Strawberries and Such

On the search for my Dream Cake, I frequently encountered recipes for strawberry cream cakes and strawberry shortcakes. Martha, as usual, made the most compelling bid, and I decided I should make it during the dog days of summer.



I know what you're thinking. Do I ever get tired of strawberries? The answer is, when it's 100 degrees outside, no. I never get tired of strawberries. On top of this, freshly whipped cream is one of my favorite things in the world. This slightly-sweet cake paired with the cold cream and the fresh strawberries make me think of...well, a relaxing treat on a hot summer's day.




Strawberry Cream Cake
Makes about 10 servings

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper and sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.

Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes. Place saucepan over very low heat, and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form. Continue to beat, and gradually add gelatin mixture; beat until soft peaks form.

Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake.

My Dream Cake

Sometime around the age of 16, I stumbled across this picture:



Since then, I have spent every birthday trying to recreate a cake that I only have photographic evidence of. After I did more research into my dream cake, I realized that it was actually an ice cream cake. I chose to ignore this and thought of it as a fluffy white cake with thick, creamy buttercream frosting, and a sweet strawberry filling. Until this year, I never really knew what it would taste like.

Until...


I'm going to go ahead and be honest here: this is the best cake I have ever made. Not only is it the prettiest, it tasted exactly the way the original picture looked. There was just the right amount of frosting, cake, strawberries, heaven, etc. It was moist, creamy, and tangy. It was my dream cake. And it came from this Frankenstein of a recipe.



Fluffy White Cake White Chocolate Frosting and Strawberry Filling
Also known as My Dream Cake
Makes about 12 servings

18 tablespoons (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
4 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising) plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups whole milk
9 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 cups sugar

9 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks/6 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small carton strawberries, separated
Sugar, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together, milk, egg whites, and extracts. Into a second medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. With machine running, gradually add the sugar. Continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
Add one-third of the flour mixture and one-third of the milk mixture, and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add remaining flour and milk mixtures in 2 separate batches beating between additions to fully incorporate. Scrape down sides of bowl, and stir by hand to finish.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Smooth surface with a rubber spatula. Bake until top of cake springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Run a small metal spatula around the sides of the pan, and invert cakes onto greased racks. Reinvert cakes onto cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

To make the frosting, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the butter and salt and beat until smooth. Stir in the cooled white chocolate. Refrigerate until firm enough to frost the cake, about 30 minutes.

To make the filling, mash up about ¾ of the carton of strawberries. Add in sugar, just a little at a time, until desired sweetness is reached. To assemble the cake, take one layer and cover with a thin layer of frosting and then cover with strawberry filling. Take the other layer and frost one side with a thin layer of frosting; lay this second layer, frosting side down, onto the first layer (so the order is cake-frosting-filling-frosting-cake). Frost the top and sides of the cake. Cut the remaining strawberries into decorative shapes and place on top and sides of cake. Top with white chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate

My brother takes after my mom in that he doesn't really go after sweets. They both like sweets alright, but unlike my dad and me, they don't have crazy cravings and super sweet tooths. I always have to coax my brother a little every year around his birthday to let me make him a cake of some sort. This year, he actually requested a chocolate cheesecake.



I've only ever made two other cheesecakes (my birthday cheesecake and the pecan pie cheesecake), so I was a little skeptical about baking this. Luckily, my buddy Emeril was here to guide me to a recipe that looked fairly easy. The end result was pretty great; it mixed a lot better than my birthday cheesecake and had a deep chocolate flavor. My brother enjoyed it, too. The only thing I would change if I made it again would be the strawberries - after about two days on the cheesecake, they started to get slimy and the cake touching the strawberries did the same.



New York Style Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes about 12 servings

1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from inside of pod and reserved
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces melted semisweet chocolate, cooled slightly
Fresh strawberries, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if using a light springform pan; or 325 degrees if using a dark nonstick springform pan).

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate wafer crumbs, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the butter and mix well. Press onto the bottom of springform pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, remaining cup of sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds; beat until light and creamy. Add the flour to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate and sour cream and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until just blended. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour, until the center is almost set.

Run a sharp knife around the rim of the pan and allow cake to cool on a wire rack before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate at least four hours, or overnight, before serving. Cheesecake may be made up to 2 days in advance before serving and will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator. Serve the cheesecake garnished with fresh strawberries.

