Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 4

Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake

Day 4 of I Like Big Bundts

Welcome to Day #4 of I Like Big Bundts 2013! Days and days of daily Bundts as we countdown to National Bundt Day on November 15, 2013. I truly love big Bundts. Cake is delicious, and frosting is not. Thus, the Bundt is awesome.

Today's bundt is from the Moosewood cookbook Moosewood Restaurant Favorites: The 250 Most-Requested, Naturally Delicious Recipes from One of America's Best-Loved Restaurants - if it made the cut into the top recipes of a 40 year old restaurant, then you know it's a keeper. I remember using the Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen in my undergrad years (the vegetarian years). I've never been to New York's Moosewood Restaurant, and hope to one day experience all their yummy delights.

This recipe is called "Sara's Fresh Apple Spice Cake" in the book (page 333). She brought it to her interview at Moosewood in 1973 and got the job.

The recipe doesn't call for a particular variety of apple so I found some Gala Apples on sale and picked them up. I peeled them, but you don't have to if you want more of a rustic touch.

You can serve this with a dusting of powdered sugar...or just plain. If you want to go crazy, you can serve it with some whipped cream or ice cream too.

Ah, fall. Days might be getting dark while you are still at work, but you get to eat lots of cinnamon spice and apples. So it's not all that bad.

See you tomorrow for another Bundt for...I cannot lie, I Like Big Bundts! - mary

I Like Big Bundts 2013 (so far)
Day 3: Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Day 2: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Recipe: Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake

Adapted from Sara's Fresh Apple Spice Cake from the book: Moosewood Restaurant Favorites: The 250 Most-Requested, Naturally Delicious Recipes from One of America's Best-Loved Restaurants

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
2 cups (380 grams) lightly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
3 cups (420 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour or 2 cups white and 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used all white flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons apple juice, milk, buttermilk or water (I used water)
3 cups chopped apples (I used Gala apples because they were on sale!)
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or almonds) (I did not include nuts)
Powdered sugar (optional topping)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Prepare a Bundt pan by greasing and flouring it, or spraying it with Pam with Flour.

3. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat the oil and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. 

5. With the mixer on slow speed, add the dry ingredients and  apple juice or water and vanilla.

6. Fold in the chopped apples and nuts (optional). Batter will be thick. 

7. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 50-70 minutes (depending on your oven) until the cake is golden brown, pulling away from the sides, and a toothpick comes out clean. 

8. Let it on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then invert from pan and let cool completely. 

9. Sprinkle the top with sifted powdered sugar when the cake is cool (optional). Enjoy!

Butterscotch Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 3

Butterscotch Bundt Cake

Day 2 of I Like Big Bundts 2013

When I'm in the baking aisle of the grocery store, I usually pick up chocolate chips...and pass over the Butterscotch Chips. But this time, I picked some up for this fun bundt!

The Nordic Ware company was founded by Henry David Dalquist in 1950 after he invented the Bundt pan in 1946. His wife Dorothy has authored several books on Bundts for Nordic Ware. My BFF Dulcey sent me "Bundt Entertaining" by Dorothy Dalquist. See this post from a couple years ago with the story about the book and our friendship. Disclaimer: When you go to this post, there will be a doll in a bundt. If you are like me and scared of dolls, you might want to keep one eye closed. Just warning you!

There is 3/4 cup of butterscotch chips in two layers. The use of brown sugar in the batter gives the pound cake a rich flavor.

After baking, a glaze of butter, brown sugar, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar is poured over the cooled cake. The glaze is very good and really adds to the cake. Please don't skip it.

Thanks so much for your kind comments on Twitter and Instagram about I Like Big Bundts...even though Bundts are all over the place now, it seems you still like my little baking challenge. I am touched that some of you think of crazy me whenever you see a Bundt cake! :) That's an honor.

I hope you'll celebrate National Bundt Day on November 15th! Like previous years, if you send me a picture of your Bundt made for this year's holiday, I'll post a round up of delicious Bundts. More info this week (or whenever I get it together - remember, this year's series is fraught with disorganization on my part!)

My co-worker said this was one of her favorites. My other co-worker grabbed a second slice and said, "I let everyone get a chance for first few hours, and then anything left over is fair game."

