I’ve been having some major sweet cravings lately, especially when I start to feel peckish in the afternoons around coffee time.  In Germany in mid-afternoon they always have a break for coffee and tea, a bit similar to how the British have their tea-time.  In [...]]]>

I’ve been having some major sweet cravings lately, especially when I start to feel peckish in the afternoons around coffee time.  In Germany in mid-afternoon they always have a break for coffee and tea, a bit similar to how the British have their tea-time.  In fact, I feel like Germans are eating all day long, and I have no idea how they manage to stay so much slimmer than us in the New World (less McDonald’s no doubt).  I love the yeasted German cakes that are just sweet enough, with lots of fruit, for a satisfying afternoon snack.  This one isn’t yeasted, but with its crunchy streusel topping, jammy blueberries, and tender white cake base, it definitely fits the bill for coffee time. And it reminds me of a really yummy cake that Chris’ aunt made for us in Germany with a yeast base and a streusel topping and served with steaming cups of fresh espresso.

The recipe is a basic one from Joy of Cooking.  The only tip I would give is – use slightly tart blueberries, if you can find them.  Mine were quite ripe, and the cake would have benefited from a little more acidity to cut the sweetness.  And I’m sure you could use all kinds of fruit in this cake — raspberries or blackberries would be lovely (and summery) or maybe some stone fruit!

Blueberry Streusel Cake
From The Joy of Cooking

Streusel Topping
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Cake Batter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8-inch round pan.

To make the topping:
Mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon, and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it forms coarse crumbs. Set aside.

To make the cake:
Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer, until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined with the butter mixture.
Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, and mix until combined.
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth with a spoon or spatula.
Scatter the blueberries evenly over the cake’s surface, and then sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the blueberries.
Bake 40-50 minutes until a tester comes out clean.

Behold, it is time for good cheer!

What better way to show your loved ones how much you care than by stuffing them full of cake?

I was drawn to this cake by one interesting component – cornmeal.  I don’t know about you, but I love cornmeal. [...]]]>

Behold, it is time for good cheer!

What better way to show your loved ones how much you care than by stuffing them full of cake?

I was drawn to this cake by one interesting component – cornmeal.  I don’t know about you, but I love cornmeal.  So does Chris.  Surprisingly, Chris doesn’t like whole kernel corn, though.  He says it’s just a whole lot of nothing and can’t understand why people like it.  Me, I’m indifferent.  But cornmeal, now.

I always find it intriguing when cornmeal is worked into sweet baked goods.  It seems to make them a little more substantial, a little more rustic, and I feel just the tiniest bit less guilty eating them.  I know that really doesn’t make sense, because this cake contains a stick and a half of butter and 6 egg yolks, but it does.  It just doesn’t seem so bad.

Now the cake.  It was good.  I liked the crunch of the cornmeal between my teeth as I bit into it, and the combo of orange zest and cranberries is always a winner.  It made a dense, moist cake, punctuated by bursts of tart cranberries and the slightly gritty texture of the cornmeal (that doesn’t sound good, I know, but it is).  So I’m not raving about it, but I liked it.

It was definitely a bit too sweet.  I’d reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup, at least.  Especially with something as hearty as cornmeal, you almost want the cake to be a little bit savory.

Cornmeal Cranberry Cake
From Giada deLaurentis

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar (reduce this if you like)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow fine cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup orange zest (from 2 large oranges)
1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time while beating. Mix in vanilla extract.

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Mix in little by little into the eggs/butter mixture, until incorporated.

Fold in cranberries.

Scrape into a buttered and floured 9-inch round cake pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until cake is golden on top. Let cool before removing from pan.

Back in my single days when I had just arrived in China, fresh from college and ready to teach English, I hadn’t a clue about baking. I don’t think I had ever baked anything in my life except peanut butter cookies and a failed, [...]]]>

Back in my single days when I had just arrived in China, fresh from college and ready to teach English, I hadn’t a clue about baking. I don’t think I had ever baked anything in my life except peanut butter cookies and a failed, stone-heavy yogurt cake. All through college in Toronto I had survived on stir-fries and cheap take-out from the Chinese BBQ place downstairs (they would give you a big styrofoam box of rice with slices of BBQ pork and duck on top, and douse it with a generous ladleful of sauce. The sauce was the best. That $4.25 box of meat and rice could last me a couple of meals, if there was enough sauce to go with the rice).

