#inverted nutmeg

[dimachina]

my whole life is an inverted nutmeg

[backside-into-the-heavenly]

Buttermilk Pumpkin Pound Cake 🎃

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 cup buttermilk

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven:

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

2. Cream Butter and Sugars:

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add Eggs and Pumpkin:

Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.

4. Combine Dry Ingredients:

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.

5. Mix Wet and Dry Ingredients:

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

6. Pour into Pan:

Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top.

7. Bake:

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

8. Cool:

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Optional Glaze:

Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions for Glaze:

1. Mix Glaze Ingredients:

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.

2. Drizzle Over Cake:

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake before serving.

Enjoy your delicious fall dessert!

[nihonnojihifukainomajonoseiiki]

I made an apple and cinnamon upside-down cake for a love spell.

This apple and cinnamon upside-down cake not only tastes delicious but also carries your loving intentions, making it a special treat for any occasion!

What you'll need to make an apple and cinnamon upside-down cake for a love spell

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

2-3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C.)

In a skillet, melt half a cup of butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and ground cinnamon, stirring until melted and combined.

Pour the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9-inch round cake pan. Arrange the apple slices in a circular pattern over the mixture. Sprinkle a little nutmeg if desired.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Pour the cake batter over the arranged apples in the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While preparing the cake, focus on your intentions for love and positivity. As you mix the ingredients, visualize your desires and whisper a loving mantra, such as "May this cake bring warmth and happiness to me and my lover."

Once baked, let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, carefully invert it onto a serving plate to reveal the beautiful apple topping.

Share the cake with your lover during a romantic evening or date night. You can also keep a slice for yourself, to savor the love you’ve infused into it.

[lonesilverw0lf]

Team BLGA

Quick disclaimer, this is so late because Tumblr wouldn’t let me reblog this post! I had it all written down and hit reblog, it showed that it took, but it somehow didn’t. It took me way to long to figure that out. And then when I tried again, this time from my own reblog, it wouldn’t take. Neither @dragonotaku-justineverything or @madmanwonder posts worked. No matter what I’ve tried, I can’t add to the post. So I’ll add on anyway. Rant over. Now just pretend that this is underneath the afore-linked post.

 Haha, this is great! We’ve seen how they dynamics can get with just Bleiss, now all of BLGA? I feel bad for Glynda. Aspirin can only go so far with headaches. Ask me how I know. Bleiss hates Weiss already so all the rest of the swaps would only amplify that. And it would totally be an Ozpin move to have RWBY and BLGA next door neighbors while JNPR is still across the hall. What do we want? Conflict! Where do we want it? EVERYWHERE! I can see some others asking Jaune how he deals with practically living with all these girls and he’s all, “well, it’s not too different from home. Living with seven sisters gives you plenty of practice. And don’t get me started on my cousins.” Perhaps that’s why he’s so dense with their affections; he’s in “survive family chaos” mode so he’s ignoring it. The things you don’t realize as you’re growing up. That and his lack of self-esteem would make him mistranslate their advances as we’ve seen with Pyr.

These are just a few side things I had for them.

Bluby

Now I know that if Bluby and Yue exist then Ruby and Yang wouldn’t and vice versa, but for this I’m just going to ignore that fact for the time being. Bluby being reserved and not speaking unless spoken to outside of her few friends and family is great. Her confidence in front of others can be a front, a shield she developed to hide her insecurities. Part of her arc is learning to trust others and letting yourself be vulnerable. She learned how to be sneaky with how Yue is. She’s elected as leader to force her to make decisions for the benefit of others? Not sure what her Semblance would be. Being reserved and growing up fast could lend itself to a similar speed type, or a partial invisibility. Maybe a misdirection type since Jack Sparrow is so good at that. Shinji Hirako from Bleach had a nice ‘Inverted Sight’ Shikai. She can make friends with Jaune at first because she marks him as easy to use for her own benefit, like Jack does with Will, until she learns to be an actual friend.

Bleiss

With how much stuff there is of Bleiss, I don’t have much to add here but did have a thought while thinking of the others’ Semblances: Glyphs are a rare genealogy Semblance and if she’s Jaques’ bastard, should she not have Glyphs since he’s not a Schnee? If she’s Weiss abandoned twin then sure, but it was a thought. I can totally see Jaques abandoning her as soon as she’s born showing his dark hair, an Oedipus situation where the father demands the newborn be killed but is abandoned instead. While it wouldn’t change much in her personality or lifestyle if she was a bastard vs abandoned, unless there was some weird twist of fate where she does gain Glyphs it would change her fighting style. And her team, I’ve always seen her leading the Malachites, Neo, and Neon. Putting her on BLGA would make an issue there, but putting Neon or Neo in charge could balance that out. Neon can still be old friends with Bleiss to keep that connection with the teams. NNMM, Nutmeg? Names are not my strong suit.

