Daily Grind

Fig Sunshine Cake

2013-05-13T19:05:17Z

I made this cake for Mother's day. Paul inspired me with his jars full of figs. The cake is citrus with layers of fig spread in between. Four layers to be exact. The recipe is for two 9" round cake pans.

The lemons in this photo are the ones I used in the recipe. I had a feeling that they would make perfect photo shoot material!

Yummy, moist, and silky smooth fig spread between layers made a seedy sumptuous treat for Mother's day. I adapted my recipe from my gluten free fig newtons and used the basic idea for this cake. Paul's mom said,"Wow! I've never had a fig cake before!" and I said," Neither have I!" I just had the idea that citrus and fig would be wonderful together. The cake is buttermilk so the crumb really held up to the textures and frosting well.

Preheat oven to 350

Prepare 2 8" round cake pans with flour and butter

Ingredients

For the Cake:

4 eggs

2 egg yolks

1-1/4 c. buttermilk

3 c. unbleached flour sifted

2 c. Evaporated cane juice

1 Tbs. baking powder + 1 tsp. baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt

1/2 c. oil ( I use virgin olive)

zest and juice of 2 lemons

zest of 1 lime

For the Fig Spread:

1 1/2 c. dried figs sliced thinly

3/4-1 c. apple juice (I use organic)

zest and juice of one navel orange

1/4 c. honey (or other mild flavored sweetener)

For the Frosting:

1 1/2 c. butter (3 sticks)

4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. buttermilk

2 tsp. hazelnut flavor

Make the Cake

1. Beat eggs, sugar, oil, zest, and lemon juice in small bowl. Set aside.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt into a medium to large mixing bowl.

3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in buttermilk. Lightly moisten dry ingredients by hand or with electric mixer. Pour remaining wet ingredients and beat for about 2 minutes until batter is smooth and yellow.

4. Pour prepared batter into cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes on center rack in oven until toothpick inserted comes out clean. The edges will be golden.

Make Fig spread

1. Place sliced figs in blender or food processor. Cover blade of mixer with enough apple juice to blend the figs easily into a spread. Slowly add juice little by little to maintain the integrity of the figs. The mixture will be very thick and smooth.

2. While the fig spread is still in mixer, zest the orange into it, then cut the orange in half and extract as much juice as possible into the mixer. Pulse the zest and juice into the mixture slowly. Use a spoon to push down any bits that have not been incorporated.

3. Add honey last and blend thoroughly.

4. Set small- medium sauce pan on medium heat and pour fig mixture in. Let the figs cook for about 10 minutes while stirring occasionally. This process will help to evaporate some of the liquid used while blending and reduce the overall texture to a fig butter. Much sweeter and more suited to filling a cake.

5. Remove from heat and let cool uncovered for about 15 minutes before putting in fridge to cool for one hour.

Make Frosting

1. cut butter into small pieces and beat on medium speed for about 3-5 minutes. The butter should become pale in color and whipped with some small air bubbles.

2. Add sugar one cup at a time until smooth

3. pour in buttermilk and whip until consistency is creamy. There may some air bubbles which is characteristic of whipped butter.

4. Add flavouring and tinting. Mix thoroughly.

Assemble the Cake

1. Prepare a 10" cake board to frost and assemble the cake on. Choose one cake to be the top. Shave the rounded top off with a sharp knife and cut the cake in half. Choose the layer that has the flat bottom of the original cake as the very top layer to achieve a smooth crumbles top . Set aside.

2. Shave the top off of the other cake as evenly as possible. I always do this by hand, slowly shaving bit by bit until my desired width and height are attained. Cut this cake in half to form two layers.

3. Fill a 12" pastry bag with frosting and pipe a border around the first layer that should have the original bottom down. Fill this layer with figs by using a large table spoon or spatula. Repeat this step with the second layer. And again with the third.

4. Place the fourth layer on the top with the smooth baked side facing up. Place a light crumb coating over the entire cake and set in freezer for 15-20 minutes.

5. Remove from freezer and use the remaining frosting to cover cake and pipe a border. Sprinkle with demerara or turbinado sugar and slice a few figs as decoration.

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Breakfast with my Man

2013-05-07T18:02:20Z

The morning after our good friend's Cico de Mayo party, my boyfriend cooked pancakes for me over this open fire pit that he built in a wood behind his cabin. The pancakes were almond meal and fig. I asked him to cook me an egg (hence the Cholula) after the pancakes were done.

He is a wonderful chef and partner in kitchen.

As you can see, the cake browned up very nicely. This is one of my favorit treats that he makes.

