve.

Vanilla Sauce
1/2c salted butter
3/4c sugar
1/2 evaporate milk
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add sugar, evaporated milk, and scraped vanilla bean.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a storage container.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Lightly adapted from My Baking Addiction

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

An abundance of rhubarb in my and one of my good friends backyards meant it was time to get baking.  (It's good to have friends with gardens - she gave me a lot of rhubarb!)  First on my baking list is the super easy Rhubarb Pudding Cake.  With an ooey gooey not-to-sweet center and a crispy sugary crust, this recipe is sure to be a hit with kids and grown ups alike!

Here we have about 2 cups of chopped rhubarb spread across the bottom of a 9" square pan.

Next you'll spread the prepared batter evenly over the top of the fruit and follow that with a healthy (ok, not "healthy" per se...) sprinkling of sugar and cornstarch.

Now for the part that made me do a double-take the first time I saw this recipe:  Pour boiling water over the top.

"Did I read that correctly?"   Yes you did.  Yes it's very soupy looking.  Yes it will be ok.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes and you'll have this golden brown dessert that is both gooey and crispy.  It's best served hot straight out of the oven with some sweetened whipped cream, but isn't too shabby eaten cold straight out of the pan the next day either.  Not that I would know that personally. *cough*

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

2c rhubarb, chopped
1 3/4c sugar, divided
3T salted butter, melted and cooled
1t baking powder
1/2c milk
1t vanilla extract
1c all-purpose flour
1T cornstarch
2/3c boiling water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. 

Spread chopped rhubarb over the bottom of a 9" baking pan.

In a bowl, mix together 3/4c sugar, butter, baking powder, vanilla, milk, and flour.  Spread batter evenly over rhubarb.

Combine remaining 1c sugar and cornstarch and dprinkle over the batter.  Pour boiling water over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

What I'm Reading: Back in the Day Bakery Made with Love

"Cheryl and Griffith Day, authors of the New York Times bestselling Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, are back with more recipes to make with love. Who needs store-bought when baking things at home is so gratifying? In this follow-up to their smash-hit first book, the Days share ways to lovingly craft not only desserts, but also breakfast pastries, breads, pizza, and condiments."

I own and love their first cookbook, (reviewed here ), so when their follow-up caught my eye at Barnes & Noble the other day I didn't hesitate to purchase it!  Back in the Day Bakery Made with Love is every bit as wonderful as it's predecessor and contains more than just the dessert recipes you'd expect.

There are savory dinner and side dishes like Beans and Corn Bread Cobbler, Tomato Pie, and Devilish Eggs.  There are both sweet and savory marmalades along with homemade syrups and butters, and also D.I.Y projects such as party hats and cake toppers.  But don't worry, there are plenty of the traditional recipes you'd expect from a bakery like breads, cakes, and brownies too!

I think the first recipe on my to-do list from this book will be the Honey White Bread because seriously, does anything smell better than fresh baked bread? Ok, maybe brownies - those smell amazing too!
 

(Honey White Bread is pictured below alongside Sweet Potato Pot Pie, Chocolate Honey Fudge, and the Sweet 16 Cake Topper.)

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

The quickly over ripening bananas on my kitchen counter recently dictated that I needed to make banana bread.  Instead of using one of my go-to banana recipes, like whole wheat banana bread or banana snack cake, I decided to bust out one of my many cookbooks and test out a new recipe.

I remembered there being a couple of banana themed baked goods in The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook so I grabbed that one.   It didn't disappoint!  For a moment I was nearly swayed by the cupcakes but decided to go with a breakfast friendly item instead.  (Side note:  I totally support eating cake for breakfast.  Don't tell my kids I said that.)

 



The recipe turned out beautifully!  Waiting for it to cool a bit before slicing into it when your kitchen smells that good is its own form of torture!  Moist and not overly sweet, this bread is the perfect accompaniment to a glass of milk at breakfast or with a cup of afternoon tea .

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

2c all-purpose flour

3/4c light brown sugar

3/4t baking soda

1 1/2t cake spice*

3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed

1/4c sour cream

2 large eggs

6T unsalted butter, softened

1t vanilla extract

1/2c mini chocolate chips (optional)
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cake spice, and mini chocolate chips if using.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or by hand, mix the mashed bananas, sour cream, eggs, softened butter, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.  By hand, gently fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it evenly.  Bake 50-55 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Allow bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

*Cake Spice is cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves.  If unavailable, simply substitute 1/2-1t cinnamon.
 

Recipe lightly adapted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

Antique Cookbook - Any One Can Bake

I adore browsing antique stores and often spend an entire Saturday or Sunday doing just that.  You just never know what you're going to find!  I snagged an addition to my antique cookbook collection over the past weekend for a mere $1.25 - that's less than the cover price in 1929!

Any One Can Bake was published by the Royal Baking Powder Co. and contains dozens of recipes for breads, cakes, and cookies along with helpful tips for the "young housewife," and detailed instructions on how to properly set a table.  I'm always highly amused and occasionally slightly horrified when reading cookbooks prior to or from the early 20th century.  For instance, did you know that doilies are appropriate for any meal with the exception of a formal dinner?  I did not, but as I don't own any doilies I don't see this being a concern any time soon.  Then there was the recommendation to use asbestos pads to protect your good furniture from hot dishes.  Yikes!

Of course, the main appeal of antique cookbooks are the recipes.  This one being a baking book, most of the recipes are classic and straight-forward with around 8 ingredients and simple instructions.  With the exception of rose water, (which was popular before vanilla took over and is called for in many cakes), the recipes often only call for basic ingredients likely already stocked in the pantry.
Many of the recipes have step-by-step instructions -

Others are simply accompanied by colorful illustrations -

A couple of recipes that immediately caught my eye are Blueberry Tea Cake and Butterscotch Pie.  (Codfish Balls also caught my attention but not for the same reason lol!)  Since blueberries aren't in season yet I think the Butterscotch Pie will be first.  Hopefully it's a success and I can report back with the recipe and pictures!

Sur la Table Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Mix Review

 

I love (and prefer) baking from scratch but will readily admit that there is a time and a place for box mixes.  My local Sur la Table had their Pumpkin Spice box mixes on major sale a while back so I grabbed a couple different varieties.
 
Quick side note... Did you know that BAKED (the famed Brooklyn bakery) makes the box mixes especially for Sur la Table?!  I have a couple of their cookbooks and their recipes are awesome!  Onward...

These Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Spice Donuts were very simple to whip up.  They required only the addition of eggs, water, and oil to the batter and the cinnamon sugar packets that were already in the box.  11 minutes later my kitchen smelled delicious and I was sprinkling cinnamon sugar over warm cake doughnuts.  They were moist and springy and tasted as good as they smelled!  I won't hesitate to stock up the next time I find their mixes on sale. :)