Orange-Banana-Walnut Coffee Cake

This is my adaptation of a banana bread my daughter made recently. Hers was only bananas, and she felt it was too dry, but I loved it! So, naturally, I made a couple substitutions and some additions. Preheat your oven to 350° Spray an 8"-9" square glass pan with oil. Hers was baked in little loaf pans, but my pans are too big for that, so -baked in a square (or round) pan- It's A Coffee Cake!

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk these together:

1-1/3c all purpose flour

2/3c corn flour

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

1T cinnamon

2T ground chia and flax seeds

In a large mixing bowl, mash and whisk together these ingredients:

2 lg. pasture-raised eggs
4oz. avocado oil
1T Mexican vanilla
1c brown sugar
1/2c golden raisins
3 lg. ripe bananas
1c chopped walnuts
zest of 1 lg. orange

Add the dry ingredients to the big bowl, about half at a time. Combine just until everything is mixed together with no dry patches. Pour this into the prepared pan, top with cinnamon sugar.

Bake until it passes the toothpick test, about 50 minutes. Cool completely before loosening the edges and cutting into squares. This turned out great! Nice for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. . .Lin

Carrot Fruit Cake-Bread

2 big carrots - finely chopped

1c chopped frozen pineapple 

1 mashed banana

1"cube fresh ginger - minced

1 whole mandarin orange - zest and chop

1/2c coconut sugar

1/2c brown sugar

3 lg. eggs

3/4c light olive oil

3/4c sunflower kernels

- - walnuts or pecans would be better

1/2c plain Greek yogurt

1T white balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350° Chop, zest, mash and combine everything above, in a medium glass bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the following dry ingredients:

1T cinnamon

1/2T baking soda

1/2T baking powder

2T ground chia + flax

1t salt

1c corn flour

2-1/2c all purpose flour

Pour the bowl of well combined wet ingredients into the flour bowl. Working quickly with a big silicone spatula, fold and combine these into a heavy batter. Today I transferred this to a buttered and sugared 8"x12"x2" glass baking pan to make a snack-coffee cake. This would have also made wonderful  muffins! Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. If making muffins, cut the baking time way down, start with 20 minutes then do the toothpick test. Let the cake cool an hour before cutting.

My daughter was here while this was cooling. She suggested a cream cheese drizzle to accentuate the flavors. I didn't have cream cheese, so instead made this butter-cinnamon-vanilla glaze:

3T melted butter

1t Mexican vanilla

1c powdered sugar

1t cinnamon

2T heavy cream

Mix these together until smooth in a small bowl. Pour and spread over the top. 

Have fun with your creative combinations. . .Lin

Lemon Plum Cake

3 finely chopped plums

½ grated frozen lemon *

2T white or brown sugar

1t cornstarch ~

1½c unbleached flour

2t pumpkin pie spice

½t baking soda

¼t salt

½c (1 stick) butter -

- at room temperature

¼c melted coconut oil

½c organic white sugar

½c dark brown sugar

½ grated frozen lemon

½c plain Greek yogurt

3 lg. eggs

Put first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer and cook on low, 7-12 minutes.  It should be starting to sauce-up and thicken.  If it isn't, ~ add cornstarch and bring to a bubble again.  Take off the heat and cool slightly.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  In a medium bowl, beat the next ingredients together until smooth and fluffy.  Slowly add the dry ingredients, whisking or beating until incorporated.

Pour into a greased 9" glass baking pan.  Drop spoonfuls of the plum mixture on top - OR - pour half the batter into the pan.  Combine the remaining batter with the fruit, then pour over the plain better.  Use a kitchen knife to marble the layers a bit.  I kept them separate and the fruit sank to the bottom during baking.  Sprinkle the top of the cake with cinnamon sugar or plain, coarse, turbinado sugar.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. . .Lin

Coffee Pound Cake

Many, MANY years ago, I was 21, newly married and a brand-new resident of north central Wisconsin with my husband, my daughter, who was a year old, and pregnant with my son.  We had just relocated from the Chicago suburbs.  This was about the time I started to really love cooking and baking.  It was a long slow process, but that's when and where it all began.  The little family-owned grocery store where I shopped, Reeve's Foodlane, often had big, free (very important when you're $truggling) recipe cards from Roundy's that were fascinating to me.  There was a ground beef, rice and green bean casserole that my little family particularly loved.  I might still have that somewhere!

