Recipe #24: Zesty Raspberry Loaf

I'm back! After an insanely long departure, I'm trying to get back into the baking groove... So with no further ado!

Ingredients

*2 cups all purpose flour

*1 1/2 tsp baking powder

*1/2 tsp salt

*3/4 cup sugar

*1 egg

*1 1/2 tsp vanilla

*3 tbsp vegetable oil

*1 tbsp orange zest (or lime or lemon)

*3/4 cup milk

*1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease 8x4 loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, powder and salt.

3. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, egg, vanilla, oil and orange zest until smooth. Mix in half of the flour mixture into the large bowl, and mix in all the milk. Then add the second half of the dry mixture until just combined.

4. Mix in raspberries and pour batter into pan. Bake for about an hour, or until a tester comes out clean.

Voila! I will try not to let my baking lapse for so long again!

Recipe #23: Plum Torte

So if you haven't noticed, I love any dessert that is served warm with ice cream on top. I saw this lovely dessert on @rachtotheizzo's twitter, and I just had to try it out. She sweet enough to e-mail me the recipe, and I whipped it up the next day. I still have some in the freezer for when I'm having a sweet-tooth emergency.

This recipe is super simple, but the Italian plums are really only around in the fall. Luckily, I bought a bunch of extras and froze those too. This recipe is so easy, I know I'll be able to whip it up for a quick treat.

Ingredients

*1/2 cup butter, softened

*3/4 cup sugar

*1 cup all purpose flour

*1 teaspoon baking powder

*2 eggs, beaten

*12 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted

*Cinnamon for sprinkling

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x9 baking pan.

2. Cream butter and sugar together, then mix in flour and baking powder. Slowly add eggs until smooth.

3. Pour mixture into pan, and top with plum halves, skin side up. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, lightly. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or frozen yogurt!

Recipe #22: Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Mmm... Made these last night, and they perfect for breakfast. Warm and tasty, but not too sweet!

I made changes, as usual. I doubled the cinnamon, used butter instead of canola oil, and added a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top!

Ingredients

*2 cups all-purpose flour

*1/2 cup brown sugar

*2 teaspoons baking powder

*2 teaspoons cinnamon

*1 egg

*1/4 cup butter, melted

*3/4 cup apple juice (room temperature)

*2 spartan apples, peeled, cored and finely diced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, and lightly grease bottoms of 12 muffin cups (or use liners).

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Combine all liquid ingredients (butter, egg and apple juice) in a smaller bowl. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined. Add chopped apples.

3. Spoon mix into muffin cups. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top (optional). Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm!

Recipe #21: Raspberry Peach Crumble

Sorry about the delay on uploading. I just haven't been baking as much lately. I really need to stock up on some supplies though, so it might be another couple weeks before I bake again. Although next ingredient choice: pumpkin! Let's keep it seasonal! So keep an eye out on that!

Anyways, Mike's mom came to visit us a couple weeks ago, so I came home, rushed about, and threw together this great, delicious crumble. Crumbles are a stand-by for me in any baking pinch. Cut up fruit, throw crumble on top, bake! Perfect! Also, it was the best way to use that end-of-summer fruit. Brilliant thing is that you can go to the store any time of year and pick up the same fruit in the frozen aisle!

Just a note for the crumble part: The proportions are completely optional. The original recipe didn't have any flour, but I like to use it. The original recipe also called for 1/2 cup of butter, but I thought that was far too much. Usually I don't put vanilla in, etc. etc. Play around with it until you find the right proportions for you.

Ingredients

Fruit Mixture

*1 pint fresh raspberries

*3 fresh peaches, pitted and chopped

*1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

*1/4 cup white sugar

*pinch of cinnamon

Crumble Topping

*1 cup rolled oats

*1/4-1/3 cup all-purpose flour

*1/3 cup butter, cooled and chopped

*1/4 cup brown suagr

*1/4 cup white sugar

*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*pinch of cinnamon (although I'm more partial to about a teaspoon)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, and lightly grease your baking pan (6 little ramekins, a loaf pan, a square pan... whatever you've got!)

