I know that Mother’s Day has come and gone, but I just had to share this perfect everyday, great with tea or Coffee Cake.

One of the many things that I’ve learned through my Nana and her baking is that men love coffee cake. It’s a crazy notion, but you can go ahead and quote me on this. So with all my motherly advice aside for now, I’d been eying this recipe handed down from my Nana. Originally called Sour Cream Coffee Cake, it’s moist and satisfying and it’ll wrangle afternoon peckishness like the dickens.

Seeing that I have a habit of buying up anything organic or that I’d want to see in stock at my local grocery store just to send a message, I was the new owner of some soy yogurt. I’m good with tofu but I won’t be eating the “soygurt” à la carte again. However, as an equal replacement for the original sour cream in this recipe, I know I’d buy it again.

Although a nice bundt pan would be pretty, my Nana is of the depression generation so you can put it in what ever pan fits. I used a square 8×8 and it worked out really well, just could have been bigger since, even with all the birthdays lately, this is about the fastest I’ve seen cake go around here in a long time.

NANA’S COFFEE CAKE

1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Margarine, softened
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Cup Soy Vanilla Yogurt, plain is o.k. in a pinch, just add 1 tsp vanilla
1/2 Cup Plain Soy Milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

TOPPING
1 Cup Walnuts, broken
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Toss the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream the sugar with the margarine, then add the baking powder and continue to mix until fluffy.
In a measuring cup, combine the yogurt, soy milk and baking soda.
Add half of the yogurt mixture to the creamed sugar, then half of the flour, mixing until each is combined, repeating with the remainder.
Lightly spray and dust an 8×8 cake or bundt pan with flour.
Add half of the cake batter to the pan. Add half of the walnut topping. Finish with the remaining batter, then evenly sprinkle over the last of the topping.
Bake in the center of the oven for 45 – 50 minutes.
Cool completely in the pan before turning it out to a serving plate.

This is twice now that I’ve suddenly noticed Daring Baker posts all over the interwebs a little early. I quickly found that we were able to post three days before the end of the month. Regardless, I learned my lesson in reading the fine print and got to the recipe. … And then I found how many it made. Not typically a huge fan of cheesecake, I decided to reduce the recipe. Shrunken by more than half, the recipe made about a dozen of these little delights and they were fantastic. Even for me – revealing that bite sized portions really are an amuse for my bouche.

I’ve been quite lucky lately getting these great recipes challenges to make with the surplus of birthdays in my house.
My son, my sous chef, turns 3 tomorrow, so the last of the terrible two tantrums were taken out on me not letting him lick the raw batter fast enough. You might assume he enjoyed it – thoroughly.

I wanted to jazz these up a bit for the adults coming to the party who rarely gorge on cake in the same way three year olds can. I’d recently been out specialty food shop browsing and discovered this great line of Belgian chocolate bars. The flavour combinations included, Provincial Lavender, White Pepper and Cardamom from Guatemala and Japanese Matcha, just to name a few. So after dipping the cheesecake pops, I melted down the 1oz Matcha and drizzled it over. Mmmm.

Such a fun recipe co- hosted by Deborah at Taste and Tell and Elle of Feeding My Enthusiams . Even if you’re not in the middle of a birthday mayham, they’re fun and they’re good – give them a try.

CHEESECAKE POPS
Adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey
by Jill O’Connor
Makes about 10 pops

1 – 8oz Package Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 large Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream, 35% whipping
4 oz Semi-Sweet chocolate, good quality chips or chopped chunks
1 teaspoon Vegetable Shortening
Lollipop Sticks or Candy Apple Skewers
Sprinkles, Sanding Sugar or Contrasting Chocolate for decoration

Preheat oven to 325F. Set some water to boil.
In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed.
Add the whole egg and the egg yolk, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition.
Beat in the vanilla and cream.
Pour the batter into a wide loaf pan, coated with cooking spray. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the loaf pan.
Bake until the cheesecake is firm in the center and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Carefully insert a stick or a straw into each cheesecake ball.
Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

