Category Archives: Cake

Cherry Coconut Bars – Secret Recipe Club

Posted on by
30

This is my first month as a member of the Secret Recipe Club and my assignment was to recreate any post from the blog, Meet the Swans.  (Every month it will change)

Upon first glance I thought it would be quite tricky as Krista, the blogger, is quite the baker and I, well not so much.  Yes, there is something very romantic about being a great baker.  One who always shows up to the new neighbors house with a bundt cake, or to a social gathering with some sweet confection.  But to me baking is such a science and I have always been intimidated since I have known to be a bit on the non-detail oriented side of life.

I was deciding between the Lemon Rosemary Cupcakes and the Coconut Cherry Bars.

While the Lemon Rosemary cupcakes do sound tempting, it is June.  And besides my birthday month, June is the month for cherries!  Plump, Red, Juicy Cherries.   I also thought I should add some sort of health factor to these and fresh fruit does just that.

Cherries are high in antioxidants, which help reduce the risk of cancer, inflammatory problems, and heart disease.  They are also an excellent source of vitamin c and vitamin k.  As if that wasn’t enough, cherries can also reduce the pain of arthritis, gout and headaches.  LOVE IT!!

I made a few changes to the recipe to fit The Chefanies style a bit more.  While her recipe calls for Maraschino cherries, I used fresh cherries.  I added almonds as well as almond extract instead of the vanilla.  I also omitted the cherry glaze because I thought they were sweet enough.

Needless to say they were amazing.  Jason and I ate them up!

Now I can’t wait to see who got our blog and what they made.  I hope they liked it as much as I liked these coconut cherry bars.
Continue reading →

Almond Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

Posted on by
2

I am not a baker by any means.  If you know me at all you would know that exactness and I are not the best of friends.  I am more of a “dash of this here and a pinch of that here” type of girl.   But as Jason’s parents were coming over for the weekend and I was planning a mini-brunch for them I thought back to the schooling of my mom and remembered it is always good to have some sort of sweet bread available.  My mom, although she wouldn’t admit it is a great baker (and cook) and this one is an homage to my mommacita!

Anyway the cake turned out nicely and looked pretty.  You can substitute any kind of citrus for this loaf.  As this recipe contains low-fat greek yogurt and olive oil you can feel good about it

Continue reading →

The Best Cheesecake You Will Ever Have

Posted on by
5

I have this saying…If there is sour cream in the recipe it is going to be good.  I mean honestly who doesn’t love sour cream, (well, besides Kati Joon I suppose)?  I love it so much I can eat it by the spoonful.  But it has to be “real” sour cream, not non-fat, which is neither cream nor sour.

Sour cream makes any dish lightly creamy and a little goes a long way.  So, when I saw this recipe for Cheesecake that included both sour cream and whipping cream I knew it was going to be good.  And from the silence that arrived at the table while we indulged in it, I was right.  It was the best cheesecake we had ever eaten.  (Don’t worry mom yours is second best).  Light, fluffly and semi-sweet.

And the best part about it – It is super easy!!   ( You will need a springform pan)

PS. The picture does not do justice.  You will have to try it yourself.

Chefanie’s World’s Greatest Cheesecake

Ingredients

crust

  • 1 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, broken into pieces
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

filling

  • 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions

for crust:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Wrap outside of pan with foil. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add melted butter; process until crumbs are moist. Press crumbs onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.

for filling:
Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler set over barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar, then salt; beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla; beat until well blended.

Bake cake until top begins to brown but center still moves slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Open oven door slightly; turn off oven. Leave cake in oven 30 minutes. Chill cake uncovered overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep refrigerated.)

Run small knife between pan sides and cake. Release pan sides. Starting at outer edge of top of cake, arrange strawberry halves in slightly overlapping concentric circles, covering top completely. Stir preserves and brandy in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until mixture boils. Strain preserves. Brush glaze generously over strawberries, allowing some glaze to drip between berries. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Chill.)

Happy Birthday Chefanie Wambach (And Nathan) – Upside Down Apple Cake

Posted on by
2

You may hear us say this time and time again, but we love Martha Stewart.  We kind of aspire to be the West Coast versions of her – minus the prison time of course.   You will see us making Martha Recipes over and over again.

Today is Chefanie Wambach’s birthday, thus over the weekend we hosted a 16 person dinner party.  (More to come on that later).  While it is customary for both of us to do the cooking, I don’t think it is right to bake your own birthday cake, so I asked Wambach what she wanted and she pointed to this recipe – Martha Stewart’s Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Cake from Everyday Food.

Needless to say it was beautiful yet simple and a great way to start a new year!  Happy Birthday Chefanie Wambach!!

Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients

  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar + 1/3 cup more for cake batter
  • 3 apples, Empire or Gala (about 1 1/2 pounds), each peeled, cored, and sliced into 8 wedges
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup whole milk

    • Directions

    1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottom and side of a 9-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons butter; sprinkle bottom with brown sugar. In a medium bowl, toss apples with lemon juice; arrange in prepared pan in two concentric circles (you might not use all of them).

    2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

    3.  With an electric mixer, beat remaining 8 tablespoons butter with granulated sugar and extra 1/3 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until incorporated. With mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture in three parts and the milk in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

    4.  Spoon batter over apples in pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack, at least 30 minutes and up to 6 hours (if cake has risen above rim of pan, simply push back inside rim).

    5.  To serve, run a knife around edge of pan, and invert cake onto a rimmed platter.