Buttermilk Coffee Cake

I don't know who went grocery shopping last, but we are currently experiencing a buttermilk overload in the Arquiette house. Not that I'm complaining though, because I love me some buttermilk baked goods. They're always so light, fluffy, and have such a unique flavor that I absolutely adore.

So today, buttermilk coffee cake. Tomorrow, buttermilk pancakes. YUM.

This coffee cake is absolutely delicious. I actually like it better than Ina's Sour Cream Coffee Cake and I'm also going as far to say that it's right up there with our family's traditional German coffee cake. It's that good. As mentioned earlier, the buttermilk has it's own special way of making the cake light and fluffy despite oil being used instead of butter (which can sometimes weigh goodies down) but that is not the case in this dessert. And the slight hint of cinnamon, the crumbly topping, and overall scrumptious-ness of the cake is divine. Perfect for breakfast or dessert.

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

For cake & topping

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Make cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F and butter a spring-form pan (a 9x13 inch pan may also be used).

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon well and then stir in the oil. Measure out 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside in a small bowl. Add the chopped walnuts to this mixture, this is now the crumb topping.

Stir the buttermilk, egg, baking powder and baking soda in the large bowl until just combined. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and top with the crumble top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cranberry Vanilla Coffee Cake

Last year when I returned home for break it snowed. And I mean it snowed. Last winter was snowy in general, we received seventy-some-odd inches of snow. And a good portion of that snow was when I came home for break. So, picture this... Katie is so happy to be home, it's snowing outside so she can't go anywhere (not that she wanted to), so what else was there to do but bake? I'm not going to list off all that I made, as many of them will be out of the oven and on here in the next few days, but I made a lot. And it was amazingly fantastically delicious.

Here's a repeat from last year- cranberry vanilla coffee cake. The vanilla infused sugar radiates in every bite in a subtle and delicate way, yet providing an amazing background and base flavor for the cake. And the cranberries; personally, I think cranberries are one of the most underrated and underused fruits/berries out there and this cake truly lets them be the star and have them shine as the star. Together the cranberries and vanilla sugar take the cake, literally.

Oh, and might I add that the crumb topping it absolutely fantastic. I always save it for my last bite :)

Cranberry Vanilla Coffee Cake

Adapted from Gourmet, December 2008

For Cake

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 cups fresh cranberries (or thawed frozen ones work as well)

2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk (not skim)

Make Cake:

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 9x2 inch circular cake pan and then line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Pulse vanilla and sugar together in a food processor until thoroughly combined, place in bowl.

Back in the food processor, pulse together the cranberries and 1/2 cup of vanilla sugar until the berries are finely chopped. Be careful not to over-pulse or the mixture will puree and make the cake soggy.

In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the vanilla sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon of butter to make a crumb mixture: set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly mixed. In a stand mixer, cream the stick of butter and 1 cup of the vanilla sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternately add the flour and milk, beginning and ending with the flour until just combined.

Spread half of the batter in the pan (batter will be thick!) and then top with the cranberries, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Top with the remaining batter and smooth the top. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the top portion of the cake comes out clean.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares

Cheesecake and ice cream: the two keys to my heart. Throw in some gooey, rich, caramely dulce de leche into either one? I'll be in love for eternity.

That's pretty much how I feel about these bars too, it was literally love at first bite. Or rather, love at first lick of the spatula while lifting them out of the pan ;)

I've been waiting all summer for an excuse to whip up these bad boys, and when my mom told me we were headed up to NOVA for my Uncle's birthday party, Mexican themed might I add, I knew I had to perfect dessert to bring up- these bad boys!

While I loved seeing everyone go after these rather than the store bought sheet cake, and then going back for a second...a third...and then some crumbs, I wanted to eat them all. They were amazing. Between the slight cinnamon in the crust, the sea salt sprinkled on top and the heavenly dulce what's not to love?

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares

From Bon Appetit

For crust:

17 whole graham crackers

2 tbs. suagr

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

10 tbs. butter (1 1/4 sticks) melted

For filling:

3 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup dulce de leche

2 tsp. vanilla

Glaze:

2/3 cup dulce de leche

1/4 cup heavy cream

sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat the oven t0 350F and grease a 9x13 light metal baking pan. Crumble the graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor along with the sugar and cinnamon. Pulse until you have achieved fine crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and pulse again until the mixture comes together, usually about 10 seconds/pulses. Press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool completely on a rack.

