Hey guys! Since y’all enjoy this blog and ill be absent from posting here for about four months please check out and follow me on my new blog as well http://peradulceblog.wordpress.com to hear more about my awesome experiences while I’m studying abroad in Granada, Spain.
So I’ve made this cake twice in the past week because it is just so good! It doesn’t last more then a day in our house of three and about 3/4 of it is gone within the first ten minutes. It’s so moist and delicious and a perfect combination of sweet and tart. It’s technically called a cake but I think it is the perfect little tea cake for breakfast or snack. The original recipe calls for apples and raspberries but raspberries are quite expensive and we always seem to have cranberries floating around in our freezer. This recipe is perfect for using up some old apples and whatever other fruit you have laying around.
Seriously though, next time you don’t know what to have for breakfast try this cake! Its so quick to make a so delicious
Recipe adapted from here
Apple-Cranberry Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
Granulated sugar, for pan
1½ cups all-purpose flour (or combination of wheat and white)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup packed light-brown sugar
½ almond milk
2 large eggs ( I used two flax eggs)
About 2 apples. I used Granny Smith
1/2 cup cranberries
Crumble topping:
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup oats
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter,cut into pieces
1/3 cup slivered almonds
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tbsp applesauce ( optional- helped crumble come together better)
Instructions
Cake:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray with cooking spray or butter a 9-inch springform pan, and dust with granulated sugar.
In one Large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
In a medium bowl whisk together melted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, milk, and eggs in another bowl.
Whisk butter mixture into flour mixture.
Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
Arrange apple wedges over batter, and sprinkle with cranberries
Gently press fruit into batter.
Crumble topping:
In a small bowl combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, almonds, and butter. Mix till it comes together. Add applesauce( if using) and mix and sprinkle over fruit.
Bake until top is dark gold, apples are tender, and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes
Let cool before removing from pan.
Don’t be afraid! I know me and my mom were when my sister told us she wanted to make black bean brownies. To a sugar addict like me, the thought of black beans in what should be rich, fudge-y and oozing with chocolate is quite frightening. Brownies aren’t supposed to be healthy, they need to be loaded with butter and sugar and chocolate morsels that melt in your mouth.
My sister decided she was going to prove us wrong, and that she did. She whipped up a quick batch of these babies and you would have no idea that they don’t have any butter but black beans instead. They were smooth and chocolatey and really moist. My mom, a brownie connoisseur, was looking for a fudgier brownie but was still quite pleased with the results. Me on the other hand, I couldn’t stop myself from eating them. I ate them right when they came out of the oven and they were so warm and gooey, then I ate them when they cooled with a smear of peanut butter and actually preferred how they set up better when they cooled.
All Im trying to say here is that they are one of those recipes that no one would ever know they were full of black beans and definitely worth a try. I know I felt slightly less guilty licking the pan.
look at those gooey brownies! nom nom
and the chef herself. not only is she stealing the baking but she stole my camera and took some selfies
What’s better then baking on a cold winter day? Not a whole lot.
Today was the perfect snowy and cold day hanging out with my family watching more netflix then I would like to admit. So to end this perfectly lazy, chilly day and use some frozen cranberries we stocked up on from thanksgiving, I made a super yummy cranberry cake!
I don’t know about you but I’m somewhat tired of the dry cranberry orange bread that fills most holiday tables. So instead of baking the usual cranberry orange loaf this cranberry cake is so moist, delicious, and anything but boring.
Recipe adapted from here
Cranberry Cake Recipe
3 eggs or two eggs and one flax egg(1 tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 tbsp water. Let sit at least 2 minutes)
1 3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour ( I used 1 cup whole wheat flour)
2 1/2 cups cranberries (1 bag)
Optional walnut topping:
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp applesauce
1 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 cup oats
Heat the butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and stir. Add the toasted pecans and applesauce and cook for several minutes, stirring, until the butter and sugar mixture is shiny and smooth and the nuts smell toasted. Spread over the cake batter and bake as above.
makes one 9×13-inch or one 10-inch springform cake
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan or a 10″ springform pan.
Beat eggs and sugar together for at least 5 minutes — probably as long as 7 or 8 minutes — the egg and sugar mixture should double in volume and turn pale yellow, leaving ribbons on top of the batter when you lift the beaters.
Add the butter and flavorings and beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in flour and fold in cranberries. Pour into greased pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes for a 9×13, or a little over an hour for the springform. You made need to tent the cake with foil in the last 15 minutes or so to keep the top from browning.
Cool completely before serving.
My blogging has been less then sub par this past year. With school and little free time it’s hard to keep up with posting. With the new year here i resolve to post often and improve my blogging in general. But before I talk about what is to come with this new year I want to send off 2013 right by saying a RIP to my cat Chai who passed away December 14th. He was my best friend and we grew up together so it was very hard for me to say goodbye but I know he is happy! If you ask anyone who knew chai, cat lover or not, they will say how great of a cat he was!
Please check out this awesome Christmas gift my sister got me to remember my best friend! http://www.chaithecat.net
Now for this new year I am very excited to announce that I will be studying abroad in Granada, Spain this spring semester, so please continue to follow me and my journey through Europe! I hope everyone had a great 2013 and is excited to see what 2014 has to bring!
sweetpearblog 