De Baking Psychopath

Happy New Year! I hope 2013 is a wonderful year for everyone.  To start the new year off on a healthy note, I bring you this veggie and fruit-packed wholesome breakfast cake. For those of you who may be familiar with Morning Glory muffins, this is the cake version of that hippie health food favorite.  Despite the health food origins, the cake is surprisingly light and flavorful and tasty. The cake itself is lightly sweetened and the fruit add just a touch more natural sweetness. It definitely is a breakfast or snack you can feel good about! Morning Glory Breakfast Cake (adapted from Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet, and Savory ) Ingredients: 1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 2 large eggs 2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 & 1/2 cups low-fat plain yogurt or buttermilk (I used nonfat Greek yogurt) 3 tablespoons molasses 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour ...

So awhile back, my friend Shannon gifted me a great big jar of applesauce from her last big batch , and I used some of it for some awesome baked oatmeal , but I was even more excited to try out an applesauce cake recipe with the remainder! This cake is lightly sweet, very moist, and oh-so-fragrant from the ample oat-cinnamon streusel lining the bottom and rippling through the middle of the cake. It kept very well for several days in an airtight container, and if anything, developed more apple-y character and moistness over time! It is a splendid anytime cake and very versatile. Applesauce Cake with Oatmeal Streusel (adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes ) Ingredients: Streusel- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 cup old-fashioned oats 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits or grated and chilled Cake- 2 & 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 ...

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...

This is one of those sort of cakes that I remember from my childhood, and I hope that everyone has something similar to look back upon as well. Simple, unfrosted, potentially eaten anytime from breakfast to snacktime to after dinner. My young palate was happy enough with box mix cake, but my adult palate is savoring this not-much-harder-to-make cake. The base is a super moist, slightly tangy, barely sweet buttermilk cake, and the juicy berries studded throughout just scream summer picnic and a need to be paired with some ice cream. I've made this with blackberries and strawberries, and both were delicious. Whatever variation you make, it is just simply yummy. Berry Buttermilk Cake (adapted from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen ) Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 finely grated lemon zest (optional) 1 ...

This year for National Bundt Day and our department's yearly fall luncheon, I made the Double Apple Bundt Cake from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my home to yours . The double apple comes from shredded fresh apple and apple butter in the batter. Instead of raisins, I added 1 cup of frozen cranberries. And to frost it, I topped the cake with my favorite caramel frosting . In full disclosure, this bundt was a Frankenstein bundt! I unmolded the cake when the recipe said I could, but it was so steamy and delicate that I totally cracked it into several pieces trying to get it onto my cake carrier! Good thing the frosting covered up all the seams! Luckily no one really noticed or cared, but they did notice the taste. It was sooo good: moist, full of sweet apple and spice flavors, the tart cranberries were a great contrast, and the caramel frosting just reinforced the fall apple flavors. I got a lot of good feedback and requests for the recipe.  Happy Bundt Da...

I made this simple but fresh-tasting lemon yogurt cake for a dinner party with friends. It was dense and sturdy, but moist and excellent with some vanilla ice cream! I would definitely make this again if I was looking for a citrusy, not-too-sweet dessert. I got to use my beloved Greek yogurt again for this recipe, although I will say that despite fat-free yogurt working fine for me, probably a low-fat or full-fat yogurt would have tasted a bit moister/richer. For the lemons, I used the juice and zest from some Meyer lemons I had picked up at Costco (and thus I reduced the sugar a teeny bit from the recipe since Meyer lemons are not quite as sour as regular). Lemon Yogurt Cake (adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home ) Ingredients : 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I used skim Greek-style yogurt) 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approx. 2 lemons worth) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla ext...

I live in "Stiller Country"...where the blood of its inhabitants run black and gold. Although we aren't crazy sports fans, we do follow the Steelers for the entire football season and we like to do a lot of armchair coaching all throughout. The great thing about the fanaticism of Steelers' fans is the sense of regional culture that makes living here unique. And the Steelers...well, let's just say that you can count on them to make any season full of drama and suspense. In light of the upcoming Super Bowl, there have been parties (and rallies) throughout the city to celebrate the amazing opportunity for the Steelers to possibly win their seventh Super Bowl ring. My department was no exception, and we were told to bring "tailgating food." I guess tailgating food = cake to me, because what I decided to make was a black and gold swirled bundt cake. I used the Orange Ricotta Pound Cake with Marmalade Glaze from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. You c...

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...

Woo! Congrats to Mary the Librarian for surviving another pre-National Bundt Day marathon of bundts ! This is quickly becoming a tradition of epic proportions! With just seven minutes left of National Bundt Day, here is my Bundt-a-licious contribution this year! I decided to make the Pumpkin Apple Bundt Cake as featured by the blog StreamingGourmet for a department Fall luncheon tomorrow. Perfect timing. This cake seriously made my house smell amazing. Cinnamon, pumpkin, apples! I can't wait to try some tomorrow! Find the recipe here . I used Stayman Winesap apples, but any good baking apple would be good here, I suspect. More updates tomorrow on the taste! Update: This cake was SO moist and soft, I highly recommend it! The apples were soft but not mushy, and the pumpkin cake was lightly spiced and moist and just the right level of pumpkin-ness. Super yum.

A week or two before Rosh Hashanah, I received my Recipe-of-the-month from Kathleen King, the owner of Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton, Long Island. In this edition, she presented her version of Honey Cake, a traditional sweet eaten for the High Holidays. I'd never heard of Jewish honey cake, but in looking over the recipe, it seemed like an interesting combination of flavors. There's a full cup of coffee, some orange juice, and ground almonds in addition to the obligatory honey (a full cup of it!). I decided to make some for my advisor, and her being sensitive to extra sugar, I kept the honey but substituted all the rest of the sugar with Splenda, and I tried to decrease the glycemic index even more by using mostly whole wheat pastry flour. The cake was wonderfully moist and deep in flavor. I accidentally over-baked the little loaves I made by 5 minutes and you could not tell at all. Sweeten up your year with this tasty cake. Mazel tov! Honey Cake (adapted from Kathleen...

More blueberries! Alas, this is probably the last fresh blueberry recipe for the year, as blueberries have permanently left the markets (at least local ones) with the dusk of summer. I made this recipe for the celebration of the successful thesis defense of my fellow graduate student in the lab. She's soon to be off to a glorious post-doc, hopefully in sunnier and warmer shores. She's not a big fan of overly sweet cakes, and this one seemed to fit the bill. A simple, light fruit-filled cake with a beautifully caramelized crust made with only pantry-staple ingredients. Other bloggers described this cake as light and moist, which I did not find this cake overly so (more like rustic and sturdy), but despite my relative disappointment, it was well-received by labmates. This would be a great everyday snack cake or a low-key function in which you didn't want to send everyone home in a sugar coma. The recipe can be found here , as found on the blog " A Whisk and a Spoon ...

I'm coming home today! So hopefully there will be more baking and blogging to be done in the near future, not to mention food travelogues to post! But for now, here's the last of the 4th of July baking, as well as the last of the getting-rid-of-sour-cream series!! This sticky-gooey, colorful beauty is from the book Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. This book has been on my radar ever since Food Librarian had a giveaway for this cookbook about it and posted a delicious-looking orange ricotta pound cake from the book during National Library Week in April. I borrowed it from the library, flipped through it, and within 5 minutes I knew I need to buy this cookbook. It's chock-full of recipes right up my alley: snack cakes, bundt cakes, coffee cakes, tea loaves, etc. The original recipe called for plums, but I had a bunch of white peaches in the fridge and the peach-blueberry combo is always a winner! Not to mention that peaches and ginger (which is in the ...