In a small saucepan, heat the chocolate and the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set.
Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

CANDIED ORANGE PEELS

5 Oranges, any kind
3 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Water

Soak and scrub the oranges in warm soapy water and rinse well.
Cup the tops and tails from the oranges, then peel.
Cut as much of the pith as you can without getting too crazy about it.
Slice the peels into strips and add them to a sauce pan with enough cold water to cover.
Once the water begins to boil, drain and repeat 2 – 3 times to reduce the bitterness.
Dissolve the sugar in the one cup of water and bring to a low boil, heating 230ºF.
Once the sugar syrup reaches the magic number, reduce the heat to just a simmer and add the blanched peels.
Soak the peels in the simmering syrup for 35 – 40 minutes, or until they are translucent.
If you’re finding it irresistible, infrequently spin the pan but try not to stir it since it will create sugar crystals.
Remove the peels, separate them and lay them out on a cooling rack to dry. (Or be sure to toss them in sugar first, if they’re just for snacking.)
Reserve the syrup for other uses. (Like sweetening cocktails, iced tea or as a glaze.)
Once they are cooled, store the oranges in granulated sugar until ready to use.

I wracked my brain, I wrote recipes out, took the pictures and as the days came the sugar began to make my sweetteeth ache.

I’m glad somebody loves me, since I’m sure I’ve packed on at least another five pounds this week alone with all the cake and truffle attempts. Delectable, yes, but honestly a girl can only take so much. I’ve made sure to love thy neighbour, my kid’s class, my parents, my and otherwise plus, anyone and everyone willing to have me pawn off my sweet kitchen offerings.

So then what was the Valentine’s celebrations here, you ask? Heart shaped pizzas and a French Martini to wash it down, now there’s an aging relationship with glamour.
xx

Being amongst the world’s best doughnut eaters, not that I would necessarily know, of course but what can I say? I’m Canadian. Those little slurps here and a spoonfully nibble there of the grapefruit curd, reminded me of a fresher, livelier version of the sweet lemony filling squeezed out as the best part of a filled doughnut. Petite tarts of fanciness were sent to the back burner as I set out to create a canuck worthy doughnut.

Updating that simple, lemony filling to this, little more grown up, less of a drive-thru flavour was supurb with a little dusting of sugar and a hot morning cup of coffee. It was so sinfully wonderful to have to admit that vegan food isn’t always healthy but certainly scrumptious.

As the January resolutions met their match, I realised I’m not the only one who’s given up a diet for some February grease. Helen from Tartlette and Peabody have teamed up for a donut fry fest; this, my friends should be good.

RED GRAPEFRUIT CURD

1 Cup Freshly Squeezed Red Grapefruit juice
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Cold Water
4 Tablespoon Corn Starch
1/8 teaspoon Salt
Zest of Grapefruits, well washed before grating
1/4 Cup Soymilk
2 Tablespoons Margarine

In a large saucepan, whisk together the juice and sugar, heating through over a medium high setting
Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and salt.
Once the juice and sugar have just come to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture.
Reduce the heat to medium and whisk, stirring constantly, until it comes to a full boil.
Add zest.
Allow to boil for 1 minute, without stirring; it should be quite thick.
Remove from heat.
Blend in the margarine, then soymilk, with the whisk.
Cool the curd, cover and refrigerate.

YEAST DOUGHNUTS

1 Cup Soy Milk, warmed
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast (1 packgae)
1/2 Package Medium Silken Tofu, room temperature (225g)
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 Cup Shortening, (vegetable oil may be substituted)

Warm the soy milk so it is tepid but not hot to the touch.
Add the 1/2 teaspoon sugar and yeast granules, stirring to combine and dissolve.
Let the yeast rest to prove, for 5 – 10 minutes or until bubbled and frothy.

