Baking

Chocolate Chunk and Fresh Red Raspberry Chocolate Muffins

/ Jodi / 29 Comments

raspberry chocolate chunk chocolate muffins

Last week I wrote about “perfect pairs.”

But seriously…

does anything “pair” better than the divine taste of rich, creamy semi-sweet chocolate and the tangy, sweet, juiciness of fresh red raspberries?

raspberry chocolate chunk chocolate muffins 1

Oh these muffins!

raspberry chocolate chunk chocolate muffins 2

They are pretty much heaven in a paper liner!

raspberry chocolate chunk chocolate muffins 3

If you are looking for an amazing muffin recipe that goes as wonderfully with coffee in the morning for a decadent breakfast treat as it does with red wine or milk for dessert or as a snack, look no further.  Here is a recipe I slightly adapted from Creme de la Crumb.  ENJOY!

Chocolate Chunk and Fresh Red Raspberry Chocolate Muffins

raspberry chocolate chunk chocolate muffins

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks or chips
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup red raspberry Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup Half & Half
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chunks or chips
  • 1 pint fresh red raspberries

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin pan with liners.
  • Combine flour, sugar, 1 cup chocolate chunks or chips, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.
  • Whisk egg, yogurt, milk, and vegetable oil in another bowl until smooth.
  • Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
  • Scoop into muffin pan.
  • Divide raspberries and remaining ¼ cup chocolate chunks among the muffins (just sprinkle the chocolate chips on the tops of the batter and gently press the raspberries into the top – I used 3 raspberries per muffin)
  • Bake for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies

/ Jodi / 33 Comments

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies

Can you even imagine…..

cookies with chopped up mini Milky Way bites…

and then….

stuffed with some ooey gooey caramel right in the middle?!

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 3

Yep – that’s what I made last weekend when I needed a treat to take to a party.

I had the cookie dough ready with the chopped up Milky Way bites, when my oldest son texted me a photo of some caramel stuffed chocolate chip cookies with this message:

“Here is your next challenge.”

Well – I do love a challenge…

And I did happen to have a bag of caramels in the pantry…

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 4

so why not?!  If caramel stuffed chocolate chip cookies are good, wouldn’t they be even more amazing with chopped up Milky Way bites?

And O. M. G.!

My youngest son said they are his new fave!  Woohoo!  Score!

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 5jpg

Milky Way Caramel Stuffed Cookies

Ingredients:Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 2

4 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups all purpose flour
2 8-oz bags Milky Way Unwrapped Bites, chopped
1 bag of Kraft Caramels, unwrapped

Directions:

With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until completely incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add baking soda and salt, and mix another minute. Gradually add flour and beat until well incorporated, but do not overbeat.

Fold in chopped Milky Way Bites. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. With your hands, form a cookie dough ball about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.  Push a small indentation in center with your thumb and place an unwrapped caramel.  Wrap dough around to enclose.  Place on baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Allow to cool on baking stone for 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy the chocolatey, caramely, ooey, gooey yumminess!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

How I turned Peach Coffee Cake with Browned Butter Peach Glaze into the HEALTHIEST Fruit Dessert EVER!

/ Jodi / 47 Comments

peach coffee cake with brown butter glaze

First, I spent about an hour or so early in the morning blanching, dicing, mixing, melting, streuseling,  spreading, baking, glazing, and plating.

peach coffee cake with brown butter glaze 2

I then cut a slice,
took a photo of the whole cake,
plated a slice for a photo,
placed it on the edge of the deck railing with the cake where I was photographing for good lighting so I could share here,
considered how I should be careful balancing so much on the railing….

peach coffee cake disaster

Shrieked!
Cursed……
cleaned up the broken plate, ENTIRE cake AND plated slice out of the mulch 10 feet below the deck…

and cut up a ripe, juicy cantaloupe for dessert.

cantelope

I’ll have to try that one again another time…

or not….