While the crust is cooling prepare the filling. Blend the cream cheese and sugar in the same food processor until cream and smooth: to achieve "ultimate smoothness" make sure to scrape down not only the sides every once in a while, but the bottom as well because cream cheese can stay down there and not get fully incorporated. Next, add the eggs one at time, scraping down the sides/bottom well after each addition. Finally, add the vanilla and dulce de leche, process a little more until all smooth and then pour over cooled crust. Bake for 35 minutes or until the edges are puffy and the center is fully set. Like the crust, allow to cool completely.

To finish off the bars, make the glaze. In a microwave safe bowl whisk together the cream and remaining dulce. Heat in a microwave in 10 second intervals (it took me a little over 30 seconds) or until the mixture is melted and easy to work with. Spread over the cooled cheesecake and then refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut with a sharp knife to ensure clean lines, and then sprinkle with sea salt before devouring :)

German Coffee Cake

There are two possible ways I could go about explaining why I decided to make this coffee cake and why it's so special to my family...so instead of leaving you in suspense for the rest of your wonderful lives (because obviously you'd be missing out) I'll give you both. Thank me later :)

First, the family reasoing- my mom practically grew up on this stuff. Well, I shouldn't exactly say stuff, because something so delicious and classic as this coffee cake really isn't stuff. Rather, a culinary work of art: a gourmet breakfast that my mom's grandma, more specifically her mumum, would make for them while she lived in their house. I never got to meet my mumum, but hearing about her cooking and baking all my life makes me think we'd get along perfectly like butter and honey, chocolate and caramel. Catch my drift?

Second, my mom loosely challenged me this summer in saying that "if you can perfect mumum's cake then I'll send you over to culinary school in France." HELLO, how could I say no to that?

And well, I kind of lied. Third, our good neighbors just had a baby. This makes two cakes and is the perfect little treat.

So we had some buttermilk. Our neighbors had a baby. I'd never made it before. I wanted to give my mom a slice of her childhood. And yes, I was secretly crossing my fingers about the culinary school bet...

German Coffee Cake

4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

2 cups of well shaken buttermilk

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease two 9 inch cake pans. In a measuring cup, stir together 1/2 cup of the buttermilk and 2 tsp. baking soda. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a standing mixer. Then, re-sift the mixture into a separate bowl for a total of two "sifts." Cream the butter in the mixer on medium speed. Slowly begin to add in the flour mixture, about 1 cup at a time until the consistency is even. *Adding the flour into the creamed butter eliminates the chance that you have a flour explosion, and the creamed butter allows for an even lighter cake. Measure out 3 cups of this mixture and set aside.

To the flour/butter/sugar mix, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups buttermilk and eggs until smooth before adding the standing 1/2 buttermilk/soda mix.

Divide the batter evenly among the two pans and then top each with 1 1/2 cups of the set aside flour mix. Sprinkle with additional sugar and cinnamon (about 3 tbs. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon usually does the trick). Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Zucchini Cake

You heard about the tomatoes...but now he's bringing over zucchini. What's next, fresh eggs?

I'm such a fan of the fresh tomatoes, but zucchini? Yeah...not so much. It must have been from heaven above that the day our neighbor brought over the zucchini a new Bon Appetit arrived in the mail, chocked full of summer recipes to use fresh produce. From corn pesto to grilling rubs galore emerged this little green beauty. So I give you- Zucchini cake!

You might be thinking 'wait, doesn't she mean carrot cake?!' And that's exactly what I thought when I first saw it. Carrot cakes are up there on my favorite, so I thought why not give zucchini its chance too? I mean, if it's in the magazine it has to at least be edible..

I tweaked it a little from the original recipe by substituting walnuts (we didn't have pecans) and taking the spices down a notch to lighten up the cake a bit. All in all it was perfect. Next time I may even double the recipe to make a layer cake it was that good.

Zucchini Cake

Adapted from Bon Appetit

For cake:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup olive oil

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini

3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts

For icing:

4 oz. cream cheese at room temperature

3 tbs. butter at room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350F and line/grease a 9inch cake pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking power, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. In a separate large bowl, whisk oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until homogeneous. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet with a spatula follow by grated zucchini and walnuts. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for an hour in the pan before carefully removing to cool completely.

