Peach Streusel Coffee Cake

Peach Streusel Coffee Cake

It's stone fruit season. I'm in love. 

And I had a presentation to give at a meeting so I brought these. Know your audience :)

It's World Cup time! Looking forward to seeing all the games, the excitement of countries staying up to watch and cheer, lots of passionate tweets, and Cristiano Ronaldo. At work, we've been "researching" restaurants with the best TV placement for our lunches (looks like I'll be eating out for the next few weeks)!

I made this once before with nectarines. This time, I added more vanilla, used peaches (the original is for peaches) and still didn't get the consistency of the liquid ingredients that the recipe calls for - oh well, it all came together.

I love coffee cakes. Not very sweet, lovely topping and, in this case, a fruit surprise.

I used two yellow peaches in the cake (sliced thin) but you can use other stone fruit. I'd like to try some cherries and apricots!

I also used Vanilla Bean Paste because it is awesome. Have you used it? It gives you all the flecks of vanilla but it is less expensive than whole vanilla beans.

When I have a meeting at work, I either bring a half-sheet or quarter-sheet pan. I bought plastic covers for them at my local restaurant supply house (similar to these) and they are pretty awesome. My covers are low profile so you can stack about three of them in the refrigerator.

Enjoy the World Cup! Between matches, make this cake! :)

Recipe:
Nectarine Streusel Coffee Cake
Adapted from Williams Sonoma's Peach Streusel Coffee Cake and they adapted it from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Muffins, by Beth Hensperger (2003).

Streusel:
3/4 cup (105 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (65 grams)  firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Cake:
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, at room temperature
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
Original recipe has 1 tsp. almond extract, but I did not include it
2 firm, ripe nectarines or peaches peeled, pitted and sliced 1/2 inch thick

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper. (The original recipe calls for a  9-inch round springform pan.)

2. Make the streusel:  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown and granulated sugars and cinnamon. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Place in refrigerator or freezer while assembling the rest of the cake.

3. Prepare the fruit: Peel the peaches (blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, then remove), pit and slice the fruit. I used two yellow peaches, but other stone fruits can be used.

4. Make the cake: Mix together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a wire whisk, beat the egg, melted butter, milk, vanilla and (almond extract, if using) until creamy, about 1 minute. (The recipe calls for "until creamy" but I beat the heck out of the mixture with a wire whisk and never got a "creamy" consistency - see above.) Add to the flour mixture and beat just until evenly moistened. There should be no lumps or dry spots. Do not overmix.

5. Spread batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly using an offset spatula. If using a springform pan, arrange the peach slices in concentric circles from the pan sides to the center. If using a square pan, arrange the slices in rows. Gently press the slices into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with the streusel.

6. Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Lemon Scones

Lemon Scones

I made these scones in January and am finally getting around to posting them. I can't believe today is the first day of June! What happened to 2014?!

This is a super easy recipe. It uses buttermilk instead of heavy cream so I think it has a bit fewer calories (but don't worry, it has a stick of butter so it's plenty rich). The lemon flavor is delicate as zest is the only lemon flavor used in the recipe.

Remember, when making scones, you should be able to see little bits of butter. When heated, the water in the butter will create steam and cause the dough to puff up.

The original recipe from Taste of Home says you should make one large circle and cut it into 10-12 scones. However, I made two circles and made 12 scones from the two circles.

These are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee...perhaps some lemon curd or jam too.

Lemon Scones
Adapted from: Taste of Home

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar plus additional sugar for top
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (original called for 1 1/2 teaspoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry cutter, two knives or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in the lemon peel. Pour the buttermilk over the mixture and stir until just mixed.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead a couple times and shape into two balls (or one big one). Place the ball on a parchment paper covered baking pan, and pat into a 1/2" to 3/4" thick circle. Using a knife, cut circle into wedges but don't go all the way through the dough - you are just scoring the dough. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown on the bottom and edges. Enjoy! These are good on their own, and can be served with butter, jam, or lemon curd.

Spiced Nectarine Cake from Bon Appetit

Spiced Nectarine Cake

It's a delicious time of the year. Stone fruits. Cherries. Strawberries galore.
Awesome.

Make this cake.
Serious.
Go to the Farmer's Market, buy stone fruit and make it. You probably have all the base ingredients in the house right now!