See you tomorrow for another Bundt as we head to National Bundt Day (November 15th)!!!! - mary

I Like Big Bundts 2013 (so far)
Day 2: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Recipe: Butterscotch Bundt
Adapted from Butterscotch Pound Cake in the book: Bundt Entertaining by Dorothy Dalquist & Nordic Ware

Bundt:
1 3/4 cup (350 grams) light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temp
4 eggs, room temp
3 1/3 cup (466 grams) flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk (I used whole milk), best at room temperature
3/4 cup (132 grams) butterscotch chips

Glaze:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar, packed
2 Tablespoons milk or half & half (I used whole milk)
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 10 or 12-cup capacity Bundt pan by greasing & flouring the pan, or spraying with Pam with Flour.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt to combine.
3. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Blend in sour cream. Scrape down sides of bowl.
4. On slow speed, alternately add 1/3 of the flour mixture with 1/2 the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture until blended. Scrape down sides of bowl to combine.
5. Add 1/3 of the batter to the Bundt pan. Sprinkled half the butterscotch chips on top, avoiding the sides of the pan. Add half the remaining batter into the pan, spreading out to cover the first layer and chips. Add the remaining chips on top, followed by the rest of the batter. Smooth out the top.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely before glazing.

Glaze
In a medium saucepan, stir together the butter, brown sugar, milk (or half & half). Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Pour hot glaze over cake.

Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 2

Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt

Day 2 of I Like Big Bundts 2013

We're on Day 2 of this year's (light edition) of I Like Big Bundts - 15 days of Bundts leading up to National Bundt Day on November 15th! I hope you join me in celebrating the Bundt and bake something special for your family and friends on Nov 15th.

When offered a choice of desserts in a restaurant or bakery, many people go straight for the chocolate. Me? It's all about the lemon (next on the list are ginger, other fruits, mocha/coffee, and then chocolate).

Today, I'm showing the Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake from the classic book Luscious Lemon Desserts by former food editor for Gourmet, Lori Longbotham.

This is a nice big Bundt...just the way I know you like them ;) It's lovely with a cup of tea or coffee. You can also serve it with raspberries or other fruit.

Made with cake flour, this cake's texture is soft and refined. I think the cake is better the next day so the lemon flavors have time to develop (I kept a piece and had it the next day...research purposes, right?!)

It has lots of zest so be sure to have your microplane ready for action. If you aren't lucky enough to have a lemon tree in the backyard, then try to purchase organic lemons since you are using so much of the zest. There is zest in the cake as well as the glaze. In this close-up photo, you can see the pieces of zest clinging to the cake.

My parent's Meyer Lemon tree didn't have any lemons for me so I went to the Farmer's Market and purchased these Eureka Lemons.

Last night, I went to Target to buy a new shower curtain. I got that...and the new iPad Air (no, it wasn't an impulse purchase, I was going to the the iPad at the Apple Store but Target had it on sale for $20 off...and I was able to use my Target gift cards from last Christmas!) Anyway, if I'm not baking Bundts, I'll be playing with my new toy - it's way lighter than older iPads. And special thanks to my UCLA grad school friend Laura who sent me this fabulous mini Bundt from a doll house collection! So cute!

Ahhhhh lemon. You rock. 
Come back tomorrow for another Bundt!
I Like Big Bundts 2013 (so far)

Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Recipe: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Adapted from Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham, 2001 Chronicle Books

Bundt Cake:
3 1/2 cups (12 1/4 ounces) sifted cake flour (not self rising)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups (450 grams) sugar
6 large eggs, room temp
1 cup milk (I used 1% milk)
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 300⁰F.  Butter and flour or spray with Pam with Flour a 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together TWICE. I sift onto a piece of parchment paper so it is easy to pour into the bowl later.
3. Beat butter with an electric mixer and paddle attachment on medium until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar to the butter, and beat until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well (30-60 seconds) after each addition.
5. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in batches, beginning and ending with the flour.
6. Stir in zest, lemon extract and vanilla.
7. Pour into Bundt pan and smooth top. Bake for 60-90 minutes (depending on your oven) until skewer comes out clean. **Check early because mine was almost done at 70 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack and glaze the warm cake.

