Vino Luci Style » Cakes & Cupcakes

Better than Starbucks Maple Scones with Toasted Pecans

Vino Luci Style — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:51:12 +0000

I used to enjoy visiting one of the local Starbucks near me (six that I can think of in a 3 mile radius and TWO in one shopping center!) for meeting a client during the week or a friend on Saturday morning. It wasn’t for the beverage so much; I get whole bean coffee from Costco that has been roasted by Starbucks so it’s never been about the coffee; it’s always been about the Maple Scones. If they don’t have them…nothing else will satisfy so it’s either go scone or go home!

Several months ago when I was in, I was notified that the maple scones would no longer be available. What? You can’t be serious? But they were serious and my desire to frequent Starbucks lessened as a result. Add to that the leg injury I suffered in February and Starbucks has not been on the agenda.

So, of course, it was so nice to hear from them the other day; guess they missed me. I received an email notification of my spending record and that I was quickly on my way to losing my ‘Gold Card’ status. The card that I originally paid for to have some extra privileges and which had now turned into nothing for me but a glorified gift card. I would put $30 on it at a time as that was so much easier to include in monthly business expenses than $3 here or $4 there. But now they were going to drop me. First the scones, now this?

Well, the card issue is no big deal but it was the impetus that reminded me I miss the scones so today I decided to take action and make some of my own. I’m almost embarrassed at how ridiculously easy they were to make and while not trying to recreate the Starbucks version exactly (blame the lack of oatmeal in ‘de’ house), they turned out wonderful. Moister inside than those from ‘them; and the glaze is richer…altogether a really yummy version that turned out better than the original! The toasted pecans didn’t hurt either. Oh my.

That email message was most likely meant to push me to consume some more. Uh oh…for me it means I’m not sure I’ll EVER walk in there again; I can get my coffee and scones at home or a caramel latte from McD’s…I’m good!

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Maple and Toasted Pecan Scones

Ingredients

Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 cup pecans, toasted, roughly chopped
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp maple extract

Glaze

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp mild-flavored molasses
2 Tbsp half and half
2/3 cup sifted powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat to 400°F.
Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl of food processor. Add 6 tablespoons butter and process using pulse until butter pieces are pea sized. Put mixture into mixing bowl.
Mix in pecans.
Whisk buttermilk, egg yolks and extract in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture. Toss with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into a ball and press out on lightly floured surface and shape into an 8-inch round; cut into 6-8 pieces and round off edges to form circular piece of dough.
Arrange scones 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 16 minutes.
Whisk remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, half and half, maple extract and molasses in heavy small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Remove pan from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar. Spread glaze over warm scones. Let stand until glaze sets, approximately 30 minutes (that did not happen here…they are edible at 15 minutes if you don’t have to have the glaze completely setup; I didn’t!)

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© Vino Luci Style for Vino Luci Style, 2010. | Permalink | 32 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: maple, oatmeal, scones, starbucks, toasted pecans

The BEST Coffee Cake Ever

Vino Luci Style — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:00:37 +0000

I was having coffee and thinking about what to make for a neighbor when I saw a tweet from The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond aka @thepioneerwoman) that said, and I quote, “The Best Coffee Cake Ever. I say that with confidence, boldness, and crumbs all over my chin” – so of course I was intrigued…I mean everyone thinks they make the BEST ever…I typically think of my dishes as more like the Best Ever at This Moment!

I headed over to check out the post and could see why this could be the best ever. I mean…like a bit of dough with your topping? Who hasn’t wished the piece of coffee cake they’re eating had just a bit more of that wonderful stuff crumbled on top; that magical mix of butter, brown sugar and nuts (OK, maybe a little bit of flour; but who gives flour much credit anyhow?)

I also couldn’t help but notice that egg yolks were omitted and only beaten egg whites were used…so this seemed unique enough to not compete with my Bon Appetit, church cookbook, Junior League and Nordtrom’s collection to in fact be different…but better? We’ll see. Ree might be THE Pioneer Woman but I’m from Missouri…so Show Me!

I so seldom make anything according to recipe, mostly because I keep a well stocked pantry so refuse to run to the store if I’m missing one or two ingredients…in my experience; creativity is borne from having to substitute. But, I had it all…and really, if judging it to be the BEST; shouldn’t I make it just as is?

The only, single thing I did differently from Ree was to whip my egg whites first. That’s how I roll…but then I also don’t have the fancy schmancy KitchenAid electric whisk she used for hers (but in truth, might…very soon!) So I beat the egg whites in my KitchenAid mixing bowl and then transferred them to a smaller bowl and continued using the same mixing bowl for the rest of the batter ingredients. Other than that, everything else? Exactly the same.

