BLEUBIRD BLOG

SUNDAY'S CAKE

we were trying to think of the perfect winter cake for sunday's baking session and all that came to mind was gingerbread. i love gingerbread cookies but have never made and possibly never tasted, at least that i can remember, actual ginger bread or gingerbread cake. a quick search on pinterest and we were searching the pantry for ingredients and making a short list for the market.

this gingerbread cake is delicious. it smells like christmas and is full of wonderful dark and spicy flavors. not too sweet, but definitely sweet enough to call dessert. serve warm with a little orange butter and you'll be in winter heaven.

gingerbread

you will need: 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 large eggs, at room temperature

preheat oven to 350 degrees. using butter, grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. tap out excess flour. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt. whisk to break up lumps and set bowl aside. in a separate small bowl, stir together buttermilk and vanilla and set aside. 

next, combine butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. beat on medium speed until fluffy and light in color, about 3-4 minutes. beat in molasses until combined and then one at a time, add in the eggs, beating in until well incorporated. once everything is mixed in, scrape down bowl and paddle. add one third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated. add half of the buttermilk mixture and beat until the batter looks smooth, add in another third of the flour mixture. add remaining buttermilk and then the remaining flour mixture. the batter should be nice and smooth. 

pour batter into prepared pan and place on the center rack of your oven. bake for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. the cake should pull away from pan once finished. cool and turn out onto a rack. finish with a dusting of powdered sugar.

recipe adapted from here.

see more sunday's cake recipes here.

SUNDAY'S CAKE

as a kid, i always thought that coffee cake had coffee in it. i felt a little bit cooler when i'd eat it because i was having a form of coffee. you can imagine the disappointment on my face when i found out that coffee cake usually does not have coffee in it, but is intended to be served alongside coffee. makes me giggle.

apple cider & salted caramel creme fraiche coffee cake 

you will need:

batter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons creme fraiche
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup apple cider
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 egg whites

salted caramel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon sea salt 

topping 
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
3/4 cup light brown sugar
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

*prepare the salted caramel before making the cake batter. pour an even layer of sugar in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium-high heat. once the sugar starts melting, begin whisking. ignore the clumps and continue to whisk until all of the sugar has dissolved. swirl the sugar in the pan until it turns amber in color. this happens quickly, so be careful not to burn! next, stir in the butter with a wooden spoon, remove from heat and whisk in the heavy cream. whisk until incorporated, then add the sea salt. set caramel aside to cool for 10 minutes.

preheat oven to 350 degrees. using butter or cooking spray, grease a 9 inch baking pan or oven-proof skillet. we used a cast iron skillet. heat apple cider in a small saucepan over medium heat. simmer until reduced by half then set aside to cool. 

next, sift together cake flour, salt and baking powder. in the bowl of an electric mixer, whip egg whites until they reach soft peaks. set both bowls aside.

cream together butter, sugar and creme fraiche in large bowl. alternately add reduced apple cider and sifted flour mixture, stirring until combined. carefully fold in the egg whites. add half of the batter to your greased pan and then drizzle some of the salted caramel over top. spoon the remaining batter on top and smooth out with a spatula.

pulse the topping ingredients in a food processor until crumbly or feel free to use a pastry cutter if you do not have a food processor. distribute topping over the batter.

bake cake for 40 minutes or until set in the center and enjoy with some of the leftover salted caramel drizzled on top. 

recipe adapted from here.

SUNDAY'S CAKE

it's been awhile since we've baked a cake on a sunday, for no other reason other than it being a sunday. i miss it dearly and hope to start baking regularly again now that the winter season is around the corner. there is something so utterly comforting about the warmth from the oven and the smell of freshly baked goods when it's cold outside. this week we chose an apple cake and boy was it delicious. i think i will keep this recipe around for awhile. think big chunks of baked apples and sweet golden dates throughout the richest, buttery cake with a hint of bourbon flavor. it's definitely not your grandmother's fruit cake, but completely perfect for this time of year.

you will need:

1/2 cup pitted and chopped dates
1/2 cup bourbon, any kind will do
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups apples; (we used a mix of tart granny smith and sweet pink lady apples) peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
icing sugar for dusting the cake

*before preparing the cake batter, place your chopped dates in a small bowl and cover with the 1/2 cup of bourbon. stir to cover in the liquid and set aside for 30 minutes. the dates should plump up and absorb some of the bourbon.

preheat oven to 325 degrees. using butter, grease and flour your baking pan. we used a parchment lined angel food baking pan but a 13x9x2 pan will work just fine. in the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. add in the chopped apples, the dates and all the liquid they have been soaking in, melted butter and the eggs. the batter will be thick so be sure all ingredients get mixed in. pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread it around to make an even layer. place on the center rack of the oven and bake for one hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. the cake should be nice and dark in color. finish your cooled cake by dusting some icing sugar on top. 

recipe slightly adapted from here.

you can find more sunday's cake here.

SAILOR'S CAKE

today is sailor's first birthday. this morning i made two cakes, both from boxes because i didn't have time to bake from scratch. i made a red velvet cake white vanilla frosting and a vanilla "smash" cake with vanilla frosting just for the birthday boy. pretty, plain and simple... that is until the party animals arrived.

sailor loves animals, so i decided to make his cakes "party animal" themed. i bought some inexpensive toy animals from the toy shop and constructed tiny paper party hats with colored paper, little felt balls and hot glued them to the animal's heads. i think they turned out so cute.

happy monday and happy birthday sailor rhodes! i will be back tonight with a fun project to share.