Yue

Yang is a boxer and a brawler with a temper out for a good fight, but Yue is more calculated and in control. Kickboxing is already covered by Mercury who is just as calculating and cool but doesn’t fight for anyone really, but what about Muy Thai? Strike a nice balance between the two. For her, I’d give a Semblance that’s centered more on reflecting or redirecting damage than absorbing it. I doubt that Yue would want a motorcycle because they are more dangerous than cars. Having a bit of a control freak personality and learning to tone it down is a start for her arc. Perhaps she’s a little overprotective as well, bit of a helicopter parent without realizing how damaging it could be? Keeping a strong front that needs no help even when she really does is great. She could also put a lot of stock in strength like Raven, because to her if you’re not strong you can’t protect those you love. Which leads to Yue, like Raven who she despises, to overlook some of the other kinds of strength to add more internal conflict. Ignoring your feelings isn’t healthy Yue. I can see it being a game to Yang among others to see how to get Yue to laugh. No Yang, just because you love puns so much doesn’t mean that it’s the height of comedy. All pranks do is annoy her if done to others and piss her off if done to her or her friends. Perhaps something simple gets her like, “What does the cabbage man use to repair his cabbage wagon? A cabbage patch!” I’ve used that joke in real life and it never fails to get most people rolling. She is very weak to cute critters.

Aiko

Maybe have their mothers being twins, making them cousins who could pass as sisters. Heck to add more to it, how about their dads are brothers from another family. She could be the one to out Blake as a Faunus for more conflict. She gives Aunty Kali updates and tries to get Blake to call herself. Despite her more carefree personality and daydreaming habit, she’s easily one of the smartest students. Much to the surprise of everyone. A bit naïve, not stupid. I love the idea that she reads comics to Blake’s books, but what if she leans more towards shojo manga. She can be still cool with normal comics, but most comics I see are geared towards guys and manga can easily fill her romantic fantasies. She and Jaune could have dance offs after she learns he can dance. Since she’s more extroverted and confident than Blake, a ninja theme just doesn’t fit with her unless we’re talking Naruto or something. How didn’t he die being a walking traffic cone? Yeah, yeah, plot armor, I get it. My first thought is make her a Samurai, but we have Adam for that. Unless we make Aiko a foil to Adam as well, with his code centered around rage and bloodlust while hers is love and protecting. “Hate only begets more hate. To stop the cycle of violence we must embrace love!” “…You stole that from Naruto.” “But it’s not wrong!” If not a samurai, then how about akin to a Sohei or Ikko-Ikki? They’re a monk type, and Sohei use a naginata to differentiate her enough. I know there’s fighting styles that blend with dancing but I’m trying to keep to the Japanese theme with her. Then again she’s got that Middle Eastern Belly dancer thing and I could be way off base here. She could mix and match a few things. I’m coming up blank for her Semblance. Part of me wants to give her sakura petals but Ruby already has the petals motif. Unless that’s her perfume or a design pattern on some of her clothes. Best guess at current is that she hasn’t discovered it yet. She’s a lover not a fighter, so it’d make sense she spends less time on introspection and aura training. I don’t think Roman had his and he was fighting all the time. “But what is she doing in a school to kill Grimm?” Killing Grimm is just pest control to her. Great spot for her to go all out. And since she doesn’t have lone protagonist syndrome, she can remind Blake of some things that Blake tries to ignore or gloss over. For example fighting for Faunus Rights is good, but remember Blake that there have been many times throughout history where Faunus were Faunus’ biggest enemy. Like have a time where there was serious predator/prey discrimination or even subspecies discrimination within their own kind, a good part of certain slavery rings were supplied by Faunus warlords, what some of those same Faunus did to their own human and Faunus slaves, some of the barbaric traditions they used to have, and other things. I can see the White Fang, or certain parts, ignoring those uncomfortable facts to better push their agenda.

Ying

Depending on if, a big if, Ying is added and how Bleiss is teamed up, Team BBNT would also be in a bit of a spot. Unless madmanwonder has a replacement for Bleiss? The other two are fun. It’s easy to cut her out to reduce the chaos and even some things out, but had some thoughts so I might as well put them out there. Jaune is the only one Ying trusts with her hair. Where Yang has a fiery aesthetic to her Semblance, what if Ying has a lightning one? Just to show how much more dangerous and volatile it is. She can be lowkey jealous of Yang/Yue because they were the one who got to live with a unconditionally loving and supportive parental figure, roof over her head, three square meals a day, easy access to clean and hot water, not on the run from authorities for a life she didn’t chose, proper education, had professional doctors, could make friends who wouldn’t literally stab you in the back over a slice of bread, and what not. Sure Ying might be a better fighter but she’s really lacking in civil life where fists don’t work. B(B?)NT and NNMM as JNPR neighbors while RWBY and BLGA are across the hall? Poor hallway.

[in-pleasant-company]

Felicity’s Birthday Cake (adapted from Colonial Williamsburg’s Rich Cake recipe)

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups flour

12 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 lb. butter (4 sticks)

½ cup candied orange peel

1 teaspoon lemon extract

½ cup golden raisins

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Evenly grease a 10-inch Bundt pan and set aside.

Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer at medium-high speed until creamy, about one minute. Add the sugar and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. At a medium-high speed, add the eggs in gradually until the eggs are thoroughly combined with the butter and sugar. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Sift the flour in a separate bowl, then add the spices. Set the mixer at a low speed, and add the spice mixture gradually until thoroughly combined with the butter, sugar and eggs. Continue to mix at low speed while adding the candied peel and raisins until thoroughly mixed into the batter. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides.

Pour the batter into the Bundt pan, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Place pan on middle rack in oven. Bake at 350° until a toothpick comes out clean, about 50 minutes to one hour. Allow cake to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.

Invert the cake onto a large plate and then invert again back onto a cooling rack. Allow cake to cool completely before slicing.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Screw politics. Let's talk apple pie for a minute.

So that earlier post, somewhere in yesterday's timeline, about kiddo wanting apple pie for her birthday instead of cake...here's a few more pics, to help illustrate. Keep in mind, I can't be holding the camera and stirring something on the stove at the same time, so I can't take pics of some of the process.

So, back to the Ancient Grimoire...

From 1959, the year I was born. This is the book that shaped many a mid-century kid's diet. With some things you have to translate (at times) into modern day. ie: This is before baggies were invented, when Waxed Paper and Foil ruled the day.

The recipe for the pie filling in here is good, but I found a much better way to get the kind of apple pie I love (rich, thick, syrupy, apples soft), and that's what I'm gonna talk about here.

First, kiddo's bday party is gonna be about ten kids, so I needed to make two pies, back-to-back in one day. The oven just isn't big enough to accomodate two pies at once. BTW, pre-heat that sucker to 425 degrees.

First thing to do in this day-long affair, is to make the two batches of double-crust pie crust, forming each batch into a disc, about 1/2-inch thick, about 6 inches across. Put each disc in a separate baggie and chill in fridge while you start in on the apples.

For each pie, I peeled and chopped 8 big Granny Smiths (both pies was a total of about 5 1/2 pounds). Lemme tellya, peeling and chopping apples is not "unskilled labor"! This is another reason for doing them back-to-back instead of simultaneously: to give the hands a rest! My hands were FEELING it by the end of the day.

So you have a large bowl with the chopped remains of 8 apples, and In a small bowl or ramekin, mix up one tablespoon of flour, one tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Sprinkle the mixture in the ramekin over the apples, evenly. Take a large slotted spoon and stir/mix until all the apple pieces are coated.

Now this is the part I couldn't really take photos of, as it is labor/focus intensive:

In a small saucepot, melt 1 stick (1/2 cup) of real salted butter. Once butter is melted, turn heat up to medium and sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir until flour is incorporated, and then simmer for ONE MINUTE, stirring constantly.

While still stirring, pour in 1/4 cup of water, and add 1 cup granulated sugar. Stir, stir, stir, and keep stirring, and bring it up to a boil. It will begin to thicken fairly quickly. Once it's boiling, turn the heat back down, and let it cook for THREE MORE MINUTES, stirring constantly. It will become a gloriously thick syrup as you stir, THEN REMOVE FROM HEAT and SET ASIDE!

Now is the time to get one of those discs of pie crust out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes so it's more pliable. I need to take pics of how I roll out pie crusts, as I'm pretty sure it's not how you'd think:

I lay down two 24" sheets of waxed paper so that they overlap about 4 inches. Put disc of pie crust in the middle of that roughly 2-foot-square expanse of waxed paper, then put 2 more sheets atop the disc, and have at it with a heavy marble rolling pin.

Once it's about two inches larger than you need it to be, just peel off the top two layers, pick it up so your hand is in the center, and invert the pie-pan over your hand, flip, adjust so it's centered, and peel off the other two layers. Now continue to settle the crust into the pie pan and let the excess lay over the edge of the pan.

Take a sharp knife or razor blade and cut that excess off, mash it all together into a rectangle, and once again put between waxed paper, rolled out to a managble thickness, and then you'll slice it with your blade to make your woven strip top crust later.

And since you did all that between waxed paper, you should have less of a mess than normal!

NOW that your bottom pie crust is ready, take the semi-cooled syrup, and pour over the spiced apples and stir until everything is coated. Pour it into your bottom crust, and lay out your woven strips. Pile as much of the apple mixture, and syrup, in the center as you can. The apples will cook down.

When you lay out the woven strips, any excess will go to help make the outer fluted edge. Sometimes the filling will breach containment, and that's kinda part of the beauty of it, but sometimes it's nice to have an orderly fluted edge. Ironically, today's two pies turned out to be an example of each.

So...First pie ready to go in the oven:

Put it in at 425 for 15 MINUTES, turn the heat down to 350, and bake for 45 MORE MINUTES, or about 1 hour total. It ends up lookin' like this:

This one breached at the top of the photo there, but no matter. It's still pie.