It doesn't make much batter (only 1 1/4 cup flour) so the fruit really shines. The batter is simply a delivery device for warm fruit. :)

The original recipe from Bon Appetit has lemon juice and zest. Um, I totally forgot to add them, but I did take the suggestion of the reviewers and added some vanilla extract. I also baked it in this glass pie plate - the recipe calls for a 9" springform pan.

You can serve it on a plate with some coffee, tea or even a scoop of ice cream. Or, you can be like my co-workers, cut a slide and use your hand eat it like a pizza during the meeting.

Wow. Two blog posts in two days. And I served this cake this morning, and I'm posting it tonight. Finding my camera again has given me lots of inspiration!

Take care, Mary the Food Librarian

P.S. Make this cake!!!

Spiced Nectarine Cake
Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2005

Difference from the Original Recipe on Epicurious:
1. Totally skipped the lemon juice and zest. Totally skipped it because I totally forgot to add it.
2. Added vanilla extract.
3. Did not have self-rising flour, used a mixture of flour, baking powder and salt
4. Only needed 3 nectarines - recipe calls for 5.
5. Baked mine in a glass pie tray (because my springform pan was in use).
6. Forgot to sprinkle the topping on the cake before placing in oven...pulled it out after 15 minutes of baking and sprinkled on top. Yes, I was a bit tired when I made this!
7. You can substitute peaches, apricots or plums.

Cake Batter:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (175 g) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 medium nectarines, sliced, not peeled

Topping:
3 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9" springform pan or pie tin.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Whisk in the salt.
3. Using a paddle attachment, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until blended. Add the vanilla.
5. On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just blended. Don't overmix.
6. Spread into the pan.
7. Arrange a layer of nectarine slices.
8. Mix together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle over the cake.
9. Bake until cake is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.
10. Serve at room temp or warm from the oven.

Banana Nutella Swirl Muffins

Banana Nutella Swirl Muffins

Bananas.
Nutella.
All in a muffin.

Let's do it. I found this recipe on The Novice Chef's blog. I had some very sad looking bananas in the fridge and wanted to use them up...and I had a new jar of Nutella. Match made in heaven!


The recipe is easy to make. Normal muffin blending with a dollop of Nutella on top. I ran about 1/3 cup of Nutella through the microwave for about 15 seconds. That made it easier to scoop and swirl. I also did not include the chopped pecans in the original recipe.


By the way, I found my camera! It's been "misplaced" for several months now...and I almost gave up hope. You know when you place something in a super SECRET place...so secret that you forget where you put it? That's me.

I could blame the fumes from the floor refinishing or paint, but I was trying to be clever...and so failed. The camera was put in a bin of kitchen equipment, with other stuff on top. I've lifted the lid on every box in the house and missed it. Yesterday, when I was putting away loaf pans in that box, I found the camera! Whoo hoo!

Note to my family and friends: Because I seem to forget this kind of stuff, I don't "hide" money around the house. Don't bother opening every book in the house looking for money when I'm gone... :)


All the muffins are unique based on your swirl pattern. Because of the Nutella, the top can get a little messy. You might want to serve them with a napkin (or you can just lick off the Nutella from your fingers!)



RECIPE:
Find full recipe on the Novice Chef's Blog here:  http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2013/01/nutella-banana-swirl-muffins/
My changes: Did not include pecans.

Chocolate Scones with White Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Scones with White Chocolate Chips

I was going through my chocolate stash and found some white chocolate chips that I forgot about. Thus, chocolate scones with white chocolate chips!

I'm such a fan of scones. They are easy to make in the morning and are perfect for a morning meeting. My department has a standing weekly morning meeting, and I bought these to share.

After the meeting, I placed the "leftover" scones on a table for other staff to eat. I ran into a colleague later that morning holding one of the scones. As she walked by, she said, "I'll eat anything you bake. You can make mud pies and I'll eat 'em." Hee hee.

The dough comes together very quickly. Remember - don't overmix scones. I like to make smaller scones (more to share) so I made two circles and cut each into 8 pieces. Brush some cream on top and finish with a sprinkle of sanding sugar. (I totally use sanding sugar on everything...well, except a chicken dinner, but pretty much all baked goods!)

See you soon - I'm going to try and blog more...life has been really busy! Also, my nice camera is still MIA so these photos are from my Samsung phone.