But when I arrived in China I discovered that my roommate Andrea was a talented cook, who loved to putter around the kitchen and decorated her room with creative paper cutouts – a domestic soul, something I wasn’t really used to among my friends from Toronto.  She was from a town and family where, apparently, they taught you to cook.  I was a skill-less city girl, ready to rough it in China. I didn’t realize then that I would grow to love cooking, baking, and decorating too (though that took another couple of years, when I got married)!

Andrea taught me to make this banana bread in our tiny little Chinese kitchen. We had no oven, just two flukey toaster ovens. One of them was tiny and would never fit a loaf pan inside, and the other one’s lower element was broken. We had to cover our brownies with foil to prevent the top from burning before the bottom was done. But it worked. And now, I figure that if I can bake banana bread in a toaster oven in China, I can bake anything.

Andrea’s aunt developed this banana bread recipe, experimenting with all the ingredients to get the perfect balance of moistness and flavor. It became a treasured family recipe that Andrea graciously shared with me. It’s a super easy, classic quick bread recipe, one that even I, a total noob, learned in a jiffy.

I’ve made a few changes over the years – I’ve grown accustomed to less sweetness, so I reduced the sugar a bit, and I’ve started making it with part whole wheat flour and olive oil – but the framework of the recipe is the same.  Sometimes I like to toss in a handful of dried cranberries, but you can do it just plain or add walnuts if you like.

Andrea’s Best Ever Banana Bread
Makes 2 medium loaves

4 ripe large bananas
4 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar + 1 tbsp
1 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin)
½ cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can sub part with whole wheat flour)
2 tsp baking soda
dash salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, olive oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and 1 ½ cups sugar. Mix together thoroughly.

2. In a small cup, mix the baking soda with some of the flour. Then dump all of the flour, with the baking soda, and salt, on top of the wet ingredients. Stir until everything is well moistened.

3. Butter two medium loaf pans. Pour the batter into the pans and sprinkle tops of loaves with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 60 minutes or longer, until a tester inserted into loaves comes out clean. Depending on your oven, though, you’ll want to check these at 50 minutes to be sure – there’s nothing worse than overcooked banana bread!

Well, it’s a windy, blustery day that is leaving our patio plants in disarray.  One of those days where you feel autumn is in the air and you want to curl up with a hot cup of chai and a warm cinnamony snack.  Speaking of [...]]]>

Well, it’s a windy, blustery day that is leaving our patio plants in disarray.  One of those days where you feel autumn is in the air and you want to curl up with a hot cup of chai and a warm cinnamony snack.  Speaking of chai – I love tea, but what on earth happened to saucers???  I mean, where am I supposed to leave my soggy tea-bag if I want to reuse it for a second cup?  I have to get out a separate salad plate to put my tea bag on while I’m drinking my first cup of tea?  Seriously, they don’t make cups like they used to.

Confession – before I made this zucchini bread, I had never eaten zucchini bread before. So I had no idea what it was supposed to taste like. Now, I’ve discovered that I LOVE zucchini bread! It’s like carrot cake, but with delicious, in-season and dirt-cheap zucchinis (69 cents a pound at my local grocery). Keep the skin on, and you’ll get even more vitamins and minerals (zucchinis are a good source of Vitamin C, folate, potassium, Vitamin A and beta-carotene).

The base recipe for this bread was a Paula Deen recipe (what? It was the first recipe that came up on Google, ok?), though I’ve modified it quite a bit.

(Long list of alterations coming up; skip this paragraph if that’s boring for you) I swapped the water for buttermilk and replaced some of the white flour with whole-wheat. I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil, and reduced the sugar by a whole cup while at the same time swapping half of the white sugar for brown.  I kind of hate nutmeg (sorry nutmeg lovers!) so I upped the amount of cinnamon, omitted the nutmeg, and added a teensy bit of ground cloves.

