All posts in category Breakfast

Brown butter blueberry streusel muffins

I was looking for a recipe to use up some leftover blueberries and well, this recipe had me at brown butter. Okay, at streusel too. You know how I am a sucker for streusel! Please don’t be intimidated by the brown butter. It sounds fancy, but really you just melt butter in a saucepan until it turns golden brown. As long as you don’t burn it, that’s all there is to it. The first time I made brown butter, I was nervous. I almost dumped it because there was a bunch of brown specks. I thought for sure I messed up. It sure wouldn’t be the first time. But after a quick check online, I realized that’s just right.

I only used half the amount of the blueberries called for in the recipe because that was all baby Alex would spare. But, I liked it this way because the berries didn’t overwhelm the taste of the muffin. And, oh my goodness, the muffin itself is delicious. I am the only one in the family who likes blueberry muffins. I have told you before that my family is a little crazy, right? I didn’t want to eat all the muffins, so I brought them to work and had some very happy coworkers. As I was eating my muffin, I was thinking how good it was, even without the blueberries. It would make a lovely crumb cake muffin that my coffeecake-loving husband would go crazy for. I think I’ll try that next time, maybe even with a ribbon of cinnamon sugar or sweet cream cheese? This is the perfect base for experimenting with different flavors. But, I have to say, blueberry is a darn good place to start.

Brown butter blueberry streusel muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

For the muffin:

7 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into a few pieces

1/3 cup buttermilk I used regular milk

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh blueberries I used about 1 cup

Place rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat to 375 F. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.

Place a small skillet (not nonstick or you won’t see the color change) over medium heat. Add the 7 tablespoons of butter. Move the butter around with a spoon until it is melted, turns a medium brown color and smells nutty. Remove from the heat right away, before it turns black. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the cooled brown butter.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in all the milk mixture and stir gently with a spatula. Do not over mix. Carefully fold in the blueberries then divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin pan. I used a medium cookie scoop. Make the streusel topping.

For the streusel topping:

3 Tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Combine the 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub together with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the muffin batter in the cups.

Bake the muffins for 20 – 22 minutes, or until a little golden. Test with a toothpick. Cool in the muffin tin for 15 minutes before removing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: Joy the Baker Cookbook via Pennies on a Platter

8 Comments

by Just Baked on January 16, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in blueberry, Breakfast, Fruit, Muffins

Tagged blueberry, brown butter, coffee cake, fruit, Joy the Baker, muffin, streusel

Posted by Just Baked on January 16, 2013

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/brown-butter-blueberry-streusel-muffins/

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

The last few years we have gone to my father in law’s for Halloween because we live in a townhouse and no one really trick or treats here. We use Karl’s house to get everyone dressed (this year as a ninja, Princess Tiana and a gnome), trick or treat as long as the cold Chicago weather permits, and stop back for dinner and dessert. I was trying to decide what to bring and then it came to me. My FIL loves coffee cake (given the opportunity, he could eat the whole thing himself) and I had just pinned the perfect recipe a few weeks ago. I knew that the kids wouldn’t eat it, but they would be too preoccupied with sorting and eating candy to even notice. So, coffee cake it was.

Halloween was a super busy day. We went to Sammie’s parade in the morning and then went back again at 1 for Jack’s parade. Immediately after that, I planned on making the coffee cake. But the problem was I neglected to notice that there were four steps and a 45 minute baking time. I took the cake out of the oven just 15 minutes before we had to leave. It was supposed to cool before glazing, but there was no time for that. So I glazed it anyway. The pan was too hot to hold so I had to carry it by the cooling rack and put it on the floor of the car. Luckily, it didn’t burn into the rug.

I couldn’t wait for dessert to taste this cake. I love coffee cake too, especially those without cinnamon. Don’t get me wrong, I love cinnamon, but I just prefer my coffee cake without. I save cinnamon for the rolls I have to say, this cake was so worth the wait. The cake is moist and buttery, with a cheesecake like swirl in the middle, some texture from the streusel and sweetness from the powdered sugar glaze. I mean, really, how could you go wrong with this combination?

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Yield: 13 x 9 cake

For the filling:

Two 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened (light or regular) I used regular

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

For the cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream (light or regular)

For the streusel topping:

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup flour

3 tablespoons butter, chilled and cubed

For the glaze:

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease/flour or spray a 9 x 13 cake pan. Set aside.

Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla on medium-low speed until creamy. Set aside for the filling. (If you have 1 bowl and paddle, you will need to put this mixture in a separate bowl, and wash them to use to make the cake batter)

Make the cake batter: In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-low speed. Add eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract. Slowly pour in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream until it is all combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared cake pan with a spatula. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly on top. Top with remaining cake batter and smooth with a spatula. Using a butter knife, gently swirl in the batter.

Make the topping: Add the sugar, flour and chilled butter in a small bowl. Stir using a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel on top of cake batter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

To make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar and milk until creamy. Drizzle over cake.

Source: Mother Thyme

115 Comments

by Just Baked on November 7, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Breakfast, Cake

Tagged breakfest, cake, coffee cake, cream cheese, dessert, filling, glazed, streusel

Posted by Just Baked on November 7, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/cream-cheese-coffee-cake/

Funfetti mini pancake muffins

My kids love those little Hostess chocolate chip muffins that come 5 packs to a box for over $4.00. My son will eat 2 packs each morning for breakfast and that gets expensive. So, I only buy them when they are buy 1 get 1 free and then I buy like 8 boxes. But, when I run out, these pancake muffins are the perfect replacement. I think they taste very similar to the Hostess muffins, but better of course because they are homemade. Usually I make them with mini chocolate chips because they are Jack’s favorite. But, I thought it would be fun to change things up a bit and replace the chips with sprinkles to make Funfetti mini muffins.

I decided to surprise my daughter with breakfast for lunch with these muffins. But, of course Sammie didn’t want muffins. She wanted turkey. No bread, just turkey. Okay then. So the baby and I ate the muffins, dusted with powdered sugar and dipped in maple syrup. Alex tore them up. After Sammie finished her turkey, she decided she would try a muffin…then another and another and another. She had to make sure they were okay, quality control you know. I love these muffins too. They are fluffy, a bit sweet from the maple syrup and sugar, and they really taste like pancakes without all the work. And now, not only do they taste great, but they are super fun, Funfetti. Sprinkles makes everything better. Don’t you think?

Funfetti mini pancake muffins

Yield: 24 mini muffins

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup of sprinkles- jimmies (you can adjust depending on how many you like)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a mini muffin pan really well with nonstick spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk together the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, stir together the buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter just until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula just until combined.

Stir in the sprinkles. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes.

Let cool slightly in the pan. You may need to use a spoon around the edges to separate the pancake muffins from the pan.

Serve immediately dusted with powder sugar or with just maple syrup.

Source: Bakerella

6 Comments

by Just Baked on September 14, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Muffins, Breakfast

Tagged pancake, breakfast, dessert, sprinkles, buttermilk, muffins, kids, Funfetti, fun, jimmies, Bakerella

Posted by Just Baked on September 14, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/funfetti-mini-pancake-muffins/

Flour Bakery’s Famous Banana Bread

It’s that time again where I have a bunch of brown bananas sitting on my counter, seemingly growing browner by the minute if I don’t finally go and bake something with them. On most days I would look for a bar or cake recipe, you know, something different. But, there is something comforting about plain old banana bread and I felt like I could use that today. Hmmm…what recipe to try is always the question. I have heard that Flour Bakery makes a mean banana bread. After all, it must be called Famous Banana Bread for a reason, right? Everything I have made from the Flour Bakery cookbook has been delicious, so I decided to go with it.

I love to make quick breads because, I guess as the name implies, they are quick. No yeast and no waiting for dough to rise. Nope, you just mix your batter, pour it into the pan and pop it into the oven. It is so easy, that I had the batter mixed and the bread baked while Alex took his morning nap. Heck, I even had time to take pictures before he was woken up by our dog, who apparently decided Alex had slept enough and plowed through his bedroom door. I mean, what the heck Walter? You don’t even like the baby, unless he is eating and dropping food as you wait impatiently below his high chair. Sorry to get off track, but I am still not happy about that. Back to the bread. What you end up with is a delicious, moist (Ugh. I hate that word, but I can’t think of another word to describe it) bread packed with banana flavor, just waiting to be slathered with butter and sprinkled with sugar. Delicious. I can see why it is famous. ;D

Flour Bakery’s Famous Banana Bread

Yield: one 9 x 5 loaf

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (230 grams) sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup (100 grams) canola oil

3 1/2 very ripe, medium bananas, peeled and mashed (1 1/2 cups mashed/340 grams)

2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream I used sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup (75 grams) walnut halves, toasted and chopped I omitted

Position rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 325 F. Butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat sugar and eggs on medium x 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

On low, slowly drizzle in oil. Don’t pour it all in at once. You want to pour it in over 1 minute, to keep all the air you just beat into the egg-sugar mixture. Add the mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Continue to mix on low just until combined.

