Tag Archives: Pecans

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

15 Monday Sep 2014

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Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits; I love them in yogurt, in all kinds of baked items and of course plain. Because of my love of blueberries, I often buy them too early in the season and too late, meaning I often end up with a pint of not the sweetest or most flavorful ones.

Recently I ended up with one of these sad, unripe pints and was trying to decide what to make, when I remembered that I had sour cream that also needed to be used… So I asked Mr. E what he thought of coffee cake and he said he couldn’t remember what that tasted like (yeah right 🙂 ).

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

It’s been awhile since I made a coffee cake and with our upcoming trip to Wisconsin, I knew I wanted to make enough for two cakes so that I could freeze one and take it on our trip. Mama J and Papa F always pick us up the best biscotti from their local Italian bakery, but I thought this time it would be nice to take them something homemade.

One thing I love about this batter is it has delicious hints of vanilla and lemon zest that really compliment the blueberries. The cinnamon streusel topping is extra yummy with the chopped pecans, but if you’re not a fan of nuts it would be just as good without.

Topping

One tip is to line each pan with foil and then greased the foil; I found this made the cakes easy to remove from the pan after baking.

The coffee cake was a big hit with the family and thawed perfectly!

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

Yields two 8 inch rounds

Batter:
¾ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed
 
Topping:
¾ cup flour
6 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons melted butter
½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
 
Preheat oven to 350°. Optional step is to line the baking dishes with foil and then grease; I found this to help with removing the cakes after baking. If you don’t want to waste the foil then just grease each baking dish.
 
In a mixing bowl blend butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest and mix until thoroughly combined.  In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture a 1/3 at a time mixing well after each addition.  Gently fold in the blueberries.
 
To prepare the topping – in separate bowl mix flour, brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter and mix until combined. Then add chopped pecans.
 
Divide the batter in half and pour into each of the prepared pans. Divide the topping in half and sprinkle on top of the batter; lightly pressing down.
 
Bake 45-50 minutes until toothpick inserted into the cake comes out almost clean.  Remember, there will be some crumbs if you insert the toothpick through a blueberry.
 
Enjoy!

 

Sugar and Spice Nuts

07 Saturday Sep 2013

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There are a few reasons why I love Sugar & Spice Nuts.

  • Reason 1: Super easy to make;
  • Reason 2: If the Munch Monster (Mr. E) stays out of them, they have a good;
    shelf life.  Also, I have frozen them to use at a later date on a spinach salad or fancy lettuce salad with goat cheese and balsamic dressing.  In fact I’m munching on some I made in early July right now for “inspiration” as I write this.  (“Inspiration” being my excuse for why I’m stuffing my face with sweets);
  • Reason 3: They pack and ship really well, which is great for Mr. E and me because we like to send treats to family in WI and CA;
  • Reason 4: They are healthy-ish (nuts=protein=good for you).

Nuts revised

It took me awhile to find a recipe for sugared nuts that I really liked.  For me the orange peel and cinnamon mixed with the sugar make this the perfect combination.  An added bonus is how good the house always smells when they are baking.   Also, when looking for a recipe, I wanted the sugar to be coated on a little like candy.

The first time I made this I did mess up a bit.  The recipe instructs you to beat the egg whites until “frothy”… what exactly does “frothy” mean?? Is it slightly foamy? Is it very foamy and the egg white are holding soft peaks? Originally I took it to mean slightly foamy…WRONG!  As soon as I mixed in the nuts the egg whites went back to been a liquid mess.

So…the second time around and every time since I beat the egg whites on medium high until they are very foamy and have formed medium stiff peaks.  I’ve included two pictures below to help describe what I think “foamy” and “medium stiff peaks” means. 🙂

Foamy

IMG_1808

The rest of the recipe is pretty easy.  Mix the nuts in one bowl, the spices and orange peel (I use dried) in a second bowl.  Add the nuts to the bowl of foamy egg whites and add the spice mixture by gently folding it in a little at a time. You may decide not to use all of the spice mixture; it depends on how much flavor and sweetness you want.  Spread the coated nuts on a cookie sheet and bake; stirring every 10 minutes.

IMG_1810

Sugar and Spice Nuts

3 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
¼ teaspoon cloves
3 cups walnuts
1 cup almonds
2 cups pecans 
 
Preheat oven to 300° and grease a baking dish that is large enough for the nuts to be spread out and lay flat. 
 
In a large mixing bowl beat the egg whites and water until foamy and medium stiff peaks form. (See pictures above to help with the visual).
 
In a second mixing bowl add the nuts. In a third mixing bowl, add the sugar, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, dried orange peel and cloves and mix together
 
Add the nuts to the large bowl with the egg whites.  Gently fold them in until they are well coated.  Sprinkle the sugar and spice mixture over the egg white and nut mixture in batches, gently folding to incorporate throughout.  Depending on how sweet and flavorful you would like the nuts, you may or may not use all of the sugar and spice mixture.
 
Once you have coated the nuts with the desired amount of sugar and spice; spread them on the greased baking dish and place in the oven.  Back 20 to 30 minutes; stirring every 10 minutes.  They will be done when the coating starts to take on a lightly golden color.  Immediately remove from the baking dish and spread out on wax paper to cool.
 
Enjoy!