Orange Sour Cream Loaf Cake
Print This Recipe
I had good intentions. I really did. I was all set to make low(er)-sugar, low(er)-fat chocolate chip cookies from a cookbook called Eat What You Love that my best friend got me hooked on. Then I took a walk and saw the jacarandas in full bloom and cleaned out my fridge and found oranges waiting patiently to be eaten, and thought all signs point to spring (or spring baking). And once I discovered a full tub of sour cream (obviously purchased with a now-forgotten-recipe in mind, as I hate sour cream), I knew I had to make some sort of sour cream orange…thing. I googled “sour cream loaf cake” and when this gorgeous photo greeted me, I was smitten.
The original recipe called for making the batter in a food processor, but I decided early on I was doubling it and had visions of the doubled batter not fitting in the Cuisinart and ending up all over my kitchen so I opted to use my stand mixer which worked out just fine. I should also point out, this is one of those dump everything in and mix cakes, which is super nice because that way you don’t end up washing ten bowls. The recipe is similar to Ina’s Lemon Cake and Lemon Yogurt Cake because there’s a syrup that is poured and and a glaze to finish it off. And like those cakes, this one is moist and light, and the orange flavor becomes more evident after a few bites. This is one cake I will definitely be making again.
Photos of the process.
Cake Ingredients
1 cup full fat sour cream (I used light)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
zest of 3 oranges
1 tsp real vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
½ cup extra light olive oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
Cake Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to size and place it in the bottom of the pan.
In a food processor, process sour cream, granulated sugar, eggs, orange zest, vanilla extract, salt, olive oil, and baking powder together. Add the flour and pulse until combined, being careful not to over mix. (I used a stand mixer and it worked just fine.)
Pour the cake batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait for 10 minutes and carefully remove to a cooling rack.
Syrup Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Syrup Preparation
While the cake is cooking, add the orange juice and granulated sugar to a small sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted and the liquid is mainly clear. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Place the cooling rack on top of a piece of wax paper. Spoon the mixture over the cake. Allow the cake to finish cooling.
Glaze Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
Glaze Preparation
Mix together powdered sugar and orange juice. Spoon glaze over the top and let the cake set up overnight before serving.
Place the cooling rack on top of a piece of wax paper. Spoon the mixture over the cake. Allow the cake to finish cooling.
Recipe adapted from The Cooking Photographer.
Oatmeal Turtle Jumbles
Print This Recipe
There are certain recipes that get bumped up to the top of my to-bake list. When I saw this in my Google reader, I knew this was one such recipe. How could it not be?
Not only does it have chocolate and caramel, it’s made in a pan and can just be sliced. With that said, the bars are a bit time consuming–you have to unwrap caramels (I still can’t find the unwrapped baking caramels anywhere in LA!) and there is a melt on the stove step, but they’re definitely worth the fuss!
An oatmeal cookie base, gooey chocolate layer (with pecans if you don’t think, as I do, that nuts ruin everything), and oatmeal and caramel top. It really doesn’t get much better than that, does it? I think the next time I make these (trust me, there will be a next time), I’ll sprinkle some sea salt in the chocolate mixture because I’m still on my salty-sweet kick.
Photos of the process here.
Base and Topping Ingredients
6 ounces (12 TBSP or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup purchased caramels halved
Filling Ingredients
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup pecans (I omitted these)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; coat a 9 x 13-inch baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Cream butter and both sugars in a bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and mix to blend, followed by the flour, baking soda, and salt; mix to incorporate. Add in oats and mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Crumble 2 cups of dough over the bottom of the prepared baking sheet. Press to cover base of the pan (don’t push dough up the sides); set aside.
- Add halved caramels to remaining dough, working them in with your fingers; set aside for the topping.
- Melt chocolate chips, condensed milk, and cocoa powder together for the filling in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture is smooth, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans and vanilla.
- Pour the filling over the dough in the pan and spread evenly. (I used an offset spatula to do this.) The layer will be fairly thin.
- Crumble dough with caramel pieces evenly over the top of the chocolate. Bake bars for 30 minutes, or until chocolate is set and topping is firm. Cool bars completely before cutting.
Recipe adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.
Cookbook Giveaway
The folks over at Snubbr, a new website that helps recommend gift ideas to people, is sponsoring a cookbook giveaway for Nosh readers. Entering is really easy–just visit Snubbr’s recommended cookbook list, choose your favorite cookbook, then come back here and leave a comment on this post with the title of the cookbook you want and why you want it. Good luck!
Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, May 30, 2010. One winner will be selected by Snubbr and contacted by email. Please note this contest is only open to residents of the U.S.
***Contest is now closed.***
Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Print This Recipe
Did I mention I got a job? I did! The company I was freelancing for hired me on permanently, so I am officially no longer funemployed. And not only do I have a regular paycheck again, I have guinea pigs again!
Which brings me to these bars. I wanted to make something that wouldn’t take a long time and didn’t involve scooping or frosting. One of my coworkers has hinted toward peanut butter and chocolate all week, so I Googled “peanut butter cookie bars” and came across these. The recipe met my requirements and was super easy to make. In fact, you could even make them with just a bowl and a wooden spoon. The bars are thin and moist, and while they’re not my favorite bar cookie ever, they’re great for those days you want to make something quick and easy.
Photos of the process here.
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. quick oats
chocolate chips to sprinkle on top
Stir together melted butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Add egg and mix well. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to combine. Stir in oats. Press mixture into a 9×13 pan (lightly greased). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Return to oven until golden brown and baked through, about 8-10 more minutes.
Adapted from One Ordinary Day.
Guinness Brownies
Print This Recipe
My cousin‘s amazing band is touring the west coast right now (you should check them out!), and I wanted to make the guys some treats to have while on the road.
In addition to everyone’s favorite cookies, I wanted to to try something different, and figured this was the perfect opportunity to try out the Guinness brownie recipe everyone is always raving about around St. Patrick’s Day.
I’m happy to report the brownies with a hit with the band! They’re fudgy, rich, and full of chips, and while the Guinness gives them a distinct flavor, if I hadn’t known it was an ingredient I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. One strange part of the recipe calls for melting not only bittersweet chocolate with the butter, but white chocolate as well, something I’ve never seen before. I’m wondering what the white chocolate does to the brownies that milk or semi-sweet wouldn’t do.
Photos of the process here.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate (chopped or measured chips)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups Guinness Extra Stout beer, room temperature, no foam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375. Grease 9×13 pan.
- In medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
- In double boiler over low heat, melt butter, bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate chips. Stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add spoonful of egg mixture to chocolate mixture to cool it off (you don’t want to cook your eggs.) Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat well.
- Add flour mixture to egg mixture and beat until just combined. Whisk in beer. Pour in chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes (checking for doneness starting at 25 minutes). Brownies are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let brownies cool to room temperature before cutting.
Recipe from Confabulation in the Kitchen.