The cast iron tea pot works excellently over an open flame. The tea in the Mason jar is gunpowder that I think I bought for him when we first started dating. All in all, this was a wonderful way to enjoy a Monday morning before work. Hope you found this inspiring as well!

Pineapple Coconut Cake

2013-04-23T17:32:59Z

I was in the mood for pineapple coconut cake. Well actually, I've been in the mood for it for a while. This recipe turned out well, although it is my first go around. I think I will be making and re-making this recipe in the coming months..more citrus, coconut, pineapple?? I guess we'll see what happens as the weather begins to warm.

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1 Tbl. Baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. evaporated cane juice

2 eggs

1 c. coconut milk (full fat)

1 1/2 c. crushed pineapple

1/2 c. unsweetened coconut flakes (I use organic)

1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Frosting:

1 c. unsweetened flaked coconut (toasted)

1 1/2 c. butter (softened)

3 c. confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. lemon extract

1 Tbl. coconut milk

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs, pineapple, sugar,lemon extract, coconut milk, and coconut flakes until combined.

3. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat until fully combined about 2-3 minutes.

4. Prepare cake pans with butter and flour. I used one 9" springform.

5. Pour cake batter into cake pan/s and bake for 30-40 minutes. This batter is very wet and dense from the pineapple so check the cake about 20 mins into the baking process. When knife inserted comes out clean and edges are golden, the cake is done.

6. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes then transfer to cooling rack. After completely cool, place cake/s into the refrigerator or freezer to make frosting easier.

7. Prepare frosting by whipping butter with stand or hand mixer for 3-5 minutes. The color of the butter will become a very light yellow.

8. Add Confectioners sugar cup by cup until mixed. Add coconut milk and lemon extract until the frosting is smooth and mixed fully.

9. Remove cake/s from the the freezer or fridge and frost as desired.

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Picnic for The Moth Story Hour

2013-04-23T14:13:45Z

We decided to go and listen to people tell stories at The Moth Story hour. Last time we went they only had drinks and told us that we should and are also allowed to bring our own food! So, we went to the co-op and picked up ourselves some pinic food. We chose soft cheese spread, sesame baguette, homemade fig newtons, and homemade carob-cacao nib-cashew bark (all made by yours truly). We also chose a dark chocolate bar that was on sale, just in case we weren't able to curb our sugar cravings. Everything ended up looking so nice when it was all packed and ready to go, that I took a few photos for you.

I think that it is a great idea to bring a baguette sliced when going out with a few friends. Also, having this soft cheese makes spreading easy and utensil free. Eating with my hands is definitely a favorite activity. What do you think?

The Fig newtons are gluten free and the figs came from my wonderful boyfriend who has full gallon jars just sitting around in his house!! We went on a fig spree the other day, he made sesame fig bars and I made these. The Carob bark is sugar free. I melted carob chips over a double boiler and added cacao nibs and cashew and a bit of coconut oil until it was pretty thick. I then spread it out on a parchment lined sheet pan and let it cool in the fridge for about twenty minutes. This picnic ended being a fairly fun and healthy but decadent way to enjoy storytelling.

I hope this came as inspiration for your next picnic!

Cardamom Banana bread with poppy sesame crumble

2013-03-05T17:09:11Z

It has been a while since I posted anything, mostly because I have been in the process of transitioning my life to a more practical space. The more practical space being my new 2 bedroom apartment that I absolutely adore. It is the top apartment of an old historic home that was recently renovated after being abandoned. The walls that used to read 'whore' and 'butt brother's' (I added the apostrophe) are now painted a wonderful eggshell/coconut milk color and when the light shines through the bay window, it is truly magnificent! These photos should reveal how great the light really is. I am so excited to do photo shoots from my new light abundant space.

For some reason I really have been in the mood for spicy things, like cardamom and ginger. This recipe uses ginger instead of cinnamon in the bread, but does use cinnamon in the crumble. Which give a more cohesive 'banana bread' type feel to the overall dessert.

The crumble is a take on the last one I used in the Brown Butter Cardamom cake. I use un-hulled sesame seeds ( the calcium resides in the hulls) poppy seeds and walnuts to add crunch. I also made my own brown sugar by adding a tablespoon of molasses to the granulated sugar instead of buying some at the store(it always gets so hard!).

I obviously had a ton of fun shooting this dessert, which I am bringing to meet some new friends in Detroit this evening. Wish me luck! I've noticed from past experience, that when meeting new friends or spending time over the holidays with one's own family or a significant other's, bringing a dessert or getting drunk usually are the most convenient methods of breaking the ice......

