Category Archives: About

Applesauce Bundt Cake

November 26, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

I have had it in my mind to make an Applesauce Cake for absolutely ages. On my last trip to the shops I even bought a great big bag of apples; truth be told, I have bought a big bag of apples a few times before but the Applesauce Cake just never seemed to materialize, go figure.

It just so happens I had a few plans go awry on a Saturday and when you have to shift to Plan B, but wait, there was no Plan B; well, that is a good time to head to the kitchen and do some Baking! Coincidentally I had also just made a fresh batch of applesauce so I simply had to dig out the Applesauce Cake recipe.

It used to be that I would flip through my Betty Crocker cookbook but in this day and age, I enter what I want to make in the google search field on MY iPad* and sift through the multitude of recipes on offer. Good Ol’ BC has an Applesauce Cake recipe for a 9×13 cake which I guess I could have used but I wanted a tried-and-true recipe for a bundt pan because I bought a bundt pan in June and it was still sitting in the cupboard, unused!

I made only one substitution in this recipe and one addition: I used chopped dates instead of raisins and I added a layer of Cream Cheese Frosting to finish it off. You see, the picture in the old BC cookbook has a lovely 9×13 Applesauce cake all decked out in Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkled with chopped walnuts so I had this vision in my head of my Applesauce Cake being frosted rather than merely dusted with powdered sugar.

Many thanks to Cookie Madness for breaking away from Cookies and making an Applesauce Spice Bunt Cake.

*My husband keeps absconding off to the bedroom with my iPad at the most inopportune times! And the nerve, sometimes he even closes down the pages I am using! I NEVER shut down his Geek pages!

Applesauce Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

3 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Brown Sugar, lightly packed
1 cup Sugar
1 large Egg
2 cups unsweetened Applesauce
1 cup coarsely chopped Pecans
1 cup chopped Dates or Raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup Butter, softened
4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
3 cups Icing sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Milk, to right consistency, about 1 1/2 teaspoons

Preheat oven to 350F.
Spray a 10″ Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, add 1 tablespoon of flour, tilting and lightly tapping pan to coat pan lightly with flour; turn out excess flour.

In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice; set aside.
In mixing bowl beat butter until smooth then add sugar and continue beating for about a minute.
Add brown sugar and resume beating for another 2 – 3 minutes until.
Add egg and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy.
Stir in applesauce on low setting.
Turn mixer off, raise paddle and add the flour mixture; lower paddle and stir at lowest setting until well blended and no lumps remain.
Stir in chopped pecans and dates.
Turn batter out into prepared Bundt pan and bake in 350F oven for 60 – 70 minutes, until golden and pick inserted in centre comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool, in pan, on wire rack for 10 minutes.
Turn out of pan onto wire rack and cool completely.

While cake is cooling prepare Cream Cheese Frosting:
Cream butter until soft and no lumps remain.
On low speed, stir in 1 cup of icing sugar until incorporated.
Add vanilla and continue stirring on low speed.
Add another cup of icing sugar, again stirring until incorporated.
Add final cup of icing sugar and a bit of milk, if needed.
Beat on medium-high speed for 2 -3 minutes until light and fluffy.

When cake is completely cooled frost with Cream Cheese Frosting, sprinkled with chopped Pecans and drizzle with a bit of Maple Glaze (icing sugar mixed with a bit of maple flavouring and enough milk to drizzling consistency)

Yield: 12

About, Muffins and Scones

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

November 10, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

I started making this recipe about 19 years ago but then I stopped working at the school where I was making about 6 dozen of these a week, my own children grew up and left home and I no longer felt the need to make chocolate muffins. Now I am back at that same school and find myself making these again!

4 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened Coca
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 cups Milk
2 large Eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup Butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 400F.
Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners or lightly spray with Pam.

In large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, sugar and cocoa; make a well in the centre and set aside.
In large mixing cup combine liquid ingredients.
Pour liquid ingredients into well in dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon into prepared muffin tins. ( I use a #5Pampered Chef scoop)
Bake in 400F oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

Yield: 24 muffins.

About, Poultry

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken

October 28, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

I was flipping through my November Issue of Chatelaine and came upon this recipe in the “it’syourhealth” section on page 155. I had just taken boneless, skinless chicken breasts out of the freezer with absolutely no idea what I was going to make with it. I was only missing the oranges called for in this recipe but did have a can of mandarin oranges in the pantry. I also subbed in a can of coconut milk for the milk.

The husband says the chicken was delicious! I wouldn’t know as I remain a Vegetarian … I rely on smell, A LOT, and I grill the husband about taste, texture, presentation…I usually get, “It was….tasty, very tasty.” <- A quasi quote from 84 Charing Cross Road

2 teaspoons Butter
1 Onion, sliced
1 teaspoon each: Paprika, ground Cumin, Dried Mint
1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 lb skinless, boneless Chicken Breast, cut into strips
1/3 cup chopped Dried Apricots and/or Raisins
2 cups Coconut Milk (or milk)
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 can Mandarin Orange slices, drained

In large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
Saute onion, paprika, cumin, mint, cinnamon, salt and pepper until onion is softened.
Add chicken; saute for 3 minutes.
Add dried fruit.
Whisk a small amount of coconut milk into cornstarch, until smooth; whisk in remaining coconut milk.
Stir into skillet.
Simmer, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink inside, 4 – 5 minutes.
Top with mandarin orange slices.
Serve over a bed of Brown Rice or Whole Wheat Couscous with a Green Vegetable.