I hope you make these scones someday. They make people happy. - mary

Chocolate Scones with White Chocolate Chips
2/3 cup of heavy cream (plus a little more to brush on the scones)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (25 grams) Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Callebaut)
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 Tablespoons (75% of one stick of butter) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Sanding sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix together in the measuring cup or a small bowl the cream, egg and vanilla.
3. In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, two knives or your fingers until the butter is pea-size.
5. Add the white chocolate chips to the mix and stir to blend.
6. Pour the cream mixture over the batter and mix until just blended together. Don't overmix and it's okay if you don't get it all incorporated because you'll knead it a bit in the next step.
7. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead to pull everything together but try to handle the dough as little as possible.
8. For mini scones: I split the dough in half and made two circles and cut each into 8 wedges. If you want larger scones, you can press it into one circle and cut into 8 wedges.
9. Place the scones on a baking sheet (I use parchment paper for easy clean up) and brush the top with a little cream or milk. Sprinkle sanding sugar on top.
10. Bake for 17-20 minutes (depending on the size of the scones and your oven) until they are firm around the edges.
11. Cool on wire rack and enjoy!

Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry & Cream Biscuits

Strawberry & Cream Biscuits

It's hot in Los Angeles.
Like 91 F hot.
And our poor Dodgers get rained/snowed out in Minneapolis.
I wish I could send Minneapolis some of our heat. And they give us some of their snow pack for our drought!
(Don't get me started on the whole Clippers fiasco. I hope Oprah buys the team.)

These are like scones/biscuits. Cut up strawberries and fold in with the flour/butter mix. Be sure to coat the strawberries in flour before adding the cream.

I cut them into rounds. Next time, I would have thicker biscuits. I think these are a little too thin.

Nothing like a light biscuit filled with strawberries!

It's strawberry season in California now (well, we grow strawberries all year, but now they are crazy sweet good). Like "get 1/2 flat of strawberries (6 green plastic containers) for $9-11 at the Farmer's Market" strawberry season. Deliciousness.

When you get some strawberries (hopefully California grown!), make these Strawberry & Cream Biscuits from Smitten Kitchen.

RECIPE: Click here to go to Smitten Kitchen's blog and recipe

Fava Beans with Meyer Lemon, The Vegetable Diva

Fava Beans with Meyer Lemons

It's Fava Bean season! It's a bit early (the farmer's market vendor says it has been so hot in Central California that things are burning up and coming up early). The season is pretty short so get them when you see them.

And get them when you are full of peaceful zen and patience.

To me, Fava Beans are vegetable divas. They require TWO peelings. But there is a reason why Mother Nature gave it so much padding - to protect it's yummy center.

Russ Parson's of the Los Angeles Times recommends buying a POUND of fava beans PER PERSON. Serious. There is a lot of organic compostable waste in fava beans.

First, you remove the pods from the bean.

Then, blanch the pods in boiling water for a minute or so.

The pods look milky white. But you aren't done. You need to remove that white layer to grab the beautiful green fava bean.

 

To get the bean out, I split the white layer with my nail. You can't just pop it out. You need to peel/slit the outer cover. Dude, I warned you. DIVA VEGETABLE.

Finally, after getting to the fava, you might be exhausted. So go simple and saute the beans with some olive oil and Meyer lemon zest. Finish with some good sea salt and cracked pepper.

Here are some other pretty things I found at the Farmer's Market. I'll post something I made with these strawberries this week!

Recipe:
Fava Beans with Meyer Lemon

1. Listen to an audiobook and get the fava beans out of the pods.
2. Blanch beans for a minute or so.
3. Remove the outer milky layer to reveal a bright green bean.
4. Saute beans in olive oil.
5. Zest a lemon into the pan, to taste.
6. Top with sea salt and cracked pepper. Serve immediately (well, after you take a photo! :)

Here's some other recipes:
LA Times: 6 Recipes for Fava Beans
The Kitchn: 5 Ways to Cook Fava Beans

Nigella's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

I can't find my digital scale. Eeck.

Due to some home improvements, things were moved around and crammed in other areas of the house and the garage. And I don't know where the digital scale went! Eeck. I use it all the time and feel like my arm is cut off when baking without it. Oh, and I can't find my camera too. It's kinda a disaster in the making. I'm lucky to have gotten these muffins out the door. I'll keep you posted on the lost and found that is the house.

These are Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins. They have some cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I switched regular chocolate chips for mini chips because mini chips are cuter.

I really liked this recipe. Super easy to make and the texture was very good. I made them two days in a row and will definitely make them again in the future!

