sparecake

Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on January 6, 2014 by sparecake

Oh look, more cookies! Who could have ever guessed?! As it turns out, these ones are (also) quite delicious, and sturdy enough once they’ve cooled that you can wave them around without them falling apart, even though they’re enormous. Not that cookie waving stability is an important criterion, but it is a difference from the last cookies, which were not as sturdy.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup tightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup dark mini-chips and 1 cup milk chocolate disks, as that was what I had available)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars until well blended.

Beat in the vanilla, egg, and yolk until light and creamy. This would have been easier with a mixer, but since it was the only exercise I got all day, I suppose I shouldn’t complain. The color did become noticeably lighter after enough beating.

Mix in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop dough in 1/4 cup portions on the lined sheets, leaving several inches between each. Mine were probably more of a ‘heaping 1/4 cup’, which I guess was larger than necessary, but…I’m not complaining.

Bake 15-17 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges. Cool several minutes on the sheet, until stable enough to be moved to a wire rack to cool completely.

Eat over the course of a day and a half.

To be fair, this is a small plate.

Done.

Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

From AllRecipes.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup tightly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugars until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips. Drop dough in 1/4 cup portions on the lined sheets, leaving several inches between each.

Bake 15-17 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges. Cool several minutes on the sheet, until stable enough to be moved to a wire rack to cool completely.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged chocolate chip cookies | 2 Comments

Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted on December 30, 2013 by sparecake

My mother just left after 10 days visiting me here in Greece. One of a things I requested she bring was a big jar of peanut butter, because it’s really ridiculously expensive here. I can only imagine she’s not been getting enough gf baked goods since I moved away, so I made these while she was still here. If you’re ever looking for a recipe to make for gf friends that doesn’t require you to go out and buy all sorts of gluten-free-specific ingredients, this is the one for you!

Ingredients:

1 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips or mini chips

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment.

Beat together the peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt on medium speed.

Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough in tablespoon-sized portions onto the lined baking sheets, and press gently to flatten. These will flatten a bunch while cooking, but if you help them out at the start, you won’t have a blob of uncooked dough in the center of a cooked cookie.

Bake 8-10 minutes, until slightly cracked on the surface, but not browned.

Using a second pan would avoid having these be all one blob. Sadly, we don’t have a second pan.

Cool in the pan.

They flatten as they cool.

These were, as you might expect, quite peanut butter-y! Once they’ve cooled they firm up, but aren’t crisp – they’ll still bend a bit when you pick them up.

Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

From King Arthur Flour.

1 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips or mini chips

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment.

Beat together the peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt on medium speed, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough in tablespoon-sized portions onto the lined baking sheets, and press gently to flatten. Bake 8-10 minutes, until slightly cracked on the surface, but not browned. Cool in the pan.

Chili Beans and Rice

Posted on December 11, 2013 by sparecake

I was looking for something cheap and filling, and I always hear people talking about rice and beans, which lead me to this. It’s a bit more interesting than just some rice and beans with a few herbs, and is indeed filling, and faaairly cheap (meat in Greece is pretty expensive).

How the meat comes. Vaguely folded up…

Ingredients:

1 cups uncooked white rice, and the water recommended on the package (usually 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14 ounce can kidney beans

The only way to get ground beef at the butcher’s shop here is in patties that have some herbs in them. The butcher at the shop on my street either doesn’t wear gloves at all, or keeps the gloves on after handling the raw meat, while he gives you your change. Gross.

To start off, get your rice cooking. Mince your garlic. My mom’s coming to visit next week, so I’ll finally have someone capable of chopping things around for a few days! Combine the garlic and beef in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook until there’s no pink left, sprinkling the chili powder over the beef as it cooks.

Stir the parsley, salt, sugar, and canned tomatoes into the beef mixture, including the liquid from the tomatoes. Rinse the canned beans well. There’s probably some purple sludge in the can.

OH COME ONNN

Ew.

Drain this out, fill with water and shake, and repeat several times. Drain out the water so just beans remain, and add to the meat mixture. Stir in well. At this point, if you push the meat and beans around, there will be a bunch of liquid that will fill in the gap.

Continue to cook until the mixture is thickened enough that this no longer happens. For me, this has worked out both times to right about the same time as the rice is finished cooking.

