Apple Nut Coffee Cake

Tags

apple, cake, coffee, dessert, nut, pecan

This past weekend was cold and drippy. Freezing rain and 4 inches of snow blanketed our ground and did not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. I comforted myself with a cup of coffee and a wedge of this delicious cake.

Apple Nut Coffee Cake (From Bunny’s Warm Oven)

Topping:

• 1 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Filling:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup unsalted  butter, chilled
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Zest of 1/2 a lemon

Batter:

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch round springform pan.

In a small bowl, combine the nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir well and set aside. Toss chopped pears in lemon juice and zest; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to mix well. Set aside.

In a small bowl, cut the cold butter into the flour with a fork until it makes a crumbly texture.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix again. Scrape the sides with a spatula as needed. With the mixer running slowly, add 1/2 of the flour. When it is just mixed in, add the sour cream. When the sour cream is incorporated, add the rest of the flour and mix until just blended. Spread 2/3 of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the batter with the flour/butter filling. Add the apple mixture. Top with remaining cake batter and spread it over the apples. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over it all.

Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean. Cool for 20 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Remove the ring from the cake and allow to cool completely. You can serve it warm, though it will be more crumbly if you do. Serves 8.

Coffee Toffee

Tags

candy, chocolate, Christmas, coffee, dessert, gluten free, hazelnuts, toffee

My Christmas specialty is usually chocolate covered caramels. But this toffee may have replaced the caramels as our new favorite Christmas candy. The coffee adds a special touch that pairs really well with the bitter chocolate.

Coffee Toffee (from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

• 8 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp molasses
• 1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium heavy sauce pan with a candy thermometer attatched, melt butter both sugars, molasses, salt, and espresso together over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a whisk, until the temperature approaches 250 degrees; then stir constantly until it reaches 300 degrees.

Pour immediately onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee, let them sit for a minute until soft, then spread the chocolate evenly over the candy base. Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped hazelnuts. Set the sheet aside on a cooling rack until set. Break the toffee into pieces and then store in an air tight container. Consider storing in the fridge if it gets sticky. Makes 1 1/2 lbs toffee.

The Best Chocolate Cheesecake EVER!

Tags

cheesecake, chocolate, coffee, dessert, Southern, Thanksgiving

Need a stunning dessert to wow everyone at your Thanksgiving dinner, even your mother-in-law? This is the recipe for you. Everyone loves this cheesecake, even people who swear they hate cheesecake. It ‘s tastiness has an amazing effect on people. I once worked with a lady who didn’t really like me much, no matter how hard I tried to be nice to her. I made one of these cheesecakes and she began being nicer to me. Every time we hit a bump in our work relationship, I would make a cheesecake and we would be back to happy tolerance of each other. Is this manipulation? Yes it is. It is proof just how influential food is on people and how tasty this cheesecake is.

The Best Chocolate Cheesecake EVER!

The Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

The Cake:

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature (No, the won’t spoil)
• 1/3 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

The Topping:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pecans to decorate

In a bowl, combine the crust ingredients, mixing well. Press into 9 inch springform pan. Set aside.

A couple of tips for a good cheesecake: 1) Don’t overwork it. Only mix as much as necessary, no more. 2) Use a water bath (a good video can be found here). 3) When you remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool, let it sit for 10 minutes. Then run a butter knife around the edge to break it free before the constriction for cooling creates a crack. Do you have any good tips to keep the top from cracking?

In a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add in eggs, one at a time, continuing to mix after each until just incorporated. Add in coffee and vanilla; mix well. Beat in cocoa powder until combined. With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips gently. Pour filling into crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until center is almost set. Remove from the oven; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees degrees. Combine the sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over warm cheesecake. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run butter knife around the edges to break it loose. Cool for at least an hour before refrigerating. Decorate with pecan halves as desired. I usually ring the edge with pecans and create a star 5 point star in the middle. Slice in thin slices as this is a very rich cheesecake. Serves 16 to 20.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Tags

beverage, coffee, fall, food, pumpkin, spice, syrup

Here is that fantastic syrup recipe that is the base of yesterday’s Pumpkin Spiced Vietnamese Iced Coffee. I haven’t yet come up with another use but I am sure there could be many. Any ideas? (I was actually surprised how pretty this photo turned out!)

