Upside-down Apple Cake

Upside-Down Apple Cake
Cooking Time: 60 minutes or less Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Ingredients
1/3cup (75 mL) butter, divided (i used margerine)
½cup (125 mL) light brown sugar
1tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
2cups (500 mL) peeled, cored and thinly sliced apples (this was 2 large apples for me)
½cup (125 mL) sugar
1 egg
1tsp (5 mL) vanilla
1cup (250 mL) flour
1½tsp (7 mL) baking powder
½cup (125 mL) milk (i used skim)


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9 in. (23 cm) round cake pan.
2. Measure 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the butter into the cake pan. Place the pan on the stove over low heat just until the butter is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the brown sugar and lemon juice. Arrange the apple slices on the bottom of the pan in whatever decorative or haphazard manner you wish. This is a good job for a kid who wants to be artistic. But the cake will taste just as good if you simply spread the apples out randomly.
3. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the remaining (approximately 3 tbsp/45 mL) butter and the sugar until well mixed. Add the egg and vanilla, and continue beating until fluffy. In another bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder.
4. Add the flour mixture by large spoonfuls alternately with the milk, beating after each addition. Next, spread the batter over the apples in the pan and place in the oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until cake is lightly browned.
5. Remove cake from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen it. Hold a plate over the pan and, all at once, flip the thing over.
6. The upside-down cake should now be properly upside down, and your apple arrangement should be clearly visible – if somewhat transformed. If any stubborn apple pieces remain clinging to the pan, just scrape them off and rearrange them on the cake.
7. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream or vanilla yogurt.

MY REVIEW: I was pumped when I found this on a website that featured recipes for kids. Embarrassing, yes, but they tend to be foolproof and have more creativity involved. This one was no different - I enjoyed arranging those apples and it tasted pretty good too. I only have spring form round pans and although lined with wax paper, it still leaked into my oven. Once it cools down, we are going to steam clean it for the first time. So if you do have an actual round pan, use that! The cake was pretty flat when it came out but I'm not sure if it was supposed to rise anymore than it did.


JASON'S REVIEW: Very good with ice cream and beer.

My first REAL iced cake

The cakes were already made for us today in class but we had to cut them into 3 layers and then decorate them. I chose a cherry filling for mine and did some fancy chocolate curls on the top. What do you think?

 

 

  

 

Cake Inspiration

I was doing a little cake research this evening and thought I'd share some pictures with you:

 

 

 

 

 

For my final project, I will be getting 2 Styrofoam cakes. I can make either 2 separate cakes, or one cake with 2 tiers. I really like the baby blue cake above and am thinking I might do something similar for my project. The piping is not too advanced but still looks really fancy. I like the tiny white beading around the base of the cake in the all white cake as well so perhaps I will combine the two. The cupcakes with the cake on top is something I would like for my own wedding and the disaster cake is just weird.

Spaghetti & Meatballs with Chocolate Cake

Tonight, I made Jasons favorite: spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were actually made yesterday and they're turkey. I'm sure I've posted the recipe I've used before... nothing fancy. Just a spoonfull of italien seasoned breadcrumbs, 1 egg and 1 pack of ground turkey. To prevent the pasta sauce from soaking into his bread, I created an aluminum foil barrier. This did not work.

I felt like baking tonight but didn't really have any exotic ingredients. As we know, Jason enjoys the odd slice of chocolate cake. I found this interesting recipe:

This is a foolproof moist chocolate cake. Remember mayonnaise is just eggs and oil (If it wasn't for that comment, I would probably have been too grossed out to make this. It puts it all in perspective). 
Great recipe from Sally Pasley's Tao of Cooking cookbook.
by Missy Wombat

(1 layer cake)

1 cup mayonnaise (I had 1/2 fat!)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/4 cups flour
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Mix mayonnaise, water, sugar and vanilla together until well blended.
Sift cocoa, flour salt and baking soda together.
Stir into liquid ingredients and mix just until blended.
Pour batter into 1 greased and floured sandwich cake tins[8-9 inch size].
Bake in a preheated 375 deg F oven for 20-25 minutes (or 40 if your oven isn't accurate like ours) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool and then ice (If you click on the link for the recipe, it comes with what looks to be a good recipe for icing. I just used some extra safeway icing I had in the fridge! 2 weeks until my cake decorating classes start and I've never made my own icing).

I then proceeded to decorate it really strangely with shavings of white chocolate and little multi-colored chocolate balls. Again, cake decorating classes start next week!

JASON'S REVIEW: He definitely liked the meatballs and spaghetti. He hasn't tried the cake as our washing machine is broken and he's trying to fix it. I'll let you know when he tries it. I'm interested to see if he can guess the secret ingredient.

MY REVIEW: I didn't eat either of these. I say we need a new oven though...

Birthday Cake!

Although I do not have time to type this recipe out tonight, here's a peek at the cake I made for my brothers birthday yesterday!

Details to follow after the long weekend. I'm off to the mountains!

Cake!

