Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I have a new pan obsession. This pan may now be as exciting as some intricate bundt pans or whatnot. This pan is simple and makes me happy. It’s the 8 inch square pan. Yeah, I know; I told you this pan wasn’t exciting, but it is exciting to me. I have never owned an 8 inch square pan up until recently. I’ve always just had a 9 inch pan, which come to think of it, I think is a little bigger than 9 inches. Oh well, back to my simplistic little square pan.

I have used this pan for about three recipes now (all involving cake) and I have never had a square cake come out so tall! Ohmygoodness, it’s so mesmerizing and just plain awesome! Yes, I get excited about the tallness of my cakes, and no, I don’t care if it seems silly. You should really see me in the kitchen; I sit by the oven and watch the thing ride like right up to the top of the pan and beyond. My 9 inch square pan doesn’t do that (I still love you little big-pan)

Ok, that’s enough of me fangirl-ing over a pan. I mentioned cake earlier, so lets talk cake!

I saw this cake over on Baked Bree a while ago I knew I had to make it. I mean its coffee cake with chocolate chips in it for goodness sake!!

The cake came out so pillowy soft. The exture is like a dream. First you get to bite into that crunchy cinnamon crust, and then you hit a pocket of melty chocolate chips. It really is a great feeling. I never knew chocolate and cinnamon sugar could play so well together.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Adapted from Baked Bree

Makes one 8x8 inch square pan

Ingredients

Cake

1 ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup white whole-wheat flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¾  tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ stick unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

1 egg, separated

1 egg white

¾ tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

 Middle and Topping

½ cup milk chocolate chips

¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions

 Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8 inch square pan with tin foil. Grease tin foil with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours (you can use all all-purpose flour if you wish, I’m just trying to get rid of some whole wheat stuff – you can’t taste the whole wheat, honest), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together two egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Beat until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream in two parts, starting and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined. Fold in the egg whites.

To make the middle and topping: whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Spread half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar over the top. Sprinkle half of both chocolate chip varieties over top the cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover with the remaining batter. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips.

Bake on the center rack for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean when inserted in the middle. Allow cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Allow cake to cool completely before slicing and serving.

The Cake Slice Bakers - April 2013: Lemon and Almond Streamliner Cake

A few quick things:

1. It’s been almost a month since I posted. I wont say it again, but you all know why. Luckily I only have one more week of regular school and then it’s finals week. Unluckily enough, I have two exams next week (Chemistry and Physics) and a Calculus quiz. Then I have my three hardest finals back to back at the start of the week, a three-day break, and then my two easiest finals.

2. I have been reading a lot lately. Reading has now become my way of relaxation because I don’t have to wait for butter to soften, or eggs to come to room temperature or wait for something to finish baking. With baking there is too much down time where I could be doing something productive but I’m not. In the past month and a half I have read (in no particular order) Vampire Knight volume 16 (it’s a very addicting manga), Zodiac (I love true crime… or any kind of crime stuff for that matter), The Notebook (I have watched the movie over a dozen times so I figured I would see how the book was. It was pretty good and a very quick read), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (An amazing book which took me two days to read. The first day I made it through 60 pages and the next day I sat on the couch for four hours straight, not moving until I finished), and now I’m reading The Help (it’s really good so far. I like the way the author formatted three points of view into the book).

3. It’s been snowing like no other back home. And even though I love looking at snow, I’m so happy that I’m not in Colorado. Here it’s been at least 70 degrees every single day for the past few weeks.

4. It’s the 20^th, which means I get to share another marvelous cake from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson. The lemon custard topping is sooooo tart (but in a very pleasant and refreshing way). Not to mention the custard is this pretty bright yellow color that reminds me of spring. So if you’re in one of the states that gets a second winter, make this and it will feel like spring. You don’t even need the cake because I wanted to eat the custard out of the bowl with a spoon all by itself. However, the cake is also so moist and perfect along with the lemon custard. It’s so soft and melt-in-your-mouthy. It’s not dense, but it’s definitely not airy.