The upside:

We saved hundreds of calories,
The cantaloupe was SUPER sweet,
and I allowed myself an extra glass of wine that evening.  🙂

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS  If you would like the recipe for the Peach Coffee Cake (which I cannot tell you how it tasted), here is a link to The SeaSideBaker where I found the recipe.  If you would like the recipe for my Cantaloupe dessert: cut up one fresh, ripe, juicy delicious cantaloupe into bite-sized pieces, and enjoy.  🙂

Old-Fashioned Fresh Peach Pie

/ Jodi / 37 Comments

old fashioned fresh peach pie 2

It is fresh peach time in our little corner of the world, and some of the best come from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, an area known for micro-climate, soil and slopes conducive to growing sweet, juicy, high-quality peaches.  Though Chambersburg is about three hours from Mars, we have a local feed store (that I frequent for bird food) whose owner has a connection and receives fresh peaches and several varieties of plums for just a few weeks every August from a farm in Chambersburg.

old fashioned fresh peach pie slice

Fresh warm peach pie a la mode is one of hubby’s all-time favorite desserts.  He is a fruit pie lover, and peach is at the top of his list.

Old Fashioned Fresh Peach Pie

I was happy to have an opportunity to bake a pie in my less-than-usual spare time this weekend.

blanched peaches

You see, we got a new family member Saturday morning…

Meet Charlie.  We rescued him from a shelter about an hour and a half away.  They believe him to be about a year old.  Day one, he was very shy, but warmed up quickly enough to actually help himself to jumping up and snuggling right in between hubby and me at bed time.  (not sure how long that is going to fly!)

Day two found him to be 45 pounds of galloping, fetching and retrieving exuberance.  His confidence is growing, and his puppy-ness kept me busy.

charlie 080215

He was right by my side in the kitchen while we made this yummy pie for “dad.”  We were both in our happy place!

Enjoy the old-fashioned taste of this classic recipe from our family to yours.

Old-Fashioned Fresh Peach Pie

Ingredients:old fashioned fresh peach pie 2

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Blanch, peel and slice peaches.  (To blanch, place peaches in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then remove with slotted spoon and place immediately in large bowl of ice water.  The skin will slip right off. )

Mix peaches, sugars, juice of lemon, flour and cinnamon in bowl and let set aside while you prepare pie crust

Line pie pan with one crust.  Add filling.  Cut remaining crust into strips to form lattice top.  Brush with milk, sprinkle with a little white sugar.

Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil to prevent pie crust from burning or overbaking.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and back for another 30-35 minutes.  Remove aluminum foil during last 10 minutes.

Peach pie is good served warm or cold, and especially yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

/ Jodi / 29 Comments

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 6

I had a wonderful vacation!

But I have to admit…. Once home, I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen and bake.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

So Sunday morning, after a quick trip to the grocery store, I took some time to leisurely make this beautiful, amazingly delicious Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 4

Oh the wonderful smell while it baked…

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart Apricots and Honey

The juicy, ripe apricots drizzled with honey made my heart happy.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 3

And watching Hubby enjoy it….

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart Apricots and Creme

even better.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 5

I found a recipe for an Apricot Pistachio Tart that I used as a baseline to create this recipe I think is well worth saving!

I summoned enough willpower to enjoy only a bite, but oh that bite…

This is such a special treat.  I hope you will try it and enjoy it or share with someone you know that loves fresh apricots.

Apricots are one of Hubby’s faves, so I enjoyed making it for him after enjoying a week away at GFC. A little “thank you” of sorts.

After baking this, I whipped up some cookie dough and made a fresh caprese pasta salad.