So, once it's out of the oven, put the oven back up to 425 for your second pie. Speaking of second pie, here's yesterday's:

And here they both are, done and ready to go:

Two happy birthday pies.

[robbybirdy]

Summertime Baking #5 Best Ever Zucchini Bread

Hello every birdie. Today we are going to be making something that every cookbook has at least one recipe for, zucchini bread. For me, zucchini bread is very nostalgic. My mom uses to make it a lot in the beginning part of school (when zucchinis are more typically associated with being the size of logs.) My mom's recipe came from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. And I find that recipe is my favorite. But as my love be for cookbooks has increased so has my curiosity over different peoples recipe for thus simple quick bread.

So today's recipe comes from a local cookbook titled" Lemon, lust and lots more…" And the recipe is in fact called " Best Zucchini Bread."

I am also going to be using my Cusinart Convection Oven. I will tell you how to make it in a normal oven and how to convert it to the convection oven.

The recipe will be down below.

For this recipe you will need:• 3 eggs • 1 cup oil • 1 1/2 cup sugar • 2 cups zucchini • 3 tsp. Vanilla • 3 cups unbleached flour • 1 tsp salt • 1 tsp baking soda • 2 tsp baking powder • 2 tsp cinnamon • 1/2 tsp nutmeg (the difference I did to this was I used cloves here instead of nutmeg) • 1/2 cup of nuts ( weird problem of the day was deciding which nut I want to use. In the house we had: almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts. I want with the safe choice of walnuts) • 1/2 cup raisins ( I personally love having raisins in my fridge because of recipes like these.)

Wen your convection oven you don't have to preheat your oven. DON'T USE PARCHMENT PAPER IN YOUR CONVECTION OVEN. Yeah, didn't know that one. Didn't do that with these breads but have done it before with some cookies in the past. So thankful that I didn't burn the house down. Most, if not all, parchment paper containers say to not use in a convection oven right on the box in small print. I just grease my two loaf pans, with no-stick spray.

First things first, we are going to grate the zucchini. You are going to use all of it instead of the end that has a stump. That is the only thing that you can't eat. If you have a log of a zucchini and it has seeds, you can eat them. They are not harmful. And they aren't the same texture as a pumpkin seed.

Grab a big bowl and start to mix together your ingredients. Mix together the first five ingredients, the ingredients between eggs to vanilla.

Now we are going to be working with the dry ingredients. Start by sifting the flour, salt, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves.

Fold the dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture.

Add in the nuts and the raisins.

Pour evenly into your prepared loaf pans.

If using a regular oven: 325F for 1 hour.

If you are using a convection oven: 300 F for 30 minutes adding time if needed. Because like a wise woman once told me " you can always add time. But you can't take away. Always go with the least amount of time. "

Cool the bread on a wire stack for ten minutes. Invert and remove the bread from the breads.

Slice the bread once its completely cooled.

I hope you like that recipe. Feel free to check out all of my other recipes from Almonds to Zucchini

Here

Best Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 cup oil

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

3 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cup flour

1/4 wheat germ ( didn't have this so I just added 1/4 cup mire of flour and made it 3 cups of flour)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg ( I used cloves)

1/2 cup nuts ( I used walnuts)

1/2 cup raisins

Mic eggs, oil, sugar, grated zucchini and vanilla. Sift together flour, wheat germ (if using) salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg/cloves. Food into zucchini mixture. Add nuts and raisins. Pour evenly into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 (300 F convection) for 1 hour (30 minutes convection). Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Invert and remove bread from pans. Continue to cool. Slice when completely cooled. Yields 2 loaves.

[merrybrides]

Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake

Like a giant cider donut, this sweet cake is dangerously delicious.

Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake

Yields: 12-14 slices

Ingredients

1 c. (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided, plus more for pan

3 c. all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for pan

2 1/4 c. fresh apple cider

3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 c. granulated sugar, divided

2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

Directions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325°F with the rack in the middle position. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. 

Step 2: Bring apple cider to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until cider is reduced to 1 cup and 2 tablespoons, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer 1 cup to a bowl and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in applesauce, vanilla, whole eggs, egg yolk, and 1 cup butter. 

Step 3: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, brown sugar, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a separate bowl. Add applesauce mixture and whisk just until combined. 

Step 4: Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool 15 minutes. Run a paring knife or small offset spatula around edges and center of cake. Invert cake onto wire rack. 

Step 5: Stir together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl. Stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of reduced cider in a separate bowl. Brush warm cake all over with butter mixture and sprinkle top and sides with cinnamon sugar. Let cool completely before serving, about 2 hours.

[tnedibleoils]

Vegan Christmas Cake

The season of Cake is here. Yes, Christmas is around the corner, and it is the perfect time to bake some cakes. In this blog, we’ll share one of the healthiest and tastiest banana bread recipes from a trusted exporter of sunflower oil.