5. I made some changes to this cake: I never use all the frosting or custard called for in a recipe, so I halved the custard recipe. I used homemade cake flour instead of regular store-bought cake flour because I don’t want another container of flour lying around. I reduced the amount of butter from 10 tbsp. to 8 tbsp. because I did that the last time, and the cake still turned out beautifully.  Instead of using a round cake pan, I used an 8x8 inch square pan because that’s how I roll. All these changes are reflected in the recipe below. To see the real recipe check out here or visit the rest of the memembers’ cakes.

Lemon and Almond Streamliner Cake

Adapted from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

Makes one 8x8 inch square cake

Ingredients

Custard

¼ cup + 2 tbsp. milk

¼ cup sugar (divided)

2 egg yolks, room temperature

¼ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. cornstarch

¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

Cake

1 cup + 2 tbsp. unbleached all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. cornstarch

½ tsp. salt

6 oz. almond paste

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3 tbsp. canola oil

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Directions

To make the custard: combine the milk and 2 tbsp. of sugar in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until just hot. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and salt until combined. Whisk in cornstarch and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in about a third of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook on medium-low to medium heat, whisking until the custard thickens and starts to bubble. (My mixture was kind of foamy, so it was hard to tell when it started to thicken, but it eventually did.) Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and mix in the butter until it has completely melted into the custard. Place a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface of the custard. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F and line an 8x8 inch square pan with foil. Grease foil with cooking spray.

To make the cake: sift together the flour and cornstarch a few times. Whisk in the baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the almond paste, butter, sugar, oil and vanilla and mix on low speed. Increase the speed and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next as soon as the previous egg has been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Decrease the speed to low and gently add the flour in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Stop the mixer and mix batter with a rubber spatula to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Place on the center rack and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Gently invert the cake onto the wire rack. Take off the tin foil and flip cake over to cool completely to room temperature.

To finish the cake, cut the cake into squares (I cut mine into 9 pieces). Dollop a spoonful of the chilled custard onto each piece of cake. Allow the cake and custard to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bring cake to room temperature before serving. (it really is best eaten at room temperature, so do some laundry or call a friend while you wait for the cake to warm up)

Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes

Hi. I haven't updated this blog in a while, but again I will put all the blame on school. I don't want to be a Debby Downer so I'll just leave it at that.

I made these cupcakes for the first time in mid-December. I was with my cousin and she wanted me to bake her something, so I texted her a few pictures so she could decide what she wanted.

My cousin, along with my aunt and basically her entire family, so not cook, like at all. I had to keep asking my cousin if she had measuring cups and spoons and if she had sugar and eggs. She had no idea about anything, so not only did we end up buying every single ingredient called for in the recipe, but a few of the measuring essentials too.

As I was making these cupcakes my cousin just kept looking on in astonishment. I felt kind of bad since she’s all like “Why do you have to do that?” and “Why can’t I just use the glass thing to measure the flour?” It was kind of bad, so I got her to crush the Oreos and so a little of the folding too. By the way, my cousin in six months older than I am, so if I’m portraying her as a little kid, I’m not. It shocks me every time I make something so simple and my aunt and her family are beyond impressed.

Anyways, these are some freaking fantastic cupcakes. I decided to make them again for my roommates to try and one roommate accused me of putting crack in them because she kept going back for more.

The cake part is really delicate, until you bit into the Oreo base and get a good chunk of Oreo in the bite, then these are just heavenly. The only part I kept having trouble with is the frosting. It’s dang good frosting, but it’s so…loose! The pictures make it look like this is an Oreo cheesecake, but it’s not. Besides the frosting being so limp, it’s great and soft and delicious.

Cookies ‘n Cream Cupcakes

From Indigo Scones

Makes 8 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

4 whole Oreos

¾ cup (90 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ + 1/8 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup (96 g) sugar

1 egg white, room temperature

¾ tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup buttermilk

5 whole Oreos, coarsely chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 1/3 oz. cream cheese, chilled

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 whole Oreos, pulverized into crumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake/muffin tin with paper liners. Twist the 4 Oreos so you have 8 cookies in total. Place one Oreo cookie, cream side up, in the paper liner.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set the bowl aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the egg white. Mix on medium speed until foamy and voluminous. Stir in the vanilla. Mix in half of the dry ingredients until combined. Add all of the buttermilk and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Fold in chopped Oreos.