Cardamom Banana Bread with Poppy seed & sesame crumble

preheat oven to 350

For the bread:

4 very ripe bananas

1 c. evaporated cane juice

2 eggs

1/2 c. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla (I use vanilla bean paste)

1 Tbl. Ginger

5 cardamom pods ( split open, using seeds inside)

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup almond meal

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt (sea)

For the crumble:

1 1/2 c. walnuts (chopped0

1 1/2 c. sugar

1Tbl. molasses

3/4 c. flour

1Tbl. cinnamon

1 1/2 stick butter (unsalted)

1/8 c. un-hulled sesame seeds

1/4.c poppy seeds

1.Prepare crumble first. Chop walnuts, set aside. Combine sugar and molasses with a fork in a quick whisking motion or use food processor until the sugar becomes a light golden brown. Add walnuts, flour, cinnamon, poppy seeds, sesame seeds. Stir this all together by hand. Cube the butter and cut into sugar/flour/nut mixture with a pastry cutter or by hand. Sed aside to sprinkle over banana bread batter once prepared.

2. In medium sized mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork or pastry cutter. Add sugar and oil. Mix the spices(including cardamom pods) into the banana, sugar, oil, mixture. The fat from the oil will soak up the flavors from the spices before adding it to the dry ingredients. Also, add vanilla at this time. Take a medium to large sized mesh strainer and place over the bowl with the wet ingredients. Put the dry ingredients into the strainer, one on top of the other. When all of the dry ingredients are in the strainer, tap the flour mixture 1/3 at a time and mix until all of the ingredients are incorporated. The batter will be similar to cake batter in that it will be wet and smooth, not super thick like some other banana bread recipes. Pour batter into 2 prepared loaf pans.

3. Bake for 50 mins to 1 hour until fork or toothpick inserted comes out clean. let cool for 5 minutes. Serve as desired.

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Brown Butter Cardamom Coffee Cake

2012-12-27T00:09:37Z

I made this cake to bring as a christmas treat for my boyfriend's family. I knew that I was in the mood for spice and brown butter, so this is what I came up with. Fortunately, the cake was a big hit and I survived christmas unscathed.

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman's Best Coffee Cake Ever

Preheat oven to 350

Cake

3/4 cup butter, browned

2 cups unrefined cane juice

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

4 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp.Salt

2 tsp. ground cardamom seed

6 cardamom pods

1-1/4 cup almond/ cow's milk ( I used a mix of coconut and almond)

3 whole Egg Whites beaten to stiff peaks

Crumble

3/4 cup butter, browned

3/4 cups Flour

1-1/2 cup unrefined cane juice

2 Tbl. Molasses

1-1/2 cup walnuts

1. Brown the butter for both cake and crumble by placing a small saucepan over medium heat. Using something like glass or stainless steel works best because you need to see the change of color in the butter after it browns. Let the butter heat until the milk solids start rising to the top as little white particles before they heat to the point of foaming. When the butter starts foaming on the top, use a spoon to clear a space so that you can see the actual color of the butter change. What I found works best is to stir and sniff. When the butter smells nutty and has a dark amber color, remove from heat and let cool. It is easy to burn the butter so just stand by and watch carefully throughout the process.

2. Infuse the milk with cardamom. Place a small pot over medium low heat. Pour milk and place cardamom pods in the milk. Let the milk come to a rolling simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and gently press the cardamom pods against the sides of the pot to open and release the seeds. Stir gently and let sit covered on counter for 10-15 mins.

3. Beat egg whites. In a clean cool medium sized metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside.

4. Sift all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, including ground cardamom and sugar.

5. Measure out 3/4 cups of the browned butter and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix until the mixture is moist.

6. Strain the milk through a metal strainer or cheese cloth and add to the flour/browned butter mixture. Mix all of these ingredients together until a thick batter forms.

7. Gently fold in the egg whites until incorperated

8. Pour in to prepared baking pans (butter & floured). I used 2 6"x3" round cake pans. The pans need to be deep because the eggwhites and baking powder rise significantly. Fill the pans no more than 1/2 way.

Make the Crumble

1. Pulse remaining brown butter and crumble ingredients (except walnuts) in food processor until mixed.

2. Chop walnuts to desired consistency

3. Alternated handfulls of walnuts and brown butter mixture onto the top of your cake batter.

Place cake in oven for 30-35 mins depending on shape and size of pan. Add more time is size is larger.

Take out of oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes.