Hopes, Dreams, and Lemons

This story begins with a surplus of lemons. Although, it could possibly begin before that, when I bought the lemons in hopes of making lots of delicious, mildly-tart lemon poppy seed bread. I didn't want to rely on a mix any longer! Plus, I had at least two cups of poppy seeds that had been sitting on my counter for months. MONTHS. How long can those things last before they go bad?



Not wanting to tempt fate, I decided I had put the bread off for long enough and looked through my recipes on my computer for the file promisingly called "Lemon Poppy Seed Bread." When I opened it...alas! No lemons were used! Just a cake mix and a pudding mix. I know what you're wondering - why didn't I just look at the recipe before going to the store? Well, that would ruin the surprise, obviously.



So, I scrounged around and found a file named “Every Which Way Bread” that supplied me with ingredients to make just about every flavor of quick bread you can think of, excluding lemon poppy seed. This was when I decided to improvise; I have to improvise a lot. You can call it poor planning or creative expression, but baking has certainly helped me think a lot quicker on my feet.



This bread turned out to be quite delicious, and I got lots of pretty pictures from it. The only complaint I had was that it tastes exactly like the boxed mix. Seeing as how I made this bread specifically so I could get away from the mix, the only logical conclusion here is that I am cursed.



Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Makes 2 large loaves

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup poppy seeds
Zest of 1 or 2 lemons, to taste (optional)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 4 small or 2 large loaf pans with vegetable cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, lemon zest and poppy seeds; stir until completely mixed. Make a well in the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and vegetable oil. Add eggs and beat slightly. Stir in lemon juice.

Pour wet ingredients into well of dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Distribute batter among the prepared pans, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Can be stored at room temperature or wrapped in saran wrap and frozen.

And Eating It Too

This post is actually about something I ate, but didn't make. My mom found a cake recipe she wanted try in the latest issue of Epicurious.



She rarely has the time or ability (what with me hogging the oven) to bake anything, so she leapt at the chance and made the cake while I worked one night. She and my dad even waited to cut it until after I got home so that I could take pictures, awww.



This cake was delicious; the glaze was sweet and tart at the same time, and the cake was moist all over and a little salty in contrast to the glaze. The blueberry sauce on top was warm, sweet, and sticky, and an excellent addition to the cake.



Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 cups packed powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons or more fresh lemon juice

Combine powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir with a spoon until smooth and paste-like, adding more lemon juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. Set aside.


Lemon Cornmeal Cake
Makes 8 to 10 servings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely-grated lemon peel
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan with at least 2-inch-high sides; line bottom with parchment.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; whisk to blend. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, lemon peel, and vanilla in small bowl. Pour buttermilk mixture and melted butter into flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold liquids into flour mixture until just blended (do not stir). Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted in the center comes out clean and cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Immediately run a knife around the sides of the cake. Invert the cake onto a rack or plate; while the cake is still hot, drop glaze by tablespoonfuls and spread to within 1/2 inch of the edge.


Crushed-Blueberry Sauce
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed (13 to 14 ounces), divided
2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon finely-grated lemon peel
Pinch of salt

Combine 1 1/2 cups blueberries and all remaining ingredients in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to simmer, about 7 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until berries are very soft and liquid is syrupy, stirring often, about 7 minutes.

Remove from heat and add remaining blueberries. Using back of spoon, gently press fresh blueberries against side of pan until lightly crushed.

I Went Bananas When I Spoke to You on the Telephone

Last summer, my really good friend Kara moved wayyyy up north to Michigan and lived in an ice cube for a year. She came back to visit in early June and remembered that she liked the south. Two months later, she moved back and is enrolled to go to school this fall and everything.



In other news, I have been on a banana kick lately - eating them with different meals and as snacks, slathered in peanut butter. Keeping this in mind, I went to the store and bought a bag of Ready-to-use bananas for cheap and set to making some banana nut bread. This was good timing for me as Kara was due back in town that very night and bread is always a good gift.



To tie everything together, I made two loaves of Banana-Walnut bread and now I have to find a way to use up the other eight, extremely ripe bananas sitting on my kitchen counter. Most likely, I will just be making more bread and muffins later on in the week.



I used my standby banana bread recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook that I've been baking out of since I was a kid. In the middle of making this, I realized that cinnamon wasn't listed as an ingredient, which I found quite odd. It's my favorite spice, so I just added it in and the bread tastes delicious as usual.



Banana Nut Bread
Makes 2 loaves

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
3 to 4 mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vinegar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup nuts, chopped and toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and move oven rack so that tops of pans will be in the center of the oven. Grease 2 loaf pans, 8-inch for taller loaves and 9-inch for shorter ones or grease one 9-inch loaf pan and six muffin cups. Toast nuts if using.

Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat in eggs until well blended. Add the bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix until completely combined.

Then, stir in flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, just until moistened. Fold in nuts, and pour into pans.

Bake for about 45 minutes (for 9-inch pans); I'm not sure how long 8-inch pans would take, so make sure to check at 30 minutes, and be ready to allow for more time.

Cool completely before slicing. To store, wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate for up to 10 days.

Birthday Cake: Strawberry

I'm kind of cursed when it comes to basic layer cakes. Although they always taste delectable, I can never manage to make them look edible, let alone pretty. They're either crooked or falling apart or just plain ugly; plus, I've never ever been able to pop a layer out of a nine-inch pan completely intact. It's just something that had never happened for me until this cake.



My birthday cake was a strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting that I found at some point on Recipezaar. I have actually been wanting a strawberry cake since I realized I had never eaten one back in February; I waited until my birthday to make one so that the strawberries would be ripe and in season and I was extremely satisfied with the results.



While looking for a recipe that suited my tastes, I kept in mind that, above all, I wanted lots of fresh strawberries to be used and I wanted the cake to be pink. This recipe was convenient because I love cream cheese frosting.



However, I should probably address some of the issues I had with the frosting; I'm guessing that during the "thorough draining" of the mashed strawberries, some not-so-thorough work went on. All I really had on hand that I could think of using was a sieved spoon, so I picked up small amounts of the mashed berried and mashed them a little more while they were in the spoon, thinking this would lead to getting rid of all of the juices. Obviously, it didn't, which made the frosting a little apprehensive to set; I had to leave the cake in the refrigerator for a little under two days, so I pulled it out every four hours or so to swirl the frosting back up the cake because it had already dripped down into a puddle. I noticed around the last few hours before we ate it that I didn't need to push it up as much, so I guess the frosting finally decided to give up the battle and just stay put.



Anyway, this didn't take away from the taste at all; it was delicious and the coconut and pecan, which I originally thought were fairly out of place in the recipe, ended up adding a nice crunch and texture to the finished product. Of all of the people that ate the cake, my mom was the only one who disliked it and then it was only due to the coconut and pecan. I will probably make this again sometime sans crunchy stuff.



Also, I had a lot of the frosting left over, and I don't know if that was due to the fact that it never thickened up or if it was just because the recipe was specifically for three nine-inch pans and I only used two. Either way, if I hadn't let it sit in the refrigerator for a week and a half, I would have been able to make cupcakes with it and they would have been delicious.



I didn't do the best job with taking pictures of all of the steps included in this recipe, as I was really set on making it actually look good. This is unfortunate because it is probably one of the prettiest cakes I have ever made.



Strawberry Cake
Makes one 9-inch (2 or 3) layer cake, about 18 servings

Vegetable shortening, for greasing the pans
Flour, for dusting the pans
1 (18.25 ounce) package plain white cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry gelatin
1 cup mashed fresh strawberries, with juice (1 1/2 cups whole berries)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk (I used 1% and it worked fine)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup grated sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Strawberries, sliced, for garnish
1 batch Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two or three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The strawberries should be well blended into the batter. Fold in the coconut and pecans. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them in the oven; if you are using two pans, simply place them on the middle rack; if you are using three and your oven is not large enough, place two pans on the center rack and place the third pan in the center of the highest rack.

Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just start to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28 to 30 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the layer on the highest oven rack. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more. (Okay, I didn't do the multiple inversions; I placed them on little hotpads in front of a fan that was on high for about 30 to 45 minutes until they were mostly cool.

To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. (At this point, I used a thin layer of frosting on top of the first layer; then I added thinly sliced strawberries and added another thin layer of frosting on top of the slices.) Add another cake layer, right side up, and frost the top. Repeat this process with the third layer and frost the top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the sides, working with clean, smooth strokes. Decorate the top layer with sliced strawberries, if desired. Serve at once or chill the cake for later serving. (I recommend chilling it - it really helps bring out the strawberry flavor.)

Place this cake uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes (or 2 days, if you're me: that's how long it took to start to set). Cover the cake with waxed paper and store, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving. This cake is best served cold.


Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes a ton of frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted (I probably used about 5 cups, just trying to get the frosting to thicken up)
3/4 cup fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, capped and mashed to make 1/2 cup, then drained well
1/3 cup grated sweetened coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for about a minutes. Stop the machine and add the powdered sugar and drained strawberries (IMPORTANT: If the strawberries are not completely drained, the frosting will not set). Blend the frosting on low until the sugar is completely incorporated; then, raise the speed to medium and mix the frosting for another few minutes until the frosting lightens and is well combined. Fold in the coconut and pecans.


By the way, if anyone was wondering, I have not yet made the Coconut Cream Pie for my grandpa because we are waiting until he gets out of the hospital on July 14th to surprise him with it. But I still need to post about Cake Pops, and that's worth waiting around for!

Muffins #2: Raspberry-Orange

As promised, I'm going to expound on the adventure that was the creation of my Raspberry-Orange muffins. I came across the recipe at Pittsburgh Needs Eated, but it originated in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. I saw it weeks ago and have been salivating over her pictures of the muffins ever since, so you can imagine my excitement when my mom told me that she had bought my berries for me when she went to the store last night. Unfortunately, my writing is somewhat illegible and she had actually bought me raspberries and blackberries, as opposed to the raspberries and blueberries I had scribbled onto the list.

Anyway, I made do with what I had and decided to just make the muffins with orange and raspberry and do something different with the blackberries later on (see yesterday's post).



The recipe was easy enough to follow along with, however I felt that it was fairly messy; at least, my kitchen was a mess by the time I was done. As stated in the original post on Pittsburgh Needs Eated, she misread and added 1 scant cup each of both types of berries. I had 6 ounces of raspberries and used all of them, although I'm sure that I could have added a little more if available.



Instead of buttermilk, I used 3/4 cup 1% milk mixed with 3/4 tablespoon vinegar, and my honey had to be heated in the microwave to help it lose the characteristics of a solid object. Then, in the oven, they didn't rise as much as I expected them to, and they started to burn a little on the edges after 13 minutes or so; after I noticed, I turned my oven down to 300 degrees F for about 3 more minutes and then I pulled them out.



Overall, they were just too tart for me, but they sure do look pretty. I'm sure my mom will like them, but I think they're much too strong to eat in the morning, when you just want something to tide you over until lunch. However, if like tart things, and especially if you like raspberries, these are the muffins for you. My slightly modified version of the recipe is as follows.

Supertart Berry-Orange Muffins
Makes about 16 regular-sized muffins

1 orange, grated zest and juice of
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup berries of your choice, fresh or still frozen (I used raspberries)
(PNE recommended powdered sugar for decoration, which probably will help to counteract the tartness, if you're only using raspberries)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray 12 regular-size muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet. (I didn't read that part - maybe that's why mine cooked so quickly on the edges.)

Juice the orange into a large glass measuring cup; pour in enough buttermilk so that the mixture equals 1 cup. Whisk the eggs, honey, and melted butter thoroughly.

Next, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips in a large bowl; the sugar needs to be completely moise. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the sugar and zest. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and use a whisk or rubber spatula to stir, gently and quickly. The batter will be lumpy and bubbly. Stir in the berries.

Pour batter evenly into muffin cups, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until muffins are golden, springy, and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean (Mine only needed about 15 without the baking pan). If you are using the powdered sugar, add it to the muffins after ten minutes of baking. Cool for at least 5 minutes before moving the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Muffins #1: Blackberry

After I got out of class today, I really had a hankering to make some muffins. Luckily, I didn't have work or anything, so lo an behold today was a muffin day. I'm posting about the blackberry muffins I made today and I'll post about the orange-raspberry ones tomorrow.

These muffins were from a recipe I found on Simply Recipes, although hers were a little prettier than mine. I halved it because I only had six ounces of blackberries and it made 11 good-sized muffins. Also, I used light sour cream, 1% milk, and quartered most of the blackberries because mine were so big.



The end result was pretty good. They weren't very sweet, but I don't know if I would actually add any more sugar to it - it was probably due to the berries not being completely ripe or something variable like that. They were soft and tasted delicious with a smear of butter, right out of the oven. (Okay, I really used Promise margarine, but I'm sure they'd be good with butter, too.)



They smelled like blueberry pancakes both in their dough form and while they were baking, which is strange, considering there were no blueberries involved.



Blackberry Muffins
Makes about 12 regular-sized muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon milk
1/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 ounces fresh blackberries, cut in half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease 12 regular-sized muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together; then in a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, milk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir as little as possbile, just until the entire mixture is moistened. Mix in the berries, careful not to overmix. (The original recipe recommends defrosting the berries if they are frozen, draining them, and coating them lightly in flour.) The batter will be very thick, almost like a runny cookie dough.

Pour batter into muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool for at least 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.