Lemon Poppyseed Almond Biscotti

Lemon poppyseed is one of my favorite combinations in cake, scone, and muffin forms.  After rediscovering my affection for biscotti recently, I decided to infuse lemon and poppyseed into the traditional Italian cookie. 

Lemon adds a refreshing zing and the addition of poppy seeds do not go unnoticed.  The icing on the cake is literally the icing – a white chocolate lemon icing spiked with flecks of lemon zest.

I based my recipe loosely on this one, with the addition of 2 tbsp of poppy seeds (I like more!) and an additional tbsp of lemon zest in the white chocolate coating.

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Teddy’s Apple Cake

Teddie’s Apple Cake
Adapted very slightly from The New York Times, Jean Hewitt, and Teddie

Serves 8

Butter for greasing pan
3 cups flour, plus more for dusting pan
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups peeled, cored, and thickly sliced tart apples like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch tube pan. Beat the oil and sugar together in a mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment) while assembling the remaining ingredients. After about 5 minutes, add the eggs and beat until the mixture is creamy.
2. Sift together 3 cups of flour, the salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir into the batter. Add the vanilla, apples, walnuts and raisins and stir until combined.
3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before lifting out. Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

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Apple Butter Spice Cake

My posts are becoming more sporadic with less storytelling.  I hoped it wouldn’t be so, but the little ones have been under-the-weather quite a bit this fall.  Even FHE and I have gotten in the mix several times.  The last thing on my mind has been posting.  Rice Kernel has been keeping busy with preschool and activities, testing his limits more than ever, but still playing the role of helper in the kitchen – here and there.  Claire has become a feisty, curious almost-10-month-old.

We are headed overseas for awhile and, upon our return, continuing with initial plans to rebuild our home.  The cooking hasn’t ceased and I hope to be back on the computer soon to document our tales.

Apple Butter Spice Cake

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup apple butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch square cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; swirl the pan until the butter turns a nutty brown, about 1 minute. Pour into a large bowl. Add apple butter, brown sugar (breaking up any lumps) and oil and whisk until smooth. Add raisins, buttermilk, egg and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt; whisk until just combined.
3. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before servin

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Banana Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

I love any recipe for a lightened, banana cookie.  Years ago, their cake-like texture was odd to me, but I’ve grown fond of these healthier gems.  This recipe features an extra coconut kick – Rice Kernel’s obsession of late, courtesy of Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Banana Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or canola/vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 very very ripe banana
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour, all-purpose, white whole wheat or whole wheat
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1-1/2 cups oatmeal (old-fashioned or quick, not instant)
1 cup coconut, preferably unsweetened
1 cup chocolate chips, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Melt butter in a small dish in microwave, 10 seconds at a time.  (Oil works fine as well, I think.)  Transfer to mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, thoroughly mix in sugars, banana, egg and vanilla.
3. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture. Stir in oatmeal and coconut.  Fold in chocolate chips, if desired.
4. Drop dough by tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set and golden. Cool 5 minutes before removing from tray.

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Green Tea Pound Cake with Red Bean (Regulary and Non-Dairy)

With some extra red bean paste in our fridge, I thought about the classic pairing of green tea and red bean and turned to this simple dessert.  This dense cake may look light, but it is decadent with the addition of cream cheese and butter (or oil).  A cup of freshly brewed green tea would be the ideal accompaniment.

Green Tea Pound Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened or 1/2 cup canola/vegetable oil (see photo differences; oil is less fluffy on top)
1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar, depending how sweet you prefer
1/2 pkg. (4 oz) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 cup all purpose or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp green tea powder (for baking)
1/2 tsp salt

optional 1/2 cup red bean paste to layer in the middle or top, or swirl

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 1 min. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition. Beat an additional 5 min. or until very light and fluffy. Add cream cheese; beat 1 min. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, green tea powder and salt. Add to butter mixture. Beat 1 min or until well blended. Pour batter into greased and floured 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes.

Nondairy version, from Cotton and Cloud

3 medium eggs
100g cane sugar
140 g sunflower oil
40 g soya milk (I used alpro soya)
180 g self-raising flour
2 tsp maccha powder

1. Turn on and pre-heat the oven to 180C.
2. Sift the flour and maccha mixture once.
3. Mix the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, whisk for 10 min until white and flully (pic 1).
4. In a small jug, mix the sunflower oil and soya milk using a spoon so that you get a nice emulsion (pics 2 & 3).
5. Very slowly drizzle the oil and soya milk mixture to the batter made in step 1. If possible keep on whisking (if not, add a little, then mix – repeat this process).
6. When you get a nice fluffy even mixture of eggs, sugar, oil and soya milk (wet ingredient), stop mixing. Sift the flour and maccha powder (dry ingredient) into the batter. Carefully mix using a scraper not to burst any air bubbles.
7. When you have mixed the dry and the wet ingredients so that there are no powder to be seen in the mixture, pour the mixture into the cake tin.
8. Even out the surface by lightly tapping the bottom of the cake.
9.  Bake at 180C for the first 8 min then reduce the temperature to 170C and bake for further 25-30 min or until the skewer comes out with small crumbs of cake (if it doesn’t then it is definitely cooked so take it out of the oven quickly to prevent it from drying).

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