Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

This post was first published on May 10, 2010 on Cooking for Seven. It is still one of my favorite things that I've photographed. And I adore this cake. Once I can get my hands on some rhubarb, I'm definitely making a pan of this...

As I looked at our nearly bare garden and spotted our healthy rhubarb plants, a sudden fancy hit me. Rhubarb upside down cake. We had made this recipe once before with success. So my sister & I quickly harvested the tenderest shoots.

Then, as we were prepping our ingredients, panic stuck. There wasn’t a stick of butter in the house. Amanda & I looked at each other and shrieked.

Thankfully, Grandma lent us a couple sticks of butter and our cake was saved! And it was definitely worth the trip to Grandma’s.


Notes:

• We of course substituted whole wheat flour & a natural sweetener in this recipe. Even with all whole wheat, the cake was very tender.
• We like to serve this with a warm vanilla custard. You can use the recipe for vanilla sauce found here & increase the milk to 3 cups.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

A tender, slightly tangy cake. Perfect with whipped cream or a vanilla sauce.
Adapted from Taste of Home | PRINT
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

2/3 cup maple sugar or sweetener of choice,
3 tablespoons butter, melted,
2-1/4 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb,
4-1/2 teaspoons maple sugar or sweetener of choice,
6 tablespoons butter, softened,
3/4 cup maple sugar,
2 large eggs, separated,
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract,
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour,
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder,
1/2 teaspoon salt,
1/4 cup whole milk,
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar,
Whipped cream or vanilla custard, optional,

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. In a small bowl, combine the sugar & melted butter. Spread in the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with the rhubarb & sprinkle with 4 1/2 teaspoons of maple sugar. Set aside.

2) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter & 3/4 cups of maple sugar until light & fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks & vanilla extract and mix.

3) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, slowly add half of the flour, the milk, and the other half of the flour, beating well after each addition & scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

4) In a clean, medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into the batter. Gently spoon over the rhubarb in the pan.

5) Bake in preheated oven until the cake springs back when lightly touched, about 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla custard.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

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Maple Apple Pecan Bread

This post was originally published on October 10, 2010 on Cooking for Seven.

We have been blessed with a multitude of apples this year. It’s wonderful to be able to, after a hard run, pluck an apple from our trees and enjoy a sweet reward.

It’s also wonderful to have so many apples on hand, ready to create something delicious. Like pink apple jelly. Or this scrumptious Maple Apple Pecan Bread.

  Notes:

  The original recipe called for brown sugar. Since I didn’t have natural “solid” sweetener on hand, I substituted maple syrup and increased the flour by 3 tablespoons.
   I did use 3/4 cup of ap-flour, but if you have whole wheat pastry flour on hand you could easily use all whole wheat.




Maple Apple Pecan Bread
Printable Page
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 3 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• generous pinch freshly ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup buttermilk (I used yogurt + a little milk)
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup grated apples
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped apples
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, divided
• cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×5×3-inch loaf pan.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3) In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, maple syrup, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Add the grated apples, chopped apples flax seeds and half of the chopped walnuts.  Fold to incorporate thoroughly.
4) Scoop batter into prepared pan and top with granulated sugar, cinnamon and the rest of the walnuts. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
5) Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack to cool before wrapping & storing.  Serve slightly toasted with butter.

Makes one large loaf.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Maple Apple Pecan Bread

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Blueberry Cobbler

This post was originally published on August 13, 2010 (yep, almost 4 years ago!) on Cooking for Seven. I was ever so proud of my photos.  

I made this again recently and remembered why I liked it so much. I used sprouted flour for the topping this time around and it was still yummy. And I melted the butter instead of cutting it in - I'm lazy like that. I also baked it in a deep dish pie pan, which was pretty. 

Have I told you about this cobbler? It is wonderful. Easy, fast, delicious. My dad likes it better than blueberry pie. The first time we made it he said, “You need to USE this recipe.” And so we have.

The construction of the topping was new to me: Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, then add boiling water. The result is a tender, tasty topping. And it’s so much easier than pie dough.

Notes: The original recipe calls for blackberries. Blueberries make a wonderful substitute, but I like to add more than the recipe calls for. Of course I substituted whole wheat for AP flour and maple sugar for granulated.

Blueberry Cobbler

Adapted from Buns in My Oven

Printable Page

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 1 1/2 (6 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup maple sugar, demerara, rapadura, or sucanat
• 1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 9 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup boiling water

For the filling:

• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4-6 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup maple sugar, demerara, rapadura, or sucanat

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) For the dough: Mix the flour, sweetener of choice, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until you have a coarse, crumbly mixture. Pour in the boiling water and stir together until all of the dough is wet. Set aside.

3) For the berries: Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, berries, and sweetener of choice. Mix together well.