Serve the beef mixture over the rice, and enjoy! This is either 2 enormous meals, or 3 small ones. You can easily double the recipe, if your pan can hold a doubled amount of the beef mixture.

Chili Beans and Rice

Adapted from SimplyRecipes.

1 cups uncooked white rice, and the water recommended on the package (usually 2 cups)

2 cloves garlic

1/2 lb ground beef

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 14 ounce can kidney beans

Start the rice cooking according to package directions.

Mince garlic and combine with beef in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook until there’s no pink left, sprinkling the chili powder over the beef as it cooks.

Stir the parsley, salt, sugar, and canned tomatoes into the beef mixture, including the liquid from the tomatoes. Rinse the canned beans well and stir into the meat mixture. Cook until thickened, then serve over the rice.

Posted in Dinner | Tagged Beef, rice and beans, yum | Leave a comment

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on December 6, 2013 by sparecake

This is a mighty fine chocolate chip cookie with just enough cream cheese that you can taste that little bit of tanginess. I love that! Only made a half-batch, as that’s how much cream cheese I had, but I’d happily eat twice as many of these!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Beat in the cream cheese and vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture.

Stir in the chocolate chips. I only have bigger chocolate disks, so these were always going to be lumpy cookies.

Place the dough on ungreased baking sheets by heaping tablespoonsful. Mine were probably extra-heaping? That’s fiiine.

Bake 9-11 minutes, until golden brown.

Let cool on the pan at least 10 minutes – these ones are very soft straight out of the oven, and will fall apart on you if you don’t give them a bit to firm up. After that, go ahead and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

From This Week For Dinner.

1 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then beat in the cream cheese and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Place the dough on ungreased baking sheets by heaping tablespoonsful. Bake 9-11 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on the pan at least 10 minutes, then enjoy!

Posted in Dessert | Tagged chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, Cookies, cream cheese, cream cheese cookies | Leave a comment

Chocolate-Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Posted on November 20, 2013 by sparecake

The last thing I did Sunday night was google ‘breakfast cake recipe’. Made for a good Monday morning!

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup plain whole Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8X8″ square pan or a large bread pan. Combine the chocolate, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl and stir together.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.

Vanilla extract is something like a euro per teaspoon here, but vanilla beans are dirt cheap, so (after 8+ weeks of waiting) I made my own.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Like the grossest scrambled eggs ever?

Add the dry goods in three steps, alternating with the yogurt in two additions.

Pour half of the batter into the pan and sprinkle half of the chocolate mixture on top.

Add the second half of the batter and smooth the top. Sprinkle on the remaining chocolate mixture.

Bake until the top is golden brown and the cake passes the toothpick test. For an 8X8″ pan, this will be about 45-50 minutes. If you bake the cake in a bread pan, at about 45 minutes cover the cake with foil, so that the top doesn’t burn, and bake another 10-15 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test. I think the bread pan I have is a bit bigger than the standard 9X5″ pan you’ll get in the US (and certainly bigger than an 8X4!) so I’d suggest the first time you make this in a bread pan you put the bread pan on a baking sheet, just in case it overflows. I didn’t have that problem, but like I said, I think my pan’s a bit bigger than standard.

Let cool in the pan, then cut yourself a slice and go to town!

The cinnamon sugar mixture on top becomes a bit crispy, and it’s really quite delightful! The texture and the taste of this cake are both just right!

Chocolate-Cinnamon Coffee Cake

From Bon Appétit.

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar, divided

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup plain whole Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8X8″ square pan. Combine the chocolate, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl and stir together. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the dry goods in three steps, alternating with the yogurt in two additions.

Pour half of the batter into the pan and sprinkle half of the chocolate mixture on top. Add the second half of the batter and smooth the top. Sprinkle on the remaining chocolate mixture.

Bake until the top is golden brown and the cake passes the toothpick test, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool in the pan.

Posted in Brunch, Dessert | Tagged chocolate, Cinnamon, Coffee Cake | Leave a comment

Scarlet Runner Beans with Sausage and Polenta

Posted on November 15, 2013 by sparecake

Hello, my poor neglected food blog! I haven’t forgotten you, I promise! I just have not been eating so interestingly lately. But I’m working on it!

