Bon Appetit: French Yogurt Cake

I was flipping through May's issue of Bon Appetit and saw the recipe for a very simple (and what I hoped would be very delicious) yogurt bread flavored with lemon. According to the article, a yogurt cake is one of the first desserts young Frenchlings learn how to make.

Really, it's about as easy as it gets. The only unusual step is pressing lemon zest into the sugar to release the oils and flavor. Once that's accomplished, the oil, Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla extract get whisked with the sugar before folding in the dry ingredients. My only substitution was to use nonfat Greek yogurt because nobody seems to sell the whole fat variety which I would prefer using. Oh well.

After pouring the batter into a prepared loaf pan, I sprinkled the top with sugar in the raw.

I love sugar in the raw. Sometimes, when I'm suffering from a severe energy dip, I'll rip open a pack of sugar, sprinkle the contents onto my tongue, and enjoy crunching on the sweet nuggets of sugar. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Anyway.

The texture of this bread is wonderfully spongy and has an even-textured crumb. The sugar gives the top a nice crunch. The lemon flavor is a bit light, but sometimes an undertone of flavor is better than a strong punch. This loaf is also not very sweet, making it perfect for a midday snack or toasted for breakfast.

Most of the ingredients I always have on hand, except for the sugar, so I think this recipe is getting added to my lazy baking list.

Recipe - French Yogurt Cake

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Doug's Nuts

Banana bread, anybody? How about banana bread with peanut butter? It's definitely less messy than a sandwich! This recipe isn't unique at all, and it's an adaption from a Cooking Light recipe, but you should make it because it's a very tender and flavorful quick bread.

Besides having peanut butter on the brain, I wanted to incorporate the supply of Doug's Nuts I received yesterday into a baked good. I'm working with Doug's Nuts on an upcoming project, so I'm going to talk a little bit about them for a second.

Their carefully selected nuts and seeds are delicious, crunchy and addictive. It didn't help that I started eating them immediately after a run, which led to me eating half a bag. The flavorful glaze consists of organic evaporated sugarcane juice, honey, oatmeal stout beer, sea salt, organic vanilla extract, and other natural flavors. The glaze coats a wonderful blend of roasted almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and pumpkin seeds. Unlike other mixed nuts that are filled with an excess of peanuts, there was a fairly equal amount of each in both the packages I received.

Back to the bread. Half of the chopped nuts are sprinkled onto the center of the loaf, and the rest are sprinkled on top.

The loaf comes out tall and browned. Once it cools, a peanut butter glaze is drizzled on top. I expected a thicker glaze, but it turned out for the best since it didn't hide the nut-speckled top.

Sometimes quick breads come out dry and lacking in flavor. This was the complete opposite. It was slightly tangy, the banana and peanut butter complimented each other nicely, and the tiny bit of cinnamon tied it all together. The nuts added a crunchy element that rounded out the bread. It also doesn't weigh heavy in the stomach and would be perfect as a pre-run (or midday) snack.

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Print this recipe

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Doug's Nuts
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light - Christina Provo

Yields - 1 9x5 inch loaf

Ingredients -

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe banana mixed with 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cups Doug's Nuts, coarsely chopped (or nuts of your choosing)

Glaze -

1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk flour with baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.


2. In a large bowl, blend butter with peanut butter until incorporated. On medium speed, beat sugars into the peanut butter for 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Mix in bananas with vanilla extract just until combined. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with yogurt. Give the batter one final stir with a spatula.


3. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup chopped nuts, swirling lightly with a knife. Carefully spread the remaining batter on top, sprinkling with the remaining nuts. Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.


4. Whisk milk and creamy peanut butter together in a small bowl. Add confectioners' sugar and whisk to combine. Spread over top of cooled loaf. Let stand for 5 minutes to harden before slicing.

Pumpkin Muffins

On Sunday, which is the perfect day for baking in my not so humble opinion, I had a craving for pumpkin muffins. Conveniently, I had some pumpkin in the fridge that was beginning to mold. What? I let pumpkin rot? I realize that the general impression you get from food bloggers is that pumpkin is akin to gold. While I do like pumpkin, I don't want to have unhealthy relations with it, nor do I want to bathe in the stuff. Really, it's one of the least tasty squashes out there. Have you eaten a spoonful of the puree? Did you have a reaction to it like a baby being forced to eat green pea puree? Perhaps it would taste better if I made puree from sugar pumpkins, but so far I stand firm in my opinion. Butternut and acorn squash both taste better. The only reason people have a creepy lovefest with it is because they saturate it with sugar, spices, and butter, of which I wholeheartedly approve.

