Mini pineapple upside-down cakes

2014-06-29 14:49:51

Yields 6

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

40 min

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

40 min

Ingredients

1. Sugar Glaze
2. 2 Tbsp. butter
3. 3 Tbsp. pineapple juice (use the one the pineapples are canned in)
4. 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
5. Cake
6. 6 (canned) pineapple slices and 6 maraschino cherries (optional)
7. 1 1/4 cups flour
8. 1 tsp. baking powder
9. 1/2 tsp. baking soda
10. 1/2 teaspoon salt
11. 2 eggs
12. 1 cups sugar
13. 1/2 cup oil (preferably canola)
14. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
15. 1/2 cup sour cream (aka “Saure Sahne” in German)

Notes

1. Large mixing bowl
2. (Hand)mixer
3. Measuring cups or kitchen scale
4. Jumbo muffin tin
5. Oven pre-heated to 350°F (180°C)

By Nina

Adapted from recipe based on the fabulous pineapple upside down-cake recipe by Glorious Treats

Adapted from recipe based on the fabulous pineapple upside down-cake recipe by Glorious Treats

quartertopie http://quartertopie.com/

Step 2: Prepare the sugar glaze by combining butter, sugar and pineapple juice in a small pan. Heat until butter and sugar are melted. Set aside to cool.

Step 3: Prepare the cake batter by mixing flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until the mixture thickens and is a light color (this takes 2-3 minutes!). Add oil, vanilla and sour cream while mixing on low speed until combined.

Step 4: Slowly add the flour mixture until it all just comes together (do not overmix!).

Step 5: Assemble the cakes by pouring ½ tablespoon of the sugar glaze into the bottom of each muffin mold, top with one slice of pineapple each and one cherry. Scoop the cake batter on top of each pineapple slice, filling each mold 2/3 full.

Step 6: Bake cakes in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes, take out and allow to cool. Run a knife carefully along the edges of each cake to losen them from the pan. Cut of any “domes” that may have formed while baking so that the cakes will later on sit nicely on a plate. Place a large plate or cooling rack upside down on the muffin tin and flip the entire thing over in one quick movement.
Cakes can be served warm, or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream on the side.
Enjoy!

Valentines Cookies

2014-06-29 14:27:36

Yields 24

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

1. 3 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4. 1 cup sugar
5. 1 large egg
6. 1 teaspoon good quality lemon oil (the original recipe uses vanilla extract)
7. 1 glass good quality jam (e.g. strawberry or raspberry)

Notes

1. Large mixing bowl
2. (Hand)mixer
3. Measuring cups or kitchen scale
4. Parchment paper
5. Cutters of your choice, preferably one large and one small cutter of the same shape
6. Oven pre-heated to 350°F (180°C)

By Nina

Adapted from recipe based on the fabulous rolled sugar cookie recipe by Glorious Treats:

Adapted from recipe based on the fabulous rolled sugar cookie recipe by Glorious Treats:

quartertopie http://quartertopie.com/

Step 1: Cream together butter and sugar, using the paddle attachment of your mixer. The butter should become fluffy and light, this takes around 4 min.

Step 2: While the butter and sugar are creaming, mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.

Step 3: Add the egg and lemon oil to the butter mixture and mix to combine.

Step 4: Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix to combine. Make sure to only add a little flour at a time or you will have the flour all over your kitchen.

Step 5: Mix to combine, until the dough pulls away from the bowl. Add a tiny splash of milk if the dough becomes too dry. Take the bowl out of the mixture and knead it a few times, using your hands.

Step 6: Separate dough in two pieces and press flat. Put the discs in a food-save plastic bag (e.g. Ziploc bag) and pop it in the fridge for at least two hours. I prefer to leave it there over night, but that’s up to you.

Step 7: Take one disc out of the fridge, let warm up a few minutes and roll to the desired thickness (I prefer my cookies super thin, but it is up to you!). If the dough sticks, sprinkle a very small amount of flour over it! Cut out the desired shapes and place them on the baking sheet. Repeat with the second disc or freeze it until further use.

Step 8: As soon as the sheet is full of cookies, use your small cookie cutter to cut out shapes from half of the cookies. I found it easier to cut out the small hearts on the baking sheet, since the cookies will lose their shape when transferred to the baking sheet. You can either bake the little hearts along the large ones or put them back to your remaining dough and knead in.

