Chocolate chip pound cakes

Before today’s recipe, I should warn you about something: I’m completely in love with these mini bundt pans, so get ready to see them around here quite a lot. Even a simple recipe like a butter cake gets a whole new dimension baked in such pretty pans. :D

The original recipe called for just a sprinkling of cocoa powder over the cakes, but I thought they deserved more: the chocolate glaze my mom used to pour over her delicious carrot cake. :)

Chocolate chip pound cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

250g unsalted butter, softened
250g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
250g all purpose flour, sifted
¼ cup (60ml) milk
¾ cup (116g) chopped dark chocolate

Chocolate glaze:
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF; lightly grease a 20cm (8in) round cake pan and line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.*

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 10-12 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and beat well to combine. Fold through the milk and chocolate.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the pan, then unmold into a serving plate.

For the glaze: mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over high medium until it boils and cocoa and sugar are dissolved.
Remove from heat and pour over the cake.

* I halved the recipe, used 1-cup (240ml) capacity mini bundt pans and got 4 cakes; I generously buttered the pans and unmolded the cakes right after taking them out of the oven

Serves 8

Pear crumble

Like my friend Tina wrote on another post, “Spring?” – the cloudy sky and continuous rain here in Sao Paulo look a lot more like fall.

To warm up these cold days, something delicious and easy: crumble. I used two different recipes from DH mag to create this pear version – one of the original recipes called for apples and looked wonderful, too.

Pear crumble
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

3 Packham pears, peeled, cored and chopped in 2cm pieces
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar*
juice of 1 lime
¼ cup (60ml) water
½ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping:
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (70g) unsalted butter, slightly cold

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Place the pears, sugar, lime juice, water, vanilla (seeds + bean) and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and mix to combine. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until pears are soft and liquid is syrupy. Remove from heat. Spoon the pear mixture into two 1 cup-capacity (240ml) ovenproof dishes.

Make the topping: place all the ingredients in a bowl and, using your fingertips, rub them together until mixture resemble breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the pear mixture and bake for 30 minutes or until golden.

* the pears I used were very ripe, that’s why I only used ¼ cup of sugar

Serves 2 (generously)

Butter pecan cookies

I got home from vacation with an urge to bake – will you think I’m a weirdo if I tell you I missed my Kitchen Aid? If you do, please don’t tell me. :D

Well, my pantry was pretty empty, so my options were limited – luckily I found a print from Martha’s website and some pecans in the fridge. The recipe didn’t call for eggs, which was great - I had none around.

I tried to find the recipe link, but all I got was this message. :(

Butter pecan cookies

¾ cup (83g) pecans
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (67g) caster sugar, plus more for coating
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; on a baking sheet, toast pecans until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate (so they do not continue to cook on the hot pan) and let cool completely; finely chop. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

With an electric mixer, cream butter 1/3 cup sugar until light, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla, salt, and flour, scraping down sides of bowl, just until dough comes together. Fold in pecans.
Roll leveled tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in the extra sugar. Place, 5cm (2in) apart, on prepared baking sheets.
Gently flatten with the bottom of a glass (reshape sides if necessary). Sprinkle with more sugar.
Bake until golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with more sugar. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes 22

Easy sausage bake

I believe that most of you reading me now like cooking and baking, just as I do. But we are all caught up in busy days and tight schedules, so finding time to spend in the kitchen is a difficult mission.

This dish is a great choice for a quick meal: it’s put together in a flash – you can chop the veggies while grilling the sausages and boiling the potatoes – and then leave it in the oven for half an hour or so, unattended.

Easy sausage bake
from this magazine

1 tablespoon olive oil
800g good-quality pork sausages
500g small new potatoes
2 large yellow peppers, sliced
2 red onions, peeled and sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, seeds removed, roughly chopped*
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful fresh basil, torn

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF; heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the sausages on all sides. Par-cook the potatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain.

Put the sausages and potatoes in a roasting pan, add the peppers, onions and tomatoes. Drizzle over the balsamic, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the sausages are cooked through – time may vary depending on the size of the sausages.
Just before serving, scatter over the fresh basil leaves.

* the recipe called for one 400g can chopped tomatoes

Serves 6

Midnight chocolate brownies

A few days ago someone gave me a hard ear pull, similar to the ones grandma Frida used to give me when I as a kid – my mom hated when she did that. :D

My friend Lola, the biggest chocoholic I have even known, is the one mad at me: she wants chocolate recipes and chocolate recipes only! :D
Lola, my dear, this post is especially for you – I hope you like it!

