(Blake Bakes) Like Katie, the warm weather has me dreaming of fresh fruits. I know apples and apple crumbles are more for the cooler months of Fall, so I added some raspberries to the mix… and let me tell you, it was fantabulous. Yes, I said fantabulous. Fantastic & fabulous all in the same bowl. The tartness of the apples, the bite of the raspberries and the sweetness of the sugar blend together perfectly. Pardon me while I grab another bowl…
Apple-Raspberry Crumble
- 1-1/4 c brown sugar, packed
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 5 large Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, cut into chunks
- 1 c frozen raspberries, thawed
- 1/2 c old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 c all-purpose flour
- 2-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp butter, cut into chunks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a medium-sized baking dish with non-stick spray (I used a heart-shape Le Creuset dish – probably 4×8).
In a large bowl, mix ¾ c brown sugar, 1 tbsp flour and ½ tsp cinnamon. Add sliced apples and raspberries; toss to coat. Spoon into baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together oats, ½ c flour, 2 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, salt and ½ c brown sugar. Mix in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple/raspberry mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.
I’m a 20-something Native Texan & TCU alumna who enjoys spending time with my family & friends. I love cooking and baking new dishes and desserts… with a little shopping, TCU football and collecting Longaberger on the side. (Jessica’s blog)
(A Blake Bakes post) Let it be known that I am not a fan of lemons. I don’t even care for the super-sweet summery lemonade. Now, with that officially out there for all of you to judge, I must share a secret. I like Nigella Lawson’s subtle lemon essence in her Mother-in-law’s Madeira Cake (from her book How To Be A Domestic Goddess). It’s basically a lovely butter loaf cake with the purest lemon flavor. Sadly this cake is Madeira free. Sorry folks, maybe next time.
I thank you, Nigella, for opening my eyes to the possibility of a lemon being something I actually like enough to share! The batter for this cake is like nothing I’ve seen before. It really is more like the consistency of nice fluffy icing. I had my doubts when I started smoothing out the blob of batter in the pan. After an hour of wondering if I wrote down a recipe for icing instead of cake I opened the oven door to find a perfectly done buttery rich cake. Just for me! I hope you try this one. It really surprised me.
Nigella Lawson’s Mother-in-law’s Madeira Cake
The Recipe:
- 1 cup softened unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar (plus about 2 tablespoons for sprinkling)
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cup self-rising cake flour (I couldn’t find this so I substituted self-rising flour)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
To Make:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9×5 loaf pan (I sprayed some nonstick spray and lined it with parchment paper- another first for me).
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, add the lemon zest.
- Add the eggs one at a time with a teaspoon of flour after each addition.
- Gently mix in the rest of the flour followed by the lemon juice.
- Pour the batter into prepared pan.
- Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons sugar on top of smoothed out batter.
- Bake about 1 hour or until a test stick comes out clean.
- Cool in pan before turning out. (good luck with waiting till it’s cool to get a taste)
Vickie is a full-time pharmacy technician at a veteran’s hospital. She is currently pursuing her RN degree. She is also a self-proclaimed cookbook addict. Somewhere in between work and school she manages to bake… and spend time with her husband. He may not understand all of her passions but definitely puts up with them and nurtures her through the endless frustrations that come with being obsessed. What a good man.
Meet (Blake Baker) Paula. Growing up in a large family of 5 children, all girls, some of my earliest memories are of sitting on the counter and watching my mom cook or bake. While I was in college, my mom started catering. I would drive home on week-ends and help with events. After graduating with a degree in Elementary Education, I taught for several years but continued helping mom with catering jobs. I soon realized that my true passion was for food and cooking…(continued after the post).
The cupcake bug, has it bitten you yet? It’s gotten me good and I’ve got cupcake fever! I can’t look at a cake recipe anymore without trying to figure out how I could turn it into a cupcake. I’m not sure what makes cupcakes so appealing.
Maybe the appeal is that cupcakes are your own individual cake, or maybe it’s just that cupcakes are cute. Surfing through the food blog sphere I see that I’m not the only one that’s caught the fever. Recently, I even came across mini meatloaves baked in a muffin pan and topped with mashed potato “frosting”. Okay so I’m not quite ready to start experimenting with meat, but cake recipes are fair game.
