De Baking Psychopath

Michael's birthday request: British Meat Pie . I used bacon fat for the crust. Best. Crust. Ever. Bake or Break always has the best recipes. This cream cheese and blueberry coffee cake was no exception. Another Bake or Break recipe: Pecan Cake . Fabulous. I used Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk and the cake turned out delightfully springy in addition to moist and nutty. Chocolate frosting was optional but delicious. I picked up some fresh figs from Trader Joe's and tried this fig and olive oil loaf cake from Tracy Shutterbean . It was dense, nutty, and delicious!

My husband doesn't like muffins or quickbreads. But he likes coffeecakes. I think he finds the former to be too dry much of the time, and he prefers the moist plushness of coffee cakes due to the addition of yogurt or sour cream. I don't remember why I made this coffeecake but I had some cream cheese to use, and I decided to flavor the cream cheese with some freeze-dried strawberries I had no idea what to do with. The strawberry added a nice fruity flavor to this yummy crumb-topped cake.  This cake was husband-approved. I cut it into gigantic squares, and he ended up taking a square for lunch many a day! Cinnamon (Strawberry) Cream Cheese Coffee Cake (Adapted from Bake or Break ) Ingredients: 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), softened and cut into small chunks 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup chopped pecans pinch of salt 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 t...

Ok, this was another get-rid-of-sour-cream recipe. But boy, it's so good I'd probably go out to buy sour cream just to make it. The texture of the cake can only be described as plush . Moist, soft, with a crunchy and fragrant cinnamon swirl in the middle and top. You can also feel good about making this recipe since it boasts a reduced-fat and -cholesterol profile (no egg yolks and reduced fat sour cream) and lots of good-for you cinnamon, and you could even swap out the flour for whole wheat pastry flour to give a little more fiber. Whatever the reason, it's a yummy addition to any holiday brunch or weekday morning breakfast! Sour Cream Coffee Cake (adapted from Cooking Light Magazine ) Ingredients : 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (can decrease this if you like--it's for the topping) 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large egg whites 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream (o...