I’d love to hear my other readers’ opinions: which flavor do you like seeing here the most? I’m curious!

Midnight chocolate brownies
slightly changed from here

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter + extra for greasing the pan
225g (½ pound) dark chocolate, chopped – I used 70% cocoa solids
¾ cup (131g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon Cointreau
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
2 eggs
¼ cup (22g) best-quality cocoa powder
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan and line with aluminum foil, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) overhang. Butter the bottom and sides of the foil.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium metal/glass bowl set over simmering water until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and Cointreau, then the orange zest. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until completely blended and the mixture is shiny and smooth; the mixture will be thickened at this point.

Sift together the cocoa, flour and salt, then stir the flour mixture into the batter until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until puffed and almost set – mine needed only 25 minutes in the oven. Do not overbake. Cool while still in the pan, on a wire rack.

Lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil as a handle, and cut into squares. Remove carefully from foil.

Makes 16

Cinnamon sugar-coated maple apple cakes

Spring is my favorite season of the year – I’m a not a summery kind of girl – but the minute I saw (then tasted) these cakes it felt like fall: the moist touch of the apples and the caramely aftertaste from the maple syrup reminded me of the beautiful green/red/yellow trees I saw on my vacation. By the way, the photos are posted, in case you are curious. :D

I hope you like these as much as I did. And if you replace the maple syrup for, let’s say, honey, let me know how the cakes turn out.

UPDATE: one of my Brazilian readers made the recipe using molasses instead of maple syrup and loved it!

Cinnamon sugar-coated maple apple cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

2½ cups + 2 ½ tablespoons (375g) self-rising flour, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
250g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup (175g) packed brown sugar
½ cup (120ml) maple syrup
4 eggs
6 red apples, peeled and coarsely grated
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, extra
1 cup (200g) caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; butter really well twelve 1-cup (240ml) capacity mini bundt cake pans.

Place the flour and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs and apple and mix well to combine. Spoon into prepared pans.
Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Turn out immediately onto a rack – carefully because the cakes are really tender.
Place the extra cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Coat the cooled cakes – they are much too delicate while warm - in the sugar mixture.

Makes 12

Banana cake with passion fruit icing

As some of you already know, I spent part of my vacation with my lovely and dear friend Valentina. We visited beautiful places, ate delicious food and had a wonderful time together – I miss her already! :D
I’ll soon post the photos on Flickr.

Not only is Valentina an amazing and generous friend but also a very skilled cook and baker – Trembom was the first food blog I ever read and the inspiration for me to create TK.
One of her recipes + a couple of bananas going more freckled than yours truly turned out into these divine little cakes.

Banana cake with passion fruit icing

Cake:
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (125g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup + 1 ½ tablespoon - 150g – packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) self-rising flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup mashed ripe banana
½ cup (130g) plain yogurt
¼ cup (60ml) milk

Icing:
1 ¾ cups (245g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons passion fruit pulp, seeds included

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; butter and flour a 15x25cm loaf pan or a 20cm round cake pan.*

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg over the creamed butter and mix using a wooden spoon. Mix in the banana, yogurt and milk until combined, but do not overmix. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer (time may very if using 20cm round cake pan).
Remove from the oven and cool in the pan, on a rack, for 5 minutes. Unmold, transfer cake to rack and set aside to cool completely.

Make the icing: place all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water. Mix continuously until the icing is thick enough to be poured over the cake. Pour it over the cake immediately, as the icing sets quickly – you can cover the cake completely with the icing or only the top.

* I halved the recipe, used ½-cup (120ml) capacity mini loaf pans and got 7 little cakes

Serves 8-10

Back from vacation with white chocolate cherry cookies

Hello everyone!

I’m back after some wonderful days off and would like to thank you all for the lovely comments and emails – you are just too sweet!

I had loads of fun on my vacation, but must admit I missed blogging... Nothing better than cookies to get back to the kitchen. These are delicious - one of Nic’s great recipes.

White chocolate cherry cookies

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (116g) white chocolate chips or chunks
2/3 cup (97g) dried cherries (coarsely chopped, if cherries are very large)

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour mixture, followed by the white chocolate chips and dried cherries.
Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into 2.5cm (1in) balls* and place onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are just beginning to turn a light golden color around the edges. Cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet until cookies are completely set, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 2 dozen – I used 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 34