Was it the BEST? Not to offend my Grandma Bathe or Stacy Hatch and her blueberry coffee cake I love, but this was hard to beat. Seriously. But how could it not be? You know that topping you always wished you had more of? Well, this topping actually sinks under the dough lightened by egg whites and becomes the middle and then it sort of caramelizes on the bottom and you can see by the picture it is clearly a third (or more!) of this cake!

Remembering I wanted to make something to take for a neighbor, I was left with a conundrum of what to do. I wanted one perfect slice for a photo but let’s be honest…I mean how could I judge without having a piece for myself and experience that nirvana of crumbs all over MY chin? So, my neighbor was delivered 7/8 of a coffee cake (this makes a HUGE coffee cake) nestled oh so decoratively in a pretty kitchen cloth as if my making it look beautifully presented REQUIRED it be set free from the pan!

Proof positive might be better exampled by my friends daughter, Allie. She is nine years old and loves to stay here and we have had an overnight planned for a couple of weeks. She has a relatively adventurous palate for one so young so I don’t often hear, ‘Eww, I don’t like that’ and that sure makes cooking for her more fun. That’s Allie eating a S’more cookie…but that’s a whole different post!

Well, I saved enough of my 1/8 section for us to have it for breakfast Saturday morning. We had scrambled eggs with coffee cake for breakfast; Allie asked for a snack of some more soon after. We went out for a couple of hours and she rushed home to finish her piece but asked if she could take the last bit with her when her parents came to pick her up. I’ve not seen ice cream, cake or assorted other goodies get that kind of attention, so Ree; we’re going to agree with you, it really is the BEST Coffee Cake EVER!

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The BEST Coffee Cake Ever

Ingredients

Cake

1-½ stick butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour, sifted
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-¼ cup milk
3 whole egg whites, beaten til stiff

Topping:

1-½ stick butter, softened
¾ cups flour
1-½ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1-½ cup pecans, chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt
Beat egg whites and set aside
In same mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar
Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined; don’t overbeat
Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula until just incorporated
Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (larger would be fine but I don’t recommend you go with anything smaller) baking pan
In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes til a toothpick inserted comes out clean and nicely brown on top. Mine seemed done but not brown, so I turned on convection heat for a few minutes
Best if served warm; so for that middle of the night snack…your microwave will be your best friend!

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© Vino Luci Style for Vino Luci Style, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Best ever, brown sugar, cinnamon, coffee cake, pecans, pioneer woman

Blackberry Pandowdy

Vino Luci Style — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:00:07 +0000

That morning I mentioned in the last post; cold, drizzly and where I HAD to make a curry dish I saw posted on a blog cause I thought it looked warm? Truth? Also HAD to make a pandowdy that my friend Elle posted that she had adapted from The New England Cookbook. Why oh why when I have company coming do I decide to add one more thing to my list?

Well, I say why not? Simple is hardly simple enough to describe this dish. I had just spied a large container of blackberries in the fridge that morning and remember thinking ‘I have got to remember to do something with those suckers’ when I saw Elle’s post within the hour and knew it was perfect. It needed a lot of fruit and it was lightning quick to prepare. And some days I just love being taken back to New England…err, I mean North Carolina! If you’ve never been, North Carolina would hardly have you imagining New England…but if you recall, it was one of the original colonies and there are a lot of influences in Virginia and the Carolinas that bear fruit from states further north. Heck, when I lived there, not just the food bore similarities but Cape Cod style houses were everywhere! Sadly oysters and shrimp were more typical than lobster…but I digress!

Dishes like this were standard fare at neighborhood gatherings…and always came with a wide variety of funny names. Pandowdy, grunt, crumble, crisp or clafouti; they are all a blend of fruit and dough, whether rolled out or crumbled on top before baking.

Pandowdy is typically finished with a pie dough crust…and that might not have inspired me as much as this version which was a quick mixture that is spread on top. I mean, how easy can you get? I’ve included Elle’s beautiful picture of her Mixed Berry Pandowdy; be sure to visit her blog for her take and to see her great collection of both classic and traditional New England dishes! For this, she used a combination of fresh and frozen fruits so all that fruit you get this summer…freeze it for your fall and winter pandowdy’s!