To finish the cake make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until lightly fluffy. The add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and beat until well mixed while still light and fluffy. Spread over cake and allow to chill for an hour or two before serving.*

*I found this cake was even better the next day so if at all possible make in advance :)

Peach Raspberry Cake

Sometimes when I go grocery shopping with my mom, it takes some convincing to get the ingredients for things I wish to make, especially when it comes to more exotic things, or recipes that neither of us had ever heard of. While this peach raspberry "cake" isn't too far fetched, it was still a lengthy discussion by the fruit stand as to whether or not the peaches smelled good enough to buy...but mom and I both agreed last night after taking our first bite of this summery dessert that it sure was a good thing we got them.

The original recipe from my mom's treasured gourmet featured this dish on the front cover of the magazine several years back, although with blueberries and peaches- I have to admit though, I'm not much of a blueberry fan so I went for raspberries instead. There is just something about peaches and raspberries that makes them meld together so beautifully in a dish- the tartness of the raspberries in such a small fruit against the sweet, soft texture of a large ripened peach is simply divine and tantalizing to my taste buds.

Also, the texture of this "cake" really isn't cakey, but more of a cross between a biscuit and a pastry dough: or a more concentrated in shape galette because of the use of the springform pan. Whether you call it a cake, a biscuit or a galette one thing remains the same: it's simply divine.

Peach Raspberry Cake

Adapted From Gourmet

For pastry dough:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Then add in the cold, cut butter and pulse until the butter is incorporated but resembles a coarse meal with some small lumps still remaining. Lastly, add in the vanilla and egg and pulse just until the dough begins to clump together, somewhat forming a ball. Transfer the dough into a springform pan, and push the pastry across the bottom and up the sides with gentle fingers. Allow the pastry to chill in the refrigerator while making the filling (below).

For fruit filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs. flour

1 tbs. corn starch

4 peaches, halved lengthwise and each half cut into 4 strips

1 cup raspberries

1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

zest of 1/2 a lemon

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar flour, corn starch and lemon zest until combined. Add in the peaches, raspberries and lemon juice, folding them in with a spatula as to not damage the fruit. Pour the filling into the chilled pastry crust.

Place the springform pan on a baking dish to make sure there are no leaks from the pan into your oven, and cover the pastry loosely with a sheet of aluminium foil. Bake for 1 hour +45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Then, cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing the sides. Serve warm.

Grapefruit 1/2 Pound Cake

I have to admit: my main reason for making this cake in the first place was to ease my curiosity about grapefruit and cake?? Now, I have to admit: it's about ten thousand times better than I ever could have imagined. With a consistency similar to a pound cake, although not as heavy, hence the 1/2 pound cake ;) this really is topping the charts as one of my favorite new recipes. The citrus hint and lightness makes it the perfect summer treat. Yum!

Grapefruit 1/2 Pound Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt

1 cup + 1 tbs. sugar

3 large eggs

zest and juice of 1 grapefruit

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment for easy removal.

In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of the sugar and the grapefruit zest. This amplifies the grapefruit flavor as it infuses the sugar prior to baking, allowing for an even more rich and decadent cake.

In a large size bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, grapefruit sugar, eggs and vanilla until mixed. Slowly transfer the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl, whisking as you go until there are no lumps. Then, gently fold in the oil until thoroughly incorporated.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a long toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and covering in syrup*, enjoy!

*In a small saucepan, whisk together the remaining 1 tbs. of sugar and the juice from the grapefruit (about 1/3 a cup). Allow the juice to thicken into almost a syrupy consistency. Drizzle over the cake for added grapefruit flavor.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I'm a huge fan of the beloved Smitten Kitchen, and while I await for Deb's book I've been testing out handfuls of her recipes and have yet to be disappointed- I mean, she's amazing, how could she disappoint!

Anyways, from the first time I wandered to her blog, and thank heaven I did, I fell in love with this particular cake recipe and knew that I just had to make it for my dad for his birthday (you have to know that I found this recipe back in October...it's now July...yeah, that's how long my kitchen aid and I have anxiously awaited this cake). In addition to our love of running, my dad and I both have a soft spot, an enormous soft spot for sweets, especially those of the chocolate peanut butter kind :)

And boy, was this cake a hit. Although I must warn you, my family and I were a little over ambitious with our slices the first night and were in food comas for the next three hours but it was so worth it- we just slimmed down the slices the next night. This masterpiece really is everything you look for in a cake: rich and chocolately but still light, extremely moist, and the frosting/ganache on top are to die for. In fact that's the reason this post is kind of late, the cake was my visit to food heaven for a few days...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups room temperature water

2 tbs. white vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350F (if your oven has a cakes setting use it! it makes them cook very evenly which is important when making a layer cake). Butter three 8 in. circular cake pans and then place circular cut outs of parchment paper on top, butter these as well as it will make for easy, damage-free, removal of the cakes later on.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into the base mixing bowl of your kitchen aid (or any large bowl). Whisk in the oil and soil cream. Turn the mixer on low to incorporate after whisking (this step eliminates a flour storm exploding out of the mixer...) then gradually add in the water followed by the vinegar and vanilla and then finally the eggs. Before pouring into the pans, make sure the sides of the bowl have been scraped down and the batter is all the same consistency. *it will be a bit runny, no worries!

