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Posts Tagged ‘Nutmeg’

Pear Spice Cake with Walnut Praline Topping

Posted in Breakfast, Cake, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2012 | 3 Comments »

HAPPY (belated) NEW YEAR!!!!  

I know it’s been some time since my last post and I apologize.  I took some time off during the holidays to spend with family and travel Ohio for Christmas gatherings and a baby shower.  When we got back I was totally exhausted getting back into the work week that I took a bit longer than expected off from the blog.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to 2012 as much as we are!

While I was home we spent many hours in the kitchen!  I love baking and cooking with my family!  It’s always fun and I always guarantee to make a mess.  I felt so bad for my parent’s carpet.  I bet there is dried batter in more places than they care to know about.  Oops!  On the menu Christmas morning was this Pear Spice Cake I found over on Joy’s blog.  I love spice cake and knew that a pear one would make a perfect treat on that special day.

Original plan was to eat around 11:30am.  Well, an hour and a half past that we were finally sitting down.  The prep work turned out to be a bit more involved than I originally planned, or maybe it was because I was simply enjoying making it and not rushing through the steps.  Regardless, this spice cake is well worth it!  It was AMAZING!!!  Perfect flavor, texture, spice, and the praline topping was pure heaven!  The idea of turning this into a repeat Christmas cake was not only mentioned, but I’m pretty sure demanded.  This would make a great addition to any brunch menu, holidays or not.  Did I happen to mention it reheats very well…added bonus!!

(Printable Recipe)

Pear Spice Cake with Walnut Praline Topping

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Pear Spice Cake Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 pears, peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups)
  • 3/4 – 1 cup walnuts, toasted, cooled, and finely chopped

Walnut Praline Topping

  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Pear Spice Cake Directions

1.  Make sure rack is in the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour bundt pan.  Set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 4-5 minutes for a hand mixer and about 3 minutes in a stand mixer.  Be sure to scrape the bowl every few minutes.  Add yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla extract.  Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix well after each addition.  Fold in pear pieces and chopped walnuts.

4.  In a separate bowl with cleaned beaters, beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks.  Gently fold whites into batter until fully combined.

5.  Spoon batter into prepared bundt pan, smoothing top, and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  If serving warm, start walnut praline topping while cake is cooling.  Invert onto rack to cool.

Walnut Praline Topping Directions

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, whipping cream and 1/2 cup butter over medium-high heat until smooth.  Boil for 3 minutes, stirring often.  Stir in walnut pieces.  Spoon warm topping over cake.

Notes:

  • I reduced the amount of walnuts in both the cake and topping due to personal preference.  
  • When topping is first placed over cake it will run down the sides, this is ok.  It forms a wonderful pool in the middle that is absolutely divine.  If you prefer to have more topping on the cake itself, allow topping to cool slightly before spreading on cake.  Next time I think I will let it cool for a bit.  
  • This cake is delicious with pear, but would also be good with apple pieces as well.

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Carrot Cake Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast, tagged , , , , , on September 1, 2011 | 10 Comments »

I’ve had this recipe stashed away in my binder for darn close to a year.  I’m more of a fruit and toast kind of breakfast gal rather than pancakes or eggs.  So although my intentions were good when I printed it off, as they usually are, I kind of forgot about it.  I’m not sure what made me think of them last week but I did and here we are.

I was pretty happy with the overall result of the pancakes. They were thicker than I expected and not overly sweet.  I like being able to control the sweetness with the amount of maple syrup rather than the pancake itself.  Next time I would add a bit more of the spices to really bring out the carrot cake flavor.

On a side note:  Please allow me to apologize for the off-coloring of these photos.  This was probably the most flustered I’ve been in a long time while taking pictures.  My butter was too soft, my syrup was too warm (I was thinking more about eating than photographing, clearly), and my lighting was just off.  Bad, bad mix.  Good thing you all are  super awesome at using your imagination as to how good they actually look.  :)

(Printable Recipe)

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Recipe from myrecipes.com

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
  • Dash of ground cloves
  • Dash of ground ginger
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound)

1.  Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger in a large bowl.  Stir with a whisk.

2.  In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla extract and eggs.  Add sugar mixture to flour mixture.  Stir just until combined.  Fold in 2 cups of carrots.

3.  Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat.  Spray pan with cooking spray (or if you like crispy edges, use canola oil).  Spoon 1/4 cup of batter mounds on to pan, spread slightly with a spatula.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until tops start to form small bubbles and edges are fully cooked.  Carefully flip pancakes and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Notes

  • I prefer to use canola oil rather than cooking spray in the pan.  I like my edges a bit crispy.
  • I tend to cook my pancakes more towards the lower heat so they don’t burn.  If you are the same, just watch your cooking time to make sure you leave them long enough to cook fully through.
  • Brent thought these would be great as a dessert as well.  