Meanwhile, drain and blend the tofu in a food processor until very smooth.
In a medium saucepan, gently heat and whisk together the blended tofu, shortening, salt and remaining sugar.
Once combined, remove from the heat and add the dissolved yeast mixture.
Using an stand mixer, or by hand, add 3 cups of the flour to the bowl and with the dough hook, or a wooden spoon, add the warmed ingredients to create a soft, but not sticky ball of dough, adding more flour as necessary.
Transfer the dough to a large, slightly oiled bowl and cover.
Leave it in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk.
Move the dough to a lightly floured surfaced and with a flour dusted rolling pin, stretch the dough into about a 12″x9″ rectangle.
Using a glass or a biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds and leave, covered on a dusted baking sheet for about 40 minutes to rise.
In a large saucepan, heat 3″ – 4″ of oil. Using a candy thermometer, bring the temperature to 350ºF – 365ºF.
Once the oil is heated, carefully drop 2 – 3 of the risen, cut donuts, one at a time into the hot oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan.
Using a slotted spoon, regularly flip the donuts until golden brown; about 3 minutes or 90 seconds per side.
Lift the donuts and let the excess oil drip before transferring to a brown bag or paper towel lined cooling rack.
Repeating to cook the donuts.
Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, using a long handled skewer or chopstick, poke a hold and make a space in the center of the donut for filling.
Using a piping bag with a large holed tip, pipe in the red grapefruit curd to fill.
Dust the filled donuts with confectioners sugar just prior to serving.

Makes about a bakers dozen.

Getting into the last week before Christmas, the excitement builds and the rush heightens. I can’t help but get those butterflies like I had when I was a kid. A staple at our Christmas sweets table, this version of shortbread is certainly a family tradition just as Santa and snowflakes. Soft and tender, they simply melt in your mouth. Wonderful all alone, but for the Hoildays the addition of toffee or dried cranberries is an extra special treat.

I had originally made give aways of this cookie mix for the Holidays, just needing to add the margarine but the simple layer of sugared cranberries seemed lost in the sifted white ingredients, so I opted to just spare recipients the time of baking and bring them the finished products instead, minus the ones I had to test for doneness, of course.

CRANBERRY SHORTBREAD

1/4 Cup Corn Starch
1/4 Cup Confectionery Sugar,
1 Cup Unbleached, All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Margarine
1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries
2 Tablespoons Sanding or Damara Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Sift flour, corn starch and confectionery sugar into a large bowl.
Measure and chop the cranberries with one tablespoon of the sanding sugar. (This helps keep them from sticking to everything and to candy them while they bake.)
Add the margarine and cranberries.
Stir the mixture, using a wooden spoon, just until everything begins to come together in a soft dough.
Roll the dough with your hands into small balls.
Flatten the cookies with your palm or the bottom of a lightly flour dusted glass.
Top with a sprinkling of the remaining sanding sugar.
Bake for approximately 10 – 12 minutes, watching carefully towards the end. The cookies should be removed just as the edges begin to turn a light golden.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

With thirteen members of the 4 and 5 year old set, I knew I’d need extra hands and entertainment but as far as the food went, I figured I had it covered.
Between the green goo and witches brew, there were ghost pops, goblin cakes and these Casper cookies.

The cookies are great for cutting out cats, witches, pumpkins and ghosts alike. Pretty quick and easy to make, just err on the underdone as the edges can brown fairy quickly.

HALLOWEEN SUGAR ROLL OUT COOKIES

3/4 Cup Vegetable Shortening
3/4 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of Nutmeg
2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little for dusting

Combine shortening and sugar using an electric stand mixer until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Follow with orange juice and vanilla, mixing until combined.
Add flour in batches. The dough should come together smoothly, be soft but not overly sticky.
Shape dough into a ball, divide in half then flatten into two disks.
Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat liner.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each disk 1/4-inch thick.
Cut out dough using lightly floured cutters.
Transfer cutouts to prepared baking sheet using a thin, metal spatula, if necessary.
Bake for about 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Frost and decorate cookies with royal icing as desired.

ROYAL ICING

2 Cups Icing Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Milk
3 – 5 Tablespoons Warm Water

Mix sugar, vanilla and soy milk with an electric mixer until combined.
Slowly add the the first three tablespoons of water, one at a time.
Mix well and stop to check consistency; adding the remaining water, one tablespoon at a time as necessary. The icing should be fluid and smooth. The drizzle from the beater should leave ribbons that hold on the surface for about three seconds.