For instance, several weeks ago I was working my way through the spice shops on Ευριπίδου (a street in Athens), and saw some purple and black beans. I don’t eat beans a ton, and I didn’t recognize them, so I didn’t buy some right away, but the internet told me what they are, and that they’re good, and I was back to the shops! These particular beans turn out to be not particularly strongly flavored themselves, so you could presumably use them to bulk out a lot of recipes, but they have a good texture, and look lovely, so I’m into it.

I actually made this once, and ate it for lunch and dinner the next two days, but wanted to do it again and change the proportions a bit before sharing, so… here we are, two days later, and I’m eating this again. Probably a good sign, for tastiness levels? Actually, though, I think the leftovers might be even better, once the flavors have had a chance to come together a bit more.

Sausage from a butcher’s shop on the same street. I really really like this stuff! The label translates to “sausage meatballs” so…that’s helpful.

This makes about enough for 2 starving people, or 3 tiny people, so feel free to double as needed.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup scarlet runner beans (if nothing else, you can order them here, but check the dry goods part of your supermarket)
about 1/3 pound sausage, in bite sized pieces
2 cloves garlic
1 cup tomato sauce
large pinch dried oregano
1/2 cup dried polenta
2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
lots of water

The evening before, place the beans in a large bowl of water. Soak roughly a day. The water will turn a bit brown, that’s fine, you’re pouring it off anyway later.

They grow significantly!

Roughly half an hour before you want to eat, put a medium sized saucepan on the stove, with more than enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the beans to the water whenever it reaches a boil, and cook 20 minutes.

Purple water!

While you wait for the water to heat, put the sausage in a pan over medium high heat. Cook until browned all over, then add the garlic and cook another minute or two until the garlic begins to brown.

Reduce the heat to low and stir in the tomato sauce and oregano.

Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are ready.

Cook the polenta according to the package instructions. In the case of the polenta I have, combine the half cup polenta with a cup of water and the butter over high heat. Cook until it boils, stirring occasionally. Once it’s reached a boil, it cooks quickly (3-4 minutes). Stir in the grated cheese and remove from the heat.

Ready to become a base!

After the beans have cooked 20 minutes, try one to see if it’s cooked – you want it tender, not at all crunchy or even particularly firm. When ready, stir the cooked beans into the tomato sauce mixture.

Forgot to take a picture of this the second time through, so this is about twice as many beans as you’ll have. The sauce to bean ratio is way better with less beans.

Serve over a scoop of polenta.

It’s really filling, and delicious! Yay food!

And hello, tomorrow’s dinner!

Scarlet Runner Beans with Sausage and Polenta

Roughly adapted from Inverbrook Farm.

3/4 cup scarlet runner beans

about 1/3 pound sausage, in bite sized pieces

2 cloves garlic

1 cup tomato sauce

large pinch dried oregano

1/2 cup dried polenta

2 tablespoons butter

2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated

lots of water

The evening before, place the beans in a large bowl of water. Soak roughly a day.

Half an hour before you want to eat, put a medium sized saucepan on the stove, with more than enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the beans to the boiling water, and cook 20 minutes.

While you wait for the water to heat and beans to cook, put the sausage in a pan of medium high heat. Cook until browned all over, then add the garlic and cook another minute or two until the garlic begins to brown. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the tomato sauce and oregano. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are ready.

Cook the polenta according to the package instructions. In the case of the polenta I have, combine the half cup polenta with a cup of water and the butter over high heat. Cook until it boils, stirring occasionally, then it quickly comes together and firms up. Stir in the grated cheese and remove from the heat.

After the beans have cooked 20 minutes, check for tenderness. When ready, stir the cooked beans into the tomato sauce mixture.

Serve over a scoop of polenta.

Posted in Dinner | Tagged cooking in greece, polenta, runner beans, Sausage, scarlet runner beans | 2 Comments

Brown Butter Crumb Cake

Posted on November 4, 2013 by sparecake

I brought this to a Halloween party last Thursday (so traditional), and it was a hit! Multiple people said it was perfect, and someone else said the texture was excellent, so I think this is definitely one worth throwing together for a brunch or something.

Ingredients:

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup Greek yogurt

To prepare the crumb topping, first melt the butter. While it melts, stir together the remaining crumb ingredients, then pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and stir together until well combined. Place in the refrigerator.

To make the cake batter, first brown the butter over medium heat on the stove, stirring frequently until it has a lightly nutty smell and small browned bits floating in it. This will take several minutes. Pour into a shallow heat-safe bowl and place in the freezer.