Using a spatula, fold in dry ingredients and nuts (if using) just until thoroughly combined. No flour streaks should be visible and the nuts evenly distributed. Pour into the greased loaf pan and smooth top. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until golden on top and the center springs back when pressed. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, then pop out of the pan to finish cooling.

The banana bread can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temp up to 3 days. Or, it can be well wrapped and frozen up to 2 weeks.

Source: Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery and Cafe

7 Comments

by Just Baked on September 10, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in banana, Breakfast, Quick Bread

Tagged bake sale, bakery, Banana, bread, breakfast, cinnamon, dessert, Flour, quick bread

Posted by Just Baked on September 10, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/flour-bakerys-famous-banana-bread/

English Muffin Bread

English Muffin Bread

My husband isn’t a sweet breakfast sort of guy. I mean if I make French toast or pancakes, he wouldn’t turn them down or anything. But, he would much rather have a savory breakfast sandwich any day. Justin’s first choice of bread for his sandwich would be a pretzel roll, with an English muffin as a close second. But, it can’t be just any English muffin. Nope, it has to be Bays, definitely not a Thomas. Now, I know I cannot be the only one who hates the Bays’ packaging. If you remove a few muffins, you can roll the end of the package over to sort of seal it. Or, you can do as I usually do and throw them all in a Ziploc bag. I don’t know why, but this drives me so crazy every time I open a package! Anyways, to surprise my husband, I wanted to try my hand at making homemade English muffins. But, then I saw this bread recipe. Perfect. I get the same taste and texture of English muffins, while omitting the shaping and frying steps.

I, like many bakers, get a bit intimidated by yeast. But, I have gotten better with practice, a digital scale for flour and a thermometer to measure water temperature. Looking at the recipe, it didn’t look too much harder than a quick bread, except you need to allot time for 2 rises. It wasn’t hard at all. Really. This is a great bread to tackle your fear of yeast! The bread bakes up with a beautiful crispy crust, which envelopes the chewy interior of nooks and crannies, just waiting to be filled with melted butter. I enjoyed my bread toasted with butter (real please) and some strawberry jelly. My husband had his favorite egg, cheese and bacon breakfast sandwich and ate some more as toast. I think he ate a whole loaf by himself. It’s a good thing this recipe makes two!

English Muffin Bread

Yield: 2 loaves

Cornmeal (for dusting)

5 cups (27 1/2 ounces) bread flour

4 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups whole milk, heated to 120 degrees

Grease two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan. Dust with cornmeal. Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Stir in hot milk until combined, ~1 minute. Cover the dough with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place for 30 minutes, or until dough is bubbly and has doubled.

Stir dough and divide between prepared loaf pans. Push the dough into the corners with greased rubber spatula. The pans should be about two-thirds full. Cover the pans with greased plastic. Let the dough rise in warm place until it reaches edge of pans, ~ 30 minutes. Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

Discard plastic and put the pans in the oven. Bake until bread is well browned and registers 200 degrees, ~ 30 minutes, rotating and switching pans halfway through baking. Turn bread out onto wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Slice, toast, and serve.