2. In a bowl, mix together raspberries, peaches, lemon juice, first 1/4 cup white sugar, and pinch of cinnamon

3. Mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and butter in another bowl with your hands, until it has a sort of meal-like texture.

4. Pour fruit mixture into baking pan, then sprinkle crumble topping over fruit evenly.

5. Bake in oven for 35 minutes if you like your crumble more moist, or 50 minutes if you like it to be a bit more cohesive. Serve in small bowls with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt on top!

Recipe #20: Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

So Sunday afternoon was really more like a rainy March afternoon than an August one. Suddenly I knew what would cheer me up. A steaming cup of my favourite tea (Earl Grey, with milk and sugar)... and oatmeal raisin cookies. It just had to be!

Found a classic recipe, subbed in whole wheat flour for all-purpose, and came out with these really delightful cookies. I only made a half batch though.

Ingredients

*3/4 cup butter, softened

*3/4 cup white sugar

*3/4 cup brown sugar

*2 eggs

*1 teaspoon vanilla

*1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

*1 teaspoon baking soda

*3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

*2 3/4 cups rolled oats

*1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy.

3. Stir together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gradually add this to the butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins.

4. Drop cookie dough my teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove cookies onto wire rack.

Recipe #19: Raspberry & Blackberry muffins

These lovely muffins have been my breakfast all week. I have really enjoyed them, although I would imagine them to be even better warmed up with some melted butter on them. Mmm...

I made these relatively healthy, with whole wheat flour, and only 3 tablespoons sugar. They get their sweetness from the berries inside. Unfortunately, I think the whole wheat flour dried them out a little, so I think I might do all purpose, or a half and half mix next time. And maybe another teaspoons of baking powder for a little more air.

Oh, but small victory! This was the first time I made muffins without paper liners, and it was a great success. I was quite pleased.

Ingredients

*1 large egg, beaten

*1 cup milk

*1/2 cup butter, melted

*2 1/2 cups of flour

*6 tablespoons sugar

*2 teaspoons of baking powder

*1 cup raspberries

*12 large blackberries

Directions

1. Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix together the beaten egg, milk and melted butter. Gradually add this liquid mixture to the dry mix. Add raspberries to the mixture.

2. Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins. Place one blackberry on top of each muffin.

3. Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Recipe #18: Raspberry Crumb Cake

This cake should have it's picture beside the word "heaven" in the dictionary. It is that good, absolutely.

It is easy, delicious, and simple to make healthier (although the real deal ingredients always taste better, imo). I used 0% fat greek yogurt (instead of the full-fat that the original recipe called for), although it really just seems like sour cream, so I think I might try sour cream next time. I used to frozen rasperries with great success, with a few extra thrown in. No such thing as too many raspberries! And lastly, I had to increase the flour in the crumble considerably - if I had followed the directions, it would have just been a thick paste on top, not a crumble at all.

While I have a lot of notes and tweaks, it really is easy, and is now one of my favourite dessert recipes.

Ingredients (grams this time round - easy to convert online)

Cake

*125 g unsalted butter , room temperature

*275 g caster sugar (next time I'll bump this down)

*2 eggs

*150 g greek yogurt

*200 g all purpose flour

*2 teaspoons baking powder

*200 g raspberries (one container)

*zest of one lemon

Crumble Topping

*100 g butter, chilled and chopped

*100 g brown sugar

*1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

*1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a medium-sized springform cake tin.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale yellow and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and yogurt a little at a time, until well combined.

3. Stir in the flour and baking powder, then fold in the raspberries and grave the zest of your lemon into the mix. Spoon into baking pan.

4. Making the crumble, blend all ingredients until it resembles a course meal. Sprinkle crumbs overtop the cake mix in the pan.

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a golden colour on top. You can also test with a handy toothpick. If it comes out clean, it's good to go!