Fall Baking Pumpkin Bread

 Making the topping I just used my hands to mix it. 

Bread with crumble top before going in the oven.

Every time I go to Starbucks I am tempted by their little square of pumpkin bread. I love Starbucks' pumpkin bread because it has no nuts or chocolate chips. I  also like the little pumpkin seeds on top. Today I stopped myself from buying their pumpkin bread because when you think about it a can of pure pumpkin is cheaper than a slice of Starbucks pumpkin bread.

Pumpkin bread is awesome because if you have a can of pumpkin, you most likely have all the other ingredients in your cupboard. Nothing makes a house smell like Fall than pumpkin bread. I found the recipe I liked because it used brown sugar and vanilla.  

Pumpkin Bread:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
⅓ cup water
½ tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

Topping:
1 Tbl flour
5 Tbl brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbl cold butter

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 8″x4″ loaf pan (or three small loaf pans) with baking spray. Set aside. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, oil, sugar, and brown sugar. Add pumpkin puree, water, and vanilla, mix until smooth. Add one egg at a time, mixing after each addition. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, mix just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set aside.

Make topping, in small bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter with pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. I used my hands to make the crumble. Sprinkle topping over batter.

Bake for 1 hour (35-40 minutes for small pans), or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Topping will begin to darken but should not burn. Cool in pan, then on wire rack.

So easy and yummy!!

Zucchini Bread

Today I baked Zucchini Bread. I got this recipe from a Mom at D's preschool. I modified a few things like substituting apple sauce for vegetable oil. I also don't add any nuts or dried fruit. This bread is a great after school snack.
ZUCCHINI BREAD

DRY:
::3 1/4 cup all purpose flour
::1 teaspoon salt
::1 teaspoon baking soda
::2 teaspoon baking powder
::1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
::1 teaspoon cinnamon
::1 1/2 cups sugar
::1 1/2 cup brown sugar

WET:
1/2 cup apple sauce
3 cups grated zucchini...about 2 good sized zucchinis
1/2 cup milk
5 eggs (lightly beaten)

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl combine apple sauce, eggs, milk and zucchini. Pour wet ingredients into dry and fold. Pour into a greased bread pan (you can make these into muffins) Bake at 350 for an hour.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

I only iced the top of the cake so it resembled a pint of Guinness. It is so delicious that it doesn't need to be St. Patrick's day to bake this cake. Guinness cake would make a great 21st birthday cake. 

This is a wonderful chocolaty cake! You'll want a glass of milk or a warm cup of tea to wash it down. Next time I make this I will frost it heavier on the top.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

(recipe from “Feast” by Nigella Lawson)

Ingredients

Cake:
-1 cup Guinness stout
-1 stick unsalted butter, sliced
-¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-2 cups superfine sugar (i used granulated)
-¾ cup sour cream
-2 eggs
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Icing
-8 ounce cream cheese (cold)
-1 cup confectioners’ sugar
-½ cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

2. Pour Guinness into a large saucepan, add butter and heat until melted. Whisk in cocoa powder and sugar. In a small bowl, beat sour cream with eggs and vanilla and then pour into brown, buttery, beery mixture and finally whisk in flour and baking soda.

3. Pour cake batter into greased and line pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour (Check at 45 minutes for doneness, poking a skewer in center.). Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

4. When cake is cold, gently peel off parchment paper and transfer to a platter or cake stand.

5. Place cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a mixing bowl, and whip with an electric beater, until smooth.

6. Add cream and beat again until you have a spreadable consistency.

7. Ice top of cake, starting at middle and fanning out, so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint. Since you are not icing the side of the cake you can be a little heavy handed with the frosting. 

French cooking

I watched the french film Little White Lies & now I am in a french phase. I got these cookbooks from the library to mix up our regular dinner routine...stir fry, pasta, soup repeat. I don't think I'll get a chance to try any recipes till next week since Sunday is St. Patrick's Day.

Hello March, Baking & Books

I baked New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are delicious. You really can't eat just one! What makes these cookies different is you don't use all purpose flour instead you use bread and cake flour. Give them a whirl because they really are yummy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html?_r=0

My nails are ready for Spring. This mellow yellow is not my typical color...Not sure how long I'll keep them yellow.

 I am currently reading Lessons from Madame Chic By Jennifer L. Scott. Picked up this little nugget of wisdom from the library. We can all stand to be a little chicer.

We met the San Diego Chicken! Being a San Diego native this was a really big deal. As a kid I would see the Chicken at Padres games and he was always on the local news in the 80's. D was not thrilled about meeting the Chicken but both boys were good sports.

Downton Abbey Scones

 Dough is looking good.

 Ready for oven.

I made scones in honor of Downton Abbey season 3 airing tonight. I got the recipe from a cookbook my Sister-in-Law gave me for Christmas gift, Holiday Baking By Sara Perry. The holiday this cookbook covers are Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa and New Years. I made the Boxing Day Scones. They are very plain (D thought they were "bland") however they taste GREAT with strawberry jam.

1 Stick of Butter Cookies

 Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Doesn't make a lot of dough.

A few weeks ago I REALLY wanted to bake. However I only had a stick of butter and I didn't want to go to the store. So I looked through my cookbooks & online for a cookie recipe that only needed 1 stick of butter. I don't remember if I found the recipe for these cookies in a book or on the web. However I am glad I wrote the recipe down. Everyone in the family loves them! I am planning on making them Labor Day weekend so the boys will have them in their lunch boxes for the 1st day of school. This makes about 24 chocolate chip cookies.

1 Stick of unsalted Butter
3/4 cups Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Sugar
2 large eggs at room temp.
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
2 1/4 All Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup of Chocolate Chips

Sift together Flour and Baking Soda in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl using a mixer Cream butter and Sugars together till creamy. Add the vanilla then stir in Eggs. With the mixer on add in Flour. Use a spoon to mix in Chocolate Chips. 

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. take the cookies out right when the cookies get brown on the edges.