The result is a deliciously moist cake that is not too sweet, perfect for making…Zucchini Bread French Toast!!! An absolutely delicious way of eating zucchini bread.

In fact, my craving for zucchini bread french toast is so strong that I’ve got another batch of zucchini bread in the oven right now.

For those of you who are blessed with gardens overflowing with zucchini – I’m jealous, and this is a perfect way to use up your veggies. Though of course, if you have a garden overflowing with zucchini, I’m sure you’ve already made a gazillion batches of zucchini bread, and you’re rolling your eyes right now saying, “so what, zucchini bread, whoo hoo”.

Well, try it as French toast and let me know what you think. I adore it. The egg forms a crisp crust on the outside of the bread and the inside of the bread is meltingly moist and soft with cinnamon and spice. Serve it with sliced strawberries and bananas, and the whole thing is worthy of a déjeuner chez Cora’s (a French Canadian chain of breakfast restaurants – yay Canada!).

Zucchini Bread
Adapted from a Paula Deen recipe. You can, of course, add walnuts or pecans if you wish.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup white sugar + 1 tablespoon
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium zucchinis, grated (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
4 large eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle lemon juice on the grated zucchinis to keep them green.
2. Combine the zucchinis, olive oil, eggs and buttermilk.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, sugars, and salt.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir together until moistened and more or less combined.
5. Pour into 2 greased medium loaf pans. Sprinkle loaves with remaining tablespoon white sugar. Bake in oven for about 1 hour (check at 50 minutes), until tester inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

Zucchini Bread French Toast
Serves 2

4 slices zucchini bread
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons whole milk
salt

Beat the eggs with the milk and a pinch of salt. Dunk the zucchini bread slices into the egg mixture before frying on a non-stick griddle over medium heat, about 2 minutes per side until golden brown.

Serve with fresh fruit and honey or syrup.

I like to always have a cake around.

It’s so nice to have a not-too-sweet, everyday cake stashed in the pantry, perfect for afternoon cake and coffee, or for breakfast, or for a not-too-decadent dessert.  And a slice or two is great for feeding a couple [...]]]>

I like to always have a cake around.

It’s so nice to have a not-too-sweet, everyday cake stashed in the pantry, perfect for afternoon cake and coffee, or for breakfast, or for a not-too-decadent dessert.  And a slice or two is great for feeding a couple of friends who happen to drop by.  I love how you can mix up the batter for one of these simple cakes in just a few minutes, slide it into the oven, and tadaa!  Magic happens.  On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I love to bake a cake.

Stone fruits are coming into season, and when baked into a humble everyday cake, their sugars caramelize, their juices make them deliciously soft and (for lack of a better word) plummy, their acidity mellows and melts on your tongue, and they are just…mmm!

This cake takes nectarines, smoothing out their slightly sharp sweetness, and turning them into a treat the sorts of which you can rarely find  in a commercial bakery.  It’s just too humble, too uncomplicated, too special to come out of anywhere but your own kitchen.  It evokes sunny afternoons on the patio sipping ice tea and talking about nothing in particular.  It is truly, a golden cake.

You can make this entire cake by hand, with a good whisk, if your butter is adequately softened.  No need to get out an electric mixer – do it the old-fashioned way.  It’s more satisfying that way.

Nectarine Golden Cake
Gourmet Sept 2009

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
generous 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 almond extract
2 nectarines, pitted and sliced into wedges
Confectioner’s sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar by mixing vigorously with a whisk, until pale yellow and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla and almond extracts. Gently mix in the flour mixture to form a stiff yellow batter.

Spread the batter into a buttered cake pan (I used an 8-inch). Scatter the nectarine wedges over top. Bake for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown and a knife inserted into cake comes out pretty much clean.

Let cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around edges, then invert and re-invert onto a plate. Dust with confectioner’s sugar if desired, cut into wedges and serve.