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Soft Apple Ginger Spice Cookies

Posted in Cookies, tagged , , , , , , , on January 26, 2011 | 5 Comments »

I was a baking fool this weekend!!  Some disasters, some successes….but so relaxing!  It was exactly what I needed after the busy weeks we have had.  Plus, I had to dirty up that kitchen one more time before the move and really break it in.  :)

One of my successes were these Soft Apple Cookies.  There is something about the warmth of a spice cookie that makes me happy!  Add in some apples and make them the size of my head and I am a happy camper.  These cookies are H.U.G.E!!  I was a little worried about them baking evenly because they are so big but they turned out super soft and chewy.  And the glistening sugar on the outside just makes a cookie look extra special, doesn’t it?!?  Ease back into the land of sugary goodness with these relatively healthy cookies.  I mean they are made with apples and applesauce…that means they have to be “healthier”, no???

 

(Printable Recipe)

Soft Apple Ginger Spice Cookies

Recipe from vegetariantimes.com

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 3/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup for rolling cookies
  • 1 large apple, peeled and finely diced (1 cup)

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.

2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl.

3.  Whisk together oil, applesauce, and molasses in a separate large bowl.  Whisk in 3/4 cup sugar.  Stir in flour mixture with spatula just until combined.  Fold in diced apples.

4.  Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in bowl.  Roll 1/4 cup dough into ball, then roll ball in sugar.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Place balls on prepared baking sheets and flatten dough slightly.

5.  Put baking sheets in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tops of cookies start to crack and bottoms are golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 16 cookies

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Eggnog Cookies

Posted in Cookies, tagged , , , , , on December 17, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Happy Friday!!!

There are a few things that I crave around the holidays….shrimp cocktail, party mix (recipe soon to come), bacon wrapped water chestnuts (for me it’s “facon” wrapped but still delicious) and a few others but eggnog has never been on the top of my list.  I can have 1 or 2 sips and be good until next year.  When I saw eggnog cookies displayed at the grocery store I was very intrigued.

These cookies not only smell wonderful while baking and fill your house with seasonal spices,but  they are also soft and chewy with just a bit of eggnog flavor.  I made them for a get together recently and everyone really enjoyed them!  These would be a great change up to any cookie exchange.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!!

 

(Printable Recipe)

Eggnog Cookies

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup eggnog
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Eggnog Frosting

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 – 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp eggnog
  • dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

 

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  3. Cream sugar and butter until light. Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks; beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.

  4. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake 20 to 23 minutes until bottoms turn light brown.

Frosting Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, beat butter until pale yellow.
  2. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and beat until combined.  Add another 1/2 powdered sugar.  Once combined add in 2 tbsp eggnog and spices and beat until fluffy.  Taste frosting, add more eggnog or sugar as desired.  I had to add another 1/4-1/2 cup frosting and 1 more tbsp eggnog to get the results I was looking for.

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Vanilla Banana Cake

Posted in Cake, Desserts, tagged , , , , on November 18, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Bananas are one of those fruit that I enjoy but I can never eat them quick enough before they start to turn on me.  Brent is more of a banana eater than me, so when he is away they seem to turn brown even quicker.  Speaking of, I have 4 more bananas that either need to be frozen for smoothies or they will become my next victim in a delicious dessert.

Banana Cake and Carrot Cake are kind of the same in my mind.  Totally different tastes obviously, but they are both great left unfancified (I don’t think that’s really a word but it works), topped with piles of cream cheese frosting, and make the piece extra big!!  After all, there is healthy stuff in each piece.  :)  This cake is not exception.  There is a hint of banana and the cream cheese frosting gives it that extra bit of decadence.  The texture reminded me a little bit of banana bread but not quite as dense.  I think my dad would be a big fan of this for sure!!

I am participating in a Holiday Recipe Exchange through Good Life Eats and My Baking Addiction.  Each week I will be posting a recipe from their “Recipe Theme”.  This week happened to be ‘Vanilla’ which worked out perfectly.  Head on over to one of their blogs and vote for me!!  The prizes are great which means extra goodness to bake with!  YAY!

Happy Weekend!!

 

(Printable Recipe)

Vanilla Banana Cake

Ingredients

Vanilla Banana Cake

  • 2  2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 – 8 oz pkgs light cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter 13×9 inch baking pan.

2.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy.  Add sugars and beat on medium speed for a few minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla extract.

4.  Lower speed, add bananas.  Batter may start to curdle – that’s a good sign.  Alternate adding dry ingredients and yogurt (starting and ending with dry ingredients).  Mix just until combined.

5.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 45 minutes or until cake looks deep golden brown.  Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack.

For Frosting:

1.  Beat together cream cheese and butter until well combined.

2.  Slowly add powdered sugar until combined.

3.   Beat in vanilla extract.

**Frosting may be refrigerated until ready to use**

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