 Ingredients

4 tablespoons of dried fruits of your choice

2 tablespoons of citrus peel (either lemon or orange)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla

A cup of brown sugar

⅓ cup of oil

1 ¾ cups of wheat flour

120 ml of apple juice

Walnuts, cashew nuts, and almonds chopped 100 grams

½ tablespoon of cinnamon powder

Cloves - 8 nos

⅓ teaspoon nutmeg 

Hot water ¾ cup

Methods

Chop the dried fruits and nuts finely, separating the nuts. Combine the raisins, apricots, cranberries, and citrus peels in a large mixing bowl.

Bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil. For recipes using wheat flour, mix in an extra 1.5 tablespoons of water. Pour the boiling water onto the dried fruits and let them cool before proceeding.

Combine cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a small spice grinder. Grind into a fine powder. For easier grinding, you can add a tablespoon of sugar. Allow the mixture to cool. Once cooled, preheat your oven to 170°C and let it heat for at least 15 minutes.

Stir the brown sugar, oil, orange juice, vanilla, and vinegar into the fruit mixture, ensuring everything is well incorporated. 

In another bowl, sift the flour, salt, spice powder, and baking soda, discarding any large spice pieces. Mix the flour again and form a well in the middle.

Once the oven has reached the desired temperature and 12 to 15 minutes have passed, give the fruit mixture a thorough stir. Add it to the flour all at once, ensuring the fruit mixture has cooled before mixing it in.

Stir the mixture gently with a spatula until the flour is completely absorbed. Add the cherries and chopped nuts, giving it a quick stir, but do not overmix. 

Pour the mixture into the cake pan, then tap it lightly on the counter to settle the batter. Be careful not to tap too hard, or the nuts may sink to the bottom.

Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. An 8-inch pan will need about 40 minutes, while a 9-inch pan will take around 32 to 34 minutes. 

A clean skewer inserted into the cake will indicate it's done. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then gently invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

 For a finishing touch, you can lightly dust powdered sugar on top.

About TNEO:Tamil Nadu Edible Oils is one of the leading cooking oil manufacturers and manufacturer of lamp oil in Tamil Nadu. As the best exporter of lamp oil in Tamil Nadu, TNEO is committed to delivering quality, affordable, and light in texture. The refined oil from TNEO is fortified, making it an ideal choice. For premium quality cooking oil or lamp oil choose TNEO.

[lauher]

Anadama Bread

It all begins with a dinner with friends at Scales, a well known seafood restaurant on a wharf in downtown Portland, Maine. I ordered the scallops. They were great. But the bonus was an order of Anadama bread. Anadama bread is a New England tradition. A bread made with corn flour and molasses.

The restaurant's presentation was hard to miss. A thick square of bread cut into four equal triangles. Each triangle topped with a triangular pad of butter and then dribbled with more molasses. We collectively resolved to bake the bread at home.

A little research showed quite a variety of recipes. I adopted one similar to the one published in the New York Times.

You start by making some polenta. A half cup of corn flour is slurried with a cup of water. This is then added to a sauce pan containing another cup of water boiling. The mixture is stirred for ten minutes or so until a thick polenta forms. Then a half cup of molasses (Grandma's Original) is added along with six tablespoons of butter. This rich polenta is then transferred to the bowl of the stand mixer and allowed to cool.

While waiting, four and a half cups of flour are combined with a tablespoon of yeast, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of ground nutmeg.

After the polenta is cooled the flour mixture is added slowly with the mixer running equipped with the dough hook. Once it is all combined the dough is kneaded for another ten minutes. The dough is transferred to a large bowl, covered with plastic wrap and allowed to rise for ninety minutes in a warmish place.

The dough is then divided into halves and each half is shaped and placed in a well buttered loaf pan. The pans are covered and are returned to the warmish place for about thirty minutes. Mine about doubled in size.

The loaves are baked for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. The pans are allowed to cool for a few minutes and then inverted. The loafs easily pop out.

The Anadama bread has a very nice flavor. Mine was not quite as dark as the bread from Scales, they likely used a darker molasses. It is great smeared with butter, even better after a light toasting. For true decadence dribble on some more molasses, although strawberry jam also works wonders.

[magnoliaison]

“Her ears tune down to the lowest frequencies. The tree is saying things, in words before words. It says: Sun and water are questions endlessly worth answering. It says: A good answer must be reinvented many times, from scratch. It says: Every piece of earth needs a new way to grip it. There are more ways to branch than any cedar pencil will ever find. A thing can travel everywhere, just by holding still. The woman does exactly that. Signals rain down around her like seeds.

[...]

All the ways you imagine us—bewitched mangroves up on stilts, a nutmeg’s inverted spade, gnarled baja elephant trunks, the straight-up missile of a sal—are always amputations. Your kind never sees us whole. You miss the half of it, and more. There’s always as much belowground as above.”

— Richard Powers, from "The Overstory".