It’s been a while since I made this cake for Chris’ birthday about a month ago, and the pictures have been sitting around on the computer while I got busy with other things, such as cooking live shrimp and making this olive [...]]]>

It’s been a while since I made this cake for Chris’ birthday about a month ago, and the pictures have been sitting around on the computer while I got busy with other things, such as cooking live shrimp and making this olive bread.  But as it is pouring today and I have no excuse to procrastinate any longer, I thought I’d share my go-to chocolate cake recipe with you all.

This chocolate cake is simple, easy to make, and bakes into two delightfully moist, chocolatey layers that are not too sweet and quite possibly the best chocolate cake EVER!  And guess what?  It comes from the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa Powder box.  I kid you not.  But hey, that recipe has been on that box for ages, and you know why?  Cause it’s a classic, that’s why.

The secret to the dark moist chocolate layers is, in my opinion, “blooming” the cocoa powder in boiling water.  This seems to release the intense flavors of the chocolate and makes the texture of the cake silky and moist.  Basically, you mix together all the components of the cake, then stir in boiling water at the end and pour the runny batter into two 8-inch round cake pans.

I iced the cake with the accompanying “Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting”, which is an easy version of buttercream that uses melted butter, making it easy to mix by hand.  However, I found that the frosting hardened a little too quickly and I would have liked it to be creamier.  Next time I might make a ganache frosting with melted chocolate and heavy cream, like this one from David Lebovitz.

I pressed some chopped pistachios onto the sides of the cake after it was iced.

Click here to find the recipe for Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake and Frosting.

I was craving some cake the other day. I had a bunch of apples, so why not make apple cake? My usual cinnamon apple cake is really good, but I was in the mood for something new. I decided to try this [...]]]>

I was craving some cake the other day. I had a bunch of apples, so why not make apple cake? My usual cinnamon apple cake is really good, but I was in the mood for something new. I decided to try this “Swedish Apple Cake” recipe from Dorie Greenspan that I had been eyeing for a while.

First of all, this cake is incredibly easy. Yes, it uses a lot of butter, but there’s no creaming it with the sugar or any other elbow work that I try to avoid as much as possible since I don’t have an electric mixer (well, I do have one, but not here in China). You just melt the butter, beat it into the eggs and sugar, and then add a small amount of flour and baking powder. Then you can top it with whatever you like – I used apple slices, but you could drop some tart cherries on top, or some sliced almonds, and you could dust it with confectioner’s sugar, whatever!

The texture of this cake is really interesting. In fact, if I had to use a word to describe it, I would say it’s a bit like a gooey cookie. And not in a bad way at all. It’s buttery and a little crispy around the edges. Or you could say it’s a bit like a tart – the edges crisp up and brown, forming something like a crust, while the inner part with the apples in it stays moist and rich.

Either way, this is definitely a cake for afternoon tea or dessert, but probably not for breakfast. I mean, okay, I DID have it for breakfast, but it’s really too sweet and rich for you to eat a whole lot of. Not that that stopped me.

Dorie Greenspan’s Swedish Apple Cake
From Serious Eats

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 extra-large egg or 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled (you should have about ½ cup of melted butter)
1 to 1 1/2 apples, peeled and sliced
Apple or apricot jam, for glazing the cake

Preheat oven to 350 F or 175 C (though I ended up reducing the heat by about 25F because my oven runs quite hot).

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

In another bowl, beat the egg, the vanilla and the sugar until pale and smooth. Add the cooled melted butter and beat until smooth and shiny. Add the flour mixture, and mix with a spatula until everything is well incorporated.

Scrape into a buttered 9-inch pie dish, cake pan, oven-proof skillet, or whatever. Top with apple slices.

Bake about 35-40 minutes until top is nice and browned and apples are tender.

Heat a bit of apple or apricot jam in a saucepan until liquid (if needed add a bit of water), and brush the glaze over the cake.

For best results, serve while warm.

About a week ago, I decided to try making my own pumpkin purée and then a pumpkin bread recipe.  When you live in China, keeping Western seasonal traditions alive (such as making pumpkin recipes in the fall around Halloween and Thanksgiving) seems much [...]]]>

About a week ago, I decided to try making my own pumpkin purée and then a pumpkin bread recipe.  When you live in China, keeping Western seasonal traditions alive (such as making pumpkin recipes in the fall around Halloween and Thanksgiving) seems much more important for some reason.

So first, I peeled a Chinese pumpkin, cut it into chunks, and roasted it in my toaster oven.  Then I mashed it up with a fork, and threw it in the blender for a few whirls to smooth it out. Then, I looked up a pumpkin bread recipe on Epicurious.com, and came up with this Walnut-Cranberry Pumpkin Loaf.

The resulting loaf turned out pretty good – very moist and dense, and pretty much everything pumpkin bread should be.  We enjoyed it, shared it with friends, and it was gone within a day.

But then, a few days later, I made these pumpkin muffins. I needed to use up the leftover pumpkin purée that I had in the fridge, and an easy quick-bread recipe was up on the Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen site.  Quick breads are awesome when you don’t have an electric beater – made with oil instead of butter, you can mix the whole thing up with a wooden spoon in next to no time. So I sort of blended this recipe and my own favorite banana bread recipe (which is amazing and I will tell you about it soon, promise).

The resulting pumpkin muffins?  Tender, fluffy and light, but still rich and moist.  So different from the pumpkin loaf I made earlier, but so, so good.

So the verdict is… dum dum dum…

The quick-bread recipe was faster, easier, and the muffins stayed moist longer.  I think it wins as my go-to recipe for something simple and fast.  The recipe also worked well for a muffin (light and fluffy), and we like the portability of muffins.

The cranberry pumpkin bread was good too, if you like a denser, more rustic loaf, but took a little more elbow grease (creaming butter and sugar together without an electric mixer).  This recipe is a little too dense for muffins, I think, but who’s to stop you from trying?

Quick-Bread Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from Tracy at Tasty Kitchen

1 ½ cup flour
pinch of salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup pumpkin
½ cup oil
2 eggs
¼ cup buttermilk
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 F or 175 C. In large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, eggs, buttermilk, sugars, salt and spices.

Measure out one cup of flour in a dry measuring cup, and level the top with a knife.  Dump this on top of the wet ingredients.  Then measure the remaining ½ cup flour, and mix the baking soda into the flour, right in the measuring cup.  Add this to the wet ingredients too.  Mix everything together until smooth.  (Look!  A one-bowl recipe!)

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour or until a wooden pick inserted into cake comes out clean. If you’re making muffins, you’ll probably just need to bake them for 20 to 25 minutes.  Check at the 15-minute mark, and continue checking every few minutes after that.  Don’t overbake them or they may be dry.

Pumpkin Cranberry-Walnut Bread
Adapted from Epicurious.com

I have adjusted the level of spices for this recipe, as most reviewers said the original recipe didn’t have enough flavor.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon, 1.5 tsp ginger, ¾ tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (or mix of brown and white sugars)
2 large eggs
1 generous cup baked fresh pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a loaf pan and line with parchment if you wish.

Mix dry ingredients – flour, spices, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.

Beat butter in a separate bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until pale yellow and incorporated. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.  Mix in pumpkin and vanilla.

Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Scrape batter into pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon white sugar.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely (this is why lining the pan with parchment paper is a good idea).

Yesterday, one year ago, Chris and I were married. It’s hard to believe that we have been married for a whole year!  And what a year – during which we traveled to Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, back to China for Chris [...]]]>

Yesterday, one year ago, Chris and I were married. It’s hard to believe that we have been married for a whole year!  And what a year – during which we traveled to Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, back to China for Chris to start work, then to Europe and the Middle East, and then back to China for us both to start working at the university.  We have certainly been globe-trotters this year – my thought is, we need to get it out of our system before babies come and tie us down!

One year ago, we had the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever been to, and began our great adventure as a married couple.  I still remember distinctly the sun shining warm and sweet on our special day (odd for October in Toronto), the flurry of creamy satin and jewelry and curling irons, and my honey watching me come down the aisle.  It was perfect.