Step 9: Bake cookies at 350°F for 8-10 min, make sure they do not turn brown!

Step 10: Take cookies out of the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Once they are cooled, spread one teaspoon of jam (I used rhubarb infused with black tea. Divine!) on the cookies that do not have cutouts in them. Make sure to not spread the jam all the way to the edges!

Step 11: Place one cutout-cookie on top of each cookie with jam on it. Press down carefully and let dry for one hour. Enjoy (or transfer left over cookies to your cookie jar)!

Outside it is chilly enough to wear a jacket, but not so cold as to wear a scarf. Trees and flowers start to come out of hibernation, you can see more animals and the days are getting longer! But best of all, I have to admit, spring is the time of carrot cakes!!!

I know, there are many people out there that find the idea of putting a vegetable into cake or dessert utterly absurd, but I just loooove the combination of sweet carrots, nuts and cinnamon in a cake! And since frostings are not really a “thing” in Germany, my cakes usually do without buttercream or cream-cheese frostings (mostly due to the lack of proper ingredients and people accustomed to sweet frostings, not because I don’t like frostings. Red velvet cake and cream-cheese frosting? Heaven!). But believe me, the carrot-fruitcake I am going to show you is just as good without a layer of cream-cheese frosting (but this should not keep you from adding an inch-thick layer if you wish!).

So, here we go. I will show you this awesome carrot-fruitcake (that’s what I call it because it has pineapple, coconut and applesauce in it. And I like the word “fruitcake”.) which is perfect for breakfast, a little pick-me-up midday or just eaten with a nice cup of coffee.

Carrot Fruit Cake

2014-01-20 21:28:21

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Ingredients

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 cup vegetable oil (preferably canola)
6. 1/2 cup apple sauce
7. 1 cup sugar
8. 3 large eggs, at room temp.
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10. 2 cups lightly packed shredded carrots
11. One 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in its own juice withjuice
12. 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
13. 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

By Nina

Adapted from The Complete Manolia Bakery Cook Book

Adapted from The Complete Manolia Bakery Cook Book

quartertopie http://quartertopie.com/

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour hazelnuts on the baking sheet. Pop it in the oven while it is heating up to toast them until fragrant, around 10 min. Prepare the baking pan by covering the bottom with parchment paper.

Step 2: Prepare your ingredients: Peel and grate your carrots (I used the grater in my food processor), open the can of pineapples and drain them (in Germany there is no such thing as “crushed” pineapples, so I pulsed my pineapple pieces in the food processor two-three times), take the nuts out of the oven and chop roughly once they are cooled.

Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Step 4: Pour applesauce, vegetable oil and sugar in your stand-mixer and mix well. Gradually add the eggs one after the other. Beat on high until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, about two minutes (do not skip this step, it is important for a nice texture in your cake. Trust my, I have omitted this step so many times and finally figured out that it is worth it!)

Step 5: Add your flour-mixture to the egg-mixture in four parts, mix to combine, try not to over-mix! Finally, add carrots, nuts, pineapple and coconut to the bowl and mix to combine.

Step 6: Pour the batter in the prepared pan, pop in the oven and wait! Check for doneness after 40 min (if using the smaller pan) / 50 min (if using the larger pan) and in 5 min intervals after that. 40 min sounds like an awful lot of time for such a small cake, but the moisture in the applesauce increases the baking time.

Step 7: Take cake out of the oven, let cool, remove from pan, dust with powdered sugar (or smother with frosting, your call!) and enjoy! This cake is not going to rise very much, since it is packed full of delicious little nut-, veggie- and fruit-bits, but trust me, you won’t mind!

Let me know how the recipe worked for you. Did you make any adjustments? So long, happy baking and check out my brand new instagram page #quartertopie in the meantime!

Writing my first blog entry was no easy task.

Starting my own blog was a huge task. I needed some serious persuading by friends and family to share my recipes and baking advice with the world (assuming there is even one person reading this …). Would people like what I do? Would they like my writing? Will they make fun of my word choices (I am not a native speaker you know…)? Would I get criticized for what is my most beloved pastime?