[nbula-rising]

Hummingbird Cake Servings: 16 Prep Time 35 minutes Cook Time 40 minutes Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients    1 cup (198g) finely chopped fresh pineapple*    2 1/2 cups (354g) all-purpose flour, divided (scoop and level to measure)    1 tsp baking soda    1 tsp ground cinnamon    1/4 tsp ground nutmeg    1/2 tsp salt    3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar    3/4 cup (150g) packed light-brown sugar    3 large eggs    1 cup (235ml) vegetable oil or canola oil    1 tsp vanilla extract    1 1/2 cups (366g) mashed overripe bananas    1 cup (100g) pecans, toasted and finely chopped, plus more whole or chopped pecans for decorating if desired

Frosting and topping    12 oz. cream cheese, nearly at room temperature    3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, nearly at room temperature    4 cups (480g) powdered sugar    1 tsp vanilla extract    1 1/4 cups (95g) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted or untoasted

Instructions    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans (at least 2-inch tall) and line bottoms with a round of parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and lightly dust pans with flour, shake out excess.    In a small mixing bowl, stir together finely chopped pineapple with 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, set aside.    In a medium mixing bowl whisk together remaining 2 1/4 cups flour, the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.    In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium-high speed, whip together granulated sugar, brown sugar and eggs until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes.    Slowly blend in vegetable oil, then mix in vanilla extract. Add half of the flour mixture and using a rubber spatula, fold just until combined. Add mashed bananas and fold to combine, then add remaining flour mixture and fold until combined. Fold in pineapple mixture and chopped pecans.    Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 34 - 40 minutes.    Remove from oven and allow to cool in cake pans 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge to loosen and invert onto wire racks to cool completely.    Frost with cream cheese frosting and gently press coconut onto sides. If desired decorate top with a ring of whole or chopped pecans near outside edge.    For the cream cheese frosting: In the mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.    Add powdered sugar and vanilla and blend again until shade becomes whiter and frosting is fluffy. To firm up the frosting a bit freeze in 3 minute increments mixing between increments until it's reached a slightly stiffer consistency.

Notes

*Pineapple should be chopped into tiny bits about 1/6-inch.

[cookingmywaythroughcarryon]

Spice Cake with Lemon Frosting

Back with another recipe from Carry On! I know it’s the middle of summer but I couldn't resist trying to recreate this one. It’s a combination of a few recipes I found online (a modified version of this one) and some substituting as far as frosting. The lemon frosting really lightens it up and the acidity of it counterbalances the sweetness of the spice cake itself. The photos are not up to my usual standard. There was a slight mishap with the cake sticking in the bundt pan a bit and then my piping bag tearing as I was frosting the cake. So it’s all a bit messier than I would like but the family still gave it rave reviews. And finished it off in record time. 

“I make a pig of myself, but Penny and Agatha don’t mind, and the egg and cress sandwiches are to die for. Plus roast chicken. Pork pie. Spice cakes with sour lemon frosting. And jugs of cold milk and raspberry cordial.” Simon Snow, Carry On, Chapter 14.

Spice cake with Sour Lemon Frosting

(I used a bundt pan for this)

Ingredients:

Spice  Cake

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (regular or sea salt)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar (can use light brown sugar instead)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (I didn't have enough applesauce so I grated one apple and added it to 1/3 cup of applesauce I had)

4 large eggs (preferably room temperature)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (I did not have buttermilk. I used lactose free milk and added one tbs of white vinegar to it)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease your bundt pan. Mine ended up sticking more than I liked so I may use a spray next time instead of greasing and flouring it by hand. It was a new bundt pan so I am blaming it on that.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Put brown sugar in a mixing bowl or in bowl of stand mixer and stir to break up the brown sugar clumps. 

Add in butter and applesauce ( and grated apple if you are using that)  to brown sugar and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix again.

Add in the eggs and vanilla to the brown sugar mixture and mix until well combined. 

While mixing on low, add in half of the flour/spice mixture until well combined. I added it 1/4 cup at a time. 

Add in all of the buttermilk slowly so it doesn't splash and then mix again.

Lastly, add in the second half of the flour mixture until well combined. Make sure to give one last stir with a spatula to make sure you don't have any flour pockets at the bottom of the bowl.

Pour the cake batter into your greased bundt cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes to 50 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the bundt pan used. You should be able to stick a toothpick or knife into the cake and have it come out clean to know it's done. Mine was done at 40 minutes. This may vary. 

Once the cake is done, allow it to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake if needed and invert the cake onto the cooling rack to finish cooling completely. (my cake got stuck so I kept it inverted for about 20 minutes until it finally fell out of the pan)

You should wait until cake is completely cooled to glaze it. 

Lemon Frosting

Ingredients:

4 tbsp melted butter

2 cups confectioner’s sugar (more as needed for texture)

3 tbsp lemon juice (can add more for taste--this was just enough tartness)

Method:

Combine melted butter, confectioner’s sugar, and lemon juice in stand mixer and whisk until smooth. 

add extra confectioner’s sugar by the tablespoon to thicken to desired consistency. 

Pour or pipe over spice cake. 

