Peach Crumb Cake

Breakfast, Unfussy

Cake:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • 3 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches

Crumb Topping:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a 9×13″ pan.

Make Cake: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well to combine. Stir in baking soda and salt. Add the flour, one third at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in almond extract and half of the peaches. Spread into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle remaining half of the peaches evenly over the top of the cake.

Make Crumb: Whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together. Pour in butter and vanilla extract and stir until the mixture is evenly moistened.

Spread crumb mixture evenly over the cake batter. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Oatmeal Spice Cake

Breakfast, Cakes, Unfussy

This cake is a breeze to whip up and makes a great breakfast, what with all the oatmeal.

  • 2 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, pour boiling water over the oatmeal and let stand for 20 minutes.

In large bowl, cream butter until light. Slowly add sugars, creaming until the mixture is fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape bowl as necessary.

Whisk together flours, salt, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to the creamed butter and blend well. Stir in the oatmeal and vanilla extract.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cook on rack for 20 minutes. Turn out onto rack.

Dust with powdered sugar, or glaze with a cinnamon glaze.

Cinnamon Glaze:

  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 TBSP cream
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth. Spoon over the cake.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Bread, Breakfast
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 TBSP poppy seeds
  • 1 TBSP baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup oil

Glaze:

  • 2 TBSP lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 357°F. Grease or line 16 regular-sized muffin cups or 8 jumbo muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

In a medium bowl whisk together sour cream, milk, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, butter and oil.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry and fold with a rubber spatula until no flour streaks remain.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter.

Bake 15 minutes for regular muffins and 20-25 for jumbo, until just firm when touched lightly.

Glaze: Whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth in a small bowl.

When muffins have cooled, dip tops in glaze. Let excess drip off and set upright to firm up.

Homebakers Collective June Challenge: Lamination

Breakfast, Fussy, Homebakers Collective Challenge

Apricot Cream Cheese Danish

This recipe was from Joanne Chang’s Pastry Love cookbook – I recommend it. She opened her first bakery, Flour, a block away from our Boston apartment and it was such a treat to walk across the park and get something tasty.

I substituted apricots for figs, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly (with one exception- I let the dough rest overnight, instead of the 3-hour maximum it suggested). These turned out deliciously sweet, tart and buttery. I do have danish pastry leftover in the freezer, waiting for me, which isn’t a bad thing.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Breakfast, Unfussy

This is the perfect thing to do when you can get your hands on the first tender rhubarb of the Spring. This is my mom’s recipe.

  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 cups sliced rhubarb

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon

Grease 9×13″ pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream brown sugar and butter until light. Add egg. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to sugar, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix in rhubarb.

Spread into a prepared pan. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon for topping, sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until the center is done.