Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Here is one of my first attempts at using Splenda in baking!  I adapted this recipe from a version in Gourmet, which has buttermilk icing.  I would make cream cheese frosting for this or simply dust with a little powdered sugar before serving.


1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp
1 c Splenda granules - measures 1 for 1 when replacing sugar
1/4c sugar
1 Tbsp (dark) molasses
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/4c canned pumpkin (not quite an entire 15oz can)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp allspice
2 1/4c flour
3/4 c buttermilk - I use powdered Saco buttermilk and follow the directions for mixing up the needed amount
Optional: generous 1/2c diced candied ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease and flour a bundt pan; alternatively, use Pam for Baking which is the grease and flour in one, so much easier!

Cream the butter; add the Splenda and sugar, scraping down the sides while mixing well.  Add the molasses, vanilla and eggs; mix.  At this point it may look curdled, but fret not! It will all work out. Add the pumpkin, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice.  Combine well.  Add half the buttermilk, mix; add all the flour, mix; add the last of the buttermilk and combine.  Remove the beater(s) and using a rubber spatula, make sure you have gotten all the butter off the bottom and sides of the bowl.  Stir in the diced ginger by hand if adding.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan, smooth the top and bake 40-50min, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  From what I have read, baked goods cook faster when make with Splenda, so be diligent.

I think this would be lovely with some chopped pecans added to the batter, or grated orange zest, possibly even some butterscotch chips...

Sour Cream Blueberry Cake

   So moist and tender!  The farmers' market is brimming with fresh blueberries this time of year, but this can easily be made with frozen blueberries.  Substitute raspberries or blackberries, or do a mix of all three - Triple Berry Sour Cream Cake.  I would not use strawberries as they can be watery.  This is a great do-ahead breakfast that allows overnight guests to serve themselves.

2 sticks butter, room temp
3 cups sugar
6 egg yolks
4 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or in combination

Turn oven on to 350. Liberally grease ( I use Pam for Baking) a 10 cup bundt pan or tube pan.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter.  Add the sugar, scraping down the sides.  Add the egg yolks one at a time, scraping down the sides.  In a bowl, combine the sour cream, vanilla and baking soda.  Add the sour cream mixture alternating with the flour mixture: flour, cream, flour, cream, flour.  The batter will be heavy and slightly grainy looking.  By hand, fold in the beaten egg whites in two additions.  The batter will be shiny and much lighter.  Gently fold in the berries.  Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  The top will get a "puffed crust" that is sooo hard not to nibble off while the cake cools.  Allow to cool in pan for an hour, then invert onto a wire rack to finish cooling.  Depending on how big you slice it, you can get up to 24 pieces.  My family gets about 16!

Sweet Corn Pancakes

These are a great way to use up any corn off the cob you might have leftover after making Corn, Poblano and Potato Chowder :)  This easily made 10 pancakes and you can see I served it with lots of maple syrup and little pats of butter between the cakes.   Read below how to use these as a savory dish for entertaining.

2 Tbsp butter
1 cup corn kernels
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the corn until it just starts to brown.  Scrape into a bowl and stir to combine with the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and sugar.  Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda.  Stir just to combine.  If it seems too loose, add 2 Tbsp flour and stir to incorporate.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat or on a greased griddle, use a 1/4c measuring cup to ladle out the batter.  Cook until the surface gets little bubbles and the edges brown.  Flip and cook just until the bottom browns.  Serve immediately with lots of syrup OR melt butter on each cake and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Yum!

You can also use these in a savory fashion.  Omit the sugar and vanilla extract, and add minced green onion to the batter.  Dollop the batter in the pan to create mini cakes that you can top with Mexican cheese blend, black bean salsa, sour cream, chorizo or anything else that goes well with corn, like smoked salmon and creme fraiche.

Mozzarella Salad

This makes a great side for any grilled meat, or on top warm crusty grilled bread pieces.

1 pt cherry tomatoes
1/2# small mozzarella balls
10-12 large basil leaves
1 garlic clove
2 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias
Kosher salt and pepper
2 -3 Tbsp. olive oil

Over a large bowl, microplane the garlic and add the green onions.  Stack the basil leaves on top of each other and roll up cigar like.  Slice the basil into thin ribbons and add to the bowl.  Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and mozzarella if needed.  Add to the bowl.  Sprinkle with several pinches of salt and grind some pepper.  The salt will draw liquid out of the tomatoes as it sits, diluting the salty flavor, so use a little more salt than you think you need.  Add several swirls of olive oil and toss everything together.  Allow to sit for 30 min or so before serving so the the tomatoes release some of their juices.   Delicious on its own, and super tasty on warm bread - either grilled or done crostini style in the oven.

Overnight French Toast

A great way to use up a day or two old baguette! You can easily add different spices, mini chocolate chips or berries.

For the custard:
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar - white or brown
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp rum or vanilla extract

1 loaf day old baguette or ciabatta cut into 1/2" slices
2 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces, plus additional for the pan

Whisk the custard ingredients together thoroughly.  Butter a glass pan that will fit all the bread slices.  Arrange the slices slightly overlapping on an angle.  Pour the custard over the slices, pressing the bread down so it can absorb the custard.  If the bread absorbs all the custard before you get it to the fridge, or your pan is so large that the bread isn't mostly covered by the custard, mix up another half batch of custard and pour over the top.  Arrange the small pieces of butter on the top, nestling between the slices.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

In the morning, remove the plastic wrap, place the dish in the oven and turn on to 350.  Let the glass heat up with the oven so you don't go from the cold of the fridge to the hot oven and stress the pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until custard is set.  Remove and let sit for a few minutes before serving with hot syrup, berry sauce and fresh whipped cream.

Options:
-spread the slices of bread with a thin layer of Nutella or peanut butter
-sprinkle chocolate chips in between the bread slices
-cook chopped bananas in butter and brown sugar to make a caramel sauce and serve over the french toast
-sprinkle chopped pecans or almonds over the top
-sprinkle fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries between the bread slices
-mix cream cheese with sugar and lemon zest; spread a thin layer on the bread slices
-zest an orange into the custard and whisk to combine

Goat Cheese Stuffed Baguette

This looks so pretty sliced and arranged on a platter.  You can mix up the herbs in the filling to go with whatever else you are serving.  I tried two types of filling - a goat cheese vs. a ricotta cheese filling.  I like the taste of the goat cheese and the fluffiness of the ricotta filling.  Make both of you can't decide!

I made these the night before my fiesta, and the bread wasn't soggy the next day.

1 baguette - cut the ends off, then cut in half.  Use a serrated knife to carefully cut out the squishy center, leaving a thin layer attached to the crust.  I cut from both ends, pulled out what bread I could reach, then used a chopstick to push out what I couldn't get to.

Goat Cheese filling:  This amount only filled one half of the baguette, so double it if you aren't making another filling for the other half
4 oz goat cheese, room temp.
4 oz cream, room temp.
assorted chopped herbs - I used basil and parsley, a large handful of each
2-3 green onions, both white and green parts finely minced
1-2 Tbsp. milk or other dairy liquid for thinning
salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in bowl and mash together with a fork.  Add very small amounts of the dairy liquid at a time - just enough to help the ingredients combine.  I used an off set icing spatula to get the filling as far in the baguette as possible, again going from both ends.  Another idea would be to put the cheese mixture into a pastry bag/ziplock bag, cut a largish piece off the corner and fill the bread that way.  Once filled, wrap the bread in plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Use a very sharp serrated knife to slice the bread so filling doesn't squish out and the bread isn't mangled.

Ricotta Cheese filling: This amount only filled one half of the baguette, so double it if you aren't making another filling for the other half
1/2 cup FF ricotta cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
assorted chopped herbs - I used basil and parsley, a large handful of each
Possibly some dairy liquid, depending on how moist the ricotta is
salt and pepper

Follow directions above under goat cheese filling.  Only use dairy liquid if the mixture is difficult to combine.  You don't want to end up with soggy bread.

Other filling ideas:
Rosemary and raisin
Basil, diced pepperoni or salami and Parmesan cheese
Blue cheese and chive  - would go great with buffalo wings!
Caramelized onions and thyme
Kalamata olive and feta cheese with oregano or marjoram

Comment with your filling ideas!  If you don't want to make it, I will and report back to you ;)

Turtle Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

This is sooo not a Dukan diet recipe.  I made this for a Syracuse basketball game day fiesta and it was incredible.  Many asked if it was a brownie base.  The caramel sauce is the clincher!

For the bread pudding:
1 loaf of ciabatta or other crusty bread
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 cups milk
12oz dark chocolate, chopped into small bits if using a bar - I used Hershey's Special Dark morsels
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
butter, for greasing the pan

For the caramel sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

The night before, cut the bread into slices, then into 6-8 cubes per slice.  I like large, thick cubes.  Spread out on a cookie sheet and dry overnight.  When ready to assemble the dish:  heat the milk in a large saucepan until bubbles form on the sides.  Turn off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring to melt and combine.    In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together.  While whisking, ladle in a scoop of the hot chocolate milk; whisk to combine and ladle in another scoop, again whisking to combine. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and whisk all together.

Grease a 9x13 glass pan with butter.  Spread the bread cubes out as evenly as possible and scatter with the toasted chopped pecans.  Carefully pour the chocolate egg mixture over the cubes.  Take a large piece of wax paper and use that to gently press down on the bread helping it absorb the milk.  Allow to sit for an hour or two to fully absorb the liquid.    Bake at 350 for 45min - 1 hour, until top is dry and a knife inserted comes out clean.  While cooling, make the sauce.

For the caramel, combine the sugar and water in a clean saucepan and heat over high. Continue heating without stirring until the mixture turn a dark amber brown - about 5-6 minutes.  Pull pan off the heat and add the cream - careful! It might bubble.  Return to a low flame and stir until fully combined.  Remove from heat and whisk in the butter.  Serve warm sauce over the warm pudding.