Food & fitness obsessed girl.
Yet another recipe I’ve been dying to try ever since I laid eyes on it. The original recipe is from http://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/10/09/pumpkin-pecan-caramel-bars/ however I adapted it a bit to suit my family and their preferences. The bars are super moist and delicious. Pumpkin flavor is quite nice throughout. My family eats these for breakfast, snack or dessert. Will most definitely be making these again! Please note my comments before diving into this yummy recipe.
— Knead to Cook
It’s fall and apple season means more than just apple pie and apple sauce making. Today, my schedule is jammed packed with appointments and a board meeting this evening. I’m rushing around but had a chance to pop over to my favorite farm stand to pick up some fresh veggies and fruit. I stumbled upon a creamed cinnamon honey that I just knew I had to buy. Finding myself home with one hour to spare, I whipped up this apple cake and used my new little gem in the recipe. While the cake is baking, I’m typing away so that I can share this recipe with you all. This recipe uses no oils and little sugar, it merely celebrates the star of the cake – the sweet apple. I hope you enjoy it.
— Knead to Cook
With an abundance of zucchini in my kitchen and a desire to use my brand new bundt pan – I thought I would whip up a fun, yet healthy, zucchini cake with a cream cheese drizzle to make Monday dinner fun! It worked. The pretty cake was met with many oohhhh’s and ahhhh’s.
I’ll be honest, although I haven’t tried it, I’m quite certain this recipe would work beautifully as muffins or as a loaf of bread too. I removed the oil from my recipe all together and lessened the sugar- added some honey and I have to tell you – my critics, ummm my family, loved it. I still don’t think I’m the best at drizzling icing (I’m not a fan of icing) but you can work it however you prefer or just dust it with some powdered sugar as another option. Healthy enough to eat for breakfast too!
— Knead to Cook
This was the first recipe I executed by myself this weekend. I truly miss using both of my hands! One finger bandaged really throws a wrench into being a recipe creator/blogger! With that said, I created this super delicious recipe on Sunday. It was well-received and just kicks my addiction of pumpkin up that much further my radar. I love, LOVE, LOVE it! And pair it with some dark chocolate and you have a winner every SINGLE time! My intention was to make this in a bundt pan until I remembered that I threw mine out and never replaced it (add that to the list) so I made it in a round spring form pan. Worked perfectly and would also be great in muffin tins or a loaf pan. My daughter also topped this with Wilbur buds (local chocolatier) but extra Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips on top would be fun to if you wanted to make it extra special.
— Knead to Cook
I’ve been a die-hard Crumbs Cupcake fan before it was trendy. I always would hit up the store while in NYC or have my husband go for me if he was there on business. It got to the point that my friends were waiting with bated breath when they knew I was coming home because I would bring some cupcakes home for them. A few Christmases ago, they came out with a kid’s cookbook sort of kit with baking tools and fun recipe cards. I instantly bought it for my Crumbs-loving daughter. I treat this recipe like gold. I only make it on special occasions and after looking at the ingredient list, you will quickly find out why. It ISN’T healthy and very well may hike up your cholesterol level but on a special day… it is truly worth an extra hour or 3 at the gym! Consider yourself warned!
— Knead to Cook
This is a recipe from Ina Garten that I tweaked to make a bit healthier… well as healthy as you can get for pound cake. Ha! I made this with my best friend Leslie this afternoon, who has graciously opened her kitchen to me to cook in this week while the final phase of renovations happens in my own kitchen. We should’ve talked and laughed less and paid more attention to the recipe but it came out great and tastes like lemony heaven.
Ingredients:
Baking spray
1/4 cup of turbinado sugar
3 cups of sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter (or Smart Balance)
1/4 cup of Chobani lemon or vanilla Greek yogurt
2 cups of sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest from one lemon
1 cup of heavy cream
Directions:
DO NOT preheat the oven. Place the baking rack in the middle of the oven. Spray your bundt cake pan or loaf pans and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Sprinkle it as a nice layer on your pan.
Combine sifted flour and salt. Sift this mixture 3 times.
In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar. This should be mixed for about 4-5 minutes. Then add one egg at a time, mixing before the next addition. Add Chobani, vanilla extract and zest. Blend this well. Then alternate adding the flour to the butter mixture with the cream. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan. Slice and top with whipped cream, fruit or ganache.
