Tag: baking

Mixed Berry Crumble Pie

This weekend, Memorial Day weekend, is the unofficial start of the summer. Bring on the BBQs, warm weather, and all the other fun things associated with this time of the year! One thing I personally love about this time of the year is the in-season fruit and veggies. Yes, you can get most fruit and vegetables year-round, but certain ones just taste better now. Especially berries! Today I am sharing a pie that is perfectly patriotic for your Memorial Day & July 4th celebrations, but, truth-be-told, perfect for all your summer get-togethers… A Mixed Berry Crumble Pie. It’s also super simple to put together and perfect for a last-minute dessert.

I started off by making the crumble topping since I needed to refrigerate it for a few minutes before sprinkling it on the pie. In a medium bowl I whisked together old-fashioned oats, flour, light brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Then, using my hands, I mixed in cold butter that I cut into small pieces. If you are averse to using your hands you could also use a fork or pastry cutter. You want the butter to be completely incorporated into the mixture. Once its ready the ingredients should easily clump together. While the topping chilled, I prepped the rest of the pie.

As I am sure I’ve mentioned before I normally use store-bought pie crust. It’s fool-proof and it saves time. Before making the filling, on a lightly floured surface (my countertop) I rolled out a store-bought pie crust and an extra inch or so. I then placed it in a 9-inch pie dish and crimped the edges. To make the filling, I gently mixed fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries together along with light brown sugar, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and salt. I started off using a wooden spoon but quickly switched to a rubber spatula to avoid breaking up the berries. I wanted most of them to remain intact during baking so the pie would still look appealing once done and have some texture to it. 

I transferred the berry mixture to the prepared pie dish…

And then sprinkled the crumble topping on top before baking in a 375 F preheated oven.

I checked on the pie after 25 minutes and noticed that the edges of the crust and the topping were beginning to brown, so I tented it with a piece of aluminum foil until to prevent it from burning. After about another 40 minutes the pie was ready. The crumble topping had a nice golden color and the filling had just started to bubble.

After letting it cool it was time to enjoy a piece and it was DELISH! Not too sweet and some of the berries were still intact.

Mixed Berry Crumble Pie

            

Ingredients:

For the Crumble Topping:

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the Pie:

1 single pie crust (either store-bought or homemade)

2 cups fresh blackberries

2 cups fresh blueberries

2 cups fresh raspberries

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

For the crumble topping: In a medium bowl whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon & allspice. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter (or much easier your hands), until everything is well combined and the mixture clumps together. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the pie: Roll out the pie crust to about 10-11 inches and then place in a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl gently mix the berries, both sugars, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together until well combined. Transfer to the pie dish and then sprinkle the crumble topping on top.

Bake in the oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the filling just begins to bubble. If the edges of the pie and/or the crumble topping begin to brown too quickly tent with aluminum foil.

Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack before slicing and enjoying.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Malted Chocolate Brownies

I’ve made quite a few desserts with malted milk powder as the star ingredient, and I must say none have ever disappointed. My favorite by far are the Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies I shared over 10 years ago and still make to this day – thankfully my pictures have improved since then! Today’s Malted Chocolate Brownies are a very close second though. These brownies are rich and decadent, but not overly sweet. The malted milk powder really enhances the chocolate flavor in them.

To start, I heated butter and sugar together in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar mostly dissolved. I didn’t want to leave it on the heat too long and end up with the beginnings of caramel sauce. In a large bowl I whisked together eggs, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, salt and baking powder. I slowly poured the butter mixture into the egg mixture and stirred everything together until it was smooth. I then stirred in the flour and finally folded in milk chocolate chips. I transferred the batter to a 9×13-inch baking pan I lined with parchment paper. And finally, I topped the batter with chopped malted milk balls (i.e. Whoppers).

After baking for about 35 minutes they were done. The malted milk balls on top ended up with a nice caramel color and some of the pieces that were still decent size after chopping them gave a nice malted milk taste to the brownies. Just a quick note in case you are thinking of doing the same, I actually didn’t slice these brownies the same day I baked them. I wrapped them in plastic wrap and kept them at room temperature and then sliced them the following day to try to keep them fresh an extra day or two. And, I will point out, as with most brownies, you should warm your knife under hot tap water before slicing. You will get cleaner slices that way.

If you are looking for more recipes with malted milk powder, check these out:

Malted Brownies

Malted S’mores Ice Cream

Chocolate Malted Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Malted Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup malted milk powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups flour

1 11.5 oz. bag milk chocolate chips

1 5 oz. package malted milk balls (Whoppers), roughly chopped or gently crushed in a resealable bag

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper leaving an overhang on all sides.