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Chocolate and Vanilla cupcakes

2012-12-17T04:05:15Z

I made these cupcakes for the last day of art class. I figured that since we only need to come in and pick up our final portfolio's and say goodbye, this would be the perfect way to end the semester. This is just a vanilla cupcake recipe that I split in half and added cocoa to. I had a lot of fun with sprinkles while discussing several existential "topics" with my roomate. There's no better way to cheer up a conversation than with pink frosting and sprinkles. Take my advice! Seriously!!

Preheat oven to 350

Adapted from Sweetapolita's Super duper Vanilla cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk at room temperature

4 large egg whites at room temperature

1 egg, whole, at room temperature

1 Tbl. pure vanilla extract

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1-1/2 cups unrefined can juice

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes

4 tablespoons coconut oil

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1/4 c. Almond milk (cow's milk)

Frosting:

3 sticks + 2 tablespoons butter cut into cubes and softened

3.5 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons milk or half/half

1 tablespoon pure Vanilla

*Set Cocoa powder and almond milk aside

Whisk dry ingredients in Medium mixing bowl.

Whisk egg whites and egg in milk. Add butter, coconut oil, and vanilla. Pour wet mixture into dry and beat until smooth and butter has been incorperated. Divide the batter into 2 mixing bowls. Add the cocoa powder to one bowl. The chocolate batter will now be thick like brownie batter. Add the almond/cow's milk until the consistency is smooth like the original vanilla batter.

Spoon both batter's into prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 16-18 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.Let cool and frost as desired.

While cakes are baking, Beat butter on medium spead until light yellow. Slowly add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until the mxture is smooth and creamy. This will take at least 5 minutes beating on medium. Add the Vanilla and continue to beat for 30 seconds. Lastly, add the Milk one tablespoon at a time until fully incorperated.

*I used a 1m open star and a jumbo open star. The color is americolor dusty rose mixed with some bright white. The sprinkles are just a bunch of different colors and sizes that seemed fun to me.

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Peanut Butter Balls

2012-11-08T21:16:42Z

Super easy and deliciously delightful, these peanut butter balls turned out exceptionally well. I made them for a friend who wanted something with peanut butter and chocolate which was perfect because I had some crystallized ginger left over from the Zingy Orange Carrot cake that I made from Sweetapolita. And really, what's better than Ginger, peanut butter and chocolate? I can't think of anything, except maybe bananas. Anyways, this recipe is easy and really fun to mess around with and try different things when decorating

Peanut butter balls

2 c. Peanut butter ( I use organic)

2-2 1/2 . Powdered sugar

1/4c. Butter

2 tsp. Vanilla

*salt to taste or sprinkle Hilmalayan or fleur de sel after dipping in chocolate for a fancy look.

Chocolate coating

9 oz. bittersweet chocolate ( I used callebout bittersweet)

1 Tbl. Butter or unflavored oil (this gives a sheen to the chocolate)

Melt butter and Peanut butter over double boiler. Stir until smooth. Add Powdered sugar until a firm dough forms that you can easily handle without it sticking to your hands. Place dough ball covered in fridge for 1-2 hours.

* While dough is cooling make chocolate coating. On double boiler melt chocolate and butter. Set aside until dough is ready to be dipped

Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1/2-1" balls. place on prepared baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Take a toothpick or candy tool and dip peanut butter ball into chocolate place back on baking sheet and repeat until all balls are covered.

decorate with sea salt, crystallized ginger, turbinado sugar, or really whatever your little heart desires. Keep in the Fridge or freeze up to 3 weeks.

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Zingy Orange Carrot Ginger Cake

2012-11-08T19:43:57Z

I got this recipe fromSweetapolita. Of course it turned out amazing and tastes delicious. I used the White Chocolate frosting recipe from her Baked: Whiteout Cake recipe as it seemed like a nice match.

I decided to use one of her recipes because she continually inspires and impresses me, not only with her extensive cake knowledge but also with her particular artistic flare for decorating and photography. This cake is a rough draft for the one that I will be making for Angela's Michigan wedding reception in a couple of weeks. I wanted to make sure the recipe would work out and I wouldn't be left in a semi-disastrous state like I was on the day of her wedding. I ran out of ingredients for frosting and had to call someone to bring some from a town that was 2 hours away from the ceremony. Luckily, the lady was on her way so it wasn't a problem. What ended up being a problem though, is when she finally did show up with the remaining ingredients there wasn't enough to frost the whole cake, so I did a quick revision/cover-up and used fresh flowers from the brides bouquet! Talk about resourceful. After an incident like that I decided to always test the recipe first and make sure there will be enough ingredients and everything will be up to par way before the even takes place.