— Knead to Cook
I wanted to make a fun cake for my cocktail party that I hosted last evening. I found a wonderful picture of this cake on line and knew I had to make it. Attached is step-by-step directions and the recipe for making this lovely cake and ganache. It was very well received and quite fabulous.
http://www.bakersroyale.com/cakes/zebra-bundt-cake/
Ingredients:
Cake
Glaze
Instructions:
To make cake
To make glaze
Assembly
— Knead to Cook
This is a morphed version of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream cake I posted last week. My daughter helped me concoct this lovely cake in honor of my sweet father’s 74th birthday today. This version is a bit less time consuming but equally fabulous!
Ingredients:
1 box of devil’s food cake
3 eggs
1 c of buttermilk
1/2 c of vegetable oil
1 c of dark chocolate chips (for the cake batter)
Ingredients for the topping on the cake:
1.5- 2 c of chopped up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (I purchased the regular sized bag at my local market)
8 oz of dark chocolate, chopped – I used dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli 60% dark cocoa chips)
1 c of heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray your bundt pan with non stick baking (floured) spray..
In your stand mixer with the paddle attached, mix the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and oil for 1 minute. The increase the speed to med/high for 2 minutes. Fold in 1 c of chocolate chips by hand. Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake about 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely before removing and plating.
Once the cake is completely cooled… Add your 8 oz of chopped chocolate or chips to a bowl and set aside (I used my large measuring cup). In a small sauce pan heat the heavy cream until it starts to boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Whisk until it is completely melted and creamy.
At this point you will pour the melted chocolate over top and let it drip down the sides. Then top the cake with the chopped peanut butter cups. Then pour a big glass of cold milk and enjoy!
— Knead to Cook
Got milk? You’ll need it! I’ve had & made this recipe for about 15 years now. I always seem to break it out for special birthday celebrations. Tomorrow is my sweet neighbor Ellie’s 5th birthday. I couldn’t resist making this, especially when she told me that she loves Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! Hopefully her & her sweet family enjoy this with a huge glass of very cold milk tomorrow 🙂
Ingredients:
1 box of devil’s food cake
3 eggs
1 c of buttermilk
1/2 c of vegetable oil
3 c of chopped up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (divided 2 c/1 c)
8 oz of dark chocolate, chopped
1 c of heavy cream
3/4 c of peanut butter (smooth)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Spray two round 9 inch cake pans with non stick spray (I also lined the bottom of my pans with wax paper if you care to do that as well).
In your stand mixer with the paddle attached, mix the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and oil for 1 minute. The increase the speed to med/high for 2 minutes. Fold in 2 c of the chopped peanut butter cups by hand. Pour 1/2 of the batter into one pan and then repeat with the second pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool completely before removing.
In the meantime, chop up your chocolate bar or chips (whatever you’re using) and set aside in a bowl. In a small sauce pan heat the heavy cream until it starts to boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Whisk until it is completely melted.
Add the peanut butter to a bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Set aside. Add your first cake layer to your decorative dish. Pour the peanut butter over the top of the first cake (layer in between). Then place the second cake over top. At this point you will pour the melted chocolate over top and let it drip down the sides. Then you will top the cake and sides with the remaining 1c of chopped peanut butter cups. Enjoy!
— Knead to Cook
I’m a huge blood orange fan! I was very excited when I saw them at my local farmer’s market and knew I had to buy them. My mind was racing with what recipes I could create. I think this one is a slam dunk!
I broke this recipe up into two distinct recipes so it’s easier to follow. I LOVE what Chobani does for this pound cake. Super moist & it just melts in your mouth.
Chobani Pound Cake:
1 1/2 c of all purpose flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 c of Chobani (lemon, blood orange or non or low fat plain yogurt)
1 c sugar
3 eggs
Zest of two blood oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp of orange extract
1/2 c of vegetable oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Non stick spray a glass loaf pan and set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. In your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add Chobani, sugar, eggs, blood orange zest, vanilla and orange extracts. Then slowly add the dry mixture to the wet and mix to incorporate. Then add the vegetable oil and mix just until blended. Avoid over mixing. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick insert comes out clean.
Glaze:
1 c of confectioners’ sugar (possibly more if you need to thicken the glaze up)
2 tbl of freshly squeezed blood orange juice
1 tsp of blood orange zest
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Add additional sugar if you need to thicken the glaze.
Pour over a completely cooled pound cake.
— Knead to Cook