Kitchen fix complete.
Life is good.
Home sweet home.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

  • Servings: approximately 8
  • Print
Crust:Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup raw, unsalted, sliced almonds, crushed
1 stick butter, cut into small chunks
1 tsp almond extract Apricot Creme Filling: 
10-12 small ripe fresh apricots
3/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg yolk 
3 Tbsp honey

Directions:
Preheat to 350º.
In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, salt and flour to combine. Add the crushed almonds (I simply placed in a ziploc bag and rolled over them with a marble rolling pin), the chunks of butter, and the almond extract.  Blend with a pastry blender until the mixture just begins to clump together. Dump the crumbs into an 8 or 9-inch tart pan and press evenly.  Freeze the crust until firm for about 15 minutes.
Prick the crust about 10 – 12 times with a fork, and then place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet for easy maneuvering.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes until lightly browned.Halve the apricots and remove the pits. Arrange them, cut side up, in the warm tart shell in circles starting with the outer layer and moving inward.In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk, and 3 tablespoons of honey. Pour the custard evenly over the apricots. 
Sprinkle with some additional sliced almonds.Bake the tart until the custard is set when you shake the pan, approximately 45 minutes.   Let the tart cool completely, and then refrigerate to fully set.Just before serving, drizzle some additional honey over the top.
ENJOY!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Cinnamon Creme Crumb Cake

/ Jodi / 33 Comments

cinnamon creme crumb cake 3

Do you love a good crumb cake or coffee cake or pound cake as much as I do?

I made this recipe the day before I went away for vacation, so there would be something sweet for the guys while I was gone, and so I wouldn’t eat too much of it myself!

cinnamon creme crumb cake 1

And oh is it GOOD!

When searching for a recipe to try, I found one through Pinterest that lead me to BarbaraBakes’ blog.  I’m totally a new fan of Barbara now!

I tweaked up her recipe slightly, and had to do a little “subbing” on ingredients…again.

cinnamon creme crumb cake 4

I only had 1 cup of sour cream in the refrigerator, and the recipe called for 2 cups.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way, so I immediately “Googled” sour cream substitutes.

Some say yogurt.  I had one container of blackberry-on-the-bottom Chobani Greek yogurt, so in that went with the sour cream (sans the blackberries, which I ate), but that was only 5 additional ounces.  So I looked for another substitute and found mixing milk with lemon juice and soft butter.  Mixed enough of that up to make 2 full cups of “sour cream,” and off I went to town mixing and baking.

cinnamon creme crumb cake 2

I love how it turned out!  This is a heck of a cake that is great for decadent breakfast or brunch or a snack with coffee or served as dessert.  It is a rich, golden cake with a layer of cinnamon right in the middle and crumbly cinnamon streusel and powdered sugar on top that is good to the last crumb!

empty crumb cake plate

Here’s the recipe.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Creme Crumb Cake

  • Servings: approximately 12
  • Print

Topping & Filling Ingredients:cinnamon creme crumb cake 4

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 sticks cold salted butter, cut into small chunks
Cake Ingredients:
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temp, cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 cups sour cream

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
  • Topping:
    • Combine first five topping ingredients in a large bowl, add chunks of cold butter and blend with a pastry blender to form crumbly mixture.
  • Cake:
    • Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl, and set aside.
    • With electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla and almond extracts.   Add the dry cake ingredients alternating with the sour cream.
    • Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared pan.
    • Sprinkle half of the crumbly topping mixture over the batter.
    • Layer the remaining cake batter carefully on top of that so as not to disrupt the filling layer.
    • Then top with remaining crumbly topping.
    • Press the final topping layer into the cake layer very gently to make sure it sticks.
  • Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in comes out clean.
  • Cool in pan for 30 minutes.
  • Loosen sides of cake with knife and invert onto a wire rack. Then immediately invert again onto a serving plate.
  • Sprinkle with powder sugar to finish.

 

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Fresh Old-Fashioned Blackberry Pie

/ Jodi / 42 Comments

Fresh Blackberry Pie Slice

Last night, I made my favorite old-fashioned homemade pie.

Fresh Blackberry Pie.

Baking this pie brings me joy for so many reasons…

fresh blackberries

It reminds me of hot summer days spent at Grandma’s house where she did her best to tame the wild blackberry bushes that framed the edge of the woods that surrounded her house.

