Apple Crumb Cake with Sour Cream & Sourdough Discard

We were headed to a potluck with one of The Hubs' Homebrew Groups, and I needed something to use this week's sourdough discard in. We also had a container of sour cream that needed to get used up, and some of last year's apples from our backyard tree hanging out in the freezer.  When I searched the interwebz for a "sourdough sour cream apple cake"...I got a lot of "sourdough apple cakes" and "sour cream apple cakes"...but no crossover.  So--I found a couple different recipes I liked, mixed & matched, and this was the end result.

Note: This results in some of the measurements below being in grams, and some in dry measurements--this is because the sourdough substitution is based on weight, rather than volume--I removed 75g of flour and 75g of sour cream from the cake layer to make up for the addition of the 150g of sourdough discard.

INGREDIENTS:

Apple Layer:

• 3 cups frozen or fresh sliced apples, peeled (sliced thin or cubed)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cake Layer:

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 170g sour cream (about 2/3 cup)
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g sourdough discard
• 240g all-purpose flour (should be a little shy of 2 cups)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Crumb Topping:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar 
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup pecans, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the APPLE LAYER ingredients and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and let simmer until apples are very soft, around 20 minutes.  Remove from heat--it will continue to thicken as it cools.
3. In a separate medium bowl, melt the butter for the CRUMB TOPPING, then add the remaining ingredients and mix with a fork until crumbly.  Set aside.
4. Using a large bowl and hand mixer, or a stand mixer, combine the room temp butter and sugar and beat until fluffy. Then add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and sourdough discard and mix until smooth.
5. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and weigh the flour into the bowl, then add the salt, baking powder and baking soda. Place back on the mixer and blend until combined.
6. Pour CAKE LAYER into a buttered 9x13 pan and smooth out.  Then add the APPLE LAYER onto the cake batter, and use a butter knife to swirl the mixture evenly into the CAKE LAYER.
7. Add the CRUMB TOPPING layer evenly across the top of the pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Cake Layer.

Apple Layer added & swirled in.

Crumb Topping added.

This works well as a dessert, or as a coffee cake for breakfast!

Sourdough Adventures #21: Discard Chocolate Coffee Cake w/ Ganache

We had a family reunion to attend, so I opted to bring a dessert made with sourdough discard. It's been a nutty month between vacation and coming back to work, coaching summer interns, etc.  So I haven't made any actual sourdough bread in a while.  

Natural light, some expert slicing by your MIL, and a brand new phone will do wonders for your food photography, just FYI.

This chocolate cake recipe from Milk & Pop looked gorgeous, so I settled on that.  And while my version ended up a touch dry (I think I overbaked it a bit), I would not let that discourage you from trying it.  I followed their recipe pretty tightly, only change was the addition of about a 1/2 Tbsp of cinnamon, so you can click the link to jump to their recipe if you're interested in trying.  If I made this again I might add some dry instant pudding mix, or up the oil content just a bit, to ensure a more moist cake.

The original baker's trick for using sugar inside the pan to ensure the cake comes out cleanly?  *chef's kiss* WILL DEFINITELY be using that again.

I DID opt for a different icing option than what Milk & Pop had shared, and instead made a simple ganache by heating 

• 1 cup heavy cream

And then stirring it into 

• 9 oz of semi-sweet chocolate

This made a gorgeous smooth glaze...and honestly, made too much.  You could probably do about half that (4-5 oz chocolate, 1/2 cup cream) and have plenty to cover this cake.  Thankfully, we had some strawberries on hand to help with the excess...

The cake was a hit at the reunion--up against some stiff competition. As with any Midwestern potluck--dessert options matched entrees and sides in a 1:1 ratio.  And you've gotta try them all...it'd be rude not to. 

Comfort Foods: Mom's Chocolate & Marshmallow Cake

I've been feeling rather nostalgic lately, particularly about the comfort foods I knew as a kid.

I love cooking, and I come by it honestly--I have many memories of making pies with my Grammy, or helping my grandpa make spaghetti, or eating my Meemaw Opie's famous fried chicken.  My Aunt Loyce is famous for her amazing sugar cookies, and at Christmas we would go to her house to make big batches of Christmas desserts like cookies, fudge, and divinity.

But my mom has always been a bit more of a utilitarian cook.  You can't blame her--she (still) works a full time job, did much of the housework, and at many times, worked a second job helping my dad with his business.  Food was something to sustain you.  We had a lot of freezer meals (pot pies, taquitos, pizza rolls, and the like) so that we could fend for ourselves as needed. Since we were a fishing family, fried crappie and french fries were on the menu at least once a week.  Hamburger Helper was also fairly common.  Friday nights we would go over to The Extra Point for dinner. 