Glaze:
1. While the Bundt is resting on the wire rack, make the lemon glaze.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let simmer for 5 minutes until it thickens a little and the sugar has dissolved.
3. Turn the cake onto the rack and brush hot syrup over the hot cake with a pastry brush. Let cake cool before cutting into pieces. Enjoy!

Find the book on Amazon, or find the book in your Library via WorldCat

I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt Cake

Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt Cake

I Like Big Bundts 2013 (the lite edition)

It's that special time of year.

Days are shorter.

Leaves change color and fall off trees in some parts of the country.
Pumpkin Spice Lattes are poured at Starbucks.

And you start thinking about Thanksgiving.

But for me, it's Bundt season.

Because I cannot lie, I Like Big Bundts!

National Bundt Day is November 15th (I don't know who made up this food holiday, but I thank them for it) and I like to celebrate. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, I posted 30 days of Bundts to get you in the mood. I had to take last year off, and this year I'm going to try to do a "light" version with 15 days of Bundts leading up to the awesome National Bundt Day on November 15, 2013.

So much has changed since my first I LIKE BIG BUNDTS celebration (as always, thanks to my good friend JustJenn for coming up with the name and all the great graphics - you can purchase notecards and buttons here)... Bundts are everywhere now! Back in the day (boy, do I sound old), I wanted to promote the bundt as the best cake substance on the planet. Now I see Bundts on blogs, books, and in the best bakeries. Bundt love is awesometown. While Bundt love is now widespread, I still want to share with you my life-long love affair with the Bundt as the perfect baked good - little or no frosting, lots of cake, and perfect to share with friends and co-workers.

Just so you know, I'm highly disorganized this year. I usually have a bunch of lists, recipes and cookbooks all ready to go. This year...frazzled is the best way to describe things. So, I hope I can pull it off, but you'll forgive me if life (and a huge work project) gets in the way, right? 

As in the past, if you'd like to celebrate National Bundt Day on November 15th with me, I ask that you send along a photo of your Bundt and I'll post a round-up of the delicious bundts. Logistics of submission will be posted soon. [Update: Submission info here!]

To start this off, I want to show off my new Jubilee Bundt Pan from Nordic Ware. My BFF Dulcey tweeted me when she visited the Nordic Ware factory store in Minnesota. I knew I had to buy it. Isn't it pretty? By the way, I don't work for Nordic Ware but do recommend their pans (some of my pans can be found in this post).

Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt Cake

This recipe is from the wrapper off the Jubilee Bundt pan! It's an orange pound cake with lots of zest and topped with a glaze of orange juice and orange marmalade.

I used the Dorie Greenspan technique of rubbing the zest and sugar together to bring out the zest's oils and flavor. I used 4 oranges for the cake and glaze (you'll need to zest a couple of the oranges, and squeeze out a total of 3/4 cup of orange juice for the cake & glaze - I needed 4 small-medium, not too juicy oranges to get that yield). It's easy to make. The Jubilee pan has a 10-cup capacity and the batter rises to the top, but didn't go over.

As always, bake your bundt directly on the oven rack and never place a cookie sheet under it (air should flow through the hole in the center).

When I bought the Jubilee Bundt Pan, I also purchased Nordic Ware's cool Cake Lifter. It's this massive spatula to lift your Bundts. How did I live this long without one!??!?! It's fantastic. In the summer months, you can use it to fan yourself too. :)

Look at that great pattern! It's very pretty, no?


Here's a close up of the pattern. It looks good at all angles. Besides the original Bundt pan (12-cup capacity), I like the Heritage Pan (10-cup capacity) too. But now I think the Jubilee Bundt Pan (10 cup) might be moving up on the Heritage!

The crumb was very pound-cakey...tight with little bright orange zest throughout.

