43 | 52 Pumpkin Crumb Cake

I love fall. Don't you?

All those colored leaves on the trees and on the streets, sunshine during the day, cuddling up with a blanket and burning some candles in the evening. Yes, I love it.

I'm also totally into fall vegetables. Like pumpkin.

(And yes, also: Happy Halloween!)

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

From Cooking Classy

For the crumbles

100 g (3/4 cup) flour

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pintch of salt

85 g (6 tablespoons) butter, melted

40 g (1/3 cup) pecans, chopped

For the cake

225 g (1 3/4 cups) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

100 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

55 g (1/4 cup) butter, softened

60 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil

2 eggs

250 g (1 cup) pumpkin puree (see note below*)

50 g (3 tablespoons) sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze (optional)

85 g (2/3 cup) powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

• For the crumbs, whisk together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in melted butter and combine until evenly moistened. Add pecans and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
• For the cake, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
• Blend together sugars, butter, and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time. Add pumpkin puree, sour cream, and vanilla. Slowly add in dry ingredients at slow speed and mix until just combined.
• Pour batter into your prepared baking pan and sprinkle crumbs evenly over batter. Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
• For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add more milk or powdered sugar to thin or thicken if needed. Drizzle over cake. Allow glaze to set before cutting.

 

My modifications:

None. But I omitted the glaze. I actually did mean to make it but then totally forgot about it when were ready to dig in... 

The taste:

I think this might just be the perfect Pumpking Crumb Cake. Honestly. It's delicious (even without the glaze) and it is very moist and fluffy. I highly recommend you go to your kitchen after all the Halloween shenanigans are over and use up those pumpkins. Because yes, you can of course also *make your own pumpkin puree.

What's your favorite pumpkin baking recipe? 

Do you prefer Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Cake?

42 | 52 Old-Fashioned Sugar Cake

Sometimes you just need comfort.

And yes, sometimes that comfort comes in the shape of butter and sugar.

Like in this Old-Fashioned Sugar Cake.

It's sweet and buttery and just makes you feel good.

But only if you can shut off those voices in your head telling you how bad it might be for you.

Hey - it's not like you're eating the whole thing. 

Plus, you can eat veggies for the rest of the day.

So - just enjoy it. And be old-fashioned. 

Which in this case means that there's nothing wrong with a little (or a lot of) butter and sugar.

Old-Fashioned Sugar Cake

Adapted from Dr. Oetker's Backen macht Freude (but my Grandma's edition from 1952)

For the cake

200 g (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

200 g (1 cup) sugar

2 eggs

pintch of salt

500 g (3 3/4 cups) flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

250 ml (1 cup) milk

For the topping

50 g (1/4 cup) butter

50 g (1/4 cup) sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

50 g (1.75 oz) almonds or hazelnuts, slivered or chopped

• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
• For the cake, combine flour and baking powder. 
• Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar, eggs, and salt. Add flour mix, alternating with milk. The batter should be heavy/ripping when falling off a spoon so you might not need all the milk.
• Pour into prepared (springform) pan.
• For the topping, put butter in small flakes on the dough. Combine sugar, vanilla, and nuts and combine evenly on top of the cake.
• Bake for 25 minutes.

My modifications:

I used a round springform pan instead of a baking sheet and I would do it like this again because it had the perfect height. I also used slivered almonds, not chopped ones like stated in the original recipe and I really liked it like that.

The taste:

Like its name: old-fashioned, sugary, buttery. It might remind you of your granny's baking. In the best way possible.

What old-fashioned recipes are your favorite? 

 

41 | 52 Dr. Pepper Cake

Do you like Dr. Pepper?

My hubby does. He LOVES it.

So of course I had to make him a Dr. Pepper Cake for his birthday.

And you know what? I was only able to take pictures from the outside.

So sorry, guys!

Dr. Pepper Cake with Dr. Pepper Frosting

From Homemade Hooplah

For the cake:

260 g (2 cups) flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

30 g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder, unsweetened

227 g (1 cup) butter, at room temperature

200 g (1 cup) sugar

110 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

240 ml (1 cup) Dr. Pepper

120 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk

For the frosting:

260 g (2 cups) powdered sugar

57 g (1/4 cup) butter, at room temperature

85 g (3 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoon Dr. Pepper

• Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F). 
• Combine flour, baking sodar, and cocoa powder.
• Beat together butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract until fluffy.
• Add half the flour mix and combine. Add Dr. Pepper. Add other half of flour mix and buttermilk. Don't overmix.
• Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Let cool.
• For the frosting, beat together butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Add the Dr. Pepper one spoon at a time to make sure that the frosting won't get too liquid.
• Decorate cake as you wish.

My modifications:

I made a cake (not muffins). And I only made half the frosting because I didn't need that much. The amounts above (for the frosting) are already cut in half.

The taste:

Like a very dense chocolate cake with a hint of Dr. Pepper. Even with the frosting - just a hint. So next time, I would make a nice, moist chocolate cake and serve it with a glass of Dr. Pepper. Sorry.

Have you tried baking with sodas? Coke, Fanta, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Root Beer? 

How was the result?

40 | 52 Matcha Macadamia Blondies

38. 

That's how old I turned last week. And I'm okay with it.

Really. :)

My girls and I celebrated with a very lovely Sushi lunch and I wanted to bake something for dessert that would somehow fit. I remembered that I pinned a Matcha Brownie recipe a while ago and started searching. Then I stumbled upon the recipe below and decided to go with that one.

 this is all that was left when I had time to take pictures...

Matcha Macadamia Blondies

From Twigg Studios

240 g (9 oz) white chocolate

113 g (1 stick) butter

200 g (1 cup) sugar

3 eggs

80 g (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) flour

3-4 teaspoons matcha powder

30 g (1/3 cup) macadamia nuts, chopped

• Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). 
• Melt butter and white chocolate over a bain marie. Whisk in sugar, add eggs one at a time, then fold in flour, matcha powder, and chopped macadamias. 
• Pour into prepared pan and bake for 5 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for another 25 minutes. The center should still wiggle when you move it.
• Let cool.

My modifications:

I omitted white chocolate chips to be added to the dough. I felt that there was enough white chocolate in it and I would do it like this again. Next time I would also omit the macadamias because you don't really taste them. (And they're too expensive to just add a little tasteless crunch, don't you think?)

The taste:

Hm. First bite on the first day: not very convincing. Second bite on the day after baking: interesting. Good. Green. Interesting. It's good but also very different.
Especially in the middle it's more like candy than cake. If you are after a 'real' cake texture, this one won't be for you.

And please keep my experience in mind: this is a cake for girls. Not boys (not even when they are grown up).

Have you baked anything with any kind of tea? What and how was it?