Apple Crumble Upside Down Cake

Four taste-testers don’t lie: this is some heavenly combination! A layer of light and moist cake underneath a generous overlay of sweet apple chunks and plumped up dried cranberries, then the coating of  crunchy, buttery cornmeal streusel… I mean, could it get any better than that?

All it took was a bite...

When you think about it, it’s a cake, that’s a pie, that’s a crisp! Haha. Oh, and  just one of the many ways to enjoy the gifts of the Fall season that I so love.

Speaking of Fall...we’re excited to collaborate with Vault Communications and Aloutte Cheese for a fantastic Fall Wine and Cheese Party Giveaway! It’s been a while since we’ve thrown a contest, oh dear. But check it out!

Gourmet Fall Cheese Tasting Party Giveaway

• Mariposa Gourmet Two-Toned  Wooden Cheese Board w/ Wine & Cheese Access. (Board is made of Natural Wood.)
• Cheese Markers
• Customized Cheese Rating Cards w/ Pens (Party of 10) – customized with your name and date/year of party.
• Alouette recipe cards for entertaining
• Alouette coupons for Baby Brie, Spreadable and Crumbles
• Slow Down & Savour Tips

That’s right, you’ll get all of these lovely items (a $150 value). Wine, wine glass and fruits not included. ** IMPORTANT: PRIZES CAN ONLY BE SHIPPED IN THE U.S. **

To enter, just answer this question in the comments section:

How do you slow down and savour life’s moments?

If you tweet about it, let us know in the comments. Each legitimate and unique comment to this post qualify as one entry.

Contest ends October 29, at 12 noon. Good luck!

[Contest disclosure: We have received the same items from Alouette Cheese, c/o Vault Communications. We have no advertising/sponsorship commitments with either company.]

Oh, and here’s the recipe:

Apple Crumble Upside Down Cake

It’s a cake, that’s a pie, that’s a crisp– light, moist cake underneath a generous layer of sweet apple chunks and cranberries, sprinkled with the crunchy and buttery cornmeal streusel.

Ingredients [Serves 8]

Apple Filling

• 3 medium-sized apples, peeled, quartered, chopped into ¼ x ½  x ½ -inch chunks and fills about 5 cups. Use what you have on hand or your preferred variety. (I used Okanagan Fuji apples.)
• 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• pinch kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon triple sec liqueur (optional)

Crumble/Streusel topping

• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Cake

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Place the rack in the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.

2. Butter bottom and sides of a 9-inch round, 2-inch-deep nonstick cake pan; set aside.

3. For the apple filling

• Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Toss the apple chunks in it.
• Melt butter over high heat on a Dutch oven until it begins to turn amber in color and the milky froth from the butter has almost cleared (don’t allow it to burn).
• Add the apples into the pot and reduce heat to medium-high. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the cranberries and stir. Cover for another 5 minutes or until the apples begin to soften and break down in the steam. Juice will collect on the bottom of the pan.
• Remove from the heat and pour over a strainer with a large bowl underneath to catch the juice.
• Pour the juice back into the Dutch oven over high heat and mix it with heavy cream and triple sec liqueur (if used). Stir until the mixture is reduced and thickened. It’s done when you drag your wooden spoon on the bottom of the pan and it leaves a trailing line. Turn off the heat and toss the apples and cranberries in it.
• Transfer the fruits and any remaining liquid into the prepared cake pan. Lightly press into an even layer. Set aside.

4. For the crumble/streusel topping:

• Mix flour, brown sugar and cornmeal in a medium bowl with a fork. Drizzle melted butter while continuing to mix it until it forms pea-sized chunks.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the streusel mixture evenly on top of it.
• Bake it in the pre-heated 425°F oven for 5 minutes. Watch closely once you hit the 4-min mark. It might start to burn depending on your baking sheet.
• Take it out of the oven and set aside to cool on a trivet for 5 minutes. Toss the crumble with a small spoon to prevent it from burning if it is already getting dark. Set aside.

