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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Bake yourself silly!

It seems like forever ago that I've posted new recipes and now I have a bit of a back-log. So this blog will contain a few recipes for baked goods that I've tried and enjoyed.  I'll have to write a separate blog for the non-baked, more savory dishes so you are no inundated with a bunch of random recipes.

First up are scones!  I love scones.  They are like fancy, triangular biscuits.  I have tried sweet and savory varieties and I have found that when it comes to scones, I don't discriminate!  Last weekend I made Skinny Bitch Orange Scones, recipe by the skinny bitch herself, Kim Barnouin.  The recipe worked perfectly.  These have a lovely orange essence and light orange flavor yet they aren't really sweet, which makes it perfect for adding a nice jam on top.  YUM!!

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar (plus 1 tbs for later)
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup orange juice (plus 1 tbs for later)
1 tbs orange zest
1 tsp orange extract (I used lemon because I didn't have orange)
1/2 cup Earth Balance

Directions
Set oven to 350 F.  Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together orange juice, orange extract and orange zest. Then add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the Earth Balance and mix well. Lightly flour a flat surface. Knead dough for a minute, then form into a small pizza crust shape, lightly flattening it into desired thickness. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and place on a baking sheet. Use your finger or pastry brush to spread the extra orange juice on each scone, then sprinkle with the extra sugar. Bake 15 minutes. Let cool. Serve with your favorite jam.

Here's another oh-so-yummy one to try, Raspberry Jam Swirl Crumbcake.  I found this recipe on Post Punk Kitchen.  This recipe turns out so moist a delicious. You could really use whatever flavor jam that you like best, or none at all.

Ingredients
For the cake:
3/4 cup soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup raspberry jam (My FAVORITE jam is Polaner Fancy Fruit with Fiber, with only 6 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber per tbs!!)

For the topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease an 8×8 round springform pan or regular square pan. Measure out the soy milk for the cake and add the teaspoon of apple cider vinegar; set aside to curdle. Then begin preparing the topping.

Make the topping:
In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Drizzle in the canola oil by the tablespoonful (you can eyeball it, no reason to whip out a tablespoon.) Use your fingers to swish around the mixture until crumbs form. Alternate swishing and adding canola oil until all oil is used and large crumbs have formed. Some of the topping is still going to be sandy and that’s fine, just so long as you have mostly nice big crumbs. You can add another tablespoon of oil if needed.

Make the cake:
In a large mixing bowl, mix together curdled milk, sugar, canola oil and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth. Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Add spoonfuls of jam randomly on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it in. Evenly sprinkle on the topping and pat it down just a bit. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean.

And one last baked item for you. This one is from Color Me Vegan.  I thought the Kiwi Banana Muffins from the Green Chapter sounded interesting.  I knew I liked kiwi and banana, but I wasn't sure how I felt about them all smushed together in a muffin.  They came out pretty good.  I thought the kiwi was slightly sour when paired with the banana so I'm still kind of on the fence about how I really feel about these.  I brought them to work though and asked for an honest opinion and I was told they were good.  I will say that the baking time on these (for my oven, which may need to be replaced soon) was WAY off!  I ended up baking mine for about 3 times longer than this recipe suggests.  Just a heads-up on that.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Zest from 1 medium orange
3 ripe bananas, peeled
8 ripe kiwis, peeled, divided
1/2 cup nondairy butter (Earth Balance)
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a muffin tin or fill with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Set aside. In a medium bowl, or in a food processor or blender, mash (or puree) the bananas and 5 of the kiwis until smooth. Add the butter and sugar and stir to combine. Chop the remaining 3 kiwis into bite-sized pieces. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the chopped kiwi, and stir to combine. Spoon the batter into the individual muffin tins and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. This might take longer if your muffins are on the larger side. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack. Makes 12 muffins.

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