Pour equal amounts of batter among the three pans (about 2 2/3 cups each) and bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 15 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool completely. *Before frosting, I put them in the freezer like Deb from Smitten Kitchen did, the trick worked great as it's a very moist cake

To assemble cake, layer each tier with about 2/3 cup of peanut butter frosting, below. Also, instead of doing just one coat of thick frosting around the entire assembled cake, do a very thin crumb layer (this way there will be no specks of cake in your final product). This is a very thin layer, not even 1/4 and inch thick, and allow it to set in the fridge before topping it off with the rest of the frosting.

After frosting, place cake in the fridge to set while you make the chocolate peanut butter ganache, also below. After completing the ganache, spoon on top of the cake and allow to drizzle down the sides in hearty globs. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Frosting:

10 oz. cream cheese (about 1 1/4 blocks) at room temp

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temp

5 cups confectioners sugar

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural! the oil will separate out)

In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese until extremely light and fluffy. Adding the sugar in 1 cup at a time, beat for about one minute after each addition to ensure a smooth and light frosting. Finally, add in the peanut butter and beat until all blended.

Chocolate & peanut butter glaze:

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 tbs. smooth peanut butter (not natural! the oil separates too much)

In a heat proof bowl over simmering water (or under an extremely watchful eye in the microwave) slowly melt the butter and peanut butter until smooth, stirring constantly.

Tiramisu Cake

Here it is. Finally I got to make it. My highly anticipated, larger than life, even better than I had imagined; tiramisu cake. From the moment I saw it on the Smitten Kitchen website my mouth had been watering, taste buds waiting, even my mixer was probably dreaming about whipping the sweet mascarpone and heavy cream...thank goodness for fathers day because I really don't think I could have waited much longer to make this cake.

Both my family and I are extremely picky about our tiramisu, sometimes it can be too soggy and is just a mess in your mouth, or the other extreme where it's too dry, and you can hardly experience the melding of espresso, amaretto and cake taste. Well, this cake shot down both of those fears, as it was both incredibly moist and the perfect combination of flavors and textures.

While I was mixing the frosting/filling, it was so hard for me to stop "taste testing" just because it was so good. Actually, once I get some more mascarpone from the store I was thinking about making the same filling and pairing it with crepes for a heavenly dessert...or breakfast?

Tiramisu Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs + 1 yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

Espresso Extract & Syrup

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

2 tablespoons boiling water

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon Amaretto

Filling/Frosting:

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Amaretto

1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans, line them with parchment paper and butter again for easy removal.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter until soft and creamy. When it has reached this stage, add the sugar and cream for another three minutes, don't stop early! Add the eggs and additional yolk one by one, beating for a minute after each addition and follow by adding the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, making sure to end with the dry ingredients. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 27-30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean and the tops are golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

Next, make the espresso extract/syrup. Simply stir in the 2 tablespoons boiling water into the espresso power and set aside. Next, stir the remaining water and sugar in a small saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the Amaretto and 1 tablespoon of the already make extract. Set aside.

For the filling/frosting, whisk together the mascarpone, vanilla, Amaretto and sugar until smooth in a large bowl. Then, in a separate bowl whip the heavy cream until it forms firm peaks. Gently fold in this whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture in 2 batches.

For the Grand Finale: assemble the cake! Take about 1/3 of the espresso syrup and brush over the bottom layer of the cake. Top with some of the mascarpone filling and crumble the semisweet chocolate over this layer. On another plate, take another 1/3 of the espresso syrup and soak the bottom of the next cake layer. Place on top of the bottom layer then brush the remaining espresso syrup over the top of the cake. Add the remaining espresso extract, or as much as you desire by tasting as you go, to the mascarpone filling and top off the cake. Sprinkle the top with grated chocolate and unfortunately, refrigerate for 1 day to allow the flavors to meld. Then, enjoy!