Today I got my first "springform" cake pan. I'm trying to gain some basic baking knowledge before I go to NAIT in November. My mom took me to a huge cooking supply store and I was inspired to bake a cake when I got home! I always heard about making your cakes in these springform pans but never really understood, and possibly still don't, what they were. There is still much research to be done on how to use these properly but I couldn't wait so I gave it a shot today!

The occasion: Jason rode his bike for 2 hours (and had nothing to eat but cereal I found out later!) That's the only occasion I could think of.

I was looking for a really basic chocolate cake recipe and ended up finding one on this website. If you check out the website you'll find a recipe for frosting as well - I opted for the rest of my pre-made Safeway icing in the fridge! Here's the cake recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups water

1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
2. For Cake: In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl and beat on high speed of mixer 3 minutes. (I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I don't have a mixer. Any mixing is done with my own 2 hands/arms/wrists/shoulders. One day I will have the red mix-master!)
4. Alternatively add flour mixture with water to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. (Mine took probably 45-50 minutes because I have a super lame oven. Just keep your eye on it.)

Here it is after I unlocked the springform:
Pretty nice! I guess this type of pan is popular for making cheesecakes. I can see why.

I microwaved my chocolate icing and poured it on top of the cake. I spread it around a bit and let it spill over the edges. I plopped a few fresh raspberries in the middle as well just for color!
I'm not sure if you're supposed to invert the cake onto the platter or if you're supposed to level off the top with a knife... I chose to just put it upside down because the bottom had a really flat surface. It is kind of sitting on a dome but maybe it will flatten once the cake cools. This is where the extra research comes in!

JASON'S REVIEW: The best chocolate cake I've eaten all day. The icing is silky and the chocolate cake is moist and the raspberries add a delicious sweet punch. (Jason may sound sophisticated in his reviews but really he could barely get his helmet off before eating a slice in 3 bites. I had to coax the review out of him between mouthfuls of his second slice)

MY REVIEW: I had a fork full from Jason's plate and the cake was very good! I'm usually not a big fan of chocolate but this cake was perfectly moist if I do say so myself. This recipe is a keeper.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

I saw the movie Julie & Julia last night and loved it! It inspired me to do a little experiment today. I won't spoil the whole movie (because you should all see it), but there is one scene where Julia makes a chocolate cake and her husband pretty much eats the entire thing with his hands. After the movie, my grandma asked me if that's what Jason would do if I made him a chocolate cake. I couldn't really say because Jason has never had that sort of a freedom with a chocolate cake. When I bake, it's usually for someone else or a special occasion. That means his consumption is heavily monitored. I got to thinking... what would Jason do with a cake to himself?? No limits.

So, when Jason got home from work today, this is what he found on the kitchen table:
I even iced it!
After the first bite, he had to go put his "eating" pants on.
Honey was enjoying the smell immensely.
Who am I kidding... she's always on the table. I like to pretend it has something to do with the wonderful smell of my cooking. But clearly it does not... she was bored with the entire situation.
All in all, Jason did not eat as much as I imagined. Or perhaps my cake was not as good as Julias? Hard to say. Here's the leftovers:Anyways, here's the recipe I used if any of you are interested in trying this experiment.

3/4cup sugar
1/2cup flour
1/2cup walnuts
1/2cup coconut
1/2cup cocoa
1/2tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2cup melted butter

Mix ingredients as written. Bake about 20 minutes. Ice while warm.

That is honestly all I have written down on this recipe card! It was from a friend of my grandmas and it's pretty much fool proof. I don't have the time/temperature down yet. I just start checking it every 5 minutes after 20 minutes and the oven was at about 300. It's very easy to prepare though! You only get 1 bowl dirty.

JASON'S THOUGHTS ON THE EXPERIMENT: It was tasty. It was chewy and satisfying and I've never had chocolate cake for dinner before. I hope I get chocolate cake for dinner every night.

PS - You may have caught a glimpse of my new typewriter in the first picture! Here it is - in all its glory:
$5 at a garage sale, works like a charm and weighs about 23098lbs. It has no home yet so it sits on the kitchen table. I've already used it once for a gift tag and hope to get lots of use out of it for cards and such!

*Update: Approximately 15 hours after the brownie came out of the oven, it had been fully consumed. That included a large portion for breakfast.

Mediterranean Chicken Breasts with Avacado Tapenade

For some reason, I bought an avacado on our last grocery shopping trip. Actually, I bought it because I love avacados but I don't usually buy random things I don't have a recipe or a specific use for. It was super ripe today so I had to find something to do with it! I tried a recipe from RecipeZaar this evening:

Ingredients

* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
* 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
* 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 garlic cloves, roasted and mashed
* 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (i sprinkled a pinch of normal salt)
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 1 medium tomato, seeded and finely chopped
* 1/4 cup small green pimento stuffed olive, thinly sliced
* 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
* 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
* 1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and finely chopped

Directions

1.
In a sealable plastic bag, combine chicken and marinade of lemon peel, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Seal bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2.
In bowl, whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons lemon juice, roasted garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix in tomato, green olives, capers, basil and avocado; set aside.
3.
Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Grill over medium-hot coals for 4 to 5 minutes per side or to desired degree of doneness.
4.
Serve with Avocado Tapenade.

Then for dessert, I brought out my raspberry coffee cake I made last week and tried it for the first time!

JASON'S REVIEW: He's busy right now as we're going to a concert in 13 minutes.. but he liked it all. He said I should just make the coffee cake with white flour next time because the whole wheat makes it taste gummy or something. I agree.

MY REVIEW: I liked both entree and dessert! I don't really know what "Tapenade" is.. if it goes on top of the chicken or just on the side? Either way it had a great flavor and there was no leftovers so I did something right. I have some more raspberries in the fridge so I think I'll make another coffee cake this weekend. It was pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

Berry Baking!

I made 3 different recipes last night with my berries. I still have so many left in the fridge but I think I'll just freeze some. This baking stuff is really time intensive!


They Won't Know Raspberry Coffee Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used all whole wheat)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened raspberry (fresh or frozen, if using frozen do not thaw) (fresh for me!)
1 tablespoon sliced almonds (i wish i had some)

GLAZE

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon nonfat milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Combine the egg, yogurt, butter, and vanilla: add to dry ingredients just until moistened.
3. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into an 8-in round baking pan (a pie or cake pan work great for this) coated with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Combine the brown sugar and raspberries; sprinkle over batter.
5. Spoon the remaining batter over the top.
6. Sprinkle with almonds.
7. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched and is golden brown.
8. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
9. In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients.
10. Drizzle over coffee cake.
11. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Low Fat Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (half whole wheat/half white)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat milk or soymilk (you can also use low fat buttermilk) (i used skim)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters egg substitute
1 cup blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a nonstick 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
3. In a small bowl, combine milk, canola oil and egg.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add milk, oil and egg mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in blueberries.
5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 18-20 minutes until golden.
6. Cool on wire rack.


Raspberry Lemon Loaf

1¾ cups flour (half whole wheat/half white)
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup low-fat, lemon- flavored yogurt (i could only find fat free)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh raspberries (or frozen) (fresh for me)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside. (I was able to make 1 mini and 1 normal size loaf with this recipe. I like to make the mini so I can try it and freeze the big loaf.)

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, egg, egg whites, and lemon zest. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in raspberries.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely before slicing.

MY REVIEW: I can't review the cake yet because it went straight in the freezer. The muffins were really good. I've never had blueberry muffins look like that... they looked more like blue ink muffins than blueberry! I probably added too many blueberries because I didn't measure. They still tasted good. Loaf was good as well. It looked nothing like the picture on the website I got the recipe from! Mine was all swirly and looked almost blue.

JASON'S REVIEW: There's only a few muffins left from the 12 I made last night so I think he likes those. He hasn't tried the other goods but I'll post a review once I have it.

Crunchy Pickle & Vegetable Salad with Chocolate Mug Cake

2 new recipes tonight! First... the Crunchy Pickle & Vegetable Salad. This came from the KRAFT website. I made a few changes:

1 medium head cauliflower (1 lb.), cut into small florets (I used about 3/4 of a big one)

8 CLAUSSEN Kosher Dill Pickle Halves, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed (I used half a can)

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 bunch green onions (about 5 onions), sliced (didn't have any)

1 bottle (8 oz.) KRAFT Classic Caesar Dressing (instead of this and the dill, I just mixed some light mayo with my Lemon Dilly spice)

1 tsp. dill weed

MIX cauliflower, pickles, beans, tomatoes and onions in large bowl.

COMBINE dressing and dill weed. Add to pickle mixture; stir gently. Cover.

REFRIGERATE at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh dill, if desired. (I only refrigerated for maybe half an hour)

So that was that... the mush in the background is the leftovers from last night. I just shredded the last chicken breast and made it like a stew. I must say, it was kind of a gross combo (the salad and stew) but on their own they both would have been good :)

I MADE DESERT TONIGHT! I never ever make desert. I found this great recipe for a single chocolate cake on this blog and thought it was a great idea. Jason has a sweet tooth but I don't really want to make a whole cake... or buy a whole cake. We don't need that sitting around the house! So I just made him one of these tonight - I had all the ingredients in the house and you probably will too:


1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

MY REVIEW: The salad was great... I love pickles and anything dill flavored. I made lots so we'd both have some for lunch tomorrow. I think a whole bottle of Caesar dressing would be disgusting on this! You only need a little bit. As for the cake, I only had a spoonful but what a great idea!! It has so much potential too... I didn't try tipping it out but you could also put some whip cream or sprinkle some icing sugar on the top. It could be as fancy as you like. Also, the consistency was moist and fluffy!! I thought it would be soggy but it was just like cake. Mom, dad could even make this for himself.

JASON'S REVIEW: He must have liked the salad because he accepted my offer to make a container for his lunch. More importantly, he was raving about the cake! He said it was the best thing that's ever come out of the microwave and couldn't believe it only took 3 minutes. He thought some cherry pie filling and whip cream would round it out nicely. Definitely a big hit!