5. Decrease oven temperature to 350°F with the rack in the same position.

6. For the cake:

• Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Beat the brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl until thick and homogenous, for about 45 seconds.
• Slowly beat in butter until thoroughly combined. Add heavy cream and vanilla and continue to mix. Pour flour mixture and blend until just combined.
• Pour batter into the cake pan and spread evenly over fruit.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven until cake is golden grown, about 35 to 40 minutes. When you insert a toothpick into the center it will come out clean.
• Cool pan on wire rack for 20 minutes before running a knife around the sides of the cake pan.
• Carefully invert cake pan onto a large plate, and allow the cake to cool for another 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy with some vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped crème or crème fraîche on top.

Whew…last minute!

I had my Daring Bakers challenge in my to-do list last weekend but plans changed because the fiance came over for the weekend to surprise me. What can you do, eh? Haha.

So last night, after making a dinner of tuna beet salad with homemade mayo (because I ran out!) and already invested on a lot of elbow grease for that mayo, I stretched the dough for the strudel:

And let me tell you now that it was a lot of work and it tested my patience. After a while of gently coaxing the dough to stretch…stretch a little more…go on…I almost went into this Zen-like phase of going around the dough to stretch it. It was very meditative until I tear my first teeny hole.  Have I told you before that I’m a perfectionist? After that I got too cautious and I guess that made my dough not as thin as it should be, but I swear I can see the threads of my cotton fabric at the bottom very clearly.

These delicious Rainier cherries from the Granville Island market made it into the strudel:

And so did the raspberries I got there, too. I added a tiny bit of dried cranberries to soak up the extra juice from the raspberries. I’m not going to admit that I was eating while preparing them. Mmm.

I rolled it and slathered it with butter. Perhaps too much butter, I know. But one cannot have enough of it!

After about 37 minutes, I took out the strudel and waited for another half hour before slicing. It kept falling apart while I sliced it, but it did taste good!

It’s not the most photogenic (cooked) dish on earth and I wish I could give you a bite to make it better. Next time I think I’ll use white sugar instead of my trying-to-be-healthy choice of raw sugar to make it less dark. What do you think? Perhaps the raspberries were a bad idea because they become goo. I don’t know…but it sure was yummy.

I’ll post the recipe tomorrow!

- – - – - – - – -

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. — Many thanks to Courtney and Linda for the challenge. It was indeed a challenge! :D

It sounds like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, right? Haha.Here’s the story behind it: I got the recipe from Tita Thess, who got it from her husband, who got it from his co-worker. See how this works? Plagiarecipism! :) This recipe’s been around, alright, but it’s still as fantastic as when it was first discovered. I love that it doesn’t have vegetable oil as I’ve seen in other recipes (and also used in my Almond Butter Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble Topping). I don’t know…something about the oil that makes me want to substitute it whenever possible.

So back to the baking…how did it fare? The baked bread is dense, moist, full of the banana taste and the ‘crust’ is the best part! I’m not sure if it was because of the pan, but I had a beautiful even crust all around the bread. The slices look beautiful and the taste definitely lives up to the inviting facade.

I’m so glad I tried Tita Thess’s recipe (I love getting recipes from family and friends!!!). I followed it, including her recommendation to use 2 cups of mashed bananas, and skipped the nuts and raisins. This is a winning recipe with Dan, who does not like bananas, but ended up LOVING the bread.

For the loaf pan, I used the ceramic kind and lined it with two sheets of parchment paper along its length and width. No need to grease it with oil.

I like this method better than spraying it with oil because it makes it so easier and neater to take out the bread once it’s baked.

Look at it! I honestly do not know how I was able to wait overnight before I ate slice after slice…after slice.

This is one bread that would really leave a mark/aroma not only in your kitchen. In fact our apartment smelled of delicious banana bread the entire night and woke us up in the morning.

We still have more than half a loaf to ourselves. I’m going to try warming it up and slathering it with heavenly butter (I love, love, love, butter) for breakfast, then OJ…mmm. Dan and I are driving out to the Desert Botanical Garden to see the Chihuly exhibit so we can pack some up to go, too. Better than store bought. ;-)

I urge you to try it this weekend! Read the full story

Yumm.

Okay, okay… we’re back! Missed us? :-) We apologize for the unannounced sabbatical. Life just got in the way and whenever we think of updating, boy we just wish the brain could just blog for us on its own. We’re back in business, so to speak, except that I can’t really speak physically because I’ve been stricken with some virus that makes my head heavy, my throat painful and sore, and also makes me sneeze like I’m sneezing for the entire human rice…’r race. Anyway, don’t want to gross you out. To sum it up: things have been busy, guys and gals. We’re so sorry for being MIA and thank you so much for hanging in there and for sending us messages to ask if we’re still alive or something.