Pumpkin Spice Syrup (thanks to Food + Words for this recipe)

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 whole cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 7 whole cloves
• 7 whole allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, allow the mixture to come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. When the syrup is cool, strain into a clean jar through a fine mesh sieve. Store in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 2 months.

Pumpkin Spiced Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Tags

beverage, coffee, drink, iced, pumpkin, spice, Vietnamese

I am usually a coffee purist; coffee should be strong and black, no cream or sugar. When I read this recipe by Food + Word, my curiosity was aroused. I have previously enjoyed Vietnamese coffee and do like the idea of pumpkin spice syrup. Plus, I know plenty of coffee freaks at work who would like this syrup if it turned out I did not. Sadly for them, I love it!

Pumpkin Spiced Vietnamese Iced Coffee (from Food + Word)

• 6 oz freshly brewed coffee, chilled
• 1 oz pumpkin spice syrup
• 4 oz whipping cream (for a lower calorie option, use half 1% milk and half of the cream)
• 1 oz sweetened condensed milk

Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour the chilled coffee, pumpkin spice syrup, cream and sweetened condensed milk into the glass, and stir well to combine.

Raspberry Cheesecake

Tags

cheesecake, coffee, dessert, New York style cheesecake, pastry, raspberry

I love the versatility of this cheesecake. You can use any topping to make it different. I prefer raspberry, though any fruit (chocolate, caramel and nuts maybe) would do. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my co-workers enjoyed eating it!

Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust:

• 15 graham crackers, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup raspberry jelly (I prefer Smucker’s Simply Fruit)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours to prevent cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.

Combine the fruit (defrosted if using frozen) with the jelly. Microwave it for 30 to 60 seconds. Spoon over top of cheesecake.

Rosemary Apricot Bars

Tags

apricot, bars, coffee, dessert, fall, farming, favorites, grandparents, home, nostalgia, tobacco

Today is a rainy, chilly fall day. It seems like every day I work, it is gorgeous outside; every day I am off, it rains. I have great luck! Haha… One thing today is good for- stripping tobacco. Damp but not drenched, cool but not freezing. And the weather seems like it is going to hang around.

For those who aren’t familiar with tobacco, it is grown to maturity, cut and then hung on sticks in a barn, where it dries into crispy, brown leaves. Because these leaves are so fragile, they have to be removed from the stalks when they are damp and more pliable or “in case”. The pliable leaves are then divided into types and pressed together into a bale that looks similar to a bale of straw. Many, many leaves go into each bale. Days like this remind me of home.

Another thing that reminds me of home things are apricots. My grandmother and I both love dried apricots. These bars showcase apricots and are well worth the effort. Every ingredient compliments each other splendidly. Thanks to Savory Simple for these delightful bars.

Rosemary Apricot Bars

For the rosemary dough:

• 12 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the apricot filling:

• 2 cups dried apricots
• 3/4 cups white wine
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (omit if using California dried apricots)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp brandy
• pinch of salt

For the crumb topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
• pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

Grease the inside of  a 8×8 inch pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides of the pan. To make the rosemary shortbread, cream the butter, powdered sugar and salt in a stand mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and rosemary, then lower the speed and gradually add the flour until the dough is smooth. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the shortbread for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden on top.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

Make the apricot filling by combining all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Simmer on low heat for 45 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed.  Allow to cool and then puree in a food processor until smooth.

Make the crumb topping by combining all ingredients in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until the mixture is just combined and crumbly.  Don’t over-mix, you want texture.

Spread the apricot paste evenly on top of the shortbread. Sprinkle on the topping evenly and gently press it into place.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the topping is brown.