Source: Cook’s Country April/May 2012

6 Comments

by Just Baked on August 22, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Bread, Breakfast

Tagged ATK, bread, breakfast, Cook's Country, English muffin, toast, yeast

Posted by Just Baked on August 22, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/english-muffin-bread/

Cookies and Cream Donut Muffins

I wanted to make donut muffins for breakfast this morning, but I didn’t really feel like cinnamon. Crazy, I know. I’ve done chocolate frosted, vanilla frosted and powdered sugar donut muffins. They were all delicious. But, what could I do to make these different? Ooo, how about cookies and cream? Don’t Oreos make just about everything better? I decided to use the recipe for donut muffins from Back in the Day Bakery as the starting point, omit the spices, and fold in crushed Oreos. Then I added a thick vanilla frosting and some crushed Oreos on top for garnish. Okay, so maybe these look like cupcakes. But, they really do have the texture of cake donuts and those are considered breakfast. So, I am going to go ahead, take it upon myself and declare these perfectly acceptable for breakfast. I mean, definitely not for everyday, but as a special treat when you want to see your kids eyes light up like it was Christmas. If you ever wondered why I bake, this is it. ♥

Cookies and Cream Donut Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins (I would have gotten 13, but I wasn’t going to bake 1 extra muffin)

For the muffins:

3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, preferably aluminum-free

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

2 tablespoons buttermilk

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

8 Oreos, coarsely chopped

To make the muffins:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350◦F. Lightly spray 12 large muffin cups with vegetable oil spray.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, combine the milk and buttermilk.

In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream the butter for 2 to 3 minutes. I used my Kitchen Aid. Turn the speed to low and gradually add the sugar. Continue to mix until the mixture lightens in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until combined. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the milk mixture, mixing just until smooth. Fold in the chopped Oreos. Do not overmix or your muffins will be dense.

With a large ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them approximately two-thirds full. I had a bit of leftover batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are firm to the touch and lightly golden. Let the donuts cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

For the frosting or glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tbsp whole milk I used heavy cream, but I had to add almost 3 tbsp to get it to the consistency I wanted. If you want more of a glaze, add more cream or milk

½ tsp. vanilla extract

2 crushed Oreos to sprinkle on top

In small bowl, stir together sugar, milk (or heavy cream- start with 1Tbsp) and vanilla extract. Add more cream or milk, a bit at a time, and whisk until incorporated. Continue to add more milk or cream until you get the consistency you want. Use immediately to frost/glaze the doughnuts. Sprinkle the Oreos on top of the frosting before it sets.

Source: the donut muffin is adapted from Back in the Day Bakery. The frosting is adapted from Sprinkle Bakes.

12 Comments

by Just Baked on August 13, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Breakfast, Muffins

Tagged back in the day, breakfast, buttermilk, donut, doughnuts, muffin, Oreo

Posted by Just Baked on August 13, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/cookies-and-cream-donut-muffins/

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffeecake

I was looking on Pinterest (where else?) for a recipe to use up some blueberries and I came across this blueberry cream cheese coffee cake. I really love anything with crumb topping and then you one up a coffee cake with cream cheese? Now we’re talking. The cake batter is easy enough to put together. Then you fold in the blueberries and chunks of cream cheese to complete the batter. The crumb topping is made by just mashing together sugar, flour and cold butter. I have tried the two fork method and I even have a pastry blender, but I find that nothing works better than mushing it with your hands. The cake is so pretty after it is baked with all the bright purple blueberries poking out from beneath the golden crumb topping. When you taste it, the cake itself is moist and buttery. Then you bite into a blueberry and it’s sweet and juicy. Then you hit a pocket of cream cheese and it’s well, as you can imagine, creamy. I love all the different texture and taste contrasts in this cake. Another thing I love about coffeecake? It is one of the few times where it is completely acceptable to eat cake and call it breakfast. Although, that’s not to say that I haven’t eaten chocolate chip cookies in the morning and called it breakfast. But that was only me, hiding in the kitchen, stuffing them in my mouth before my kids woke up and wanted cookies for breakfast too.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Yield: an 8 x 8 cake. I used a 9 inch round cake pan.

For the cake:

1/4 cup (4 Tbs) butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla (my addition)

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all- purpose flour, DIVIDED

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, washed, dried and picked over for stems I used fresh

3 oz cold cream cheese, cut into small cubes

For the crumb topping:

4 Tablespoons flour

4 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons cold butter

Preheat oven to 375F. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla (if using). Combine 1 cup of flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Start and end with the flour mixture.

Toss the blueberries with remaining 2 Tbs flour. With a spatula, fold the blueberries and cream cheese cubes into the batter. Pour the batter into a greased 8 inch baking pan. I used a 9in round. I wish I would have put a parchment circle on the bottom so the cake would have been easier to remove and put on my cake stand.

Prepare the crumb topping: In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake for about 40 – 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took about 35 minutes.