Dan and I actually cooked and baked a lot with the intention of putting them up on the site. And they obviously haven’t made it to the site yet. These cookie sandwiches are just one of them. When I’m in AZ, I have the TV on as background noise until noon when I’m working and one of the shows during that time is Martha’s. They actually made these during the show and caught my attention [note: the episode is here if you''d like to watch it]. Dan loves peanut butter and other nut butters so I thought I’d make these for him.

They’re not that fast and easy to make because there are extra steps to prepare the oatmeal for the dough, and the dough itself. The pay off is a kitchen (and in our case, the entire apartment because it’s small) that smells really good from the toasted oatmeal. Oh, and for those with food allergies (e.g. eggs and peanuts), this one is actually eggless!

The original recipe is for peanut butter, but we’ve really been into sunflower butter ever since Dan’s dad gave us jars of the organic one. Love it, love it. They’re less denser than peanut butter so that probably added to the fragility of the final outcome of the cookies. Still worth making, in my opinion. What a lovely tasting treat!!! It’s so good if you keep it in the fridge then enjoy it later on with warm milk. Oh, yummy. Wish I had these right now, because God knows li’l sickie me could use some cookie lovin’.

One more thing, the filling recipe below could easily be used for 24 sandwich cookies. We had a lot of leftover filling. You can keep it in the fridge for your next batch of cookies, but I have to warn you that it hardens because of the butter content so you have to leave it in the counter for a bit to soften before piping again. I actually used the fresh homemade butter for this recipe. Deeeelish!

Okay, I’ll stop talking now and get some rest. Who would have thought I’d be up all night when I’m sick?

On to the recipe: Read the full story

Let me tell you now that these are by far THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES I’ve ever made and tasted, even better than the full-fat ones. And I really wish I have myself to credit for the recipe, but alas, no. It’s from Cook’s Illustrated Light Recipes. This is the 2nd recipe of the two that I’ve tried from that issue and I’m continued to be impressed with it.

Seriously. Make this. It’s worth the hassle of cooking and straining the dried pitted dates. You read that right. I know it doesn’t sound so palatable now, but trust me on this: You won’t even know it’s there but boy oh boy this tastes magnificent. It’s like the magical switcheroo, which will have you clamoring for more.

The recipe makes 18 big cookies and it only contains 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 and 1/4 cup of light brown sugar. The chewiness is phenomenal, the full chocolate-y and there’s-something-else-so-good taste is something you’ll remember for days and weeks to come.

I just made this again while I’m here in Vancouver. I would have to emphasize the importance of using a really good cookie sheet to get the best results. When I first made it, these chocolate-y mounds came to life on an insulated cookie sheet [we got ours from Crate & Barrel and I highly recommend it!] and they came out PERFECT — as perfect as gourmet cookie store-bought cookies can be. I used regular cookies sheets the second time around and the results weren’t as stellar. It was disappointing. So, please, invest in a good insulated cookie sheet or use your trusty silpats and bake away. You won’t regret it and the cookie lovers in your household will love you more for it.

I’ve taken the liberty to take step-by-step photos for your viewing (and learning/cooking) pleasure.

Go bake ‘em! This is sure to be a hit at your next picnic. Or just enjoy it at home or pack it in your brown bag and make your co-workers jealous.

Here’s the recipe: Read the full story

I’ve always daydreamed of making pretzels. Then as soon as I visualize the work involved, I just go on with my day. I don’t know what I’ve been afraid of now that I’ve made my first batch. It was so fun to make, too. Plus they’re cute. [Dan laughs at me when I describe any food as "cute".]

To ease my way into the pretzel making world, I picked a recipe that didn’t require ‘cooking’ the dough on the stove. Baby steps, baby steps. Also, the scientist (or OCD?) in me kicked in and wanting to have uniform results, I weighed each pretzel dough at 50g, and I was able to produce 15 mini pretzels. They were delish and lasted us for two days.

Making pretzels

A note on these pretzels:

As I said earlier, I took the no-dough-cooking route. I’m not sure if that’s the reason, but these pretzels did not have that fine dough texture when you eat it. It’s not similar to Wetzel’s Pretzels, nor did it have a crust like Auntie Anne’s. BUT this is a pretty easy pretzel recipe with very decent homemade results — it was soft and chewy. Dan loved them. Consider this note a warning from someone who’s overcritical about her cooking.