4) Transfer berries to a 10 inch cast iron pan. Heat mixture over medium heat until boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

5) Drop spoonfuls of dough over the berry mixture and place the cast iron pan on a foil lined cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the dough is golden brown and the berries are thick and bubbly.

Note: If you don’t have a cast iron pan, you can bring the berries to a boil in a sauce pan and bake in a 9×9 baking dish.

Makes approximately 6-8 servings.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Blueberry Cobbler

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Rhubarb Crunch + Being an Aunt

This was originally posted on May 7, 2012 on Cooking for Seven. I wrote about my experience when I took care of my sister's kids when she had her third baby. Less than a year later I was a mom myself. It's a bit strange to remember when I didn't have a little person to take of...

The other day, my sister called me up and asked if I’d be willing to stay with the kids while she made a trip into town. Of course I said yes – being home alone is kinda lonely sometimes, and I love my little niece and nephew to death.

While she was in town and the kids were napping, I decided to harvest some of her beautiful rhubarb and make a dessert.

Everything went together easily and it baked up as described by the recipe. When the kiddos woke up from their nap, they were very interested in my creation and desperate to give it a try.

The guys got home from work and Reuben spied the rhubarb crisp. He, too was eager to try some – perhaps before supper?

Just as we were getting ready to eat, my sister announced that she was going into labor. We quickly finished the meal and cleared away the dishes – but she need us to leave: NOW. We scooped up the kids (and the dessert) and headed home.

Judah and Ellie finally got to eat their dessert (with whipped cream, of course). We waited (somewhat) patiently for news of the arrival of the baby. Ten o-clock rolled around and no phone call. We put the kids to bed and settled down at the computer to relax a bit after a very busy day.

Just as Reuben and I were drifting off to sleep, we got the call. It’s a girl!

The next morning we packed up the kids and headed out to see the newest member of the family: Susan.

And what a doll she is.

I’ve gotta tell you, these kids are aDORable. But, like all little kids, they’re also a handful. They need help doing almost everything, from wiping their faces, to washing their hands, to getting dressed. They seem to have two modes: super energetic or sleepy. After two days of taking care of them I was exhausted.

All of this to say, I have a new appreciation for the unsung heroes of the world: mothers.

The only time you have to yourself is the few short hours when the kids are taking a nap. All other hours are spent keeping the kids fed, happy and safe. Just living becomes a chore.

But their happy faces and excited voices make it all worth while.

So to all mothers: my hat is off.

But about this rhubarb crunch.

It’s a bit different than most crisp recipes I’ve made – you press half of the topping into the pan before adding the rhubarb. Also, you boil together sugar and water and pour over the rhubarb in the pan for sweetener.

I used whole wheat flour and a natural sweetener, partly because that was all that I could find in Audra’s pantry (go sis!). Also, she didn’t have any regular rolled oats on hand, so I used quick instead. Feeling a bit lazy, I decided to melt the butter and mix into the topping ingredients instead of cutting it in. A trick my mum taught me.

Reuben thought it was a tad too sweet, even though I cut out some of the sugar. Of course, rhubarb recipes usually call for a ton of sugar to combat the sourness of the fruit (is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?). And we’re not very tolerant of overly sweet desserts.

Would I make this again? Definitely. It was very easy, and I think it would easily convert to other fruits, such as raspberries.

Rhubarb Crunch | adapted from Taste of Home | printable page | make 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned or quick oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (I used about 3/4 cup sucanat)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed (or melted)
• 4 cups diced fresh rhubarb or frozen rhubarb
• 1-1/3 cups sugar (I used 1 cup of sucanat)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• whipped cream or ice cream, for serving

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a square baking dish (I used a pie pan because that’s all I could find).

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter or mix in the melted butter. Press half of the topping into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the rhubarb on top.

3) In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Slowly mix in the cold water and heat over medium until the mixture boils; boil for 2 minutes or until thickened a bit. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour over the rhubarb in the pan.

4) Sprinkle with remaining crumb topping. Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour (start checking at 40 minutes) or until bubbly and beginning to brown.

5) Serve warm with ice cream, lightly sweetened whipped cream or plain cream.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Rhubarb Crunch + Being an Aunt

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Elsewhere: Raspberry Curd

Boy do I love me some curd: the perfect blend of rich, creamy, sweet and sour. 

This pretty curd is so easy to make: through all the ingredients into a pot, cook until thickened, and strain. It's so so good spread on buttery English muffins. Or eaten with a spoon, like Reuben likes to do.

Head on over to the Good Life Eats blog to check out my guest post and get the recipe HERE.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Elsewhere: Raspberry Curd

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Blood Orange Lemonade + The Winner

I must admit that I don't really care for blood oranges. We picked up a bag at the supermarket and were very disappointed at the taste. Maybe we got a bad batch, but I was quite underwhelmed. 