I remember picking them with her (begrudgingly at the time) and eating more than I put in the bucket or bowl I was assigned to filling.

Fresh Blackberry Pie Slice 2

I remember the way the house…

and the porch…

and even the yard smelled when the pies were baking as fans were blowing and windows were wide open in Grandma’s non air-conditioned home.

I can picture her wiping her brow with the tea towel that was on her shoulder…

I can hear the joy in Grandpap’s voice when he came home from work and smelled it too.

Fresh Blackberry Pie 2

Any time I bake a pie, it also brings back warm memories of my mother-in-law and time spent with her and my sister-in-law and the entire family as we made dozens of pies in assembly-line fashion.

I recall the guys sitting on the porch pitting cherries or peeling apples or blanching peaches or cleaning berries while us girls were in the basement mixing filling and rolling out crusts.

My mother-in-law is the one that taught me the secret and magic to the perfect pie crust, and it is one of the things that hubby brags on me about.  It always makes me smile when I think of this simple pleasure.

Fresh Blackberry Pie Slice 3

And then there is the joy my family expresses when eating a perfect pie that makes my heart soar.

I have to admit, I had two bites before asking who would finish my piece (still trying to lose 20 more pounds!), and it was GLORIOUS!  Might have even been worth skipping dinner for!

blackberries

It took me about a week to pick enough berries to make this pie.

You see, you have to try to beat the birds and the deer and the rabbits and all the other critters that also love these sweet and tart bursts of summer sunshine when they ripen.

And then you have to battle the thorns and the poison ivy that seems to love to grow in the same area as the berry bushes.

Fresh Blackberry Pie

I collected them by the handful on walks to the mailbox or around the yard.

I would then lay them on a cookie sheet and flash freeze them, toss in a Ziploc bag after frozen, and wait until I had enough to make this glorious pie.

And it is SO WORTH IT!

Have you ever made a fresh homemade old-fashioned wild blackberry pie?  If not, I so urge you to give it a try.

I’m guessing your family will thank you, and I’m also guessing you may just begin creating some pretty amazing memories for them like I have when I recall some very special family times from my past.

Fresh Old-Fashioned Blackberry Pie

Ingredients:Fresh Blackberry Pie Slice

  • 4 cups fresh wild blackberries (or frozen if not available)
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp Minute Tapioca
  • Dash of salt
  • 1/2 Fresh Lemon (juiced)
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Double Crust Recipe (See our “Secret Family Pie Crust Recipe” here)
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1 Tbsp sugar

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Prepare Pie Crust. 
  • Line 9 inch pie pan with bottom crust.
  • In large bowl, mix blackberries, sugar, tapioca, salt and lemon juice.
  • Pour berry mixture into pie pan.
  • Dot with butter.
  • Cover with top lattice crust.
  • Brush with milk, and sprinkle sugar over top crust.
  • Cover edge of pie with strips of foil to prevent crust from burning.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes or until berry mixture begins to bubble up in between top lattice crust.  (Remove foil for last 10 minutes of baking to brown edges.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

 

Milk Chocolate Caramel-Filled Chip Cookies

/ Jodi / 28 Comments

Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Chip Cookies Stacked

If you give a mouse a cookie….

He’s going to ask for a glass of milk.

Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Chip Cookies and Milk 2

And then he’ll probably want a straw.

Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Chip Cookies

As I was looking at these shots of my latest twist on chocolate chip cookies, I couldn’t help but be reminded of that fun children’s book.

Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Chip Cookies Stacked 2

Especially after this stack – I kept thinking… more – More – MORE!

Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Chip Cookies and Milk

I bake chocolate chip cookies A  LOT.

I’m kinda known for it.

Especially with our sons’ friends.

And I love the joy it brings – the smiles they create – the happy tummies – the grateful hugs.