In a medium saucepan heat the butter and sugar on medium-low heat until the butter melts and the sugar has mostly dissolved.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Whisk in the cocoa powder, malted milk powder, kosher salt and baking powder.

Gradually stir the butter mixture into the egg mixture and stir until smooth. Add the flour and stir until just combined. And finally, fold in the chocolate chips.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared dish and top with the malted milk balls, pressing them lightly into the batter.

Baked in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature then slice. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe from Real Simple

Banana & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

Not too long ago I posted a recipe for a Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread. That got me thinking about making a marble cake using two of the flavors. After some brainstorming I thought that a super simple way to do so would be to use a yellow cake mix as the base and altering the flavor with some add-ins. Now, I know some people have issues with using box cake mixes, but it really is possible to alter them to make them taste more homemade and they are fool proof! This all led me to creating a few recipes that use cake mixes as their base. And I will be sharing them with you over the next week… Up first, a Banana & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake.

For the base of this loaf cake I used a yellow cake mix. After prepping the batter per the directions on the box I divided it in half. And to be precise, even though I have made plenty of box cake mixes in the past and had a rough idea of how much it was, I measured out the batter using a measuring cup. In total it was 4 cups, so I transferred 2 cups to a bowl and stirred in a mashed banana and in the other half I stirred in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

Next, I dropped alternating scoops of each batter into a loaf pan I sprayed with baking spray. To get the marble effect I swirled the two batters together by dragging a knife through them.  

After baking and cooling the cake, it was time to enjoy a slice (or two!) As for the flavor, the chocolate and the banana really stood out without either overpowering the other. A nice twist on your typical marble cake.

A few takeaways… To make chocolate cake from a yellow cake mix you can add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder and to make a super simple banana cake add mashed banana to a yellow cake mix. More specifically, 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder for a chocolate cake and 2 mashed bananas for a banana cake.

Banana & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

1 15.25 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

eggs, water & oil per directions on box

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

Prep the cake mix per the instructions on the box.

Divide the batter in half and stir the mashed banana in one half and the cocoa powder in the other.

Spoon the batters into the prepared pan, alternating between the two. Use a knife to swirl the batters together. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

In my opinion you can never have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes. You need your basic one and then you need those “special” ones that have some fun ingredients that really make them stand out. I came across the recipe for these Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in a recent issue of Food Network Magazine. Not only do they have cookie butter in the dough, but they also have sprinkles. I made them twice around the holidays using red, green and white sprinkles and just recently again for a friend and her family using rainbow sprinkles. Oh, and in case you are wondering, cookie butter is similar in consistency to peanut butter but is made with speculoos cookie crumbs, a fat, flour and sugar and it’s quite tasty.

To make the dough I whisked together my dry ingredients in one bowl and my wet ones in another. After combining them, I folded in the chocolate chips and sprinkles. The dough was quite soft so I refrigerated it for about 2 hours so it could firm up. Now, if you are thinking of freezing the dough to make it later, you could skip refrigerating it and scoop it out and place it on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and freeze until hard and then place the dough in resealable bags in the freezer until you are ready to bake it. You will just need to add a minute or two to the baking time.

Once the dough was firm I scooped and dropped it onto my prepared baking sheets and pressed some additional sprinkles into the dough before baking them. I believe you can never have too many sprinkles. Whenever I get vanilla soft serve in a cup I ask for sprinkles in the cup before the ice cream is added and then more sprinkles on top. Yum!

After removing the cookies from the oven, I let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. The rainbow sprinkles gave the cookies a nice fun look. With Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter just around the corner you could really customize these for each of those holidays or any other occasion.

Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Servings: 30 cookies
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Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup smooth cookie butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoons sprinkles (or jimmies, not nonpareils), plus more for topping

Directions:

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter, cookie butter and both sugars with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and sprinkles until combined and evenly distributed throughout the dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until the dough is slightly firm, but still easily scoopable.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a standard cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Press additional sprinkles onto the dough.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until the cookies are set around the edges, puffed, but still soft in the middle. Let cool on the sheets for 3 to 5 minutes until transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe slightly modified from Food Network.

Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Some pairings just taste good together – like peanut butter and chocolate, peanut butter and banana and banana and chocolate – so I figured that three would taste just as good (or better) together. And that’s how I came up with this Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf.