I piped it. Or attempted to. My piping bag split at the seam and spewed frosting in a random way so it was leaking out from two places. This is why the photo looks the way it does. Not one of my artistic triumphs. It looks like a toddler did it. But it tasted good and Simon would eat it no matter how it looked so there’s that at least. 

And here is the recipe without the albeit meagre photos. 

Ingredients:

Spice  Cake

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (regular or sea salt)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar (can use light brown sugar instead)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (I didn't have enough applesauce so I grated one apple and added it to 1/3 cup of applesauce I had)

4 large eggs (preferably room temperature)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (I did not have buttermilk. I used lactose free milk and added one tbs of white vinegar to it)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease your bundt pan. Mine ended up sticking more than I liked so I may use a spray next time instead of greasing and flouring it by hand. It was a new bundt pan so I am blaming it on that.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Put brown sugar in a mixing bowl or in bowl of stand mixer and stir to break up the brown sugar clumps.

Add in butter and applesauce ( and grated apple if you are using that)  to brown sugar and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix again.

Add in the eggs and vanilla to the brown sugar mixture and mix until well combined.

While mixing on low, add in half of the flour/spice mixture until well combined. I added it 1/4 cup at a time.

Add in all of the buttermilk slowly so it doesn't splash and then mix again.

Lastly, add in the second half of the flour mixture until well combined. Make sure to give one last stir with a spatula to make sure you don't have any flour pockets at the bottom of the bowl.

Pour the cake batter into your greased bundt cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes to 50 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the bundt pan used. You should be able to stick a toothpick or knife into the cake and have it come out clean to know it's done. Mine was done at 40 minutes. This may vary.

Once the cake is done, allow it to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake if needed and invert the cake onto the cooling rack to finish cooling completely. (my cake got stuck so I kept it inverted for about 20 minutes until it finally fell out of the pan)

You should wait until cake is completely cooled to glaze it.

Lemon Frosting

Ingredients:

4 tbsp melted butter

2 cups confectioner’s sugar (more as needed for texture)

3 tbsp lemon juice (can add more for taste--this was just enough tartness)

Method:

Combine melted butter, confectioner’s sugar, and lemon juice in stand mixer and whisk until smooth.

add confectioner’s sugar by the tablespoon to thicken to desired consistency.

Pour or pipe over spice cake.

I piped it. Or attempted to. My piping bag split at the seam and spewed frosting in a random way so it was leaking out from two places. This is why the photo looks the way it does. Not one of my artistic triumphs. It looks like a toddler did it. But it tasted good and Simon would eat it no matter how it looked so there’s that at least.

[annsbites]

Spiced Apple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake is my all time favorite cake so I figured an apple upside down cake would be perfect for fall time.

Ingredients:

For the apple topping- 8 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large or 2 medium honeycrisp apples, peeled and cut into thin slices

For the cake- 1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cardamom

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract 

6 tbsp buttermilk, at room temperature 

1. For the topping- Combine the brown sugar and the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Let the butter melt completely, stirring occasionally to help it melt. Once the butter has fully melted, whisk constantly for one minute. The mixture will begin to thicken quite a bit. Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Pour into an ungreased 9 inch round cake pan (make sure it is at least 2 inches deep). Make sure the mixture coats the entire bottom of the pan in and even layer. Arrange the apples on top of the caramel sauce in whatever pattern you like. Since this is an upside down cake the apples will show, so make sure they look nice. Place the pan in the fridge for a few minutes while you prepare the cake batter.

2. For the cake- Preheat your oven to 350*. Place a large baking sheet on the lowest rack of your oven. This will catch any overflow from the cake and save you a big mess. 

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Combine well and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter on high speed until it is super smooth and creamy. scrape down the sides as needed. Add the sugars and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on high for another minutes. Turn the mixer down to low and add in the dry ingredients. When the dry ingredients just begin to incorporate, slowly add in the buttermilk. Beat on low speed until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gently stir with a rubber spatula if there is any flour that hasn’t been mixed. 

3. Remove the cake pan from the fridge pour the cake over the apples and spread it out into an even layer. Place the cake in the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, covering the cake with tinfoil halfway through the bake. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Don’t worry if it takes a little longer than the stated time, just keep checking it frequently as it can dry out. 

4. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cake stand or serving plate and allow to cool completely. If you cut it when it’s warm it will be messy, but still super tasty. Serve with a huge scoop of ice cream and enjoy!

[ff7gaiacooking]

Banora White Apple Cake

Hi everyone!

Today we’re going to be baking a personal favourite of mine: Banora White Apple Cake. 

Actually, when I first looked through Gaia Cooking, I was really excited to see an authentic recipe for this cake that didn’t also call for including Banora White apple juice. Love that stuff, but seriously, adding apple juice to apple cake is overkill. This recipe is much easier and has less modifications (if you’ve seen the one floating around online from those “health gurus”, you’ll know what I mean). 

This recipe really leans into the tartness of the Banora White apples. We all know a good Banora White apple cake is moist and sweet without being too sweet, and this one delivers. As expected of this classic cookbook! 