Nevertheless, I decided it was worth a shot, so here I go! Please be kind …

It is 2014! Happy New Year everyone! I bet on many new year’s resolution lists we can find things such as Eat more healthy foods (which is a great resolution!)  or Eat less chocolate (which sounds impossible, but I acknowledge other people trying to). So I figured a good way to start off my blog would be with one of my more “healthy” recipes. So homemade granola bars it is (I am going to test your resolutions soon enough. I promise!).

I will share with you the basic granola bar recipe that I use a lot and give examples of mix-ins I like to use, but please feel free to swap them for whatever suits your taste buds. Pumpkin seeds and dried papaya? Go for it!

Homemade Granola Bars

2014-01-12 16:35:18

Yields 12

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

1 hr

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

1 hr

- for the basic mixture

1. 3 cups rolled oats
2. 1 cup crispy cereal (e.g. crushed cornflakes, rice cereal, etc.)
3. 1,5 cups syrup of some sort (e.g. honey, agave syrup, rice syrup, etc.)
4. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or one bag of vanilla-sugar
5. ½ teaspoons salt

- mix-ins (choose at least two for exciting bars or all for heavenly bars)

1. 1 cup chopped toasted nuts (e.g. almonds, hazelnuts, dried coconut, etc.)
2. 1 cup dried fruit (e.g. cranberries, apricots, e.tc)
3. ½ cup sweets to taste (e.g. chocolate chips, M&Ms, etc.)
4. 2 teaspoons spices to taste (e.g. cinnamon, gingerbread spice, etc.)
5. for firmer bars: 6 tablespoons nut butter (e.g. almond or peanut butter) or 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

EQUIPMENT

1. Large mixing bowl
2. Measuring cups or kitchen scale
3. Spatula (I recommend one made from silicone)
4. Baking pan
5. Parchment paper
6. Oven pre-heated to 350°F (180°C)
7. Saran wrap

By Nina

Adapted from thekitchn.com

Adapted from thekitchn.com

quartertopie http://quartertopie.com/

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour your nuts of choice on the baking sheet. Pop it in the oven while it is heating up to toast them until fragrant (you don’t want them to get black, because this means they are burnt … just a heads up J ), around 10 min.

Step 2: Prepare the baking pan by covering it generously with parchment paper. Let some hang over the sides, which will make lifting the bars out of the pan much easier. Press the parchment paper into the pan, it takes a while but it will ultimately take on the shape of the pan.

Step 3: Take your toasted nuts out of the oven, let cool a little and chop them roughly. Now mix all other ingredients with your chopped nuts in a large mixing bowl until all ingredients are coated with syrup and spices (this takes some arm muscle, so the bars are already healthy for you!). The mixture wont stick together very well, so don’t be alarmed!

Step 4: Pour mixture in the baking pan and press down with your spatula. You want the mixture to be as compressed as possible! Put the pan in the oven and bake for around 25 min (substract 5 min if you re looking for chewy bars and add 5 min if you want crunchy bars).

 Step 5: Take the pan out of the oven and immediately (just don’t burn yourself) press down the mix once again with your spatula or the back of a spoon. This helps them to stay compact.

 Step 6: Once the granola bars have cooled off, lift them out of the pan (now the additional parchment paper comes in handy!) and cut them with a sharp knife in bars of your desired size. I like to clean my knife after each cut to make sure it keeps cutting well. Then wrap your bars individually in e.g. saran wrap and store them in the fridge.

(can you see how my bars are crumbling there? Yeah, I did not use enough syrup in this batch, I adjusted the recipe above accordingly though!)

Step 7: Take bars back out of the fridge and enjoy! My bars theoretically last around one month if I have not eaten them beforehand.

(Please excuse the bad quality of my pictures, I promise to stop baking after it is dark and try to take more appealing pictures!)

 My favorite combinations are:

Toasted hazelnuts + dried apricots
Toasted almonds  + dried cranberries + chocolate chips
Banana chips + almond butter + chocolate chips
Dried coconut flakes+ crushed up chocolate covered pretzels
(do you see a pattern here? Everything is better with chocolate …)

So feel free to be adventurous about the mix-ins and let me know how it went! I am looking forward to hearing how the recipe worked for you, if you have any comments or ideas for future posts. I will try to post regularly and are looking forward to sharing more recipes and ideas with y’all! (oh yeah, and don’t think you are off the hook with your new years resolutions yet!)