Although, I was a little discouraged when I tasted the first loaf I made. It was a bit dense, and the banana flavor was overpowering. With my second loaf, I reduced the amount of flour in the batter and increased the amount of peanut butter. The loaf then ended up being super moist with an equal balance of peanut butter and banana flavor. Now some people who tried it tasted the banana more or the peanut butter more. I think that might be due to preference of one over the other. I was able to taste both.

Now, I would like to think this loaf is somewhat healthy since the bananas are a good source of potassium and the peanut butter protein, but I am sure some would beg to differ since there is sugar and chocolate chips in the loaf as well. But a little sweetness isn’t a bad thing sometimes. If you’re really trying to stick to any health-related New Year’s Resolutions though, you could omit the chocolate chips and use maple syrup in lieu of the sugar. In doing so though you will have to add a little extra flour to the batter to account for the extra liquid.

Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray 9 x 5 loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Add the vanilla extract. Stir in the mashed bananas and peanut butter until just combined.

With the mixer on low add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf ban and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Cookie Palooza: Blueberry Crumb Cookies

I’ve saved my favorite cookie for last… A Blueberry Crumb Cookie. I got the idea for this cookie while baking one of my favorite summer desserts, a Blueberry Crumb Cake. Granted you can make it anytime of the year, but it tastes best when the blueberries are at their sweetest. Initially I was thinking of using fresh blueberries in the cookie, but for a few reasons I didn’t think it was the right move. I was concerned that some of the blueberries would be sour (not a good thing for a cookie), inevitably different sizes (you kind of want uniformity in a cookie) and that they might turn the cookies blue during baking. Since cookie dough is a lot thicker than cake batter, I thought that there was good chance of the blueberries being slightly decimated while folding them in. Thankfully I was able to find dried wild blueberries that eliminated all those concerns I had from using fresh ones.

For these cookies I made two mixtures… The cookie dough and the crumb topping.

Once both were ready, I rolled scoops of the dough in the crumb topping and then placed it on my baking sheets. And in case you are wondering, no, the crumb topping won’t burn and yes it will stick to the cookie even after baking.

And yes, the cookies will spread a bit while baking, but I don’t suggest refrigerating the cookie dough prior to scooping and rolling them in the crumb topping. You want the cookie dough to be slightly sticky so the crumb topping will adhere to it. And there’s no harm in a larger cookie. They don’t flatten and are slightly thick so it’s all good!

And I must say that while these cookies are delish the day they come out of the oven, the blueberry flavor gets stronger each day after so you may want to make these a day or two ahead of time and keep them stored in an airtight container prior to serving, sharing or giving. Because of this these cookies are the perfect cookie to mail to someone. They stay moist and the flavor only gets better.

I hope you have enjoyed this year’s Cookie Palooza and hopefully one, two or maybe all of these cookies will earn a spot on your cookie trays this holiday season!

Happy Holidays (and Happy Baking!)

Blueberry Crumb Cookies

  • Servings: 30 Cookies
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Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried blueberries*

For the Crumb Topping:

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

*I used dried wild blueberries from Trader Joe’s

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

For the cookies: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and both sugars with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat until just combined. Add in the lemon juice and sour cream and continue beating until well combined.

With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture. And then fold in the blueberries.

For the Crumb Topping: In a medium bowl whisk together both sugars, the cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. You may need to use your hands to really get the mixture combined well and to form the crumbs.

To make rolling the dough in the crumb topping easier (and less messy), first scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, then roll in the crumb topping and then return to the baking sheets. Place the dough 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are set and beginning to brown around the edges. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn Spatula.

Cookie Palooza: Cranberry Pecan Cookies

While peppermint gets all the glory during this time of the year there are other flavors and ingredients that are reminiscent of the season. Cranberries for one. While the sweetened dried ones and the canned jellied version can be found in your supermarket year-round, it’s this time of the year when those fresh tart berries pop up in your grocery section. And while most nuts are popular around this time due to gift baskets, those roasted chestnuts and so forth it’s pecans that really make the rounds thanks to Pecan Pie.  So, I decided to combine the two – cranberries and pecans – for today’s Cookie Palooza cookie with a Cranberry Pecan Cookie that also has some chocolate in it.

These cookies are pretty straightforward to make. Start off by creaming together the butter and sugars, add the eggs and then the vanilla extract. Whisk the dry ingredients separately and then add it to the butter mixture and finally stir in the add-ins; the dried cranberries, chopped pecans and chocolate chips. If you like your cookies to be a little nuttier feel free to add in more pecans. And one thing I have started doing is refrigerating my cookie dough before scooping and baking. I didn’t want to struggle to scoop my dough, so I refrigerated it for only 30 minutes. Enough to get it chilled, but still soft enough to easily scoop with a cookie scoop.