Thus, it was beginning to mold.

I had bookmarked a pumpkin muffin recipe from Muffin Top a long time ago. Despite the relative ease, I hadn't gotten around to making them. Shame on me. The picture of the bright orange and the gorgeous crown captivated me. These were going to be good.

Here is the sugar mixed with the spices. I used a little more than 1 teaspoon of various spices like cinnamon, allspice, fresh nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. I think I used too much, because the end result was a dull brown instead of a vibrant orange. In the Muffin Top recipe, she states that she accidentally used an entire 15 ounce can of pumpkin, so maybe that helped with the color.

Quick breads are great because you just combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, then mix them both together until a few streaks of flour remain.

The tops are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, which gives them a nice crunch and extra spicy flavor.

Twenty-five to thirty minutes later, your kitchen smells like fall and you can dive right into a muffin or three. I was disappointed that mine weren't orange, so I'll have to figure out what went wrong there. But the flavor was amazing, and the muffins were so tender. I'm definitely going to make these again, though I'll add cranberries and pepita seeds next time.

If you made it this far into the post, here is the link to the recipe again so you don't have to scroll up.

toasted walnut scones with raspberry preserves - once upon a tart

A reader asked me if I might be able share the recipe for Once Upon A Tart's toasted walnut scones with raspberry preserves. I decided to do one better and actually make them. Toasted, ground walnuts are added to the scone dough, lending a nutty taste and unique flavor to these scones. The thumbprint filled with raspberry jam is the perfect way to compliment the nuttiness.

I was in Jersey earlier this month and while I visited Once Upon A Tart in New York City, I didn't get a scone to sample. Their tarts were all delicious and so was the soup. Two items I failed to taste were the scone and biscotti. I make both of those the most often from their cookbook, so I chose to go with what I don't make often. It's nice to compare tastes to the pros. Once Upon A Tart also seemed like a nice place to work. It would definitely be fun baking so much awesome all day.

First, the walnuts are toasted and ground finely before being mixed with the flour, sugar, and leavenings. Butter is processed in until a fine meal is formed.

Unlike their other scone recipes, this one doesn't use eggs, just buttermilk and vanilla extract. I figured the scones might come out more like a biscuit-shortbread hybrid without the eggs.

Instead of making the full recipe I cut it in half, but portioned the scones out using a 1/4 cup measuring cup instead of 1/2 cup so I'd still get 12 scones. Just like thumbprint cookies, the tops are indented and filled with raspberry preserves before baking.

Once Upon A Tart does not fail to disappoint. These scones weren't quite flaky as others I've made and seemed more like a giant cookie, but they were flavorful and would be enjoyable with a cup of hot tea. While I don't eat scones with jam much at all, I liked the little burst of raspberry flavor. In the book, they say you can fill it with any preserve you like, and even lemon curd.

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toasted walnut scones with raspberry preserves
Recipe from Once Upon A Tart

Makes 12 scones

ingredients -

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Just under 1 cup walnuts, toasted and ground fine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 1/3 cups cold buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups raspberry preserves

directions -

1. Position your oven racks so that one is in the center, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


2. Dump the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and pulse to mix.


3. Add the butter all at once, and run the food processor for about 15 seconds, then switch to pulse. Continue pulsing until there are no chunks of butter left and the mixture looks like moist crumbs. Be careful not to overwork the mixture. Remove the blade from the food processor, and dump the flour-butter crumbs into a big bowl.


4. In another, small bowl, whisk the buttermilk and vanilla together. Pour them into the bowl with the crumbs, and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together ad there is no flour visible. Don't work it a moment longer than necessary.


5. Use a 1/2-cup measuring cup to scoop out the dough. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, and place it on your baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between scones. Press down on each scone with the heel of your hand to create a fat disk, 1-1 1/2 inches thick.


6. Press a crater into the center of each scone with a tablespoon or soup spoon dipped in a glass of hot water. Spoon a tablespoon or more of preserves into the crater of each scone. The preserves should be flush with the rest of the scone. If you pile it higher, it'll drip down the sides of the scone when it cooks.


7. Place the baking sheet on the center rack in the oven, and bake the scones for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick or small knife inserted into a scone comes out clean. You'll have to poke around the jam, so it won't be the center exactly. Just make sure to insert the toothpick or knife deep into the scone.


8. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and place it on a wire rack to let the scones cool for a few minutes. Lift the baking sheet off the rack, and use a metal spatula to transfer the scones from the baking sheet to the rack, or directly to whatever you're serving them from. Serve fresh out of the oven or at room temperature.

orange buttermilk scones with orange glaze

What better way to start a weekend breakfast off than with fresh scones? I've always favored scones as a classy breakfast pastry that can be prepared in under an hour (great for when you feel lazy!).

What I look for in a scone is a stand-alone pastry that doesn't need butter and jam. This means they have to be sweeter than a biscuit -- really, do you want to be eating a scone and think, "Hey, these would go great with a bowl of chili!" No. So I tend to favor scones that are on the sweeter side. A glaze is optional as long as it enhances the scone without taking it from pleasantly sweet to tooth-aching.

A quick bread means all the dry ingredients are mixed together before the liquid is added. The butter is cut into the flour mixture, helping the scone develop its flaky texture. I grated the butter and placed it in the freezer as I prepped the remaining ingredients.

Since the original recipe called for cream and not buttermilk, I replaced a 1/2 teaspoon baking powder with baking soda to help with the acidity. Also, I didn't have buttermilk. Instead of souring milk with a tablespoon of vinegar, which I find has a thinner consistency than buttermilk, I used a yogurt-milk mixture. It's made up of a 2:1 ratio of yogurt to milk, so 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/4 cup whole milk. This makes an excellent substitute for buttermilk.

Edited to add: I've since been using a 1:1 ratio of yogurt to milk and find that it's not quite as thick as the 2:1 ratio but works just as well.

Use a light hand when mixing any type of quick bread, and especially biscuits and scones. Over-mixing over-develops the gluten and produces a tough pastry. Mix just until a dough comes together, then turn out on a lightly floured surface to pat down. I patted the dough into a rectangle instead of a circle and cut 12 scones instead of 8.

The glaze is just a mixture of confectioners' sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a pinch of salt. This didn't a thick icing, so if you want it thicker just add more sugar.

These scones baked up into a one of the best I've ever made. The texture was light, fluffy and flaky, and the outside had a nice crunch. The orange flavor came through wonderfully and was enhanced by the glaze. I liked the bright flavor. These would be perfect as miniature scones for a brunch or breakfast party.

The changes I made to the original recipe were to add the orange zest to the flour mixture. When mixed together, this helps the zest release oils, giving the scone more flavor. Since I opted to make 4 more scones than the original recipe, I had to pat the dough out a bit more, making the scones smaller in height than what they would have been. You could try patting out to 1 1/2 inches (a square, not a circle) and simply slice more than eight scones, but I didn't go for that. Otherwise, the height would have been incredible. Other than the glaze, I didn't differ much from the recipe except using buttermilk over cream.

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orange buttermilk scones with orange glaze
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.com

Yields 12 scones

ingredients -

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, grated and frozen
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup buttermilk, or 1/2 cup yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

glaze ingredients -

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

directions -

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder and soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in grated butter until mixture resembles wet sand.


2. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture and mix just until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1/2 inch rectangle. Cut out 12 triangles and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the scones are a delectable golden brown.


3. While the scones bake, prepare the glaze. Mix confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and salt together to form a glaze. If you prefer a thicker consistency, add 1/2 cup more sugar and 1/2 a tablespoon to a tablespoon of extra juice.


4. Remove from oven and place baking sheet on a cooling rack. Let scones cool for 3 minutes before glazing. Put scones on cooling rack and place the rack on top of the baking sheet. This will help catch the glaze that drips down and minimizes a mess. Portion glaze out evenly amongst scones and spread with the back of a spoon. Serve with tea and enjoy.

banana scones with orange glaze

Please vote for me in the Recipe Rivalry. Only two days left to vote!

I made these scones on Sunday for breakfast. Usually scones have eggs (added richness), but I was out so I Googled "eggless scones", which essentially is a biscuit, and found a version by Bobby Flay that I liked. I changed the recipe a bit, subbing chopped banana for the fruit in the original recipe and making a glaze with sugar and fresh orange juice instead of the icing topping. And besides grating the butter, I cut in cubes of cream cheese.

The funny part is that this wasn't the eggless scone recipe I found. But as this was linked to the other actual eggless recipe, and I liked the sound of it better, I went ahead with this version and simply omitted the egg.