Serves 4

Isabelle Neiderer, November 2012, Chatelaine, it’syourhealth, Volume November/12, page 155

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken and Brown Rice with Blackened Peppers

About, Squares and Bars

Sonte’s Granola Bars

April 23, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

When making up your weekly batch of Granola, have another bowl on hand to mix up the ingredients for these Granola Bars so you can have a healthy, nutritious snack at work, at school or at play!

1. 4 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
2. 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3. 1/2 cup Wheat Germ
4. 1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
5. 1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds
6. 1/2 cup Pumpkin Seeds
7. 1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
8. 2 generous teaspoons Cinnamon
9. 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
10. 1/2 cup Flour
11. 3/4 cup Raisins (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, then drained well)
12. 1 cup Coconut
13. 1 cup chopped Dried Apricots (optional)

3/4 cup Honey
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup Applesauce
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

2 cups whole Blanched Almonds

Preheat oven to 350F (175C)
Prepare a 11x15x1 inch (28x38x2.5cm) baking tray by spraying lightly with vegetable oil spray.

Combine first 12 ingredients together in a large bowl.
In small mixing bowl, combine honey, eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce and vanilla.
Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients until well blended.
Press into prepared pan.
Bake in 350F oven for 12 minutes.
Remove from oven, sprinkle evenly with whole almonds, gently press the almonds into the granola bars.

Return to oven and continue baking for 12 to 17 minutes.

Score into bars and let cool for 30 minutes.
Cut into bars and allow to cool completely.

Store in airtight container.

NOTE: Luke loves chocolate so when they are finished baking, I sprinkle with 200g Chocolate Chunks, return to turned off oven for 2 minutes, remove from oven and spread melted chocolate to cover the whole pan of granola bars.
Looking for a yummy yogurt topping to replace the chocolate….

About, Breakfast

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

March 30, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

Late last year I came across Cinnamon Roll Pancakes at Recipe girl and immediately fell in love with the idea of morphing cinnamon rolls and pancakes together to create a super special brunch treat! I usually make a triple batch! The leftover ones are just as yummy as the fresh off the griddle ones. I would even go so far as to say they are better because the flavours have had a chance to meld and the brown sugar swirl has hardened as it cooled. Yummers!

Yes, they are a bit of work to prepare but well worth the effort. So brew yourself a cup of coffee, gather your ingredients and do it! Start by preparing the Brown Sugar/Cinnamon mixture, make the Cream Cheese Frosting and finally the Pancake Batter. Now I suppose you could cheat and use store bought Pancake mix, but why would you want to do that when whipping up Pancake Batter is so easy to do?

Alright, get ready to make Cinnamon Roll Pancakes!

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Mixture:
1/4 cup Butter, melted
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Cream Cheese Glaze:
1/4 cup Butter, softened
2 ounces Cream Cheese, slightly softened
3/4 – 1 cup Icing Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Pancake Batter:
3 cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 1/2 – 3 cups Milk
3 large Eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup melted Butter

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Mixture:
Melt butter in small mixing bowl; add brown sugar and cinnamon and stir well to combine.
Pour the mixture into a Piping Bag or a small Ziploc Freezer Bag. (I fasten the end of my piping bag with a small clip, prop the bag in a drinking glass, fill the bag then put the whole thing into the fridge to bring the mixture back to a semi solid paste)

Cream Cheese Glaze:
In small mixing bowl cream together the softened butter and cream cheese until no lumps remain.
Add icing sugar and vanilla, stirring well.
Spoon the Cream Cheese frosting into a second Piping Bag or small Ziploc Freezer Bag. (Again, I secure the tip while I load the piping bag and leave it sit in another drinking glass until I am ready to use it)

Pancake Batter:
In medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; make a well in the centre.
In large pyrex measuring cup, melt butter; add 1 cup of the milk then stir in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, add another 1 1/2 cups milk along with the vanilla and whisk together until well combined; add enough milk to right consistency. A few lumps may remain.

Now we are ready to cook the Pancakes!

Heat a large non stick griddle to 350F. and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray.
Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake onto the hot griddle, lightly spreading each portion evenly.
When pancakes begin to bubble pipe the Brown Sugar/Cinnamon mixture onto each pancake and continue cooking pancakes until the bubbles begin to pop.
Carefully slide a wide spatula underneath the pancake and flip over; cook for another 2 – 3 minutes, until golden.
Flip the pancakes onto a plate.
Serve each pancake with a drizzle of cream cheese frosting.

Recipe girl tells you to wipe out the pan between batches but I don’t do that. I did it the first time I tried the recipe and found it just made a mess so I just scoop more batter onto the griddle after I remove a batch. The griddle does get messing, as does the spatula but both clean up very easily. Once finished cooking I pour a enough water to coat the griddle, stick the spatula in HOT water to melt the sugar off. Works like a charm every time! Trust me, if this did not clean up nicely, I would not make them as often as I do.

Leftover Cinnamon Roll Pancakes — A light dusting of icing sugar is nice on leftover Cinnamon Roll Pancakes.

Please do visit Recipe girl for the original recipe. She has also listed a couple of delicious variations. I definitely want to try the Gingerbread-Cinnamon Roll Pancakes around Christmas time.

Aysontespli's Kitchen