These cookies are perfectly chocolaty, just the right amount of crunch thanks to the pecans and have a little tangy sweetness to them thanks to the cranberries. The perfection addition to any cookie platter this holiday season!

Cranberry Pecan Cookies

  • Servings: 36 Cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and both sugars with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and then the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Add the chocolate chips, pecans and cranberries and beat until combined.

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are set.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn Spatula

Baked Apples

I recently got a good amount of apples from my yearly apple picking trip and this year the apples I picked were the right amount of sweetness and crispness. To make sure they don’t go to waste, one can only eat so many apples before they start to go bad, I invariably make a few baked goodies with them. Usually an apple crisp of some sort, this year I decided to make Baked Apples. A simple dessert with a lot of flavor.

The most difficult part of making these baked apples is coring the apples. To do so I used an apple corer to go partway down the apple, turned it a few times and then removed it without the core. Next, I used a paring knife and a small spoon to remove the core and to widen the holes of the apples. You want to leave about a 1/2-inch of the bottom of the apple intact.

Next, I combined brown sugar, spices and chopped walnuts with softened butter and divided the mixture among the apples which I placed in a glass baking dish. And finally, before placing the apples in the oven I filled the bottom of the dish with a cup of boiling water. This helps to keep the apples moist while baking.

And after baking for about 40 minutes in the oven I had delicious baked apples and wonderful aroma swirling around my house. These are delish on their own but even better with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.

One more thing to note, the best apples to use for baking are those that are firm; Granny Smith, Cortland, Fuji, Gala, etc. Since I picked quite a few different types of apples I can’t be all that sure which I used to make these baked apples. If you are concerned that the apples you are using may be too soft just keep an eye on them while they are in the oven. They may be ready in less time.

Baked Apples

Ingredients:

4 medium to large apples

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1 cup boiling water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Use a sharp knife or apple corer to cut out the core of the apples leaving about a 1/2-inch of the bottom of the apple intact. Scoop out the insides of the apples to make the holes wide enough to place the butter mixture inside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and chopped walnuts (is using). Add in the softened butter and mash everything together with a fork or use your hands to mix it together until it’s well combined.

Place the apples in an 8×8-inch baking dish. Divide the butter mixture among the apples and then carefully pour the hot water into the bottom of the pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the apples are cooked through and soft but not mushy.

Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before enjoying.

Any leftover apples can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the microwave.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Bourbon Caramel Apple Upside Down Spice Cake

I’ve been willing Fall to get here for the past few weeks. I am sure I have mentioned it before, it’s my favorite season. Cooler weather, the leaves changing, baking without overheating my house, the list goes on and on. There are a few flavors synonymous with this time of year, mainly pumpkin and apples. And while I normally like to welcome Fall with a new pumpkin recipe, I decided to go with the apples this year for a Caramel Apple Bourbon Upside Down Spice Cake. A bit of a mouthful!

A little backstory on this cake. I got the idea from watching a Fall themed movie on Hallmark Channel back in the Spring. I wrote the idea on a post-it and finally revisited it a few weeks ago. And of course, there were a few fails before I finally ended up with a cake that looked and tasted delicious. My first cake collapsed in the middle. My cake tester led me astray! The cake was slightly undercooked in the middle and there was no saving it. The fail though led me to change the flavor of the cake so it was kind of a good thing. Initially I doctored a French vanilla cake mix and decided the flavor just wasn’t right, so I switched to a spice cake instead. That definitely screams Fall more so than French Vanilla. So, I bought a spice cake Mix and made a few tweaks to it. I also decided to bake the cake in a tube pan to ensure it would bake completely without drying out. Well, it still wasn’t quite right. I used heavy cream when I made my bourbon caramel sauce and I just didn’t like the way it looked after flipping the cake. And while the cake tasted good, I just wasn’t getting enough spice from it.

Thankfully my third attempt was a success! First, I decided to omit the heavy cream from my caramel sauce. Second, I went with a yellow cake mix and added in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves (those yummy warm spices of the season) to really get a strong spice flavor. And third, after I poured the caramel and arranged the apples in the pan, I placed the pan in the refrigerator while I made the batter for the cake. This allowed the apples to set in the caramel so that they wouldn’t move when I poured the batter into the pan. This actually happened with my second attempt at this cake. I had arranged my apples in a nice design and they moved all around once I poured the batter in. I didn’t take any chances with my third attempt though. I spooned the batter into the pan just to be safe.