Let's hope my scale and camera show up soon!
(These photos were taken on my Samsung 4S phone with the VSCOcam app)

I slightly adapted Nigella's recipe from the Food Network

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder (I used Callebaut dutch chocolate)
3/4 cup superfine sugar (one time, I used granulated sugar and it turned out fine)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top (1 cup total chips - I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a muffin tin with liners.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.
4. In a measuring cup, mix together the oil, milk, egg and vanilla together.
5. Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients and mix together. Don't overmix - it's fine if it's lumpy.
6. Scoop into muffin tin.
7. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top.
8. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 12 muffins.

Sour Cream Bisquick Biscuits

Sour Cream Bisquick Biscuits

This is total comfort food. 

Bisquick. 

Sour Cream.

Old school recipe. 

After all that happened this month so far, I needed comfort food and these are the ticket.

My mom used to make these biscuits when I was little. My cousin makes them small and I think they are better that way (and you can eat more).

My cousin has an index card written by her mom. I'm sure you can make this all from scratch, but Bisquick has a special place in my memory and it's foolproof.

On Sunday, I went to my parent's house and made some little ham and egg biscuits.

This is super easy to make. Just some Bisquick, sour cream, a bit of sugar, baking soda and an egg.

I made mini biscuits with a one-inch (or so) circle because they are cute and you can eat a bunch. Sure, if you count the calories, it's all the same, but I'm always more satisfied if I can eat four small ones instead of only one big one.:)

By the way, I only had my cell phone camera to take these photos. Sorry about the quality. But the quality of the biscuits? Yummmmmmy.

Sour Cream Bisquick Biscuits

Mix together in one bowl:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Mix together in a small bowl:

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pour the wet mixture onto the Bisquick bowl. 

3. Stir until just combined. Don't overmix.

4. Knead dough 5-7 times on a flour or Bisquick covered surface.

5. Pat or roll out and cut into desired shape.

6. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown on top and bottom (depends on how big you make them - around 12-20 minutes)

Spreads Cookies by Pioneer Woman

Spreads by The Pioneer Woman

On Saturday morning, I turned on the DVR and found a new episode of Ree Drummond in The Pioneer Woman Food Network show. It was all about football camp with her making 120 sandwiches and these "Spreads" cookies for the football camp boys.

Spreads are the often requested treat of Ree's older brother and it's basically a cookie dough topped with melted chocolate chips. In her 2009 post on her blog, she doesn't top it with extra stuff, but on the show, she went crazy and filled it with toppings.

On this spread, I topped it with two types of candy sprinkles.

This was topped with Heath English Toffee Bits. I just love these. They go great in scones too (see this recipe)

The dough is very close to a cookie dough and you simply spread it on a baking sheet. After it bakes for 15-20 minutes, you take it out and place chocolate chips on top. Then it goes back in the oven for 1 more minute (just long enough to soften the chips) and then you spread them out with your offset spatula. Seriously easy peasy.

After they chill out, you can cut the spreads into any size pieces. I found it helpful to refrigerate them for 15 minutes before cutting.

I made one batch and split it between two quarter-sheet pans. You can make one big spread, or smaller individual ones too. On the show, she topped one with this crazy s'mores gone wild: crushed graham crackers, mini marshmallows, M&Ms and caramel sauce.

Cidney the Girl Dog was hanging out on her Costco doggie bed (the cover was in the wash) while I made the Spreads. I'm not sure she liked me interrupting her rest. :)

Spreads by The Pioneer Woman
See her original recipe (2009) and from the Food Network

1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 large egg
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (I added this, not in the original recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 - 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 8 ounces, but I think 6 ounces would be fine)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place parchment paper on a half-sheet or quarter-sheet pan. The Pioneer Woman does not use parchment, but I find the clean up easier with parchment.
3a. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
3b. With an electric mixer and paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and blend together, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the vanilla and blend.
6. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour and salt and blend until just combined.
7. With an offset spatula, spread dough on the baking pan to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Don't spread it the edges of the pan.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown on the edges.
9. Pull out of the oven (leave the oven on) and sprinkle the chocolate chips on the cookie.
10. Return to the oven and for 1 minute. Remove and spread the chips over the top with the offset spatula.
11. Spread your selected toppings on top.
12. Let cool before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

From @instagram - My account is @foodlibrarian - follow along! (it's 85% food, 10% dog and 5% more ridiculousness).