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BlackBerry Pandowdy

Ingredients

5 to 6 cups blackberries (or other berries, fresh or frozen, or sliced and peeled apples)
3 tbsp maple syrup (please, please do use real maple syrup)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

Heat the oven to 350
Lightly grease a shallow 2 quart baking dish
Pour the berries (or arrange apples) in the baking dish and drizzle with the maple syrup
Sprinkle the cinnamon and nutmeg over the fruit–toss to combine
Bake for about 10-15 minutes.
**For tender blackberries, this was perfect, adjust if you’re using frozen berries or apples and increase baking time to 20-25 minutes.
While they’re in the oven, whisk the rest of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Immediately prior to removing the pan from the oven, whisk the milk and egg in a smaller bowl, then stir in the melted butter and extracts.
Stir the wet mixture into the dry, remove that pan from the over and pour the batter over the berries, spreading out gently with a rubber spatula.
Return it to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. It should be lightly golden brown and a tester should come out clean.

Cool for a bit and serve warm. Perfect as is or topped with either whipped cream or ice cream.

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© Vino Luci Style for Vino Luci Style, 2010. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blackberry, cinnamon, colonial, Fruit Salads, New England, nutmeg, pan dowdy, pandowdy

Blueberry Cornmeal Cake

Vino Luci Style — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:35:42 +0000

I’ve been a subscriber to Bon Appetit magazine for more than 30 years. The recent demise of Gourmet magazine has seen my good friend receive constant thrashing at the hands of fervent Gourmet magazine lovers who feel a need to take out their hurt against my beloved companion! Printable Recipe -->

© Vino Luci Style for Vino Luci Style, 2010. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blueberries, blueberry, Breakfast, coffee cake, cornmeal, dessert

Karydopita (Καρυδόπιτα)

Vino Luci Style — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:37:21 +0000

Into my third week of a knee injury and not being able to really cook or photo or…well, lot’s I can’t do, so I’m continuing on my blogging journey with the help of fellow food bloggers who have offered to help until I’m up and at’em…well, at least up!Printable Recipe -->

© Vino Luci Style for Vino Luci Style, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cake, coffee, dessert, greek, karydopita

Butter Rum Cake

Vino Luci Style — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:39:56 +0000

I love this cake and although not necessarily considered a holiday cake, it is considered OUR holiday cake! I made it for a New Year’s Eve party I hosted last week. I promised dessert and this is a quick and easy dessert with fabulous results!Printable Recipe -->

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Post tags: best cake, best in blogs, best recipes, bundt, butter, cake, Desserts, holiday, pecans, rum

Peppermint Meringue Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Vino Luci Style — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:21:17 +0000

This recipe was featured on the December 2009 cover of Bon Appetit magazine. Looked both beautiful and festive and I love cakes with layers of meringue so this one was calling my name for our holiday dessert.Printable Recipe -->

© Vino Luci Style for Vino Luci Style, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: buttercream, cake, chocolate, frosting, hazelnut, kahlua, meringue, peppermint

Last Minute Fruitcake

Vino Luci Style — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:36:28 +0000

I know, I know…fruitcake? There has to be a better name for it because for many it just sends a message of hard citrus thingys I can't even call candy or heavily sauced (and I mean sauced, you know, as in having had too much to drink!) pieces of brick. Another food blogger, EvilShenanigans and I did have a moment of fun trying to come up with new names for this delicious treat; take a look at her stellar result for fruitcake by another name…that is, it's GOOD!

I started making this version of fruitcake a VERY long time ago when I was pleasantly surprised to see none of the above listed offensive ingredients and now make it every year. I just went and found the cookbook my inspiration came from which was a holiday book put out by Hallmark, with a copyright date of 1978…I told you, a very long time ago!

I'm sure the title refers to the fact that there is no waiting time with this fruitcake, no weeks of pouring bourbon over the cake and waiting and waiting some more. You CAN make it at the last minute for gift giving! There are NO hard citron or citronella or whatever those things are called, in it. Just fruit and nuts and maraschino cherries and enough dough to just hold the fruit and nuts together. I've revised the original recipe a bit with the addition of dried cranberries and have also made it with Irish Whiskey but with or without that boozy touch, it's always enjoyed by all…adults, kids and Santa's elves!

Ingredients

1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup cutup pitted dates
1/8 cup Irish Whiskey
1 cup maraschino cherries, halved
1 cup blanched, slivered almonds
2 cups walnut pieces
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Soak raisins, dried cranberries and dates in Irish Whiskey for at least 15 minutes to plump them up.
Grease and flour a non-stick loaf pan. (Original directions called for lightly greasing a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; lining the pan with waxed paper and then greasing that paper. With nonstick I've found that extra step of lining the pan with waxed paper is unnecessary but use that method if you do not have non-stick pans).
Mix fruits and nuts in a large mixing bowl (Add fruit WITH liquid from 1st step).
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar over mixture; toss to coat all fruits and nuts with flour.
Beat eggs until foamy, then add vanilla.
Pour over fruit mixture and stir just until blended.
Pour into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven about 11/2 hours. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

NOTE: I make a triple batch of this recipe and then bake it in smaller loaf pans for gift giving. Check dough after 55 minutes for doneness – toothpick inserted into cake pulls out clean. LOVE this pan from Wilton; does make doing small loaves much easier to handle!