Though I only used 2 ounces of cream cheese, they gave the scones extra tenderness and a softer, fluffier flavor. You'll want to cut in the cream cheese first since the grated butter won't take very long to mix into the flour.

For the glaze, I brought freshly squeezed orange juice to a boil with sugar. This idea came from a muffin recipe I've made before, and I liked the way the muffins tasted and looked with the sheen and the orangey and slightly sticky coating. I don't know if I'd use this again because it made the tops soft the next day. An alternative would be to thin apricot preserves with a bit of water (heat until hot) or just use the glaze the recipe suggests.

The scones were nice and light, and just sweet enough to make a good breakfast treat. The bananas add their own sweetness tasted good with the orange flavors. Since these are drop scones, you don't have to worry about shaping them with all the added mess that imparts. To me, that's what makes these perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.

Recipe after the jump

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banana scones with orange glaze
Recipe from here, adapted by me

Makes 12 scones

ingredients ~

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Grated rind of two oranges
1/4 cup frozen unsalted butter, grated
2 ounces chilled cream cheese, sliced into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup cream (I used 1/2 cup evaporated milk and 1/4 cup water)
1 cup chopped bananas
2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

directions ~

1. Preheat an oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange rind. Sprinkle with chilled cream cheese cubes and toss to coat. Cut into flour mixture until it resembles the texture of cornmeal. Stir in grated butter to mix.


2. Toss chopped bananas into flour-butter mixture. Pour the cream on top and mix with a spatula just until combined. Scoop twelve portions out onto the prepared baking sheet (I used a spoon, but you could use an ice cream scoop), dividing evenly. Bake until tops and bottom are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.


3. Meanwhile, bring orange juice and sugar just to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and cool. When scones have finished baking, brush the tops with the orange glaze. Let scones cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

william shatner's cappuccino muffins

I've been wanting to make these muffins for a while now, partly because I love anything coffee-related, partly because I thought it was cool how these might possibly be from William Shatner. Come on, the man was captain of the Enterprise. After retiring, he became a lawyer in Boston. He gets around, and he still finds time to be in the kitchen!

Of course, I changed up the recipe because I wanted to make these in the manner of a cupcake. Ideally, I wanted to brown the butter, let it cool, and beat with the sugar. I could have simply mixed the browned butter with the milk, but I was aiming for a lighter texture.

What happened next, since I was too hasty and didn't let the butter cool, is that the butter and sugar didn't whip properly because the heat sort of dissolved the sugar. After I added the egg, the mixture looked similar to a congealed mayonnaise mixture. In the end, the batter came together without a problem and resembled a pretty nice cupcake consistency.

Besides the browned butter, I replaced the cinnamon (too warm a flavor for the current heat wave) with cardamom (probably the same thing, but it seems lighter) and used only 1/2 cup chocolate chips. For the crowns I sprinkled 1/2 teaspoon sugar on top of each cup to look pretty. Unfortunately, I didn't remember that I had ground coffee beans mixed with sugar, otherwise I would have gone with the gold.

Based on pictures of other bloggers' cappuccino muffins, I had high expectation that the crowns would beam up into epic proportions. And they did! One of the most beautifully baked up muffin recipes I've ever encountered, and I was pretty happy. I also didn't grease the sides of the muffin tins, which I think is a Cook's Illustrated technique as it allows the batter to "grab" the sides and rise higher, if I recall correctly.

The texture was soft and fluffy, with just enough sweetness to make it appropriate for brek-fast, elevenses, you name it, spread with a sweetened whipped coffee cream cheese-butter spread (which I just thought of at this moment). The espresso flavor wasn't particularly strong, and the cardamom wasn't detectable whatsoever, though I'm thinking the combination of the two flavors with the browned butter, accented by vanilla, is what made the muffins tasty. If you would like a stronger coffee flavor, adjust the amount of espresso powder to suit your tastes. Definitely a repeat worthy recipe, though next time I'll bake the original version for comparison.

Recipe after the jump

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william shatner's cappuccino muffins
His original recipe with my mods

12 muffins

ingredients ~

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature (you can refrigerate the butter to speed up the process, but make sure it doesn't completely solidify)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, room temperature
1/2 cup chocolate chips
extra granulated sugar

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the bottoms of a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin.


2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, espresso powder, cardamom, and salt.


3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar for 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until mixed. On low speed, blend in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk. Continue alternating the flour and milk, ending with the flour. When a few traces of flour remain, stir in the chocolate chips just until mixed.