But I get bored with the same old thing, so I am always looking for a way to change them up a bit – as you may have noticed if you’ve been hanging out here at LifeinBetween.me for any length of time…  (Fresh Raspberry Chocolate Chips, Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip…)

This latest version was a BIG HIT!

Instead of semi-sweet morsels, I used the new Nestle Toll House Delightfulls Caramel Filled Morsels.

Could you just die?!!?

Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Chips in a cookie!!

I used my tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe – subbing these DELIGHTFULL morsels for the regular chocolate chips.

Easy Peasy – and guaranteed to be a Big Hit with whoever you decide to share these with!

And PS – I had forgotten how amazing a chocolate chip cookie tastes dunked in milk!     I have not done that in ages, but sampled a bite after this “photo shoot.”

Grab a glass of cold milk – even if it is Skim – and DUNK!

Pure delight!

Kicked Up Milk Chocolate & Caramel Chip Cookies

Ingredients:Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Chip Cookies Stacked 2

4 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups all purpose flour
2 9-oz bags Nestle Toll House Delightfulls Milk Chocolate Caramel Filled Morsels

Directions:

With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until completely incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add baking soda and salt, and mix another minute. Gradually add flour and beat until well incorporated, but do not overbeat.

Fold in chocolate caramel morsels. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. With your hands, form a cookie dough ball about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.  Place on baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Allow to cool on baking stone for 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Cheers & Chocolatey Caramely Hugs,

Jodi

Old Fashioned Peach Dumplings

/ Jodi / 30 Comments

peach dumpling

What is better than a warm apple dumpling with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?

How about an old-fashioned peach dumpling with ice cream and peach brandy in the caramel sauce?!?!

peach dumpling 4

O M G are these amazing!

Hubby loves peach pie, and I had some peaches getting very ripe on the kitchen counter Father’s Day morning.

peach dumpling 1

So I decided to make him this special treat of flaky pie crust wrapped around sweet juicy fresh peaches stuffed with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and vanilla and drizzled with a creamy, caramely, brandy infused sauce.

Is that Merv a lucky guy or what??!!

peach dumpling 2

It was a great weekend, beginning with my boss winning Entrepreneur of the Year Friday evening at a gala I was so fortunate to attend with him and some of our colleagues and friends, and ending with having the kids over for Father’s Day.

Our oldest son, Jake, grilled an amazing pork tenderloin he marinated in fresh herbs and lemon, and he also brought over his homemade macaroni salad (one of hubby’s faves).  Our  daughter-in-law, Colleen, brought hubby more goodies – homemade apricot turnovers and homemade cinnamon swirl bread.  He’ll be set for a while!  And this is all after being treated out to breakfast at one of his favorite spots with our youngest son, Nick.

Unfortunately, I ended up getting some kind of nasty “crud.”  It started Friday evening at the gala when my voice started going and my throat got scratchy and sore.  I woke up Saturday morning with my right eye sealed shut, coughing up a storm, and absolutely no voice.  I tried to take it easy, and we had to cancel Saturday evening dinner plans with friends.

I’m still feeling pretty punk, but oh well – still bucked up and prepared this yummy treat and enjoyed visiting with the family and playing Cranium and laughing way too much!  Did you ever try to do a humdinger challenge with no voice?!  Thank goodness whistling worked!

peach dumpling 3

But back to these amazing peach dumplings…

I am the queen of improvising in recipes and had not had a chance to go to the grocery store this weekend feeling like I did, so when the recipe I found (at A Flock in the City) called for heavy cream in the sauce and I had none in the refrigerator, I decided to try substituting vanilla ice cream.  Where there is a will there is a way!  And I’m not sure I’d do it any other way after this!!  I made a few other tweaks – using my own standby pie crust recipe, blanching and peeling the skin from the peaches, leaving out the nutmeg, and adjusting a few quantities of sugar and butter, but I really liked this recipe I found.

peach dumpling

Hubby loved them, so I’m glad I made this treat for him.  I also got him a new bird feeder – a Squirrel Buster (thanks for the recommendation Jo) and an Oriole feeder, so the birds are sure having a good time.