What did we do to celebrate?  We spent a low-key day just hanging out, and had a home-cooked dinner at home, with candlelight and wine and steak, and just enjoyed each other’s company. And we had this apple cake.

I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen – one of my favorite food blogs.  I halved the recipe to fit in my little toaster oven, and it turned out wonderful.  A moist, flavorful coffee cake with soft chunks of cinnamon-y apple.  The flavour and moistness actually deepen as the cake sits, and it is actually better the next day.

Now I know that there seems to be a disproportionate amount of baked goods on this blog so far, as I LOVE baking!  But I promise I will post other savory recipes soon.  Find this apple cake recipe at Smitten Kitchen.

For those who want to bake it in a single loaf pan, like me, here are the ingredients I used (halved from the original with reduced sugar in the cake).

Cinnamon Apple Cake

3 apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice (I kept the original amount for this)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 F or 160 C.  Grease a loaf pan (and line with greased parchment paper, if desired).  Peel apples, cut into chunks.  Mix with cinnamon and sugar.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  In yet ANOTHER bowl, mix oil, OJ, sugar and vanilla.  Add wet ingredients to dry, add eggs, and stir it all together.

Pour half of batter into loaf pan – batter will be stiff, so spread it around a bit.  Dump half the apples on top, then add the rest of the batter.  The rest of the apples go on the top of the cake, and you may want to arrange them somewhat evenly.

Bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until toothpick comes out clean. If the apples are browning too fast, tent loosely with foil.

One of the cool things about living in China is that you are much more aware of the seasonal cycles of fruits and vegetables.  Other than a few staple vegetables that you can get throughout the year (cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and chilies), [...]]]>

One of the cool things about living in China is that you are much more aware of the seasonal cycles of fruits and vegetables.  Other than a few staple vegetables that you can get throughout the year (cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and chilies), everything else is only available seasonally.

It is quite a change from being able to go to a big supermarket back in Toronto, and get anything you want, anytime you want.  Of course, we follow the seasons in Canada too – but just not to the same extent (it would be impossible given that our growing season lasts about 4 weeks…just kidding…sort of).

Now, for instance, beautiful dark purple plums are in season in Xiamen, and are selling for less than a dollar a kilogram.  They are delicious just fresh – sweet and juicy – practically a drink in a fruit, but they are so plentiful that in honour of autumn I wanted to bake something with them.

When we were in Germany, Ilse, Chris’ aunt, had taught me how to make Zwetschen Kuchen, a plum cake made with a yeasted dough.  I was short on time, however, so instead of making the yeast cake, I turned to a simple buttermilk cake recipe from Gourmet.  I lined a cake pan with sliced plums, dumped the batter on top, and voilà!  A lovely upside-down plum cake was born!

The cake was a little bit like a tart, with its thick layer of plums, a bit like a pudding with the juicy plums soaking slightly into the eggy, buttermilky cake, and quite a bit like a delicious, fruity cake.  It was, I think, one of the sexiest cakes I’ve ever made.

And then we ate it.

Upside-Down Plum Cake
Buttermilk cake batter adapted from Gourmet

4-5 medium plums, thinly sliced
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ stick (or ¼ of our Chinese blocks) of butter, softened
¾ cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract

Grease an 8-inch cake pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

In another bowl, cream the butter and ¾ cup of sugar together, then add the vanilla extract and egg and whisk till smooth.  Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Stir until just combined.

Add an extra 2 tablespoons or so of extra butter at the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar.  Arrange the plum slices on top.  Scrape the buttermilk cake batter onto the plum slices and smooth.  Bake for around 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes, then carefully invert onto plate.  If any fruit sticks onto the cake pan, just stick it right back on to the cake (you might want to try lining the cake pan with a round of parchment paper to avoid this…that is what I might do next time).  Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Notes:  I like my plums pretty tart, but if you have rather unripe plums, or you like them sweeter, add some more sugar in the bottom of the pan before you lay the plums over it.  Also, you can make your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to half a cup of milk and waiting a few minutes until it gets thick and creamy.  Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for this tip.