Food Librarian

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling!

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling!

Happy Halloween!

Here's a muffin that fits in with the season! (Unless you are in Los Angeles right now and experiencing huge Santa Ana winds and lots of heat).

Cidney the Girl Dog is going to be a Bumble Bee. Yes, there is even a little video. Yes, I'm obsessed. But let's move onto the muffin.

This muffin has pumpkin.
This muffin has cream cheese.
This muffin has a streusel topping.

What's not to love?

The muffin was moist, but I think I can get away with a smidgen less oil. Next time I'll try that and let you know.

These were really loved at my meeting...you should treat your co-workers to some!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins
Recipe from MyRecipes.com (Julia Dowling Rutland, Coastal Living, April 2013)

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (one block)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter, cold

Muffins:
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (original recipe: 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk (I used low-fat milk)

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Prep muffin tins with paper liners - this recipe makes 24 muffins.
2. Cream cheese filling: Mix together cream cheese, vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Streusel topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the butter until large crumbs form. Place in refrigerator until needed.
4. Muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, 1 3/4 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, oil, and milk. Fold egg/pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until just moist. Don't overmix!
5. Spoon batter muffin pan, 1/2 way to top. Dollop about 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture in center of batter (I used a small cookie scoop), and top evenly with remaining batter until muffin is 3/4 full. Sprinkle top with streusel mixture.
6. Bake 20 to 23 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

Any Day All-Occasion Apple Snack Cake (Flo Braker)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions

I love snack cakes as much as I love Downton Abbey. I'm a bit late to the party and have been watching marathons of the first season. Oh, that Thomas...you are vile. And Bates and Anna? So perfect...if it weren't for that crazy pesky wife. Anyway, Miss Patmore might not make this, but you can make a quick cake any morning.

This recipe is from Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions - pick up the book, it is filled with lots of yummy recipes.

This cake uses oil and no butter, even for the topping. Mix most of the dry ingredients together with oil and then pull out some of it. Add nuts (I used chopped walnuts from Trader Joe's) and some cinnamon to finish off the topping.

In the headnote, Flo says you can add a cup of fruit or veggies to the mix...it's very versatile. I shredded an apple (skin on).

Any Day All-Occasion Apple Snack Cake
(adapted from Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions)

2 1/3 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur all-purpose unbleached flour)
3⁄4 cup sugar (150 grams)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon - divided (I used Penzy's cinnamon)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (200 grams)
3⁄4 cup vegetable oil (I used Wesson's canola oil)
(I added 1 cup shredded apple with skin on)
1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts (I used Trader Joe's Walnut baking pieces)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep a 9 x 13 pan.
You don't need a KitchenAid mixer...just a couple bowls and a whisk.

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and 1⁄2 tsp cinnamon into a large bowl.
2. Mix in the brown sugar with a whisk.
3. Stir in the oil. (By this point, my batter was a little dry and in crumbles - this worked out fine).
4. Crumb topping: Remove enough of the flour mixture to measure 3⁄4 cup loosely packed. Add the remaining 1 tsp cinnamon and blend well with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Set aside.
5. To finish the cake batter, stir in the baking powder and baking soda. Add the buttermilk and egg and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
6. Stir in your added fruit or veggies (if adding). I added one shredded skin-on apple.
7. Pour the batter into pan, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter.
8. Bake for about 35 mins until toothpick comes out clean.
9. The instructions say to depan the cake after 10-15 minutes and let cool completely. However, I just left it in the pan to cool off.

Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake - Day #18 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake

I Like Big Bundts - Day #18

Hellllloooo! Today's Day #18 of my third I Like Big Bundts - 30 days of Bundt cakes!

Martha Stewart has a baking show on Hallmark Channel and she made this monster bundt cake - The Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake! It has two big layers of streusel and a moist cake.

All these bundts are leading up to National Bundt Day! Submission info can be found here. Bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th! Then submit a photo or blog post by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a 1 1/4" button for baking along with me!

This makes hella streusel with pecans. In fact, when I make this again, I might make 1/2 the streusel and put only one layer of streusel in the middle. Because this has a layer on the "top" (in the pan) that becomes the "bottom" when inverted, it was a little different than other layered bundts (such as Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt).