I have always had a love for marble cake. It could be that my early birthday parties always seemed to have a marble cake with butter cream frosting made by mom! Great combination and so good.
Well, a blogger I follow posted a Marble Cake the other day – check hers out: http://bakewithmeblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/chocolate-orange-marble-cake/
This cake drew me in rapidly. BUT I am in the USA, born and bred, and except for a teeny tiny learning experience with metric – I do not know metric. Several years ago the US wanted to change to metric. I balked at that idea but was willing to learn. Then, as usual, they said we will not. OK. Got out of that one. But now I keep seeing these wonderful blogs with fantastic temptations and I want to make them. That’s where google comes in. So I converted the grams to ounces and OH MY! What a fantastic cake!
I clicked on her link to the BBC site with the original recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2988682/chocolate-orange-marble-cake
Here are the measurements I used:
Oven heated to 325 – I guessed that one. gas 4???????
1 cup butter (I used unsalted)
1 cup pure cane granulated sugar
1 cup Self rising Flour
The rest is in tablespoons (thank goodness)
And for the last part of the melted chocolate and orange I used a blop of Nutella with a dribble of orange juice mixed in and put in microwave briefly so I could drizzle it.
- Fresh out of the oven
- Add the Nutella!!!
- The finest marble!
TRY IT! It is heavenly and I cannot stop eating it……..my birthday is Friday so I think I can justify the piggy-ness of devouring this cake.
Enjoy!
cate b
www.wingedprisms.wordpress.com
This is a reblog from my main blog page – Let’s Have Another Piece of Pie. Not about pie in the literal sense of the word. www.wingedprisms.com
I just used my basic shortbread recipe and pressed into owl pan and here you have it. Cute and delicious.
Enjoy!
cate b.
I have a great recipe for basic peanut butter cookies. It’s a no-fail. This time I took to replacing the sugar with raw honey. When you use honey to bake you need to lessen the liquid by about 1/4 of a cup (FYI – 1 egg is about 1/4 cup). Sometimes you need to lesson the amount of honey simply because it is very sweet compared to sugar. You will find that honey brings out the flavors of the other ingredients – especially in fruit pies. The fruit flavor is magnified to a delicious natural taste!
In this recipe, once the ingredients were all mixed, I threw in a blop of Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Spread – www.traderjoes.comYou could substitute that with Nutella.
Enjoy!
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup raw honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1- 1/4 to 1- 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Cream together the butter and peanut butter till smooth (by hand or electric mixer). Add honey and vanilla and then the dry ingredients.
Add your blop of chocolate spread and just “marble” it in gently.
Place dough onto un-greased sheets and
flatten with lightly floured fork.
Bake in preheated 375 degree oven
and bake for 8-10′
Cool on racks or however you like to cool them and
ENJOY!
cate b.
Here we go! Love English Muffins? Well here is English Muffin Bread. It is so easy and so delicious that anyone can make this.
Enjoy it and let me know what you think. I got the recipe from Taste of Home.
English Muffin Bread
32 ServingsPrep: 15 min. Bake: 35 min.
Ingredients
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5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
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2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
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1 tablespoon sugar
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2 teaspoons salt
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1/4 teaspoon baking soda
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2 cups warm milk (120° to 130°)
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1/2 cup warm water (120° to 130°)
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Cornmeal
Directions
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In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda.
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Add warm milk and water; beat on low speed for 30 seconds,scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on high for 3 minutes.
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Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Grease
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two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Spoon
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batter into the pans and sprinkle cornmeal on top. Cover and let
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rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
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Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from
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pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Slice and toast. Yield: 2 loaves.
Freeze one loaf to enjoy weeks later!
Let your mixer and spoon do the work. Slice and toast and enjoy! Perfect breakfast with your morning coffee.
cate B. 😀
SNOW! In the mid-west for the second time in a week! Where were you on Christmas Eve?
So, with all the snow keeping me home I decided to make some sweet rolls. I adore The Pioneer Woman – Ree Drummond. Her cooking is simple and homey and great! thepioneerwoman.com
Last weekend she made Orange Marmalade Sweet Rolls. I love orange marmalade but there was none in my pantry. But I had raspberry jam. So, I made the following recipe that I took from allrecipes.com
- READY IN 55 mins
Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, heat the buttermilk until warm to the touch.
- Pour the buttermilk and oil into the yeast mixture; mix well. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the liquid 1 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 20 times. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a large rectangle. Spread the brown sugar and butter mixture over the dough, roll up into a log and pinch the seam to seal. Slice into 1 inch pieces and place cut side up in a lightly greased 10×15 baking pan. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate overnight. If baking immediately, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.
PLEASE NOTE: I never have Buttermilk in my refrigerator – so, in a 2 cup glass measuring cup I put in about 1 Tblsp. of white vinegar and then the milk up to the 1 1/2 cups mark. Let it sit to “curdle” – easy substitute for Buttermilk.
ALSO -for the raspberry rolls I’m about to expound on, I did not use cinnamon but Raspberry Jam
So, follow the above recipe but when you roll out the dough and spread the butter (I use softened butter and about 1/2 of what is stated above – less mess) you will then “blop” Raspberry Jam on there and spread – I use my hands:
Next you sprinkle on brown sugar and then roll:
and pinch to seal: Now we cut the rolls – I prefer using white thread:
Now place them on a greased baking sheet:
When they are still warm I spread a glaze over them consisting of Powdered Sugar, melted butter, vanilla, milk and a “blop” of Raspberry Jam
Tada! 
They are REALLY good and this recipe makes A LOT! Hopefully you won’t get snowed in but if you love sweet rolls then this recipe will make you happy and all those you serve!
Enjoy!
cate b.
ps – have a question? please ask me. 😀
When I was a kid in NJ, the local bakery in our town made, what we called, Linzer Tarts. They were a large round cookie with raspberry jelly type filling with another cookie with cut-out hole on top all covered with powdered sugar! My favorite. They are pretty popular in the northern part of Jersey and New York City.
Well, as you can see they look delicious! South Jersey could never replicate them. It’s a “cultural thing”. Several years ago my brothers and families gathered at my mom’s and my younger brother came up to me and asked if I wanted a linzer tart. Hello?? Of course I did. He went to the car and came back in and the two of us sat at the kitchen table dumping powdered sugar all over ourselves and the table. My big bro came and asked where his was. I became 6 years old again and Pete became 2- I swear! Sheepishly, he was told there weren’t anymore. I told him it was given to me. My husband came in and said , “Do I get one?” I said, “No, my brother gave it to me.” I ate the whole thing!
His wife told me later that it was worse than we thought. He went and bought several and kept them in the car at his in-laws. From time to time he went outside for no apparent reason. She, and their 3 lovely daughters, discovered he had a stash out in the car and shared them with no one – except me on that special day. I felt really good about myself and no guilt whatsoever about the whole non-sharing thing.
Once a year, I make Shortbread Hearts. While they are not like the ones from back east, they are pretty darn awesome. The cookie is shortbread – you can never go wrong there – and the combination with the jelly is heavenly. Enjoy this recipe!
SHORTBREAD HEARTS
1 1/2 CUPS (3 STICKS) BUTTER
1 CUP POWDERED SUGAR
2 TSP. VANILLA
1/4 TSP. SALT
3 CUPS FLOUR
Oven at 350 degrees
In Mixer: beat butter, sugar for 2 minutes.
Beat in vanilla and salt. Using a spoon, add flour 1 cup at a time. I did use a mixer to just incorporate flour)
Divide dough in half – roll between wax paper – cool if necessary in refrigerator.
Cut out hearts or shape you want. Be sure to cut out equal number of solid cookies for bottom and window cut out for tops.
Bake on ungreased sheets for 10-15 minutes.
Cool. Spread Raspberry jam on bottoms (in middle) and place tops on and sprinkle with powdered sugar!
Enjoy.
These are not the best pics – I used small cutter for windows on large cookie on left. On right, I made small hearts and used end of chop stick to make window.
Most everyone likes chocolate. I do. I can, however, pass it up. That is until I was introduced to Christopher Elbow. Not the man, I haven’t met him yet, but his chocolate! Oh my.
Kansas City can boast of barbecue, steak, etc. But they have a Chocolatier! And his name is Christopher Elbow. (http://www.elbowchocolates.com/home.php) My son introduced me to these delectable ……… sigh. I have to say they are not only beautiful to look at but the flavors are amazing.
Flavors such as Champagne, Honey Ginger, Fresh Lime, to name a few. My favorite one is Lavender Caramel
It happened. I am a Coffee Snob. I have come over to the other side. I have always loved the smell of coffee, especially while it is perking in a good old fashioned electric perculator. I grew up with that smell but never drank it until the late 1960s when the Coffee House scene began – at least in my age group. By Coffee House I mean a place where you go and drink coffee and perhaps indulge in a slice of toasted pound cake while listening to acoustic sounds of a dude/dudette who sound just like James Taylor or Joni Mitchell. Ah, the good memories.
I married a coffee addict. And for a while I joined him but switched to decaf. I could take it or leave it. But I never lost that desire to smell the beans in a fresh bag and smell that wonderful aroma as it perc-ed.
We moved to Kansas City about 4 year ago and my sons turned me onto a local coffee company that roasts their beans right here in KC. Oh my! Where have I been? Their mocha lattes are amazing! They do not use syrup – they use chocolate milk from a local dairy that makes your taste buds stand up and cheer. My husband, to save money, would come home with beans from lesser and farther away companies that weren’t bad ……. but they just didn’t compare to local.
It wasn’t until I signed us up for a tour at a local roasting facility that he promised to only buy the best – http://www.theroasterie.com/ But I still wasn’t drinking anything but decaf and not regularly.
Well, Last July we spent a week on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Each morning I would get up and jump into a bathing suit and then into the pool. My husband would bring me a cup of coffee and I would float in a pool lounge chair with the cup holder and enjoy the bliss of sipping and floating. Heavenly. I took the habit home. I drink one cup in the morning – well, maybe 1.5-2 cups in the morning. Depending on the day. And when offered a cup of anything less then local and fresh roasted and ground — I turn my nose up at it. I can’t believe it.
I confess though that just last week I consented to a low cost bean from Trader Joe’s http://www.traderjoes.com/ that was highly recommended by a facebook page that I follow: https://www.facebook.com/jasoncoffee He has some great short videos on coffee – loads of fun. Twitter him also. Oh! And Trader Joe has come through again – very good for a shipped in bean.
Recently my husband and sons went out for a guys coffee trip and came home with this incredible beverage! http://www.revocup.com/
Oh My!!! I think I would like to become a traveling taster! And also include in that tasting some delectable pastries or sandwiches. Kind of like Guy from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
What do you think???
One day I was getting ready to make a traditional apple pie when I thought I wanted something a little different. So, I threw in a large handful of frozen black raspberries. YUM! It is so much fun for me to experiment by using other fruits and flavors when I bake. It’s a wonderful sensation for the taste buds.
I also tried red raspberries another time. To my chocolate cream pie I used a lightly sweetened sour cream with lime juice instead of whipped cream and sprinkled chopped fresh cilantro on top. Next time I will add a pinch of cayenne to the chocolate filling. Can’t wait!
Don’t be shy – try different flavors together. It will open up a whole new world to you and your taste buds.
I want to hear your combinations – particularly for your pies.
Let’s have fun and creativity when we bake – it’s endless what we can come up with.
Happy Baking.
cb
It’s that most wonderful time of year – I think – where, even though things are appearing to die off, the most wonderful smells burst forth and the colours!!! Pow! The air is cooler and fresh. The skies are so blue and clear it always amazes me. And it’s my birthday coming up! I just love my birthday so much I could cry! And I don’t know why. I’m up there in age and I don’t have parties or very many gifts – I just LOVE my birthday! It makes me giggle thinking of it.
I will be making a pie this weekend for a family dinner. But yesterday I decided to make muffins. Not as exciting as pie but so good with a cup of coffee in the morning and a sit on the porch.
Years ago my husband and I and our 4 children lived in a mountain town in California. Tehachapi! Known for its prison and four seasons and APPLES!
While there I found this lovely little cookbook. So, from this book – thank you ladies for your time and effort – comes the muffin recipe. Now, let me explain that I usually change recipes. So I will do my best to explain as I go.
The recipe is as follows: They are actually called Baked Apple Donuts
1 tsp nutmeg/ 3 cups flour/ 3 1/2 tsp baking powder/ 1 tsp salt/ 1 cup sugar/ 2/3 cup shortening/ 2 eggs/ 1/2 cup milk/ 1 cup diced apples (or grated)/ 1 cup butter, melted/ 2/3 cup sugar/ 2 tsp cinnamon
Sift the first set of dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Mix together the eggs, milk and apples. Add to dry ingredients quickly and thoroughly. Fill greased muffin tins two-thirds full. Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pans and brush with melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar. Serve warm.
Now, I went and put my batter in cupcake papers – I recommend you don’t. I, therefore, did not brush them all over in butter and roll in sugar. I only did the tops. A big oops – but still good. I also recommend grating the apples – I’ve done it both ways but the grating seems to put more apple in each bite of the donut/muffin. I also, this time, added a blop of sour cream and a dribble of whole milk. Nice touch.
As I mentioned before, they’re not pie, but a really good pick me up on a cool morning or afternoon. Enjoy!
I’ll see you next time with my weekend pie!
cate b
The Deeper Dessert 