Helpful Hints:

If you use frozen berries, do not thaw before using or they will bleed into the cake. It will still taste good, but it won’t look as pretty.
When making the crumb topping, I find just using my hands to work better than two forks or a pastry blender.

Source: Slightly adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, originally from Taste of Home magazine

19 Comments

by Just Baked on August 8, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in blueberry, Breakfast, Cake

Tagged blueberry, breakfast, cake, coffee cake, cream cheese, crumb, dessert

Posted by Just Baked on August 8, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/blueberry-cream-cheese-coffeecake/

Blueberry Buckle

Holy cow! Pretty soon I will have made so many recipes from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, you won’t even have to buy it! The book really is that good. The other day, I bought three pints of blueberries because they were super cheap. We ate some, froze some, and I decided that I had to make the Back in the Day Bakery’s blueberry buckle with the rest. But, I had to get rid of at least half of this cake or else I would be eating the whole dang thing. There are worse problems I suppose. But, I convinced my father in law to swing by and pick some up. It really didn’t take much convincing. And, he was nice enough to give me some raspberries that he picked from his garden in exchange. Sounds like a fair trade to me.

This is a really simple cake to put together. The batter is similar to other coffee cake batters. But, I love the addition of the sour cream and lemon zest for a bit of tang. The recipe makes a ton of streusel. It may seem like too much, but don’t be tempted to not use it all. Come on, the cinnamon streusel is the best part! I ate it warm out of the oven for breakfast and it was delicious. My mother in law enjoyed hers with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Why didn’t I think of that? Okay, maybe not for the piece I ate for breakfast but on one of the other two pieces I ate that day. And, now I have none left. Oh well, I will have to keep this in mind for next time.

Back in the Day Bakery’s Blueberry Buckle

Yield: one 9 inch round cake

For the crumble:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
8 Tbsp (1 stick ) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

For the cake:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder, preferably aluminum free
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp cardamom I omitted
6 T unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 granulated cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups fresh blueberries

Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350F. Butter the sides of a 9 inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.

Make the crumb topping: Combine the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a small bowl and mix until well blended. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the crumbs are the size of peas. Put the topping in a covered container and set in the freezer to chill while you make the cake batter.

To make the buckle: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle, cream the butter and granulated sugar on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low, and add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and sour cream.

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. Sprinkle the top lightly with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrapped in plastic, the buckle will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Source: The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

18 Comments

by Just Baked on July 4, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in blueberry, Breakfast, Cake

Tagged back in the day, blueberry, breakfast, buckle, cake, cinnamon

Posted by Just Baked on July 4, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/blueberry-buckle/

Back in the Day Bakery’s Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins

I’m sure I have said this before, but I am in love with The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. Everything I have made from it has been amazing and there are still so many more recipes I have bookmarked to try. While looking through the book again, I saw these cinnamon sugar doughnut muffins. Now, a few months ago, I made a similar recipe from the famed Downtown Bakery and Creamery. But, those were so good that I figured I would give this recipe a try and see how they compare. Two great things about doughnut muffins are 1. you don’t need a special pan and 2. they are baked, not fried (can we just pretend there aren’t 2 sticks of butter?). The batter is super easy to prepare and comes together quickly- even with a baby at your feet pulling everything out of every cabinet within his reach. After they bake, you are supposed to let them cool before coating them in melted butter and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar. You know I couldn’t wait. Okay, so I burned my fingers. but just a little. Oh well, it was worth it. Besides, I had to have breakfast on the table ASAP before Jack and Sammie started whining that they were hungry and wanted cereal instead. Why is it so hard to compete with Frosted Flakes? Damn you Tony!

I have to say, these tasted just as good as those muffins from Downtown Bakery and Creamery. But in Back in the Day Bakery’s favor, I think theirs baked up a bit taller, fluffier and more tender. So, I may have found a new favorite doughnut muffin. But, to be fair, I haven’t had the Downtown Bakery and Creamery’s muffins in awhile. So, I am going by memory…which I’ll admit, some days isn’t so good. I think this calls for a head-to-head competition.

Back in the Day Bakery’s Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

For the muffins:

3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, preferably aluminum-free

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg I used ground nutmeg from a jar

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom I omitted because I didn’t have any

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

2 tablespoons buttermilk

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

For the coating:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

To make the muffins: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350◦F. Lightly spray 12 large muffin cups with vegetable oil spray.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom. In a medium bowl, combine the milk and buttermilk.

