Livin' in the South

I took a Food and Wine Pairing class online where we had to take a traditional Southern recipe and update it. I guess I'm boring (or lazy) (or both) because I just went ahead and picked a pound cake. I also think of pound cake as being one of the most basic cakes.



I went through countless traditional recipes of pound cake, each asking for "a pound" of each ingredient. I updated the recipe, measurement-wise, and added a pecan element as a callback to the Southern requirement of the assignment. I also added a maple drizzle. Don't ask me. I don't know why.



This wasn't my favorite thing. But it's a pretty basic pound cake, when it comes down to it. If you're a big pound cake fan, then you should try this. Otherwise, maybe just look at the pretty pictures and feel satisfied in that.

Butter Pecan Pound Cake with Maple Drizzle
Makes about 12 servings

1 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon rum (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans, plus 1/3 cup whole pecans
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.

Using paddle attachment on a standing mixer with a stationary bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until very fluffy, about seven or eight minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well-combined.

In a small bowl, combine rum and vanilla extract with milk. In another bowl, whisk together baking powder and flour. Alternately add liquid and dry ingredients to the butter mixture, starting and ending with liquid.

Stir in walnuts. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for about 70 minutes until cake tests done. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and maple syrup. Drizzle over the cake after it cools for twenty minutes. Sprinkle whole pecans over cake.

First Day of Spring

I honestly have no idea where I got this recipe, but I'm pretty sure it was vegan when I found it. Slowly I've added all sorts of animal by-products and other assorted ingredients and now I guess it's technically mine.



This is a very hearty fall/winter quickbread that I'm posting about at exactly the wrong time. People will eat it year round, however because it's mild and sweet and a good accompaniment to coffee. I like to coarsely chop the pecans, while the original asked for finely-chopped, but that's just because I like big crunchy things in my breads to add some interest and texture. I think my favorite part of this bread is that it has a crusty outside, which doesn't often happen when it comes to quickbread.



Don't be afraid to give this to a picky eater or someone who especially dislikes oatmeal; after the bread is baked, the quick oats are barely discernible.



Maple Oat Pecan Bread
Makes 2 loaves

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup
6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) packed brown sugar
3 cups buttermilk*
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottoms only of two nine-inch bread pans.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together until blended. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil until smooth. Whisk in the maple syrup, brown sugar, and buttermilk. Stir in the oats and pecans.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Pour into pans, smooth top, and bake until golden-brown and a tester inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean, about 60 minutes.

*To make buttermilk, take 3 cups of milk and add 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to it. Let sour for at least 10 minutes and use in place of buttermilk.

Still in School

Sometime last year, I found a recipe on Recipezaar for Maple Muffins. gb loves maple syrup, but he loves bacon even more, so I decided to add that into the mixture. They were a pretty big hit; he likes to add extra maple syrup to them and eat four or five in the morning, and the bacon provides manly protein to keep him going until lunch.



He also helped me make these muffins by cooking the bacon while I assembled the yummy muffin-y parts. Then he crumbled it up, still cracklin' with his bare hands and didn't wince once. He sure is tough.



These are surefire for people who like bacon and/or muffins, and they would be a great addition to a brunch buffet. They have a texture that is reminiscent of cornbread, but the syrup adds sweetness while the bacon adds a combating little jolt of savory.



Maple Bacon Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, bacon, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.