* Oh and I finally brushed up on my rather pathetic food photography skills. They're in the works and I'm excited to continue learning about setting up props/ studio space and figuring out what light looks best. Thanks to Rosie for some inspiration when it comes to the whole idea of "set up"! I'm usually absolutely abhorrent of completely copying someone else's work/ideas, but with this perfect frosting design and recipe there was really no other option.

Zingy Orange Carrot Ginger Cake with White Chocolate Frosting- From Rosie at Sweetapolita

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients

5 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger or stem ginger in syrup

1 orange

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

1 cup (250 mL) butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla

2/3 cup (150 mL) milk ( used apple juice)

White chocolate Frosting

6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk Flour,salt, soda, ground ginger and zest of one orange in medium size mixing bowl.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. About 5 minutes

add eggs to creamed sugar and butter mixture, add vanilla, beat until smooth. Add Milk/juice last. Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add grated carrots and crystallized ginger. Beat until all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared baking pans. Bake for 30-50 mins depending on pan size. I used two 6"/3" deep pans.

Make White Chocolate Frosting:

Melt white chocolate on double boiler and set aside.

In medium saucepan, whisk Flour, sugar, and milk/cream together. Heat on medium until boiling. Once boiling immediately turn down and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and beat on medium speed until cool. Add cubed butter at room temp. Beat until butter is incorporated.

When mixture is smooth and cool add the white chocolate and vanilla. Beat until incorporated. The consistency should be light and fluffy. If you see gritty chunks then the mixture is too cool. If you see what looks like grainy oil particles then the frosting is too warm. You can set the bowl in the fridge for 5 mins until the fats get a chance to cool and become more solid. Or if the opposite is happening, place the bowl on a pot with warm water beneath it.

Frost Cake as desired let chill in the Fridge for a few hours before serving.

* Cakes are easier to frost when they are frozen or cold. I baked my cakes the day before and let them rest in the fridge overnight before frosting.

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A day at Friend's Lake, with friends who like cupcakes!

2012-09-26T20:39:21Z

My best friend asked me to make these for the graduation of her Childbirth Education Class. She lives in the coolest log cabin on a nature preserve called Friend's Lake, right outside of Chelsea Michigan. She and her Husband are caretakers and will stay on over the winter. The cabin they live in is idyllic to say the least and felt like an absolutley magical place to bake. Yes, the light really looked like this!

The entry way to the kitchen......

This is the little pathway leading to the lake and the cabin. Those windows are the windows of the kitchen! Did I mention how much I love this place??

Okay, I think it may be cupcake time and for a big thanks to Angela for letting me post these photos of her place. xoxo

Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Orange cream cheese frosting

There is a quite not so uncommon belief out there that cream cheese frosting cannot be piped. This is because conventional cream cheese frosting calls for butter and superfine sugar to be mixed with the cream cheese. This leaves the frosting too soft to really stand up to piping. After being what one might call, 'terrified' of butter for about 3 years of my life, I figured out a way to make cream cheese frosting with coconut oil instead. Coconut oil melts at body temperature which makes it a better overall contender for piping. What I found to work best, is mixing 1 to 1/3 coconut oil and honey. Which is how I made this and what the recipe is below. Enjoy!!

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. evap. cane juice

1 tsp. salt.

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. veg. oil

2Tb. orange juice

2 eggs

1 1/2 T. Fresh Lavender flowers

Frosting

3 8 oz. cream cheese

1 c. honey (RAW) if possible

1. c coconut oil

zest of 2 oranges

Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Soften cream cheese prior to use by leaving at room temperature for 1 hour. If you forget, don't fret! Place the cold cream cheese in a bowl with hot water and let sit for 10 minutes. Mix wet ingredients, then pour into dry. Mix this well until the batter is smooth. This batter is on the wetter side. Do not add more flour if it seems to thin. This is the correct consistency. Place in prepared cupcake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

In medium mixing bowl, combine, soft cream cheese, honey, zest, and melted coconut oil. Beat with mixer on medium high until frosting has come together and looks smooth. Make sure to check the blades of the mixer to see if there is any zest stuck to them. Wipe down and add back into mixture if necessary. Let this frosting cool and harden in fridge for 30 minutes before putting in piping bag. Or put it in before but make sure you have something underneath the nozzle as it will drip straight through. Then place prepared piping bag in fridge to cool and harden. About 30 minutes.

* I used a 1 Ml. wilton tip to make the rosed design.

When cooled, frost as desired and Share with Loved ones