4. Divide batter evenly amongst all 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle each top with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool in tin for 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

Once Upon A Tart and their Pumpkin Scones

Every single fall I say I'm going to make pumpkin scones, and every single fall passes without it. Until now, when I finally decided to just make the scones and be done with it!

The recipe comes from the Once Upon A Tart cookbook and is one of my absolute favorite cookbooks. I fell in love with the twists they placed on typical recipes and the delicious pictures, the writing style, and the little tidbits of info strewn about the book.

What happens when I'm hungry and find myself at SBUX is that I stare at the glass case of baked goods that I know won't taste good. I stared at the pumpkin scones for the longest of time, but I said no. In the back of my mind I could taste the pumpkin scones I knew I needed to make and I couldn't ruin that with anything not up to snuff. I've also seen a recipe for SBUX pumpkin scones, but I didn't think I'd like them much compared to this.

So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I made pumpkin scones. Filled with fresh cranberries, dried cranberries (both of which remind me of a pig snout), and toasted walnuts. Using more then half a pound of butter. Producing scones nearly the size of my face. I could have halved the scones, but I wanted to make the real deal. I could have halved the size of the scones I froze, but I wasn't thinking.

And I was happy. Light, moist, and fluffy. Crisp and crunchy. Pumpkiny with subtle spicing to enhance the pumpkin flavor. Just sweet enough to leave you satisfied for a treat and perfect for breakfast. Filling the kitchen with the scent of fall, though you might die from the aroma before you get around to actually tasting them.

Once again, Once Upon A Tart fails me not.

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spiced pumpkin scones with fresh cranberries
From Once Upon A Tart with minor changes by me

Makes 12 giant scones

ingredients ~
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks plus 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 large eggs
3/4 cup cold buttermilk, or 1/2 cup cold yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup cold milk
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins, plumped and patted dry (I used sweetened dried cranberries, unplumped)
extra sugar for coating

directions ~

1. Position your oven racks so that one is in the center, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or just grease the damn thing).


2. Dump dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and pulse to mix. Add the butter to the bowl all at once, and pulse until there are no chunks of butter left and mixture looks like moist crumbs. Be careful not to overwork the flour and butter. Remove the blade from the food processor, and dump the crumbs into a big bowl. (I found I had to mix half the butter with half the flour mixture at a time since my food processor wasn't big enough to hold it all.) Mix in the cranberries, walnuts, and raisins.


3. In another, small bowl, whisk the eggs to break up the yolks. Whisk in the buttermilk, butter puree, and vanilla.


4. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture just comes together, then stop. You don't want to work the dough a moment longer than necessary.


5. Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup or your hand (eyeballing for size) to scoop the batter out and plop it onto the baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between scones. Sprinkle tops with additional sugar to create a decently thick coating.


6. Place baking sheet on the center rack in the oven, and bake the scones for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.


7. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and place it on a wire rack to let scones cool for a few minutes. Lift the baking sheet off the rack, and use a metal spatula to transfer the scones to the rack, or directly to the dish on which you're serving the scones. Serve fresh out of the oven or at room temperature.

These scones are huge. Either cut the recipe in half, to make six large or 12 small scones (using a 1/4 cup measuring cup and reducing the baking time by half), or make the full recipe and freeze the scones after shaping for later (wrap frozen scones individually in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag), adding additional baking time.

look to the bread ~ black-and-white banana loaf

My brother request Black-and-White Banana Loaf from the aforementioned Dorie Greenspan cookbook.

Though my marbling skillz clearly are lacking, the flavor was pretty good. You can't go wrong with chocolate and banana, and what was interesting was that the white part tasted like the dough for chocolate chip cookies thanks to the addition of brown sugar. I left out the rum, vital to the "rummy bananas", but it was fine all the same.

Reviews from the testers confirmed that this was good. I forgot to have my standard one-slice-plain-one-slice-toasted. I'll just have to live with that.

That's all, short post. I have a 10k race tomorrow, so look for a race report, along with accounts on pre- and post-race eats on Sunday.

Recipe after the jump

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Black-and-White Banana Loaf
from Baking ~ From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

ingredients ~
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 ripe bananas, peeled
Squirt of fresh lemon juice
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon rum
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

directions ~

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°. Butter an 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on an insulated baking sheet, or on two regular baking sheets sheets stacked one on top of the other (or, following the route of many banana bread recipes, bake it sans baking sheet).