When I came across this recipe from Bon Appétit for Banana Layer Cake with Caramel Cream, delirious with cupcake fever, I immediately wanted to make it into a cupcake. I liked the cake recipe and didn’t think I’d have a problem making it into cupcakes. I decided to go a different way with the frosting and make a traditional buttercream with a caramel drizzle. The caramel and banana sounded like a match made in heaven to me. All that was missing was chocolate, so I decided to throw some chocolate chips into the cake batter.
This recipe makes a large cake so you’ll get about 24 cupcakes. Reading through the recipe it sounded more complicated than it actually was. If you get all your ingredients prepped ahead, the cake batter comes together pretty quickly.
For those of you who’ve already been bitten by the bug, here’s one more cupcake make. As for everyone else, don’t blame me if you start wanting to make all your cakes into cupcakes!
Banana Cake (Bon Appétit January 2006 [adapted])
Cake Recipe:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (generous) fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 small ripe bananas, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup chocolate chips tossed in flour.
- Small amount of rum to brush on tops of cupcakes when cooled
Yay! The 16 people (below the picture) are about to ’sauce’ it up! Thanks, Chef Bradley, for sharing your amazing creations with us! If you want to play (and get some free food), make sure you’re sooper and keep reading Blake Makes. There’s another giveaway coming soon!
Lo Carb Lean Mean BBQ Sauce
Lean Mean BBQ Sauce
Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce
Lean Mean Ketchup
Congrats, winners! We can’t wait to see what you think (and what you make)!
..and now, anyone in the mood for a float? Stay tuned!
After Blake and I graduated from college we took a trip around the U.K., and spent a few days in Edinburgh, Scotland. While wandering around the city, we popped into a cookbook shop that contained an unusually large amount of Two-Fat Ladies paraphernalia (Remember them?– the two English fat ladies who drowned everything in butter and lard and then took a spin on their vintage motorbike). We found out we were in Clarissa Dickson Wright’s shop (the one in the sidecar), and we had the privilege to meet her.
It was interesting to say the least– she told us of her swimming adventures in the North Sea (she got caught in a riptide) and informed us of a handy way to get out of quicksand (still not sure why she told us this, but I had a feeling she once had an unfortunate quicksand experience). We then bought some cookbooks, had them autographed, and walked her to her unbelievably tiny Saab.
We bought our Two Fat Ladies cookbooks back in 2003, but I’d never used them until just recently. I looked for a recipe that did not use a tub of Crisco, and decided to make scones because they were so very English.
They turned out surprisingly well for a self-proclaimed non-baker. I made plain scones so I could use the strawberry-chocolate spread that we picked up at the Farmer’s Market, but you can also fill them with fruit or make them savory. Blake finished off all the scones for breakfast the morning I made them, so I’d say they were pretty good.
Recipe courtesy of Two Fat Ladies Gastronomic Adventures (With Motorbike and Sidecar)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- small pinch of salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups milk, fresh or sour
Directions:
- Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it all resembles crumbs. Mix in the milk. Form a soft dough with a palette knife. Knead lightly on a floured board, then pat out into a round 3/4 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a cutter or small cup.
- Place on a greased and floured baking tray and brush with milk. Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 7-10 minutes until well risen and brown. Cool on a rack but eat when still warm, with lots of butter, clotted cream and jam.
Variations:
- Sweet scones: add 1/4 cup caster sugar to dry ingredients.
- Fruit scones: add 1/4 cup dried fruit and 2 TB caster sugar.
- Savory scones: Add 6 TB finely grated hard cheese and 1 tsp dry mustard or 1/4 cup chopped olives or what you fancy.
(Blake Bakes) And now for Blake Baker, Katie.
With the delightful warm weather here now all I’ve been able to think of lately is my favorite summer time dessert: fruit pies. I mean really, what says love better than a fresh fruit pie? That’s right — Nothin’! Well, okay…a portable version of a fruit pie might just be better. That’s where the hand pie comes in.