Do you include Bundt cakes in your regular baking rotation? I hope so! Come back tomorrow for another Bundt! - mary

Recipe: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt Cake
Adapted from the package of the Nordic Ware "Orange Jubilee Cake"

3 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 (500 grams) cups sugar
Zest of 2 oranges, finely grated
4 large eggs
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, strained with no pulp*

Glaze:
1/2 cup orange marmalade (I used Trader Joe's Seville Marmalade)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, strained with no pulp*

*Depending on the size of your oranges, you may need 3-4 oranges to get this much juice. I needed 4 oranges total for this recipe.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare a 10 or 12-cup Bundt pan by spraying it with Pam with Flour, or brushing it with melted butter and dusting it with flour. I used the beautiful Jubilee Bundt pan by Nordic Ware.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest and sugar together to infuse the flavor into the sugar - the sugar will be a little damp.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with sugar & zest until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating 30-60 seconds after each addition. Scrap down the bowl and beat until it is light and fluffy, another 3-4 minutes.
7. Combine the buttermilk and orange juice in a measuring cup.
8. On slow speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and alternate with the 1/2 the liquid. Start and end with the dry ingredients. Scrap down sides of the bowl.
9. Spoon batter into the Bundt pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Glaze: Combine marmalade and orange juice in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Strain into a bowl, discarding the solids. Pour over or brush onto the cooled cake. Wait at least 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

 
Disclosure: No, I don't work for Nordic Ware - just a huge fan. However, if you buy things from the Amazon links, then I get a few cents as part of their affiliate program - thanks if you buy anything from the Amazon link!

Cream Scones with Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits

Cream Scones with Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits

You know when someone starts using email for the first time and writes everything in ALL CAPS, and you have to politely tell them that is the equivalent of screaming at their grandchild? (Happens all the time in the library)

Well, let me just tell you... MAKE THESE SCONES.

These are fantastic. The scone is a great base for all sorts of goodies. Currants, mini chocolate chips, or, in my case, milk chocolate toffee bits. The scone is tender, light and a perfect treat.

I really love you Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits. Seriously love you.

You can pretty much make these scones in your sleep. That's why I love scones. I throw them together, pop them in the oven, jump in the shower and am rewarded with piping hot deliciousness before 6 am. Win.

I make my scones square because it is easier to shape and cut (and they look better when you are making small scones). You can also form them into a circle and cut into wedges - another very pretty thing. I hardly ever cut them with cookie cutter rounds because then you need to gather up the scraps and shape them again (too much effort and the scrap-made ones are always a bit lesser than the first round scones).

Anyway, however you shape them, make them. By the way, I also brushed some cream on top and topped with raw sugar.

I usually make my scones all by hand (with a pastry cutter), but I used a food processor to cut in the butter...and man, does it make it fast and easy!

My co-worker IM'd me:  Hi Mary. I bet you could sell those scones for $100 dollars a piece. They are that delicious.

Cream Scones with Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen (Dream Cream Scones) who adapted from America's Test Kitchen Cookbook (they used dried cranberries and currants in their recipe)

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits
1 cup heavy cream (I use Trader Joe's heavy cream - it's not ultra-pasteurized)

1 or 2 Tablespoons of cream
Raw sugar or sanding sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. You can cut the butter into the flour by hand or in a food processor. By Hand: Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk together to blend. Food Processor: Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into food processor (steel blade) and pulse a few times to combine the ingredients.
3. By Hand: Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, your fingers or knives until you have small pieces of butter in the mix. Food Processor: Place butter on top of flour mixture in food processor, and pulse in one second intervals, about 10 times until the butter is cut into small bits. Don't overpulse...you want texture. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Stir in the the toffee bits into the flour mixture.
5. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds. It won't all come together and that's okay...you will knead it for a bit in a second.
5. Transfer dough to lightly floured countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds.
6. Form dough into a square about 3/4 inch thick and cut into 16 or 25 scones. Or you can form into a round and cut into wedges.
7. With a pastry brush, brush each scone with some heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar in the raw or sanding sugar.
8. Place scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment (for easier clean up, but if you don't have parchment, it can be ungreased) and bake in the oven until the bottoms are golden and the tops light brown, about 12-15 minutes, depending on size of the scones and your oven. Remove from oven and cool on rack.
9. Best eaten the day (or morning) they are made.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I saw these Pumpkin Bars on Kitchen Runway's blog and knew they would be a perfect into to autumn foods. This recipe is super easy - it's like a Texas Sheet Cake (one of my favorite treats to make) but with Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Frosting.