After one shopping trip, I was making breakfast and noticed, inside the yellow styrofoam egg carton, a recipe for Golden Pound Cake.  My artistic daughter, later sort of carved-drew a smiley face in the corner of the recipe, which is still visible on the yellow styrofoam.  This has been my basic go-to for a recipe idea when I want a pound-cake-type dessert.  I've made both subtle and huge changes to it over the years, depending on the desired results.

Today I had Key Lime Pound Cake on my mind, so I put the old yellow styrofoam recipe 'card' on the counter.  Meanwhile, I had my Community Bible Study this morning, then ran some errands in town.  Once I got home, it was clean-the-kitchen-time before baking and cooking.  I put my French coffee press aside, but kept looking at it.  Then it occurred to me. . .not lime pound cake. . .Coffee Pound Cake!  So, my modification of the recipe for today changed 1c of milk to 1/2c VERY strong coffee and 1/2c half & half.  I had some really good vanilla, but the 2t of lemon juice was replaced by a little more coffee.  I also added the cinnamon and cardamom.  Instead of just white sugar, I used 1c light brown and the rest pure organic cane sugar.  I'm also trying a new technique. . .Instead of buttering and flouring the bundt pan, I buttered and sugared it!  I've been told that adds an interesting little crispy brownness to the edges.  Okay, enough talk, time to bake!!

2 sticks butter

1c light brown sugar

1-1/2c white sugar

4 eggs

2t pure vanilla

1/2c very strong coffee

1/2c half and half

3c unbleached-organic flour

1t baking powder

1/2t Himalayan pink salt

1T organic cinnamon

1/2t cardamom 

Preheat your oven to 300° and adjust the oven racks so the top one is in the middle of the oven.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the first 5 ingredients together.  In a medium size bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients to blend.  Alternating between the dry and the liquids, add these to the large bowl.  Beat until all is blended well.  The batter will be very thick.  Spoon into the buttered and sugared bundt pan.  This cake bakes long and slow.  The original recipe says 1-1/2 hours.  Check toward the end to see how it's doing.  Continue to bake until the cake is lightly browned on edges and the top is firm.  Check with a toothpick.  Place pan on cooling rack.  Let stand until pan can be touched and is barely warm.  Turn the cake out from the pan onto a cake plate.  Serve as is or drizzle with a cream cheese or coffee glaze. . .Lin  

Plum-Spice Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2c Bisquick Baking Mix

1t baking soda

1T cinnamon

1t nutmeg

1c quick cooking oats

2 jumbo eggs

1 stick butter - melted

1-1/3c light brown sugar

10oz. sour cream

10oz. plum preserves

1/2c Bisquick

1/2c coarse natural sugar

4T butter

1t cinnamon

1t nutmeg

I'm not intuitive in regard to baking.  I am with cooking, which to me is more of an art.  Baking is a science, and it sort of scares me.  Today I had three ingredients in mind.  Oatmeal, Bisquick and plum preserves.  I thought that sounded like a great start for a coffee cake.  So I searched with Google on those ingredients and didn't come up with much.  I finally used ideas from several basic recipes in creating my own here.

In a medium bowl, combine the first five ingredients.  Crack in the eggs.  In a small pan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar, stirring well.  Add this to the bowl, along with the sour cream and stir well with a wooden spoon.

Spoon about 1/4 of the batter into a small bowl and combine with the plum preserves.  Spread 1/2 of the remaining batter into a well buttered 9x13" glass pan.  Spoon the plum mixture on top and spread.