Freeze at least 15 minutes, until firm, but not hard. You want it solid enough you can cream (like room temperature butter), not so hard it won’t blend together in a few steps.

Take your crumb mixture out of the refrigerator and break up the mixture into roughly 1/2 chunks. Set aside to come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ springform. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

Scrape the chilled brown butter into a large bowl and add the sugar and brown sugar. Beat together until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat together.

Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the Greek yogurt in 2 additions. Transfer to the greased pan.

Sprinkle the crumbs over the batter. If bits of your crumb topping have broken up too small, you should be able to squeeze them back into larger chunks, like playdough. 1/2″ chunks are preferable to sort of powder, both for looks and texture.

Bake 45-50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and passes the toothpick test. Cool completely in the pan before serving.

Brown Butter Crumb Cake

Adapted from Break or Bake.

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

To prepare the crumb topping, first melt the butter. While it melts, stir together the remaining crumb ingredients, then pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and stir together until well combined. Place in the refrigerator.

To make the cake batter, first brown the butter over medium heat on the stove, stirring frequently until it has a lightly nutty smell and small browned bits floating in it. Pour into a shallow heat-safe bowl and place in the freezer. Freeze at least 15 minutes, until firm, but not hard.

Take your crumb mixture out of the refrigerator and break up the mixture into roughly 1/2 chunks. Set aside to come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ springform. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

Scrape the chilled brown butter into a large bowl and add the sugar and brown sugar. Beat together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat together. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the Greek yogurt in 2 additions. Transfer to the greased pan. Sprinkle the crumbs over the batter.

Bake 45-50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and passes the toothpick test. Cool completely in the pan before serving.

Posted in Brunch, Dessert | Tagged browned butter, crumb cake | 2 Comments

Chocolate-Speckled Salted Shortbread

Posted on October 30, 2013 by sparecake

An easy recipe that filled a gap when I didn’t have enough brown sugar for what I otherwise planned, this made sure I didn’t eat all the chocolate I bought in Athens just by the handful. Again. It’s good chocolate, man! This shortbread’s crisp and buttery, with just the right amount of salt.

The cookie cutters were a birthday gift!

Yeeep.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 ounces dark chocolate, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon water, if necessary
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will look dry, but should hold together when squeezed. If not, add the water.

Stir in the chocolate.

Press the dough together into two large balls.

Flatten each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment. (I really need to buy some of that one of these days!)

Roll out one of your dough disks to about 1/4 inch thickness. I found that I didn’t need to use flour to keep it from sticking, until I was rolling out scraps of scraps that had had the chance to warm. Either cut your rolled out dough into strips, or use cookie cutters.

Transfer the cut pieces to your prepared sheets. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

This was both halves of the dough.

Bake 18-22 minutes, until lightly browned. Repeat with the second disk of dough. Cool each batch on pan 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate-Speckled Salted Shortbread

From Nosh With Me.

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 ounces dark chocolate, very finely chopped

1 tablespoon water, if necessary

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will look dry, but should hold together when squeezed. If not, add the water. Stir in the chocolate.

Press the dough together into two large balls. Flatten each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.

Roll out one of your dough disks to about 1/4 inch thickness. Either cut your rolled out dough into strips, or use cookie cutters. Transfer the cut pieces to your prepared sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake 18-22 minutes, until lightly browned. Repeat with second disk of dough. Cool on pan 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged chocolate, shortbread | Leave a comment

Apple-Cinnamon Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted on October 25, 2013 by sparecake

One of my Greek classmates had apparently never really baked a cake before. Fixing that seemed like a pretty good excuse to make a cake! She really likes caramel, so making this seemed a good place to start.

Villy's dressed to go out, I'm dressed to stay in...

Fashion!…

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Granny Smith apples (about 1 lb), peeled, cored, and shredded (I have no idea what kind of apples we used, although they were red so not Granny Smith… plus we don’t have a peeler, but I didn’t think the skin did anything to the texture of the cake)

Frosting:

1 pound powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

The obligatory “these things are not like they are at home” pictures:

Tiny tubes of vanilla powder!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9″ cake pans. I really need to figure out how big the cake pans I have here are, because I think they may actually be huge, based on how thin cakes have been coming out.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and both sugars. No need to get out the mixer for this, by hand will do.

Add the oil and vanilla and whisk until well combined.