A distant, better looking cousin of the turnover, the hand pie houses it’s own portion of delicious fruit filling and top and bottom crust all in handy compact size. Perfect for sharing. Perfect for casual entertaining. And in my case, perfect for bribing a dozen middle-schoolers into listening to me while I teach them Confirmation prep at church. Haha. With these little beauties I’ll have no problem.
A sweet pie dough is used. With the addition of lemon and a bit of vanilla you can use less sugar and still get the same sweet taste to the dough. The sugar in the filling has been cut down considerably to provide a nice contrast between the sweet, flaky dough and the slightly tart juicy bite of the filling. A delicious treat for any pie lover. Especially for breakfast… 
(Blake Bakes) Hello there (this is Blake). Allow me to introduce Lara. She’s one of 19 new “Blake Bakers” we’ve invited to contribute to Blake Makes. Every Wednesday, Blake Makes will feature posts from the Blake Bakers about, you guessed it, baking, baked goods, baking techniques, etc. We think eventually the Blake Bakers will get their own blog (BlakeBakes.com), but for now, we’re happy to feature them right here. There’s what you need to know, so let me get out of the way and let Lara do her thing. Take it away, Lara!
I have a love-hate relationship with cake. Good cake – moist, without gobs of icing, and not too sweet – is great. Most cake, however, is not good cake. Unless they’re flourless, chocolate cakes often turn out too dry. I still remember one my sister made for my birthday years ago (she’s since made much more successful cakes). It was only edible soaked in milk or covered in whipped cream.
I’ve also had my cake failures. That’s why I was ecstatic the first time I made this recipe. It’s moist, it has dark chocolate icing, which is not too sweet, but the cake itself is a nutty flavor. And with three layers (or as many as you want) you get that perfect blend of icing and cake: just enough creamy chocolate with just enough nutty goodness.
I don’t even remember where I found this recipe anymore, but I love it. The only time consuming part (and this is only because I don’t have a food processor) is making the graham cracker crumbs. But I think you can also buy bags of graham cracker crumbs, which is probably the smarter approach.
What you’ll need to make the cake:
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup finely chopped nuts
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350
Blend the shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Combine the crumbs, nuts, and baking powder and add to the shortening mixture alternately with the milk. Pour into three greased eight-inch layer cake pans one and one-fourth inches deep, bake thirty to thirty five minutes. Put together with chocolate cream frosting.
What you’ll need to make the chocolate cream frosting:
- 1 cup (6oz package) semisweet chocolate pieces
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup butter
In the top of a double boiler heat the chocolate, water, coffee, and sugar. Stir occasionally until the mixture is smooth beat in the egg yolks one at a time and cook over boiling water three minutes, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm and beat in the butter bit by bit.
Lara grew up in northern California where the words “hella” and “tight” were avid members of her vocabulary. That quickly changed, however, as after starting at UCLA she was duly educated in proper SoCal etiquette. Being a dork, she majored in math, but being indecisive she also took a lot of writing classes, wrote for her school newspaper The Daily Bruin, and after graduating decided writing was what she wanted to pursue. She currently works as an editorial assistant at The Robb Report, where she writes about furniture, and hosts a blog, The Ladybug and the Lion, where she writes about whatever she wants. She also loves food. Her current favorites include beer, oysters, and authentic mexican.
UPDATE: This giveaway is officially closed. We only had 16 jars to give away, and got 60 comments today. Thanks for your interest. We’ll announce the winners at the end of the week. Stay tuned!
Why do we love fried foods so much? Once fried, the food almost never tastes like itself any more, so what do we do? We get some yummy sauce to re-flavor the food. Frying is bad for us, but most of the time, the sauces we use for dipping only make matters worse. That’s what Chef Bradley hopes to change.
Chef Bradley has developed a line of healthful, better-for-you sauces that, I must say, are quite tasty. They sent me four jars, one of each of their flavors.
Remember the shrimp (left) we blogged about a few weeks ago? Well, I dipped my shrimp in the Lean Mean Ketchup and the Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce.