Add remaining batter and spread it over the other two layers.  In another small bowl, combine the last five ingredients for the crumble topping.  Cut with a pastry cutter or two knives until the butter is small pea size.  Sprinkle this over the coffee cake.  Bake in preheated 350° oven for about 50 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting into squares. . .Lin

Fruit and Nut Cake

3 eggs whisked

1c light cooking oil

1½c sugar, white or brown

1 orange – zest and juice

½c orange juice, fruit juice or water

1-2t pure vanilla

½c buttermilk, milk or half & half

1½c assorted dried fruit, chopped

today I used craisins, raisins, cherries

1-1½c assorted nuts, chopped

today I used hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts

Combine all the above and let stand an hour or so to rehydrate the fruit. In a smaller bowl, stir together:

3c flour

1t each: salt and baking soda

½t baking powder

3t ground cinnamon

After an hour or so, add the dry mixture to the large bowl containing the fruit, nuts, eggs, etc. Stir together well with a big wooden spoon. Pour into a greased 9x13” glass pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes testing for doneness with a toothpick. Let cool. Serve as is, with vanilla ice cream or drizzle with a mix of:

½c powdered sugar

1t pure vanilla

2±t half & half

If there are leftovers, this cake freezes well. . .Lin

Cloning - Of The Fruit Cocktail Cake

I had company this weekend and when the dust settled this morning, this is what was left of the original 9x13” Fruit Cocktail Cake. I could put it out for the birds/squirrels, save it for later, throw it away. . .no. . .Never mind that it's 81° with 58% humidity in my house – and I hate heat this weather – I wasn't really ready to be done with this cake. So, I rework all this and baked another one – which works nicely since I have another wave of company coming tomorrow. :o) I tried this a while ago with cornbread and if I remember right, liked it both ways.

Cube remaining original cake and set aside – this yielded 1-1½c.

In a little pan, combine the following:

2/3c brown sugar

½t cardamom

1-2c fresh fruit – finely chopped
¼c water

Bring to a boil then simmer 5 minutes. This should have the consistency of chunky applesauce. Cool to room temperature. Transfer to a plastic mixing bowl and add:

1 lg egg

1t real vanilla

Stir together fruit and egg mixtures until well blended. Stir together the next 3 dry ingredients then add to the fruit mixture, along with the cubed cake pieces, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition:

1c flour

½t baking soda

a pinch of salt

When blended, pour into a buttered-floured 8” or 9” square glass baking pan and let stand while preheating oven to 325°. Top with chopped pecans and some coarse raw sugar. Bake for ±20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. It's great! Sometimes the redux is better than the original.
Happy cloning! . . . Lin

Fruit Cocktail* Cake

1½c sugar–brown and/or white

2 lg eggs

1t good quality vanilla

½c± craisins or raisins

1 14-16oz. can fruit cocktail* and juice

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and eggs a few minutes on medium speed. Add the craisins and fruit cocktail* (you could substitute a can of crushed pineapple, apricots, peaches or pears) a little at a time alternating with dry ingredients which have been stirred together in a smaller bowl:

2¼c flour

1t-1T cardamom

1½t baking soda

½t salt

Add the dry ingredients, a little at a time, alternately with the canned fruit and juice. When all is combined in the large bowl, beat at medium for several minutes. Pour into a greased-floured 9x13” glass pan.

Top with chopped pecans and sprinkle some coarse, raw sugar over the cake for texture, before baking in a preheated 350° oven 20-25 minutes, or until the top holds its shape when touched, edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in a couple test spots.

This can be served as is, with a sauce, or a powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and cream glaze. Shown here is a topping made by combining: ½c sour cream, a ½t of vanilla and a tablespoon or so of real Maple syrup. 

This recipe is not an original of mine, but I've had lots of fun altering it over the years :o)