Be sure to read Kitchen Runway's post...you'll see who got a little bite of the cake! :)

Baked in a half-sheet pan, it cooks quickly. You'll need to cool the cake before frosting (unlike the Texas Sheet Cake that has a warm frosting poured over a warm cake).

The resulting cake is soft and light. You can eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And why wouldn't you do that? ;)

It's Fall. It's also Time for Dodger Baseball! I'm here shouting: GO DODGERS!

The Dodgers always hold a special place in my heart, since they've been my hometown team forever. It's an exciting time for the team, especially after the years of terrible Frank McCourt ownership. Go Dodgers!

I love my offset spatula. It's a must-have in the kitchen. I have a bunch of them (bought a few at the restaurant supply place for the kid's cake decorating party), and use them all the time.

Updated: I also made this in a 9 x 13 pan. You'll get a taller cake, and baking time is about 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Kitchen Runway who adapted Paula Deen's recipe.
I reduced the amount of sugar and used a pumpkin pie spice blend instead of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Cake:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 cup (200 grams by weight) canola oil
15 ounces pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I used Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Spice that has cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves and cardamon)
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour or spray with Pam with Flour a half-sheet tray (18" x 13")
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin pie puree, and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder & soda, spices and salt.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture into the pumpkin. Stir to combine until completely blended.
5. Pour into tray and spread evenly in pan.
6. Bake for 20 minutes until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
7. Place on wire rack and let cool.

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups (6 ounces) sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Using a mixer with paddle attachment or an electric mixture, blend the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar.
3. Add the vanilla. Blend until complete mixed.
4. Using an offset spatula, spread frosting over cooled cake.

Oatmeal Jam Bars - Williams-Sonoma

Oatmeal Jam Bars

It's Chuck Williams of Williams-Sonoma's 98th Birthday today!! See this handsome photo from the W-S blog. Seems fitting to post a recipe I found on the Williams-Sonoma website. I find lots of good recipes on the site. Happy Birthday Mr. Williams - I love your stores!

Bonne Maman jams were on sale at Fresh & Easy recently for $2.99. What a great deal! I wonder what will become of Tesco's expensive failure in the United States marketplace. I hope the new owner will keep them open as they are convenient stores around town, but my dream is that Fresh & Easy gets married to Trader Joe's.

I like that F&E has name brands, unlike Trader Joe's - dude, sometimes you need to buy Diet Coke for that dinner party and Hansen's soda just ain't gonna cut it (also, as noted above, they have Bonne Maman jam). Unfortunately, F&E's store brands are inferior to Trader Joe's...TJs has excellent buyers who get such unique goods and/or convince name brands to sell under TJs store brands. Sometimes, I like the self-check out at F&E when you have less than 5 items, but it drives me crazy that no one helps when you buy $70 of stuff, and it made me really appreciate TJs efficient cashiers. I like that Fresh & Easy opened stores in more impoverished areas of Los Angeles (where there are not many grocery stores), but I didn't get their decision to stock all the stores with the same products - regardless of the neighborhood demographic. I shopped at the Compton store once and an employee asked me what the Crème fraîche and Brie were - how much of that were they selling in that store? But I did enjoy their in-store "heating up bakery" - they have ovens in the back where they bake frozen par-baked breads and then package for sale (what is that system called? it's very effective in making the place smell good and convincing you to get more carbs in your cart).

Oh, sorry. I digress.

Anyway, the Cherry Preserves is delicious. They are from France, purchased in a formerly English-owned shop in Los Angeles by a Japanese-American gal. Win.

This recipe is crazy easy. You only need a bowl and a food processor. Just measure out the dry ingredients, pop into the food processor with some butter and then you have both the TOP and BOTTOM. Love recipes like that! Open a jar of jam for the center deliciousness. It really couldn't be easier.

Of course, you can use most jams. The original recipe calls for Apricot or "other seedless jam"...but I don't see a reason to avoid seeded jams.

Baked in a 9-inch square pan, you can get from 20-36 bars, depending on how small you cut them.

As I said on my Instagram photo:  It's Fruit and Fiber....and butter and more butter.

Oatmeal Jam Bars

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma website of Oatmeal-Jam Squares, who adapted from Food Made Fast Series, Desserts, by Elinor Klivans (Oxmoor House, 2007)

12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup apricot or other seedless fruit jam (I used one whole jar of Bonne Mamam jam, Cherry Preserves.)