Add the bowl of dry goods and stir until just combined. It may feel pretty thick at this point, which is fine – the moisture of the apples will loosen it back up some.

Gently stir in the apples until combined.

1 pound of apple shreds!

Split evenly between the cake pans.

Bake 22-25 minutes, until browned around the edges and slightly pulled away from the sides. Let cool completely in the pans.

To make the frosting, spread 1/2 a cup of the powdered sugar around a small nonstick skillet. Place over medium heat and let sit untouched until it is mostly melted. It takes a very long time to begin to melt, but once it starts, it all goes fast.

A tiiiny bit in the middle has melted into a liquid!

Continue to cook until the sugar is all melted and an amber color, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cream, the vanilla, and salt, being careful as the mixture is likely to bubble up significantly.

It’s ok if the cold cream causes some of the sugar to seize, as you’re now going to continue to cook until the any hardened lumps melt. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of cream, then remove from the heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl. Set aside to cool.

This is a good caramel color. You don’t want it to get too much darker, or you’ve probably burnt it. If you think you may have burnt it, let it cool a bit and taste it before using it, because no amount of added powdered sugar will hide the grody flavor of burnt sugar.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter, using the paddle attachment if you are using a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, then gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the cooled caramel.

At this point you can refrigerate the frosting until it’s firm, if you intend to pipe it on, or just layer right away. We sure did not have the patience to wait for it to chill.

Everyone was very pleased with this! I really liked the caramel+cream cheese combination.

Apple-Cinnamon Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.

Cake:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 Granny Smith apples (about 1 lb), peeled, cored, and shredded

Frosting:

1 pound powdered sugar, divided

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9″ cake pans.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and both sugars. Add the oil and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Add the bowl of dry goods and stir until just combined, then gently stir in the apples.

Split evenly between the cake pans and bake 22-25 minutes, until browned around the edges and slightly pulled away from the sides. Let cool completely in the pans.

To make the frosting, spread 1/2 a cup of the powdered sugar around a small nonstick skillet. Place over medium heat and let sit untouched until it is mostly melted. Continue to cook until the sugar is all melted and an amber color, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cream, the vanilla, and salt, being careful as the mixture is likely to bubble up significantly. Continue to cook until the any hardened lumps melt. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of cream, then remove from the heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter, using the paddle attachment if you are using a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, then gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the cooled caramel.

Refrigerate the frosting until it’s firm, if you intend to pipe it on, or just layer right away.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged apple cake, Cake, Caramel, caramel frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting | 6 Comments

Two Ingredient Pizza Dough

Posted on October 21, 2013 by sparecake

This may not be the single best pizza dough ever, but it’s good, and it doesn’t need two hours of rising time, so I’ll probably be making it fairly frequently in the future. It makes a slightly bready pizza crust, although theoretically you could roll it out thinner and get it a bit crisper… I think there’s a lot of room to play with this, and it’s so easy you might as well!

Ingredients:

1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup+ self-raising flour
the rest of your pizza stuff

Apparently in the US there are two kinds of Greek yogurt, the ‘real’ kind, which is thickened by straining out the extra liquid, and the other kind, which is thickened by adding cornstarch or other thickeners. For this dough, you’re going to want the strained kind without the thickeners.

Sprinkle some corn meal on a baking sheet/pizza pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together the Greek yogurt and cup of flour.

Knead 5-7 minutes, adding extra flour if necessary, until a smooth lightly tacky dough is formed. I needed an extra 2 tablespoons of flour.

Pat/stretch/roll the dough out onto the corn meal lined pan and brush lightly with olive oil.

Bake 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and add sauce, cheese, and any desired toppings. Bake a further 7-10 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

Sturdy itself to hold its own weight, anyway.

Two Ingredient Pizza Dough

Adapted from

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 cup+ self-raising flour

pizza sauce, cheese, etc

Sprinkle some corn meal on a baking sheet/pizza pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together the Greek yogurt and cup of flour. Knead 5-7 minutes, adding extra flour if necessary, until a smooth lightly tacky dough is formed.

Pat/stretch/roll the dough out onto the corn meal lined pan and brush lightly with olive oil. Bake 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and add sauce, cheese, and any desired toppings. Bake a further 7-10 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

Posted in Bread, Dinner | Tagged easy recipe, Greek yogurt, Pizza, pizza dough | Leave a comment

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