BANORA WHITE APPLE CAKE

Ingredients

Apple Topping 1/4 cup of honey 1 tablespoon of sugar 2 Banora White apples (as always, if you don’t have Banora Whites, Granny Smith will be fine)

Cake 1/2 cup of sugar 1/4 cup of honey 1 egg white 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce  1/2 cup of buttermilk (buttermilk substitutes work well here) 1 teaspoon of baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. In a nonstick frying pan, combine the ingredients for the apple topping, by first adding the honey and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Then, add the apples and cook on medium-low heat for about 5-6 minutes until the apples soften. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Now for the cake! In a bowl, add the sugar, honey, and egg white. Blend on medium until combined and frothy. Then, add the applesauce and buttermilk. Continue to mix until there’s a light froth. 

4. Add dry ingredients to the cake mixture: baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour. My mixture looks chunky because I made my own applesauce, but if you have a smoother applesauce, yours probably won’t look exactly like mine pictured.

5. You can typically use any pan here, but I’ve chosen a 9-inch springform pan. Cover the sides and bottom with aluminium foil. Grease with a light cooking spray, oil, or butter. 

6. Lay out the apples on the bottom and spread them evenly. This will form the top of the cake, so if you’re artistic enough, you can arrange them in a cool pattern. ;) I just tried to get mine to spread evenly, which is its own struggle as you can see!

7. Then, add the batter on top and try to spread it evenly. 

8. If you used a springform pan, you might wanna place the pan on a baking sheet before you put it in the over. If you used a regular pan, then you don’t need a baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

9. Once done, let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes before taking it out. Then the fun part: invert it onto a serving plate (aka flip it upside down onto the plate) and slowly, slowly peel the foil away. Reassemble any apples that have taken a fall.

10. And that’s it! Cut and enjoy :)

[ohlalabakery]

TARTA ESPECIADA DE MELOCOTÓN DE NUEVA INGLATERRA Y BOURBON / SPICED NEW ENGLAND PEACH & BOURBON TART 

Se nos va acabando el verano y eso significa que, además del calor, también se terminan algunas frutas de temporada como el melocotón. A modo de despedida traemos hoy al blog esta deliciosa receta con melocotones, en este caso de Nueva Inglaterra, que junto al Bourbon y las especias hacen que esté de escándalo. Ah, y de paso también reivindicamos el consumo de productos locales y de temporada. 

Aquí está la receta para que os animéis. Si has hecho ya la Tarte Tatin, ésta será entonces un paseo. ¡A disfrutar!

Ingredientes:

75 g de mantequilla sin sal

100 g de azúcar fina

5-6 melocotones

1-2 unidades de anís estrellado

1 cucharada de bourbon 

Mezcla de especias: canela, jengibre, nuez moscada, clavo (al gusto)

1 placa de hojaldre

Preparación:

Precalienta el horno a 190C / 375F.2. 

En una sartén antiadherente apta para horno agrega el azúcar y deja que se disuelva a fuego medio. Recuerda no remover. Solo mueve la sartén hasta que se disuelva y se dore.

Mientras se cocina el caramelo, corta a la mitad los melocotones.

Una vez que el caramelo esté listo, echa los trozos de mantequilla, las especias y el anís estrellado y cuando el caramelo esté espumoso agrega el bourbon y cocina durante 2-3 minutos. Coloca las mitades de melocotón en el fondo de la sartén en círculos concéntricos y cocina 9-10 minutos a fuego lento.

Mientras se cocinan los melocotones, extiende el hojaldre de aproximadamente 1 cm de grosor y usa un plato o bol al revés para cortar un círculo del mismo tamaño que la parte superior de la sartén.

Con cuidado cubre la sartén con el hojaldre y mete los bordes. Pincha con un cuchillo o tenedor afilado y hornea durante 25-30 minutos o hasta que el hojaldre esté dorado.

Saca la sartén del horno y déjala enfriar 5 minutos. Coloca un plato encima y dale la vuelta con cuidado en el plato.

Ingredients:

75 g unsalted butter

100 g caster sugar

5-6 peaches

1-2-star anise

1 tablespoon Bourbon

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mixed spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove) (to taste)

1 puff pastry sheet

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 190C/375F

Take a non-stick oven proof frying pan, add the sugar and let dissolve over a medium heat. Remember not to stir. Just shake the pan until dissolved and golden brown.

While the caramel is cooking, cut the peaches in half.

Once the caramel is ready, add the butter chunks, spices, and star anise. When the caramel is foaming add the Bourbon and cook for 2-3 minutes. Arrange the peaches halves in the bottom of the pan in concentric circles and cook for 9-10 minutes on low heat.

While the peaches are cooking roll out the puff pastry about 1 cm thick and use an upside-down plate or bowl to cut out a circle about the same size as the top of your pan.

Carefully top with the puff pastry and tuck the edges in. Prick with a small sharp knife or fork and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top of the pastry and very carefully invert the tart onto the plate.