I had the sauces in two, little bowls, both of which were licked clean by the end of the meal. I will admit that they lack the depth that you’ll get from more conventional (sugar-filled) options, but for me, the good-for-me component outweighs any flavor loss.
The BBQ Sauce is zingy and sweet (just like the name says), and the ketchup is rich and tomatoey. I know I have a lot of moms who read this blog, so I’m always happy when I find food that’s good and good for us. I bet kids will never tell the difference.
Surprise! Another giveaway!
Chef Bradley would like to share a few of its jars with our readers. Here’s what we’ve got to giveaway:
- Lo Carb Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
- Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
- Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
- Lean Mean Ketchup: 4 jars
This is a first come, first served giveaway (that starts now!). Comment on this post to claim a jar (make sure to include which sauce you’d like to try in your comment). Limit one (1) jar per Sooper Hero. There’s a limited supply, so these jars will go fast.
Like with all of our giveaways, you have to:
- Be a registered Sooper Hero
- Be interested in the product (and not just want something free)
- Be willing to blog about what you get (and link back here and to Chef Bradley)
Good Luck and GO!
Sandwiches are one of the greatest inventions ever- a whole yummy meal you can hold right in your hands. I’m always on the lookout for new sandwich recipes because we eat them so much at our house, and as I was browsing through the May issue of Bon Appetit, I thought the Chicken Breast Sandwich with Caramelized Onions, Watercress, and Paprika Aioli sounded so delicious I should make it the next day.
I made this sandwich for a lovely picnic we had in our backyard (okay, that’s not quite true– Blake was dirty from doing yardwork so I made us eat on a blanket outside so as not to track his dirt into the house), and we both raved over it. The paprika aioli was especially good- it had a wonderful tangy spiciness that went really well with the sweetness of the onions. I used the leftover aioli on turkey sandwiches later in the week and it was still just as tasty. This sandwich will probably become one of our weekend lunch faves, and I know Blake can’t wait for me to make it again.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika* (note- I couldn’t find Spanish paprika, so I used hot Hungarian paprika)
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing on rolls
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 pounds onions, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise (about 7 cups)
- 3 8-ounce skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise in half
- 6 sourdough sandwich rolls or twelve 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough bread
- 3 cups (lightly packed) watercress or arugula
Directions:
- Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover prepared aioli and chill.
- Heat vegetable oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt, and cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until onions are soft and deep golden brown, stirring often, about 20 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Caramelized onions can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
- Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pound with mallet to 1/3-inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to work surface. Brush cut side of rolls with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill rolls, cut side down, until grill marks appear, about 1 minute. Spread rolls with some of aioli. Assemble sandwiches, dividing chicken, caramelized onions, and watercress among rolls. Serve warm.
I’ve made my mama’s meatloaf forever. The meatloaf’s pretty simple (the loaf itself), but the sauce we put on top makes this (and has always made this) dish special. In other words, it’s not your basic Brady Bunch fare. When I was a kid, meatloaf was always my favorite, and I loved to swirl the sauce into mashed potatoes. OMG, I feel dirty knees and a milk mustache coming on.
When we made this recently, I had put the meatloaf in the oven, and then realized that I had no brown sugar for the sauce (glaze). I immediately jumped into the pantry. I needed something sweet. Should I use honey? No. Jelly? Heck no! Then, there it was. Staring me right in the face: balsamic vinegar.
Let me first tell you about this sauce. It’s a lot like sweet, tangy barbecue sauce. I add about a cup to a cup-and-a-half of ketchup to a sauce pan. Next, 1 tblsp. of yellow mustard, plus another tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Finally, 2 to 3 tblsps. of brown sugar (and some nice cracks of black pepper).
Heat until bubbling (careful not to burn), and set it aside.
Okay, so this time I didn’t have the sugar, so I reduced some balsamic vinegar and added it in. I guess I had about 1/2 to 3/4 cups, and I just let it simmer slightly for about 10 minutes until thick and syrupy. Do it low and slow.
It was sooooo good. It added the sweetness I like, plus it turned the normally ruby-red sauce a deep almost purple color. I may do this from now on.
For the meatloaf
The recipe is hard because I don’t measure anything any more, but here goes.
