Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry is in the season now. I bought some from the groceries store but it’s still expensive in this time as it costs $2.99 per pound.

Blueberries are powerful inflammation fighters and antioxidants. The antioxidants found in blueberries help to reduce the risk of cancer. Certain compounds found in blueberries (also found in cranberries) are found to have a significant impact in reducing degradation of the brain as in Alzheimer’s disease. Research also showed that blueberries prevent urinary tract infections.

I made this blueberry buckle for my family for all the goodness of blueberries.

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The blueberry buckle has a very crunchy topping and the cake is slightly tangy from the blueberries. Arkensen loves it.

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup shortening (I use margarine)
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups blueberries

For the topping

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup flour or more
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • 1/4 cup soft butter

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Click on the link below for the instructions.

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Jude’s Date, Nut, Chocolate Chip Cake

This is Minoo’s second recipe which is Jude’s Date, Nut and Chocolate Chip Cake. This is a cake filled with lots of goodies like honey, date, walnut and chocolate chip. This is quite a dense cake and it’s preferably bake in a shallow pan to prevent overbrowning of the edges while the inside is not fully cooked.

I have no idea why this is called Jude’s Cake. I tried googling it but came up with nothing on it at all. Anyone of you out there know why this is called Jude’s Cake? For all I know, Jude might just be someone Minoo knows.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped, pitted dates
  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups flour (whole wheat or half unbleached white)
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 8 to 10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

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Click on the link below for cooking instructions …

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Chocolate Yogurt Cake

Arkensen loves chocolate cake. So, before he went for a 5 days camping trip with his class this week, I baked him his favourite Chocolate Yogurt Cake. This is his longest camping trip away from home by himself. He told Ben that when he return home from the camping trip, he wants to choose a restaurant to eat his favourite food. Oh, I am missing him!

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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Dutch processed cocoa
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup Dutched processed cocoa
  • 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cups plain yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Click on the link below for the instructions. (more…)

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Decadent Cheesecake Brownies

The second recipe which Minoo shared with the cooking club is a decadent cheesecake brownies. These rich and creamy brownies have less than half the fat of regular cheesecake brownies.

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Ingredients

For the cheesecake topping:

  • 1 8oz pkg light cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 tablespoon flour

For the brownie base:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup stick margarine or butter, melted
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water

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Coffee Cake with Chocolate Frosting

You know, I have never tried making cakes with icing on it. I enjoyed looking at nice birthday cakes at bakeries and am always amazed on how creative people are in making them. So, I think I better start simple and especially so when I have a birthday boy at home recently who has always clamored for a “birthday cake with icing”. I made a Coffee Cake with Chocolate Frosting.

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Some months back, I bought a book called “1000 Chocolate Baking and Dessert Recipes — from Around the World” for just $24.99. I like recipe books that has lots of pictures and have been flipping through them and bookmarking some of the pages. This is my first attempt, sort of my first of 1000 chocolate cakes/dessert! 🙂

This Coffee Cake is intensely flavoured and is complemented with delicious chocolate frosting, sans decoration. Since I did not have an icing spatula and other stuff for decorating, I made it real simple. I think I will get myself these stuff one of these days and start making nicer looking ones.

Ingredients

  • 6 oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • Scant 1 cup golden superfine sugar
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
  • Scant 1/2 cup strong black coffee
  • 1 can of creamy chocolate frosting

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Frosted Cupcakes

Words are sweet but they can never replace food.
~ Nigerian Proverb

Arkensen’s birthday coincidentally fell on spring break. He invited a few friends over to celebrate his birthday with him. So, instead of buying a cake from the bakery as we normally do in the past, I baked him some cupcakes instead. Cupcakes go very well with kids celebration like birthday parties or classroom celebrations. Because they are baked in a paper cup container, they do not require plates or utensils for serving — no dishes to wash!

BTW, do you know that cupcake is also known as fairy cake?

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Ingredients
  • 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup canola or corn oil
  • 2 tsps vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sour cream

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Cinnamon Coffee Cake

He who goes to bed hungry dreams of pancakes.
~ Maltese Proverb

I made Cinnamon Coffee Cake today. I normally make cakes at least once a week for breakfast and snacks for the boys. Ben likes cakes with coffee in the mornings too. It goes very well with coffee.

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Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree 10-15 m tall native to Sri Lanka and Southern India. The bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material, being largely used in the preparation of some kinds of desserts, chocolate and spicy candies and liqueurs. In the Middle East, it is often used in savory dishes of chicken and lamb. In North America, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavor cereals and fruits, especially apples.

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To prepare the cinnamon coffee cake, I use the following ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour (if using self-rising, eliminate next 2 ingredients)
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans if you prefer)
  • 1 stick margarine or butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream

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Chinese Sponge Cake

To the Chinese, cakes are normally steamed rather than baked. Today, I steamed a very simple Chinese sponge cake made primarily from eggs. Total time taken to prepare this cake is less than an hour with 25 minutes for steaming.

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Here are the ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract (can substitute vanilla if desired)
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk (can substitute regular milk if desired)
  • 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

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I made a Green Tea Sponge Cake with the addition of one tablespoon of green tea powder (which was shifted with the dry ingredients). The colour turned out to be brown rather than green. I wonder why. Nevertheless, I like the green tea flavour. (more…)

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