The squirrel however…..  well – just watch this video (thanks Nick for allowing me to share!)

Old Fashioned Peach Dumplings

Sauce

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
  • 1/2 cup peach brandy
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and blanch peaches for 2 minutes.  Immediately remove to ice water.  The skin will slip right off to peel the peaches.
  • Cut peaches in half and remove pit.
  • Roll out pie crust and cut into 6 squares (approx 4″ x 4″) or large enough to wrap peaches
  • Place one peach half in center of each square, and fill with brown sugar and cinnamon, a dollop of butter, and a drizzle of vanilla.
  • Place second half of peach on top, and wrap entire stuffed peach with dough – sealing to keep juices in.
  • Place in 9 x 13 rectangular baking stone or dish.
  • Prepare sauce by melting brown sugar and butter.  Bring to a boil.
  • Add vanilla ice cream and stir until melted and boiling again.
  • Add peach brandy, and continue boiling for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add vanilla and salt.
  • Pour sauce into bottom of baking dish around dumplings.
  • Bake at 450 degrees F for 35-40 minutes.
  • Serve warm with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream.

Hope you all had a nice weekend celebrating Fathers and families.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Hummingbird Cake

/ Jodi / 37 Comments

hummingbird cake 6

Have you ever heard of Hummingbird Cake?

Well – it is one of my Dad’s faves…

So I decided I was going to give it a try for his birthday.

hummingbird cake 2

This sweet, dense, banana, pineapple and pecan smothered cake is not for the faint of heart!  A thin slice goes a long way!

It reminds me of carrot cake with its thick layers of cream cheese frosting between the three layers of decadent delightfulness.

But WHY is it called Hummingbird Cake?

hummingbird cake 5

Considering the key ingredients – bananas and pineapple – this famously southern cake is thought to have been invented in Jamaica in the late 1960s.

It was originally called the “Doctor Bird Cake,” nicknamed after a Jamaican variety of hummingbird called the Red-billed Streamertail. The name came from the way the bird’s long beak probes flowers, like a doctor inspecting a patient.

But what does that have to do with a pineapple and banana cake?  According to Celebrity Chef, Jamie Oliver’s website, some say the cake was named after the bird because it was sweet enough to attract hummingbirds (who eat only nectar), while others say the yellow streaks of banana are reminiscent of the bird’s plumage.

In 1968, the Jamaican tourist board decided to try attracting tourists by sending out press kits to the US. In the packs were a few recipes from the island, including one for the Doctor Bird Cake. Shortly thereafter, similar recipes started to crop up in local papers and community cookbooks across the South.

Most food historians agree the first printed recipe for Hummingbird cake was by Mrs. L. H. Wiggin. She supplied the recipe to Southern Living magazine in February 1978.  Even before then, however, there were countless references to the cake in county fair reports and baking competitions across Southern America.

hummingbird cake 3

This is a really lovely special occasion cake for that someone special in your life.

hummingbird cake 4

And it freezes well to save individual servings for just when you need that something special for a guest or yourself.

hummingbird cake 1

I sure enjoyed sharing a slice with Dad and Mom II and hubby yesterday – and then leaving the rest with them, so I am not tempted to eat more!

I’d love to hear if you are familiar with this cake or if you make it and how it differs from the recipe I found that is the “Most requested recipe in Southern Living Magazine history.”

Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients:hummingbird cake 3

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 cups chopped ripe bananas
  • Cream Cheese Frosting
    • 2 (8-ounce) pkgs cream cheese, softened
    • 1 cup butter, softened
    • 1 (32-ounce) bag powdered sugar
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

While cake is cooling, prepare cream cheese frosting by combining softened cream cheese and butter with electric mixer until creamy.  Slowly add powdered sugar until incorporated and desired consistency.  Stir in vanilla until combined.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator.

Enjoy this special cake!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi