Blueberry Clafoutis

One mixing bowl desserts and cakes... you gotta love that, right!?  I came across a recipe via a Facebook ad thrown at my face that sounded sort of souffle-ish, sort of custard-ish, sort of cheesecake-ish... and I thought it sounded pretty good, but would be better with a few adjustments.  Lo and behold, it came out great first time around!  What I didn't know is that there is a name for these sort of dishes - the French call it clafoutis.  This is my version with blueberries... not super sweet, which is the kind of desserts we prefer.  You could most certainly sprinkle the top with powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar if you wanted.

Had a cover of a Depeche Mode song come on the speakers while I was typing this recipe out and I was like, "Who is this?!  I like this!"  Turns out, it was No Use For A Name doing "Enjoy the Silence".  Give it a go!  -jen

 

BLUEBERRY CLAFOUTIS
Prep Time: 10 minute
Cook Time: 50-55 (with an additional 30 to rest)
Difficulty:  Easy
Serves: 6-8

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1+1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1+1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9" round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray - bottom and up sides.

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar together until smooth.  Add melted butter, ricotta, yogurt and vanilla, mixing until smooth.  Add flour, salt and baking powder  - mix until combined.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan.  Sprinkle blueberries over the top.  Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes.  Edges should turn golden brown and tester inserted in center should come out clean.  Cool in pan on baking rack for 30 minutes.  Serve room temp or chilled.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Zucchini Cake

We didn't have a garden this year, but Justin was gifted a bunch of zucchini from a coworker.  It just so happens that we'd seen Lidia Bastianich's show "Lidia's Kitchen" a few days before this where she'd made a chocolate zucchini cake.  I was just going to follow her recipe, but when I went looking for it online, it was nowhere to be found.  I assume it was because it was a recent episode and they want you to buy the cookbook.  I found a few other recipes online but they called for ingredients I didn't have so... I decided to come up with my own recipe.

I used to like to say I'm not much of a baker, but I guess our blog would actually prove me wrong.  I've been doing more and more baking and have become fairly adept at it.  Still, it's not like cooking where you can just add random ingredients here and there.  My problem is that I still try to do that with my baking and so it doesn't always come out stellar and I don't always have a recipe to post.  This recipe, however, came out great!  Woohoo!  It's moist, but light.  Somewhere in between cake and brownies.  

Let's listen to The Interrupters "On A Turntable"  -jen

CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER ZUCCHINI CAKE
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time:  50 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  18-24

• 2 + 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 + 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temp
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 1 large or 2 medium)
• 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. 

In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In another large mixing bowl, using a stand mixer or electric beater, beat sugar, butter and oil until smooth.  Add eggs 1 at a time and vanilla and beat until combined.  Alternately add 1 cup of dry ingredients with half of the almond milk, and repeat until mixed, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix in grated zucchini and fold in chocolate chips.  Spread batter evenly into prepared baking dish.

In a small dish, microwave peanut butter for about 30 seconds, until smooth and melted.  Spread about 5 thin rows of peanut butter across the top of the batter running them short-wise.  Using a butter knife, drag 4 rows lightly through the peanut butter going long-wise, first in one direction, then the next, to create a pretty design.  (Or just swirl, it doesn't matter!)

Bake at 325 F for about 50 minutes.  Test the center by inserting a clean knife.  If it comes out clean, the cake is done.  Cool on a wire rack.  Slice into 18 large slices or 24 small slices.

Oatmeal Raisin Cake with Sparkling Cider Glaze

Cake isn't made very often in our house, but I'd been craving cake the last few days.  It came to a head while we were both being lazy at home and I decided I only had the energy to make one recipe - it was either cake or focaccia.  Cake won out.

I didn't know what kind of cake I wanted to make though.  I was in pajamas and didn't feel like getting dressed to go to the store for any ingredients.  I knew we had the basics for cake, but wasn't sure what else we had to do something "different".  Browsing through our 11th Edition Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (the one cook book everyone should have), I found a recipe for an oatmeal cake.  Never heard of an oatmeal cake before!

I made a few personal preference adjustments to the recipe and it came out great!  I initially wasn't going to make a frosting or a glaze for the cake - Justin and I generally don't care for either.  But I decided this needed just a little something, looked in the fridge, had some Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider and thought that would work just fine with cinnamon, raisin and oatmeal.  Admittedly, I didn't use all of the glaze... but I think most people seem to like their sweets, sweet. 

Cake was real moist.  Tastes like oatmeal!  Reminds me a little of a coffee cake.  This recipe is definitely a keeper for us.

I got a little ska action for this recipe.  Reel Big Fish, "Everyone Else Is An Asshole".  -jen

 OATMEAL RAISIN CAKE
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
Serves:  12

• 1-1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 1 cup raisins

In a small bowl, pour boiling water over oats and let sit for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer or stand mixer on high for 30 seconds.  Add sugars and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each.

Alternately add dry mixture and oatmeal, beating on low after each addition, just until combined.  Stir in raisins and pour into prepared pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes.  Remove sides from pan and cool an additional hour.  Drizzle with Apple Cider Glaze (see recipe below) and serve.  (Glaze will harden as it cools.)

SPARKLING CIDER GLAZE

• 1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 tablespoons sparkling apple cider
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• zest of 1/2 a lemon

Whisk together all ingredients and drizzle over cooled cake.