Any Day All-Occasion Apple Snack Cake (Flo Braker)

Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions

I love snack cakes as much as I love Downton Abbey. I'm a bit late to the party and have been watching marathons of the first season. Oh, that Thomas...you are vile. And Bates and Anna? So perfect...if it weren't for that crazy pesky wife. Anyway, Miss Patmore might not make this, but you can make a quick cake any morning.

This recipe is from Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions - pick up the book, it is filled with lots of yummy recipes.

This cake uses oil and no butter, even for the topping. Mix most of the dry ingredients together with oil and then pull out some of it. Add nuts (I used chopped walnuts from Trader Joe's) and some cinnamon to finish off the topping.

In the headnote, Flo says you can add a cup of fruit or veggies to the mix...it's very versatile. I shredded an apple (skin on).

Any Day All-Occasion Apple Snack Cake
(adapted from Flo Braker’s Baking For All Occasions)

2 1/3 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur all-purpose unbleached flour)
3⁄4 cup sugar (150 grams)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon - divided (I used Penzy's cinnamon)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (200 grams)
3⁄4 cup vegetable oil (I used Wesson's canola oil)
(I added 1 cup shredded apple with skin on)
1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts (I used Trader Joe's Walnut baking pieces)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep a 9 x 13 pan.
You don't need a KitchenAid mixer...just a couple bowls and a whisk.

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and 1⁄2 tsp cinnamon into a large bowl.
2. Mix in the brown sugar with a whisk.
3. Stir in the oil. (By this point, my batter was a little dry and in crumbles - this worked out fine).
4. Crumb topping: Remove enough of the flour mixture to measure 3⁄4 cup loosely packed. Add the remaining 1 tsp cinnamon and blend well with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Set aside.
5. To finish the cake batter, stir in the baking powder and baking soda. Add the buttermilk and egg and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
6. Stir in your added fruit or veggies (if adding). I added one shredded skin-on apple.
7. Pour the batter into pan, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter.
8. Bake for about 35 mins until toothpick comes out clean.
9. The instructions say to depan the cake after 10-15 minutes and let cool completely. However, I just left it in the pan to cool off.

Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake - Day #18 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake

I Like Big Bundts - Day #18

Hellllloooo! Today's Day #18 of my third I Like Big Bundts - 30 days of Bundt cakes!

Martha Stewart has a baking show on Hallmark Channel and she made this monster bundt cake - The Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake! It has two big layers of streusel and a moist cake.

 

All these bundts are leading up to National Bundt Day! Submission info can be found here. Bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th! Then submit a photo or blog post by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a 1 1/4" button for baking along with me!


This makes hella streusel with pecans. In fact, when I make this again, I might make 1/2 the streusel and put only one layer of streusel in the middle. Because this has a layer on the "top" (in the pan) that becomes the "bottom" when inverted, it was a little different than other layered bundts (such as Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt).


Topped with powdered sugar and milk glaze, this cake is perfect for Sunday brunch, Monday breakfast, Tuesday lunch, and Wednesday tea time. :) - mary the food librarian

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt
Day #17: Lemon Bundt Cake

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Ultimate Streusel Cake

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan

Cherry Orange Muffins

Cherry Orange Muffins

Cherry season has a special place in my heart. I remember going cherry picking with my brother when we were kids. I don't remember picking any cherries (I think the grown ups were on the ladders) but I remember eating mounds of them. They are also one of the first summer fruits to arrive at my farmer's market...thereby signaling the start of my favorite stone fruit season.

I don't bake with cherries much...I'm too busy eating them raw! :) I prefer the hard, dark cherries over the rainier cherries. Sorry if I have some typos in the post...I'm busy eating cherries while typing!

I adapted a blueberry muffin with streusel. I think if you scatter some streusel on top of a shoe, it would be tasty. Forget pixie dust, Tinkerbell should sprinkle streusel on everything. That'll bring world peace - for sures.

One cup of pitted and quartered cherries along with the zest of one Golden Nuggest mandarin tangerine.

Bring these into a meeting and you won't have to take minutes. Guaranteed.

Here's a photo of Cidney the Girl Dog. She had absolutely nothing to do with the making of these cupcakes. I keep trying to teach her how to do the dishes, vacuum and laundry, but she mumbles something about "my lack of thumbs." Whatever. Anyway, she's in this blog post because she's cute. And that's always a good thing to read about, no?

Stop yourself from eating a cup of cherries and make these muffins!

Recipe:
Printable recipe here

Cherry Orange Muffins

Adapted from "Blueberry Muffins" from the beautiful Sarabeth's Bakery book

Streusel (page 62 of her lovely book)
6 T all-purpose flour
1 T superfine sugar
1 T light brown sugar
1/8 t ground cinnamon
2 1/2 T unsalted butter, melted
1/4 t vanilla extract

Mix together in a small bowl until crumbly. Set aside until ready to use.

Adapted from the Blueberry Crumb Muffins - makes 12 cherry muffins

1 large orange (I used a golden nugget mandarin)
2/3 cup corn oil (I used a light olive oil)
1/2 cup plus 1 T whole milk
2 large eggs, room tep
2 1/4 c bread flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t fine sea salt (I used kosher salt)
1 cup cherries, pitted and quartered (the blueberry recipes calls for 1 C fresh or frozen blueberries)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. I used paper liners in 12 muffin cups
2. Zest the orange. Set aside zest.
3. Juice the orange to get 1/3 cup juice.
4. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt).
5. Whisk together the wet ingredients in a medium bowl (oil, milk, OJ, zest, eggs).
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Don't overmix.
7. Fold in cherries.
8. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle with streusel.
9. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temp to 375 and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean - 15 more minutes or so.
10. Cool in pan for a few minutes then remove to cool completely. Enjoy!

Sarabeth says you can also use raspberries (fresh or frozen) in this recipe. So adaptable! You should put her lovely cookbook on your wish list!