2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.


3. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with the lemon juice and zest, then stir in the rum.


4. Melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter together in a microwave oven or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (or directly in the saucepan, keeping your eye on it).


5. In a large bowl, beat the remaining stick (8 tablespoons) of butter at medium speed or until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 or 3 minutes, until light and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. The batter will look curdles, and it will continue to look curdled as you add ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the flour mixture, mixing only until it is just incorporated. With the mixer running, pour in th emilk, and when it is blended, ad the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the mashed bananas. The batter will look even lumpier.


6. Pour a little less than half the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and stir to blend. Drop alternating spoonfuls of both batters into the prepared pan, then, using a table knife, swirl the batters together, taking care not to overdo it.


7. Bake for 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes and if the cake starts to brown too much, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for about 15 minutes before unmolding, then cool the cake to room temperature right side up on the rack.

A Tale of Two Irish Soda Breads

In honor of St. Patty's Day I made two different versions of Irish Soda Bread for the very first time. I admit that the idea never appealed to me because it seemed like a giant biscuit and I never could understand what was so great about that. Never did it occur to me that instead of thinking of it as a mutant biscuit I should think of it as a quick bread, but that wouldn't have happened because I can read the ingredient list.

Traditional Irish Soda Bread is made with just basic ingredients, flour, salt, baking soda and milk, and isn't enriched in any way save for the milk. Unless there's a version with water. If you add butter, sugar, raisins, eggs or any other flavorings then it ceases to be "old school", but it increases the yummy factor. Knowing this, I chose the recipe for Brown Bread from The Bread Book, which has a flour blend of whole wheat, all-purpose, wheat bran, wheat germ (I replaced the bran for the germ since I didn't have any of the latter), buttermilk and two tablespoons of butter. The recipe was from a lady in Ireland, so it's her fault it isn't totally traditional. For the untraditional version I chose Sunday Best Irish Soda Bread from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics. I used all the ingredients listed except for caraway seeds.

So I'm hangin' out, mixing bread, relaxin' all cool and all, when I realized after pouring in the buttermilk-egg-baking soda mixture that it was rather slack and more similar to drop biscuit batter than something that can be shaped into a loaf. I then started to add a little more flour and a little more flour, cursing Martha Stewart and her nontraditional methods, painfully aware that I was developing the gluten more than called for, telling myself how the "luck of the Irish" was an oxymoron (although I'm an Italian so that doesn't even apply to me -- and to state for the record I have no issues with anyone of Irish origin) when it dawned on me that since I didn't actually use buttermilk the liquid mixture was runnier. I run into this problem when I make my mom's buttermilk pancake recipe and I use milk with vinegar versus actual buttermilk. Sorry, Martha, my bad. You're a pretty cool broad.

Since this wasn't traditional, I made it even more so by hydrating the raisins (only 1 1/2 cups and a mixture of golden and purple) in heated freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with a little water, and adding the orange rind to the flour mixture. The caraway seeds would have been a nice compliment, as would have fennel seeds. Next time.

My reasons for making a version more traditional was that I figured it would be better alongside braised corned beef with vegetables instead of orangey-raisin bread. I looked at a few recipes before remembering the beloved Bread Book had two versions, one baked and one "baked" on the griddle. I chose the baked version because I didn't feel like babysitting anything that begins with a 'B'.

Of course I had to slice into each loaf for photography purposes, natural lighting and all that, so sampling was a must. This was much better than I thought it would be. Whole wheat products have a natural sweetness to me and the cup of wheat bran made it even better. This wasn't dense, either.

Oh, remembering the buttermilk issues I added two tablespoons of yogurt along with a tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of milk. That wasn't enough, so I added additional milk until it reached the desired consistency.

Both of these versions have their place at the table. One is akin to a giant scone, the other is great paired with whatever you are eating, and oatmeal, which I'm sure they did in Ireland back in the day. The subtle orange flavor in the Martha Stewart bread was nice, and a burst of oranginess came out upon biting into a cluster of raisins. The texture was in between a biscuit and quick bread -- not necessarily fluffy, yet not quite as spongey in the way quick breads are, and as sweet as a scone should be. I quite liked it. I'm just gonna call it a giant scone. It probably would have been different with the right amount of flour and without the issue I had. Maybe.
As for the brown bread, it wasn't scone-like at all, but like a hearty loaf of wheat bread. A natural sweetness coming out from the whole wheat flour and wheat bran, the flavor was there and so was the texture, in between dense and light. This would be excellent paired with a sharp cheddar.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

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Sunday Best Irish Soda Bread
From The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics

ingredients ~

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons whole caraway seeds
Grated rind of 1 orange (my addition)
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 cups golden or dark raisins (I plumped mine in heated fresh orange juice, then drained and pat dry)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large whole egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream

directions ~

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, caraway seeds, and grated orange rind (if using) until well combined.


2. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the raisins until evenly distributed.


3. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour-and-butter mixture all at once, and stir with a fork until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to hold together. Using your hands, press the dough into a round, dome-shaped loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Transfer it to the baking sheet.


4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the loaf. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, make and x-shaped slash about 1/2 inch deep into the top of the loaf. Bake, rotating halfway through, until it is a deep golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I Can't Always Get What I Want - pumpkin cream cheese muffins

(** Sorry for the delay in posting. My laptop with all my files crashed and it needed to to be restored. Luckily, the computer dude was able to restore it without wiping out my files. Note to self: Buy extra USB drives for backup. **)

First, I'll take you through the steps I did to create my pumpkin cream cheese muffins (note: neither the pumpkin muffin recipe nor the cream cheese recipe were my own, I just used two different recipes and added stuff to it. I would normally give you the links to where I found each, but I messed this up a little and would rather not have my mistakes associated to their recipes):

The ingredients are prepped

Besides the required ingredients, I also added the grated rind of one orange. And besides that, I wanted to see how this recipe would come out via the two-stage method (mixing the fat with the flour).

What you are looking at there is the sliced cubes of cream cheese mixture and the flour mixture after the butter has been added to it.

And right here is the dry and wet ingredients mixed together with some flour not thoroughly mixed. At this point, and something I've encountered with this recipe even when followed as per directions stated, the mixture was much too dense and thick. I added about ¼ cup of milk. Next time, I'll decrease the flour by ¼-½ cup.

The result was still a bit thick, but... wow I'm drawing a blank... but more to the correct consistency for a muffin batter than before. I'm very wary of over-mixing a quick bread.

Here are the filled tins, just about a smidgen below the top. (I recognize that this picture makes it look like the batter is flush with the top of the cups, but it wasn't exactly. It was about a little beneath it, though some may have been right at the top -- I learned that from the Once Upon a Tart cookbook.) The empty tins were filled halfway with water (I swear the steam helps them rise better or something. Or something, have any of you noticed that the stature -- yes, I just used an animal/human word to describe my baked goods -- of your muffins decreases after sitting out of the tin post-bakeage, even the next day? Is it due to the moisture in the air? Sometimes it happens after they cool, even when baked long enough so as not to sink in the center).

Here you see the topping mixture of the grated rind of one orange to ¼ cup of sugar. The other picture is a sugar-dusted cream cheese cube-filled cup of pumpkin muffin batter. Don't push the cube in all the way.

The freshly baked muffins, cooling in the tins, with pats of butter on top to soak in! NOT. But it was sort of funny. :D

What you may or may not be able to see from the last picture is that due to the cream cheese cubes being made to cheesecake-esque, it didn't ooze enough to penetrate the entire muffin, though I most certainly got the too-much-oozing-it-looks-mucus-y issue down... Also, I didn't add nearly enough spices resulting in less than an essence of spiciness. Basically, if I hadn't known I put spices in the batter, I wouldn't have even been able to taste it at all. That and it was gummy. Remember how I often speak highly of the quintessential spongy factor, where you are able to press (lightly press, like with the carefulness of Jedi mind-strength that gives enough force to prove your point without being overpowering) down all the way and it pops back up into shape, all the while not having the mouth-feel of a piece of rubber? Sponginess these muffins had not.

It made me very depressed, as failed baking excursions are wont to leave me... Next time, I won't add an egg or a tiny bit of flour (I was aiming for a consistency between uber-runny and too set), perhaps adding some milk to thin it out a little (around a tablespoon), increase the spices x4 (I did increase it x2 the first time), and use a wee bit less flour.

At least it looked pretty. And the tea was nice (it was Nutcracker Spice from Celestial Seasonings). I'd say that I can't always be perfect but it sounds all sorts of wrong. Oh, and I'm not having a pity-me party, I just like discussing every facet of what went awry so as to ingrain it into my brain, "DO NOT REPEAT!"

End of story. :D