While the muffins bake, set up two bowls to dunk them in. In one bowl you will have the melted butter, and in the other bowl you will have the cinnamon sugar.

Let the doughnuts cool completely on a wire rack. If you can wait, I couldn’t Dunk them in the melted butter, then coat them with the cinnamon sugar. The muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Source: The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

14 Comments

by Just Baked on July 2, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Breakfast, Muffins

Tagged back in the day bakery, breakfast, cinnamon, donut, doughnut, muffin

Posted by Just Baked on July 2, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/back-in-the-day-bakerys-cinnamon-sugar-doughnut-muffins/

Cook’s Illustrated Individual Coffeecakes

My kids just love those little Hostess Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cakes. I have to admit, I kind of love them too. When I saw this recipe for individual coffeecakes in The Quick Recipe, that’s exactly what it reminded me of. You get the same soft, fluffy little cakes perfectly complemented by a sweet, cinnamon streusel ribbon. So good. I just love that you can have warm coffee cake muffins on the table in a mere 45 minutes!! I also love that you can just grab one and go and not make a total mess because the streusel is contained on the inside. You should see my kids faces after they eat, well, just about anything. So, that’s always a plus for me.

My son, Jack, for the first time in his 6 years of life, slept until 9am! I was upstairs with a hot pad on my aching back from carrying around my little butterball baby, Alex, all the time. So I didn’t get to see him eat one. Later, when I asked him if he liked the muffins, he said they were so good. Who made them? Come on silly, Jack. Who do you think made them? They must be pretty delicious because usually when I try to make a homemade replica of something I buy in the store, my kids don’t like it. It’s just not the same. Heck no it isn’t the same….it’s better. But, they never see it that way. In this case, I’m sure the chocolate chips and the glaze tipped the scales in my favor. Sorry, Hostess.

Cook’s Illustrated Individual Coffeecakes

Yield: 12 cakes

1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz) unbleached all purpose flour DIVIDED

1/2 cup packed (3.5oz) dark brown sugar DIVIDED I used light

1 cup (7oz) granulated sugar

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

semisweet chocolate chips- (to sprinkle on top of the streusel) optional

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350F. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick spray.

Combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and all of the granulated sugar in the work bowl of a food processor. Combine the mixture in five 1 second pulses. Remove 3/4 cup of the mixture and place it in a medium bowl. Add to it the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and the cinnamon, mix to combine, set aside.

Add the remaining 1 cup flour to the mixture remaining in the food processor work bowl along with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine the mixture in five 1 second pulses. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture breaks down into small pebbly pieces that resemble wet sand, about ten one second pulses. Add the eggs and sour cream and process the mixture until it is well combined and thick, about eight 1 second pulses.

Place enough batter (about 2 TBSP) into each muffin cup to cover the bottom surface of the cup, but rise no more than 1/2 inch up the sides. Sprinkle with about 1 1/2 Tbsp streusel mixture over the batter. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top if using. I used mini chocolate chips for half the batch. I didn’t use all the streusel. Cover with an additional 1 to 2 Tbsp of batter, or enough to fill the cup to 3/4 full. Bake until light golden brown and the cake feels firm, but springs back when touched, 20 to 24 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Invert the cakes onto a wire rack and cool 5 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with Quick Confectioners’ Sugar Icing below..Serve immediately.

Quick Confectioners’ Sugar Icing:

1 cup (4 oz) confectioners’ sugar

2 Tbsp water

I added a splash of vanilla

Whisk the powdered sugar, water and vanilla together (if using) in a medium bowl until smooth. Place a piece of wax paper underneath the wire rack of cakes. Spoon about 2 tsp glaze on top of each upside down cake (narrow end facing up). Make an X in the glaze so it runs down the sides of the cake in 4 places. I prefer to drizzle the glaze on top.

Source: The Quick Recipe

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by Just Baked on May 21, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Breakfast, Muffins

Tagged ATK, breakfast, CI, cinnamon, coffeecake, Cook's illustrated, glaze, muffins, streusel

Posted by Just Baked on May 21, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/cooks-illustrated-individual-coffeecakes/