Just look at how the apples looked before I added the batter. I definitely wanted that look on top of my cake once it was done.

And thankfully since I made those tweaks my cake looked amazing once I flipped it out of the pan. YAY!!!

And even better, the taste and texture of the cake was spot on.

Happy Fall Y’all!

Bourbon Caramel Apple Upside Down Spice Cake

Ingredients:

For the Bourbon Caramel Apple:

1/2 cup light brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup bourbon

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch)

For the Spice Cake:

1 15.25 box of yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk*, at room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Make your own buttermilk by adding 4 teaspoons of vinegar to a measuring cup and then adding enough whole milk to make 3/4 cup. Let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature, or until the milk becomes thick and appears curdled.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a tube pan with baking spray and set aside. You could also use a Bundt pan.

For the Bourbon Caramel Sauce:

In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar and butter and melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture is melted and combined remove from the heat and add the bourbon. Return to the heat for about a minute and stir to combine. Let cool slightly.

Pour the caramel sauce into the prepared pan and arrange the apple slices in the sauce making sure to overlap them.

While you make the cake batter refrigerate the pan with the apples and caramel sauce so the sauce can set. This will help the apples stay in place when you add the batter.

For the Spice Cake:

In a medium bowl whisk together the yellow cake mix with the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on low speed, beat the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla extract until combined. Using a fine mesh sieve (or a sifter) sift the cake mix with the spices over the buttermilk mixture and then beat with the hand mixer on medium speed until just combined.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator and spoon the batter over the apples. Give the pan a few gentle taps on the counter to remove any air bubbles and then bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes and then invert onto a cake platter or other rimmed dish. Let the cake to cool to room temperature before slicing and enjoying. It’s important to let the cake cool before slicing so the apples can set on the cake. If you slice it too soon the apples will slide off.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Strawberry Tiramisu

It’s the dog days of summer which usually means you will do anything to avoid turning on your oven. Thankfully there are many delicious recipes out there that can prevent you from doing just that and today I am sharing one, a Strawberry Tiramisu. This spin on tiramisu is perfect for the summer with the abundance of perfectly ripened strawberries available this time of year.

To begin, you will make the strawberry sauce. In a large bowl combine sliced strawberries with orange liqueur, balsamic vinegar, salt and sugar. After letting it sit for about 15 minutes puree half of it along with seedless strawberry jam in a food processor until smooth and then return the mixture to the strawberries and stir together. It may seem like the mixture is a tad watery, but it will be absorbed by the ladyfingers. No need to fear, your dessert will not be a runny mess when sliced.

Next you will make the mascarpone – whipped cream mixture. Beat heavy cream with confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Next, fold in mascarpone cheese & orange zest until the whipped cream and mascarpone cheese are well incorporated and no streaks of either remain.

Now it’s time to assemble. Begin by spreading some of the strawberry mixture in the bottom of your dish. Then add a layer of ladyfingers on top and then spread half of the mascarpone cheese mixture over them. Repeat the layers ending with the remaining half of the mascarpone cheese mixture. Decorate the top with sliced strawberries and then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before slicing and serving.

This is a light and refreshing dessert that isn’t overly sweet… Perfect for these warmer days!

Strawberry Tiramisu

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons orange liqueur*

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 cups sliced strawberries, divided**

1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 8oz. container mascarpone cheese

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 7oz. package ladyfingers

*I used Cointreau

**About 1.5 lbs

Directions:

In a large bowl stir together 3 cups of the sliced strawberries, the liqueur, balsamic vinegar, salt and granulated sugar. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring a few times. Transfer half of the mixture to a food processor (or blender) along with the strawberry jam and blend until smooth. Pour the pureed mixture back into the bowl with the remaining marinated strawberries and stir together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl beat the heavy cream with the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract with a hand mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold in the mascarpone cheese and orange zest until both are incorporated well and no streaks of either remain.

To assemble: Spread 3/4 cup of the of the strawberry mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 square baking dish. Top with a single layer of ladyfingers. Spread half of the mascarpone cheese mixture over the ladyfingers. Top the ladyfingers with the remaining strawberry mixture and then top with another layer of ladyfingers. And finally, spread the remaining mascarpone cheese mixture over the ladyfingers. Top with the remaining cup of sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight before slicing and serving.

Recipe modified from Food and Wine

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