To decorate, spoon the prepared icing into a piping bag, reserving about 2 tablespoons.
Using a small, plain tip, outline the edges then flood the centres.
When all of the ghosts have been iced, add two drops of black food colouring (or two drops of dark green with one drop of red) into the reserved icing.
Spoon coloured icing into the piping bag to dot eyes and a nose on the ghosts to finish.

Makes about 24 cookies.

So quick and fun, this autumn carnival snack is a must do, especially if you have kids or, of course, if you still are one.

MOLTEN SUGAR MACS

6 Medium Sized Macintosh Apples, cleaned, dried and free of blemishes
6 Skewers or Popsicle sticks,
1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
3/4 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 – 3 Drops Crimson Food Colouring, optional

Wash and dry the apples.
Securely place the skewers down into the core of the apples.
Heat the sugar, water, corn syrup, food colouring and cinnamon in a large saucepan over medium – high heat.
Stir to dissolve and combine. When the mixture begins to boil, place a candy thermometer or allow to continue boiling for about 5 minutes.
To test the mixture the candy thermometer should read 300ºF or be at the hard ball stage.
If you’re without a thermometer, carefully drop a small amount of the mixture into a cold glass of water. It should harden crisp, immediately.
When the molten sugar is ready, remove it from the heat and carefully dip and roll each of the waiting Mac’s to coat evenly.
Allow the finished apples to completely harden on a sheet of parchment or Silpat.

Don’t refrigerate, eat immediately & enjoy.

Upon noticing an onslaught of bananas in my frozen hoard and an indecent craving for sweet comfort food, (like I haven’t been eating enough of that lately) I hit my freezer stash and thawed a few bananas.

Even though they go against a local market movement, they were light, sweet and deceivingly healthy (ish). The candied walnuts further pushed these banana muffins to almost gourmet status.

Well, you be the judge:

BANANA MUFFINS

3 Ripe Bananas
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

WALNUT CRUMB TOPPING

1/2 Cup Walnut Halves or Pieces
1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Margarine
1/8 teaspoon Salt

Preheat the oven to 350º.
Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.
With a fork, mash the bananas in a large bowl.
Add the oil, brown sugar, vanilla and salt; mix well.
Once well combined, add the sifted flour in batches, mixing only to moisten.
Line cooking tin with muffin papers and add enough batter to fill them 2/3 up.

In a small bowl, melt 1 tablespoon of the topping margarine. Toss the walnuts in the melted margarine, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar to coat evenly; set aside.
Combine the remaining margarine and brown sugar with the flour,oats and salt. Mix completely with a fork.
Add spoonfuls of the topping to the waiting muffin batter and top evenly with a few of the sugared walnut pieces.

Bake at 350º on the centre rack for 18 minutes, until firm and golden or insert and remove a toothpick. The muffins are moist but it should come out fairly clean.
Allow muffins to rest in the tin before moving to a rack to cool.

Makes about 10 -12 muffins.

Cindy over at Where’s the Beef tried them out, giving some really great play by play photos along the way!

VEGAN CARAMEL

1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Vegan Butter, like Earth Balance
1/2 Cup Soy Milk
Pinch of Salt

Make sure to have everything ready… mise en place, as they say.
Melt the sugar in a large saucepan over medium, heat.
Remove the sugar from the heat once it has liquified and has become a light amber colour.
Note that it may take a bit to get things melting, but once it gets going, keep a keen eye on it as the sugar will go from ligt to amber to burnt quickly.
Add the margarine, whisking while it melts.
Sprinkle over the pinch of sugar.
Finally, add the soy milk. Take caution as it will spatter and bubble. (Sugar is much hotter than water when it boils.)

Whisk the caramel until it’s smooth. Transfer it to a heat resistant container like a mason jar or a Pyrex measuring cup. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Refrigerate until you are ready to use. Warm briefly prior to serving to liquify.
It will keep for up to two weeks.

Yield 1 Cup.