Distribute batter among the prepared liners. Bake cupcakes for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

As the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl on medium speed until smooth. Blend in vanilla. Slow the speed down and gradually add the powdered sugar. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Increase the speed and whip for 4 minutes. Frost cupcakes as desired (remember, the frosting will be really goopy). Sprinkle tops with Oreo cookie crumbs. 

Cake Slice Bakers - March 2013: Honey Bee Cake

Where did the month go? It seems like only yesterday was the beginning of March, and now it’s the 20^th! My goodness. Anyways, you know what the 20^th means, right? If you’re thinking cake, you’re absolutely right!

This month the Cake Slice Bakers chose to make the Honey Bee Cake found on page 36 of Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson. I really encourage you to buy this book, or borrow it, or check it out from a library, either way get your hands on this book soon! I’m on my third year with this group and I have never been so pleased with a cookbook in my life! Every cake we have baked has turned out fantastic, including this one, despite my little missteps.

I mentioned last week how my weeks have been hectic and I haven’t had much time for baking. By the way, don’t worry about the lack of posts. I have a few recipes in the archives; I’m just trying to stretch them out so I can get some more goodies cracked out of the oven. So basically I had to crank this cake out soon because time was running out before I went on spring break.

I totally forgot how much butter this cake called for and I only had one stick in the fridge and the rest stored in the freezer, which I didn’t remember until I started getting all the ingredients out on the table. Well, I did was any other baker stressed for time does, I stuck a stick in the microwave and hit the defrost button. I was careful to stop every five to ten seconds to make sure my butter wasn’t melting, but I couldn’t stop it from becoming real gushy like. I was kind of worried about that, but I wasn’t going to waste that whole stick of butter, so I just hoped for the best. Then I reread the ingredient list and I needed an additional two tablespoons of butter, so I said screw it and left out the extra butter, since the half stick I saved was going to be for the honey brown sugar glaze.

Other than the little butter fiasco, everything turned out perfectly! The gushy butter wasn’t nearly as melted as I thought it was and the cake turned out beautifully! The glaze that goes on top created this soft and spongy texture. That little centimeter of gooey cake was definitely the best part of the cake I thought.

My roommate, P, doesn’t usually get excited about my baking adventures. She kind of just stares at me as I get excited about smells and textures. But with this cake she was totally into, even before it went into the oven. Then she went to go take a nap. When she woke up and came out of her room she kept asking when she was allowed to dig into the cake. To be completely honest, her excitement made me real happy.

By the way, I left the almonds out of this recipe because I’m not a real big fan of almonds, unless it’s in that Nature Valley sweet and salty almond granola bar, but that’s not relevant right now.  

Honey Bee Cake

Adapted from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

Makes one 9-inch round cake

Ingredients

Cake

2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ sticks (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup honey

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk, room temperature

¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

Glaze

½ cup honey

¼ cup dark brown sugar

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until blended. Increase the speed and beat for 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, adding the next one once the previous egg has disappeared. Decrease the mixer seed to low and add the flour in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, starting and ending with the flour. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition of flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface over with a rubber spatula. Rap the pan firmly on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Place the pan on the center rack and bake for 40 minutes or until the top starts to turn a light golden color.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze by placing the honey, brown sugar, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir ingredients until melted and combined. Bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. Turn the heat off, but leave the pan on the burner to keep warm.

Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer or toothpick. Pour the glaze over the cake and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Cool the cake on a wire rack for about an hour before releasing from the pan. To remove the cake, turn the cake upside down onto a plate (not the serving plate), remove the parchment paper from the bottom, and flip the cake back over onto your serving plate. Serve warm.

This cake keeps for up to 5 days when wrapped up tightly and stored at room temperature.