Directions:
1. Prep a 9-inch square baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or aluminum foil to create a sling for easy removal. Butter or spray the lining.

2. Preheat oven to 325°F.

3. In a food processor, combine the flour, oats, powdered sugar, brown sugar & cinnamon. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture forms fine crumbs.

4. Remove 2 cups of the flour mixture and set aside. Place rest of mixture in the pan and press it down to form the bottom crust.

5. Spread the jam over the crust. An offset spatula works great for this task. Squeeze the reserved mixture in your hands to form small clumps and sprinkle evenly over the jam.

6. Bake until the edges are lightly browned and the jam filling is just beginning to bubble, about 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

7. Lift the bars from the pan by pulling the parchment or foil sling. Cut squares on a cutting board and enjoy.

Lemon Blossom Cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake Cookbook

Lemon Blossom Cupcakes from Georgetown Bakery Cookbook

Libraries are so rad. Ok, I'm a little biased...but I am like many and check out lots of cookbooks from the library (cookbooks are one of the most popular non-fiction circulated titles in public libraries). Recently, I picked up The Cupcake Diaries: Recipes and Memories from the Sisters of Georgetown Cupcake by Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne.

I've been to Georgetown Cupcake in 2009, and the cupcakes were very pretty. My friend Rosie came over and we made the Lemon Blossom Cupcakes.

Rosie, who recently graduated from Johnson and Wales with Bachelors of Science in Baking and Pastry Arts and Foodservice Management (Yay Rosie!!), made a few gum paste flowers. We put a little candy pearl inside the flower. Doesn't it look wonderful on my Whitney Smith pottery?


We had some issues with the measurements though. The recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes. Since I needed more for a work thing, we doubled the recipe - thinking we'll get 24 cupcakes. However, we got 36 cupcakes plus a 6-cup Bundt cake! So...we think the yield in the cookbook is slightly off or they are making huge cupcakes. I think the basic recipe can get you 20-24 cupcakes, not the 12 cupcakes listed.

Also, the recipe says to use 1/2 CUP lemon zest from 2-3 lemons. I used 4 organic lemons and got only 1/4 of a cup when using the microplane. Do they have really big lemons on the East Coast or am I missing something? Since the recipe called for 1/2 CUP zest in both the batter and the frosting, I zested all the lemons I had (about 6) and used all the zest I got out of them.

I made my first Instagram Video! It shows Rosie frosting the cupcake (with Macklemore playing in the background). Find it here. The frosting was tasty...it was a combo of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest!

Thanks to my UCLA college roommate, Agnes for these adorable little cupcake stands. They are making their debut on the blog! :) Also, congrats to the UCLA Baseball team that recently won our first College World Series championship. Woooo hoooo! That gives UCLA 109 NCAA Championships...the most of any college. #GoBruins

Lemon Blossom Cupcakes
From: The Cupcake Diaries: Recipes and Memories from the Sisters of Georgetown Cupcake by Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne
Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick/8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly graded lemon zest (2-3 lemons) - this is what is listed in the recipe...I didn't get close to this amount from four lemons.
For the Lemon Cream-Cheese Frosting
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 stick)
6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup freshly graded lemon zest (2-3 lemons) - again, they must have crazy big lemons in Washington DC! :)

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard cupcakes pan with 12 paper baking cups.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt on a sheet  of wax paper and set aside.
3a. Measure out the sugar in a small bowl. Add the zest and rub together with your fingers to release the lemon's oil.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream together the butter and lemony sugar for 3-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla to the milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
5. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the milk, and mix thoroughly. Repeat. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the last third of dry ingredients followed by the last third of milk. Mix slowly until just incorporated. Add lemon juice, and mix at low speed.
6. Scoop the batter into the cupcake pas using a slandered size ice cream scoop until the cups are 2/3 full, and bake for 16-18 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes) , or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
1. Combine the ingredients in a mixture and whip together at high speed until light and airy, approximately 3-5 minutes.
2. Frost cupcakes. We used a large tip. See my instagram video: http://instagram.com/p/a69_nbx-Ms/


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