© Vino Luci Style for Vino Luci Style, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cake, cranberries, dates, Fruit Salads, fruitcake, holiday, maraschino cherries, raisins, walnuts

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Vino Luci Style — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:14:30 +0000

I love this dessert; it's become a holiday tradition since first trying it a couple of years ago; even more decadent if you add a bit of Irish Whiskey to whipped cream for a topping! This version is from Gourmet Magazine; I've got another I have to find in my library and compare/include asap.

INGREDIENTS

Cake

1/2 pound dates, pitted and coarsely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Toffee Sauce

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

For the cake:

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat 8 (6-ounce) ramekins with butter and flour; set aside.
Combine dates, water, and baking soda in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.
Place salt and flour in a medium bowl, whisk to combine, and set aside. Bring a medium pot of water to a simmer over high heat for a water bath.
Combine butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until light and airy, about 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add vanilla extract, then beat in eggs one at a time, just until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in date mixture until well combined, then stir in flour mixture until just incorporated (don’t overmix).
Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins and set them in a roasting pan or baking dish (you will likely need to use both a 13-by-9-inch dish and an 8-by-8-inch dish to fit them all). Pour simmering water into the bottom of the baking dishes until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Very carefully place the baking dishes on the center rack of the oven. Bake until the center of each cake is just set and a cake tester inserted into the middle of each comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the toffee sauce.

For the toffee sauce:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it foams, add brown sugar and vanilla extract or seeds, stir once, and heat until bubbling and the color of maple syrup, about 5 minutes.
Carefully add cream in a slow stream while stirring, and cook until the sauce bubbles up and increases in volume, about 2 minutes; remove from heat.

When the cakes are finished, remove the ramekins from the oven and place on a cooling rack to come to room temperature. Once the cakes are cool, run a knife around the perimeter of each and invert to remove from the ramekins, then place upright on a serving plate. Serve the cakes at room temperature or slightly warmed, covered in warm toffee sauce.

Makes: 8 servings

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Post tags: cake, caramel, dates, sticky toffee pudding

Ricotta Pound Cake

Vino Luci Style — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:15:00 +0000

I love this pound cake! There was a period a couple of years ago when I went pound cake crazy over the holidays. Each gift had a different one included so I start earlier each year trying out different recipes to keep that tradition alive. I've made a browned butter rum pound cake that's a winner and with some ricotta on hand I wanted to try this recipe from Pastry Chef Gina DePalma's book 'Dolce Italiano.'

The Ricotta makes this such a great moist cake. Suggestion is to sprinkle the top with some powdered sugar and I like adding berries on the side, however, high altitude baking is tricky, no matter the recipe revisions that I try, you get used to the fact that sometimes cakes split, sometimes they fall and then there was this one. The outer edge (approx 1") was perfect but the entire center sunk…so I filled it with berries and it looked and tasted superb.

By the way, I don't post the recipe I use for baking; preferring to post what works for 'flatlanders' and knowing those of us up in the air have to do some basic modifications with baking powder, etc…not that they always work!

Makes one 9-inch loaf cake, about 10 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 vanilla bean
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter, dust it with flour, and tap to knock out the excess.

In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, ricotta, and sugar on medium speed until smooth and light, about 2 minutes.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of the bowl after each addition. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds with blunt side of a small knife, then beat them into batter along with vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients to combine them, scrape down sides of the bowl, and beat batter for 30 seconds on medium speed.

Pour batter into prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth the top. Give the pan a few gentle whacks on the counter to remove any air pockets.

Bake cake for 15 minutes, then turn the pan 180 degrees to ensure even browning. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees and continue baking until the cake springs back lightly when touched, the sides have begun to pull away from the pan, and a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 to 35 minutes more.

Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully invert it onto the rack to cool completely. Dust cake lightly with confectioners’ sugar before serving it; the flavor is best on the next day (not that easy!).

Any leftover cake may be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. The cake also freezes beautifully, wrapped in plastic, and place in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Serve with a side of fresh fruit; pictured are blackberries.

From Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen “Dolce Italiano” by Gina DePalma

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Post tags: butter, pound cake, ricotta