When my mom did cook, it tended to be in big batches--like chili, vegetable beef stew, or her famous chicken & noodles.  Things that we could eat off of for the whole week.   For big family dinners, my mom always provided a sheet pan of no-bake cherry cheesecake (still one of my favorite desserts), and sometimes a batch of no-bake cookies (also a favorite).

And every so often, mom would get a hankering for chocolate cake.  Jiffy chocolate cake, to be exact.  You may only know them for the cornbread mix (still a staple in my kitchen pantry).  It's a smaller amount than say, a Betty Crocker box mix--perfect for an 8x8 square pan.  Once baked, Mom would cut out a still-warm square, slice it in half horizontally (like a biscuit or piece of cornbread), plop an oozy layer of marshmallow cream, and then close it back up.  And then we would devour (with forks, not our hands. We're not animals.)

Unfortunately, Jiffy no longer makes a chocolate cake mix--at least, no where that I can find, and it's not listed on their website.  They do have a recipe for chocolate cake on their website--so we're just going to assume that's about as close a replica as one can get.

Ingredients: (makes 6 servings)
1 box Jiffy yellow cake mix
3 Tbsp instant chocolate pudding mix
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 jar marshmallow cream (no, we're not going to use the full jar....probably.)

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350F, and grease a 8x8 or 9x9 glass pan.

Combine all the dry ingredients, and then beat in the eggs, milk and softened butter for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 34-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

While still warm, cut cake into 6 pieces (cut cake in half in one direction, and then in thirds in the other).  Remove a piece and then slice in half horizontally (like a biscuit).

Spoon a healthy dollop of marshmallow creme into the center of the cake, and replace the top.  Devour while warm.

Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes

The Hubs made these for us for breakfast the other day and they were soooooo good.  So I wanted to share the recipe!

INGREDIENTS: (makes about six 6-inch pancakes)
1 cup Pancake Mix (we use Alton Brown's recipe)
1 cup skim milk
1 egg
coconut oil for frying (add as needed for each batch)
3 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Praline Liqueur
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup fresh pineapple pieces (you can use rings if you want it to look fancy, we didn't have any on-hand)
6 maraschino cherries

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the pancake mix, milk, and egg, and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, combine the butter, liqueur, and brown sugar and heat over medium until dissolved, then add the pineapple.  Cook for about 5-6 minutes or until caramelized, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium and add about 1/4 cup of coconut oil.  Once hot, scoop pancake mix into the pan, using about 1/3 cup of batter per cake.  Top each cake with a pineapple ring or about 5-6 pieces and a cherry.  Continue to cook the brown sugar sauce so it thickens (this will be your syrup).  Once the bottom is browned, flip the cakes and cook until golden.

Serve with the brown sugar syrup and devour!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes.

I’ve been a little absent this week: for that, I apologize.  But there’s been some IRL-drama that has kept me from doing much of, well, anything.

Last week, I posted about my company’s 20th anniversary potluck.  Well… in a very tragic turn of events, our company president was killed in a single-engine plane crash this past weekend.  She was a vibrant, amazing, highly successful 46 year old woman who we all adored, so things have been really rough around here.

And I, being…well…ME… have been baking as a coping mechanism.  It seems to be far less destructive than booze or pills, and my coworkers and husband get to benefit as well, so it’s sort of a win-win.

These mini upside-down cakes have been on my Pinterest board for quite a while, and they seemed somewhat appropriate since our world is a little “upside down” at the moment.  They were also super easy.  And very delicious, and pretty comforting.  And visually pretty.  Just generally awesome.  And I just bought a new jumbo cupcake tin last week, so I wanted to test it out.

Ingredients:

For the Cake -

2 eggs
2/3 C white sugar
4 Tbsp pineapple juice
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded coconut

 

For the Topping -

3 Tbsp light butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-can pineapple rings (NOTE: I used crushed pineapple instead, since I had an open can of it in my house, and I really liked the result.)
6-maraschino cherries

 

Directions:

Step one, as always – heat your oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, combined the egg, sugar, and pineapple juice.  Then slowly add your dry ingredients (I added about 1/8-1/4 cup at a time with the flour) and beat until well combined.

The original recipe called for using a small sauce pan to make your brown sugar syrup, but I was feeling a little lazy, so instead, I melted my butter in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave (about 15 seconds), then added the brown sugar, mixed well, and nuked in the microwave for another 30-45 seconds.  If you don’t have a microwave, just melt the butter & brown sugar together in a small sauce pan on the stove & let simmer on low for 1 minute.

Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray (will make 6 jumbos, or about 8 regular size cupcakes), and then divide the brown sugar syrup between the tins (about 1.5-2 tbsp per cake).  Then place a cherry in the middle of each tin, and then add your pineapple. (With the crushed pineapple, a heaping tablespoon filled each cup.)

Now pour your batter over top, dividing it equally between the cups.  Bake for 25 minutes for the jumbos, or about 20 minutes for the regular size cakes.

Voila!  Looks like lil’ angel food cakes, huh?

Let cool for about 3 minutes, and loosen the edges by running a butter knife around the outside of each cake.  Then place a wire rack over the top of the pan, and invert onto the rack.  You might want to place a cookie sheet under the rack in case any of the syrup drips down.

Let cool for a bit, then serve!

The cake part tasted a bit like angel food.  It was delicious…and sort of appropriate. :)

R.I.P. Robin…we miss you very much.

NutriFacts:

Calories 331.4

  Total Fat 8.6 g

  Saturated Fat 4.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.4 g

  Cholesterol 61.7 mg

  Sodium 295.3 mg

  Potassium 142.9 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 67.8 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.4 g

  Sugars 55.7 g

  Protein 4.2 g

“Texas Style” Chocolate Zucchini Sheet Cake

That was the title when I pulled this recipe off the Interwebz.  Texas Style.  I grew up spending my summers on the beaches of southern Texas, down around Corpus Christi & Port Aransas.  My grandparents on my dad’s side were teachers in Aransas (Go Panthers!) until they moved back to Missouri in 1994. So from the mid-80s until that time, my cousin Manda & I LIVED for that month or two when our parents would ship us off during the summers to stay with Nana & Pawpaw.  We spent 95% of those waking hours outdoors, and thusly came home at the end of every summer looking like crispy critters. 

 (‘Scuse me, I think your 1/16th Native American is showing.)

In my mind, there are certain things that DEFINE Texas, due to my own personal childhood experience:

1. Whataburger. (But only in Texas.  Every burger from a non-Texas Whataburger tastes like sadness.)

2. The Carousel inside the Corpus Christi Mall, that we DEMANDED to ride upon at least once every summer.

3. Schlitterbahn.

4. Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

5. Sandburs.  Our Nana bribed us to eradicate them from her yard every summer, and since we didn’t enjoy getting them stuck in our feet, we were happy to help….for a quarter a pop.

However, “sheet cake” was never included in that definition.  I saw sheet cakes at church functions in Missouri, so what was all “Texas” about them?

After having made this cake, I can see the comparison: It’s Frickin’ Huge.

Seriously.  The BIGGEST cake I’ve ever made.    No matter how well the Hubs & I tried to put a dent in it, it never seemed to get any smaller.  Finally, when there was a little over half left, I conceded & brought the rest of it to work.  My coworkers converged upon it like the Free Territories and after two hours, it finally disappeared. (Thank you, fair coworkers, for your willingness to eat nearly anything that gets left in the break room.)

I modified the original recipe a bit to reduce the fat/caloric content. 

Ingredients:

1 cups sugar

1/2 cup Splenda

1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt

3 eggs

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 cups shredded fresh zucchini

1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

1/2 cup light butter, softened

1/4 cup baking cocoa

6 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Heat your oven to 375 and bust out your “sheet cake pan”…aka, “the REALLY big cookie sheet”.  Typical measurement is 10” x 15” and one inch deep.  A regular cookie sheet won’t work, because you need that deepness to hold the cake batter.  Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray—you can also lightly dust the pan with flour, which makes the cake easier to get out of the pan.

In a large mixing bowl (or Kitchenaid):

The sign of a well-loved Kitchenaid.  …I promise I cleaned it after I was done baking.

…Add the sugar, yogurt, and eggs; beat until well combined.  Then mix in the cocoa, baking soda & powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Now, add the flour and the milk, alternating back & forth between the two (helps to keep the batter from getting lumpy).

Once that’s well combined, stir in your zucchini and vanilla.

Pour the batter into your sheet cake pan, making sure you don’t overflow, since your batter should be JUST ENOUGH to almost totally fill the pan.  Then VERY CAREFULLY move it into the oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  You will want to check on the cake about halfway through for bubbles.  I did not do this, & ended up with lumpy cake.

While it’s baking, you can make your icing. 

Note: This was my first attempt at making icing in a very, VERY long time.  It should not be hard…I mean, when the directions are “combine all ingredients & mix ‘til smooth”, how difficult can it be?

Apparently, quite difficult.  Particularly when you spend 15 minutes freaking out about why your icing looks HORRIBLE…only to realize you haven’t yet added the powdered sugar.  So remember the powdered sugar, kids.  It’s sorta the main component.