And so I decided to juice them and turn them into a delicious drink. I also had some lemon juice leftover from making lemon curd, so I had the brilliant idea of combining them. A quick search on Pinterest (does anyone else use Pinterest like Google?) revealed that it was already a thing. I settled on a reliable-looking recipe and got crack-a-lackin'. 

Reuben loved the juice. I had to limit how much he drank so I would have enough to take pictures the next day.

And so something mediocre was rescued and turned into a yummy beverage.

This juice is quite intense: it kind of tastes like a grown-up Kool-Aid. You can use sparkling water in place of the water for a more punch-like effect, or you can add more water to make it less biting/sweet. Whatever you fancy!

NOTE: I didn't have full cup of lemon juice, so I reduced the amount of sugar to compensate and used a bit less water. You can always taste and adjust the sweetness if need be!

Blood Orange Lemonade

recipe from food network | makes about 4 servings | printable page

Ingredients:

For the Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

For the Juice:

• 1 cup blood orange juice
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 cups water (sparkling or regular)

Directions:

For the syrup:

In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

To assemble:

Pour the juices and water into a pitcher. Add the syrup and stir to combine. Refrigerate into well chilled. Serve over ice, if desired.

And Now For the Winner of the Sucre Macarons! 

I asked y'all to tell me what dessert you were wishing for to enter the giveaway. Seriously, you guys have some awesome cravings.

Using random.org, I selected a winner. And that person is...

Commented #69: Erica (hey, hey!) who was craving chocolate with caramel. Nom nom. 

I have emailed Erica with details.

Thank you to all who entered the giveaway.

Have a lovely day!

xoxo

Erica

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Blood Orange Lemonade + The Winner

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How to Eat a Grapefruit

I have enjoyed a good grapefruit for as long as I can remember. The way my Dad taught me to eat it was to slice it in half, run a knife around each section, sprinkle it with sugar and scoop out the juicy innards with a spoon. It's a great, clean way to eat a grapefruit, but it's torture to work for each bite.

When I was eating lunch at my sister's, I noticed that she cut up her grapefruit like we do an orange. It inspired me to give it a try. It's so wonderful to be able to gobble down a bowl full of grapefruit without waiting between every bite.

I'm sure there are countless ways to eat a grapefruit, but this is the one that works best for me. And since I know it's sometimes easier to learn a new skill by watching than by reading, I made a video for you.

And for those that learn better by reading, here are the instructions:

1) Peel the grapefruit like you would an orange.
2) Tear off a section (again, like an orange). Slide a knife under the tough outer skin, then use your finger to pull out the soft, juicy insides.
3) Put the flesh into a bowl and discard the tough skins. Repeat with the remaining sections. Enjoy!


How do YOU like to eat a grapefruit?

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

How to Eat a Grapefruit

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A Quick Lesson in Food Photography: Lighting

It's amazing what lighting can do for the feel of your photos.

One way you can easily manipulate the mood of your subject is to change the source of your light. 

In the first photo above, the light is coming from a window to right of these delicious pears. The lighting is fairly soft and even but there's still some darker shadows to give depth.

In the second photo, the light is coming from a window in front of the pears. The pears are very soft and evenly lit and the background is quite dark.

In the last photo the light is coming from a window at the back of the pears. Everything is quite contrasty and the background is very light.

See how easy it is to change the look of your photos simply by switching up the source of the light? My current favorite is placing the light at the back of the subject - I love the contrast! Make sure to experiment and find the mood you like the best.

What do you think? Which mood from the photos above is YOUR favorite?

Let me know if you guys enjoy these mini photography lessons!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

A Quick Lesson in Food Photography: Lighting

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A Pretty Failure + Other Things

I really wanted to like this recipe, guys. When I read the words "Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal," I was certain that this was something that I wanted to eat for breakfast AND dessert. But with my first bite I thought, "This isn't sweet enough." And with subsequent bites: "I don't think there's enough salt."

Reuben agreed that it just wasn't that good.

But I really liked the photos. I was able to capture some steam, and I think it LOOKS like something I would like to eat. Ah well.

On a happier note, I took my lovely sister's senior portraits. You can see more photos on my personal blog.

I made pear jam using my Peach Jam Recipe as a base, leaving out the lemon juice (I didn't have any on hand).

Caramel Corn! Om nom nom. I'll have to share my recipe with y'all sometime...

Fall is in full swing here in northern Minnesota. I really need to stop mentioning to Reuben how much I love fall - I'm sure I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

Have you had any failures or successes in the kitchen lately?

Thursday, October 10, 2013

A Pretty Failure + Other Things

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