Here’s the recipe:

Read the full story

Last March, in the midst of my Cinnamon Roll baking frenzy, I picked up a copy of Cook’s Illustrated Light Recipes when I saw the recipe for Guilt-Free Cinnamon Rolls [which I haven't tried, of course]. What I ended up making first from the magazine were the Healthier Oatmeal Cookies, and let me tell you — they wowed me. I can’t help but take a bite…then the next, and another one, and before I knew it I ate 2 cookies already. They’re sweet, chewy and somewhat lighter without sacrificing that great texture with each bite.

To be honest with you, when I was comparing its ingredients with that of my beloved Blueberry Pecan Oaties [I'll share that with you sometime in the future], I didn’t expect much considering that there are only 4 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of (brown) sugar for 24 cookies. According to the magazine, the brown sugar made them moist — “because of its unique properties, brown sugar holds on to water during the baking process”. If you want to get technical about it, it’s caused by the “invert sugar” (found in brown sugar, but not in white sugar), which is hygroscopic, or pulls water from wherever it can be found.

It contains a cup of old-fashioned rolled oats, which I just love eating for breakfast. I like having something to chew on instead of just gulp down. For cookies, it’s no different — it makes it heartier, and gives it better texture. Yum..munch, munch.

Instead of raisins, I used dried cranberries. Dan and I don’t like raisins, and would rather have dried cranberries or blueberries. I also added nutmeg to the recipe. It’s a must for every oatmeal cookie I make.

I have to tell you, this is the ONLY cookie recipe where the number of cookies I made matched what’s on the recipe. I thought that was pretty cool. [I'm easily amused.]

For those who are curious on how to make balls out of the dough, here’s a pic for you. I use a plastic tablespoon to measure it, then have a teaspoon to scoop and mold with it.

A 15″x20″ insulated cookie sheet would hold 20 cookies. And I really would suggest using one. Or a Silpat baking mat if you have it.

I baked the last 4 cookie dough balls on a regular cookie sheet with parchment paper and they did not spread as much, and it turned out browner. You can see the considerable difference below:

Hope you get to try them. They’re definitely a great alternative to your usual oatmeal cookie recipe. Read the full story

When I saw the photo for this on the May 2008 Gourmet magazine, I knew I had to make it. How can I resist cheese? I’ve also been meaning to get into bread-making. I thought this would be a good start. Yes, I’ve made cinnamon rolls so many times, but it’s time to move on and progress towards my goals of baking a good French bread and soft pretzels.

This recipe was not one to disappoint as you can see. It smelled and tasted so good, and it has that rustic look and texture, it made us feel like we’re in the country as we drooled over it:

The dough was a bit of challenge to work with, I should warn you (or it could just be me, really). For my first time, I think I did good. I ‘cheated’ and used a rolling pin to flatten it out, instead of using just my hands. Having refrigerated the dough overnight, I was faced with a really tough dough.

You might be wondering how the cheese got ingrained in there. The two kinds of coarsely grated cheeses (I used havarti and fresh mozzarella chopped in the food processor) are lumped into one big ball — and you might cry when you realize the amount of cheese in there as you hold it, but carry on because this really is one mightily awesome food to reach your mouth — but as I was saying, so the ball is placed in the middle of the slightly flattened dough, then it’s wrapped and ‘tied’ at the top, then pushed back down to spread into an 11-inch disk. Makes sense? That was the most challenging part for me.

It’s baked for 10 minutes, then sprayed with olive oil and baked for another 3 minutes to brown. And then you’ll be rewarded with this:

I’m killing you now, aren’t I? Please, dig in!

You know what else you can use this dough for?

Pizza! Yup, I made this with parmesan, mozza, and turkey bacon. Great for snacks. The dough is comparable to the frozen pizza doughs you can buy, and reminiscent of Pizza Hut’s P-zone’s dough. Not too shabby since this doesn’t take a lot of effort as the other pizza dough recipes I’ve seen (and have been scared with).

Alright, after taunting you, here’s the the recipe:  [And Happy Friday!]

GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1/4-oz package) active dry yeast
• 7 tablespoons warm water (105-115°F)
• 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 lb Havarti cheese, coarsely grated
• 1/4 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (add 1/2 tsp salt)
• olive oil (for spraying or brushing)

Preparation:

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water and stir in a tablespoon flour. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast does not activate, start over with new yeast.)
2. Stir together salt and remaining flour in a large bowl, then stir in egg and yeast mixture to form dough.
3. Transfer dough onto a well-floured surface and turn to coat with flour, and then knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and dust with flour. Let the dough rest in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, punching down with a wet fist every hour, at least 2 hours and up to 3.
4. Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle. Turn out dough onto floured pizza pan. Turn to coat. Flatten with your fingers into a 7-inch disk.
5. Toss together cheeses and compact them into a 3-inch ball with your hands. Place ball in middle of dough, then gather dough up around ball of cheese, squeezing excess dough into a topknot. Press down on topknot with a damp fist to press cheese out from center. Continue to flatten dough and distribute cheese evenly, pressing outward from center, until dough is an 11-inch disk.
6. Cut a 6-inch X through top of dough to expose cheese. Bake until pale golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Brush/spray surface of dough with olive oil and bake until golden and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Serve cut into wedges.

Notes

Dough can be made 1 day ahead and chilled in bowl (for a slow rise), covered with plastic wrap. Punch down and bring to room temperature before proceeding with recipe.

If you are using a perforated pizza pan, be sure to have a baking sheet on the rack underneath it when you bake the bread. There might be cheese dripping through the holes. On that note, the cheese might burn so be ready for a smoky oven (and kitchen, and house…).

The cheese bread reheats well in the microwave for 20 seconds.

And from hereon, feel free to call me the Patron Saint of Cinnamon Rolls for talking about and making way too much of them. Anyway, I think I’ve finally got my holy grail recipe sealed to perfection, after a several baking litanies. If you’re still searching for a cinnamon roll recipe to knock your socks off, I’ve updated the recipe with less flour, a different kind of sugar for the caramel, and a hint of lemon for the glaze. I’ve discovered the goodness of using turbinado sugar for the caramel by accident — because I ran out of golden brown cane sugar. Who knew it would make it extra extra gooey? I got the idea to add lemon because I add a hint of lemon when making sweet stuff like flan (which also has caramel) and it elevates all the flavors, plus it smells good. If you’d like an easy-to-print PDF copy, you can download it here » Ultimate Caramel Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze.

Oh, by the way, would you like the recipes to be print-ready in PDF? We’re looking into incorporating that to get you cooking faster. What do you think? Your feedback would be helpful!

n

Enjoy the rolls and happy weekend everyone!

Joy, cinnamon rolls again?! Yes, yes, I hear you. Haha. I’m sorry, but I just had to! I feel the need to share great discoveries when I find them. I know I’ve talked about cinnamon rolls for two days but can you blame me for revisiting it now that I think I’ve found the Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls ?! They are incredibly soft, fluffy, chewy, with just the right amount of sweetness and creaminess. It’s criminal to not share it!

When I posted about my dough failure a couple of weeks ago, Elle (who’s a total sweetheart) offered to give her friend’s mom’s recipe for caramel cinnamon rolls with a dough that hasn’t failed her. No kidding. The first rise of the dough made my heart skip beats, and even moreso the second one:

It is a thing of beauty. A moment of silence please. Ohm….
Oh, where was I?

I tweaked the cinnamon filling with more sugar and cinnamon, skipped the nuts, and used less caramel because I still wanted to top it with cream cheese glaze. Here it is right out of the oven and pan:

I wish I had a better picture or a photo of it with cream cheese glaze, but I was so excited that I dug right in and said to hell with photos! Time stopped with my first bite as it melted in my mouth. Ghee-Oh-Oh-Dee-licious. Need I say more? YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS NOW. It should be on everyone’s Things To Eat Before I Die list.

If you’re apprehensive about baking, making rolls, or attempting this, please…shove all these demons aside. Let me assure you that I’m no baker and I’ve had more flops with dough than I want to admit, but this one won’t disappoint. Elle calls the dough “forgiving”. I call it magical. These cinnamon rolls will make you feel like they were meant to be made and enjoyed to your heart’s content.

Have a go at it, why don’t you? [PDF download: Ultimate Caramel Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze] Read the full story