Once the cake is done, set it on a rack & let cool COMPLETELY before pouring the icing over top.

Think a lumpy cake top isn’t a big deal?  It is when you’re icing/glaze is thin:

They’re like little cake islands, in a seaaaaaa of chocolate…

Allow the icing to set up.  Assuming it does.  Because mine did not.  But I probably jacked it up at some point during that 15 minute panic attack.  But that’s okay, because it still tasted AWESOME.

It was a bit dense, almost more like a brownie.  And the gooey icing was pretty well to-die for….probably would have been better if I hadn’t broken it, but it was still deelish.

A 10” by 15” pan will make 25 servings. (2x3 inch pieces)  And each serving is under 200 calories!

NutriFacts:

Calories 191.6

  Total Fat 2.6 g

  Saturated Fat 0.8 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.7 g

  Cholesterol 22.4 mg

  Sodium 70.4 mg

  Potassium 131.3 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 40.1 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.2 g

  Sugars 28.2 g

  Protein 3.8 g

Chocolate Zucchini Bread…Cake…Whatevs. It’s Awesome.

My love of all things Kitchen started early. When I was a kid, one of my favorite things was to go over to my Aunt Donna’s house for a Baking Day.  These might as well have been official holidays as far as I was concerned.  By the end of the day, the kitchen table would be covered with cakes, Amish Friendship Bread, cookies… anything drool-worthy, it was there.  Aunt Donna was our family’s official baking genius.  You need a recipe, she’s got it.  She even taught cake decorating classes at the local middle school.

Aunt Donna had three sons: J, P, and D:

The Boys, circa 1995ish.  This is one of my favorite photos on the planet.  How two boys managed to hide almost entirely behind a baby, I still can’t figure out.  Anyway, these lil’ cuties are now 28, 24, and 21.  *sigh* Makes me feel old…

And I got recruited to babysit them a lot, which was okay with me, becauseit meant I got free pizza and a little cash and got to watch 3 Ninjas with my cousins. Or Ninja Turtles.  It varied occasionally.

“We don't wanna hurt youuuu… we just wanna kidnap you!”

And in honor of this blog post, I made a special trip down Memory Lane and scanned in a pile of old photos.  Enjoy.

Myself with Aunt Donna’s two oldest boys, J & P, circa 1992-3.  Check. Those. Bangs.  Thanks Mom.

 

So when a pile of zucchini landed at my house (thanks to the Mom-In-Law), I knew some of Aunt Donna’s famous Chocolate Zucchini Bread was in order.

Though…I mean…really.  CHOCOLATE.  It’s cake.  We can call it bread all day long, but nobody’s spreadin’ butta on it & serving it as a side with spaghetti.  But it’s made in a loaf pan, so I GUESS we can call it a bread.

Whatevs.  It’s DELICIOUS no matter what you call it.  And a “better for you” dessert choice, since zucchini has tons of fiber, Vitamins A & C, and magnesium, along with a slew of other good-for-new minerals.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce (Change #1 that I make from the original recipe—purists could use oil, but this cuts out a good bit of fat & calories)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup Splenda (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup sugar)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cup shredded zucchini

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (or 1/2 cup of mini chips)

 

Directions:

First, have a front porch concert with your cousin. Jump rope microphone required.

Circa 1987? Squawking chicken backup microphone entirely optional.

Now that that’s out of your system, go preheat your oven to 350F.

Next, beat together flour, cocoa, baking soda & powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Set mixture aside.

Then beat together the applesauce, sugars & Splenda, eggs, & vanilla.  Fold in your zucchini.

Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until just combined, then mix in the chocolate chips.

CHOCOLATE….

Pour into a greased & floured pan:

I <3 my blue Pyrex…

And then bake for about 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick entered into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Perhaps go make your own Slip-n-Slide with a trash bag while your masterpiece bakes.

Once your creation is done cooking, remove from pan & let cool on a wire rack.  Then slice for nommage.

The outside has a nice “crust” to it, while the inside is super moist and a bit dense, almost like a brownie.

Five stars, Aunt Donna!  Two thumbs Way Up!

NutriFacts: (makes 12 servings—cut into 6 thick slices, then make one cut down the middle to divide into 12)

Calories 181.6

  Total Fat 4.8 g

  Saturated Fat 2.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.5 g

  Cholesterol 34.2 mg

  Sodium 214.6 mg

  Potassium 192.6 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 38.2 g

  Dietary Fiber 2.1 g

  Sugars 26.4 g

  Protein 3.4 g