Deliciously dense apple spice cake

Here we are! in 2010. The new year!
I am yet to decide which I like best.

What is it about New years that we feel we have to have brilliant, exciting plans?
Why can't we be content with being in 2009 one minute, and 2010 the next?

Today I have a recipe for you all, that I made on Christmas day. It's an apple spice cake with a texture similar to pumpkin pie, entirely delicious, and pretty too. It definitely deserves a spot in my big black book of favorites .

Maybe... even...... in the first few pages.
That's a big deal.

I've made this cake several times, and each time it tastes better and better. This recipe is fairly simple, and there aren't too many ingredients, aside from the ton of apples that you'll need.

I promise you, you'll enjoy!


Apple spice cake
Inspiration: Gordon Ramsay

5-6 cooking apples (I used macintosh)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter

2 ripe (big) apples

juice of 1 lemon

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup olive oil

1-2 tbsp water

1. First things first, peel and slice the cooking apples and place in a saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Cook over high heat for 15 minutes or until becomes mushy-like, almost an apple sauce. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.

2. Heat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pan with a removable bottom. Peel and very finely slice the 2 apples. Place in a bowl and pour over most of the lemon juice and a splash of water (this keeps the apples from browning).

3. In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and ground spices. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, olive oil and apple puree. Fold into the dry ingredients until just combined.

4. Transfer the mixture to the cake pan and gently level the top. Bake for 30 minutes.

5. Quickly overlap the sliced apples on top leaving a margin around the edge. Brush with lemon juice and return to oven for another 30-35 minutes.

6. Let the cake cool before removing it from the pan.

lo and behold, cake!

It's edible, as my Dad would say.

Good-eatin' poppy seed treats

Today, my sister, Hil and I had quite the day. We baked these most delicious poppy seed cookies and along the way met two little angel friends... they joined us, adventuring throughout the house being filled with Christmas JOY!

They soon shall be gobbled up.

Sorry friends.

I promise you will most definitely be enjoyed.

Our morning had begun, we were first introduced to our angel friends as soon as they came out of the oven!

Soon enough, with the aroma of sweet smelling paper whites just next door, they were eager to get close!

Our two little angel friends were enjoying themselves so much on our most exhilarating escapade that they couldn't wait to meet the rest of the family.

Father was the first to be introduced, they were drawn to his mysterious demeanor.

The little angels were so resistant to leave Father, but the bells of Prancer and Nixon were ringing.. So they joyously flew over to greet them!

Soon enough, our angel friends were famished and exhausted from our ventures. We offered them cookies, oranges, apples, candy, an abundance of food.

But they wanted nothing of the sort.

Apparently they fancy bananas.

The end :)

Poppy Seed Cookies

Inspiration: Mother's recipe box

3 eggs

3/4 cup oil

4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup poppy seeds

2 tsp baking powder

juice and rind of 1 orange

1. First, beat the eggs.

2. Then add the sugar, oil, rind & juice.

3. Add the dry ingredient and mix with a beater until it becomes too sticky. Then you can mix with your (clean) hands.

4. Now roll out super thin on a floured surface and cut into desired shapes (Hil and I used icing sugar instead, this doesn't dry out the dough).

5. Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes, or until golden on the edges.

A tasty treat!

how delightful.

Easy pleasing peanut butter squares

So these are a fine square if I do say so myself.

Rich, but lovely. Perfect for an outing or event, and the easiest yet!!

I Promise.

If you're a fan of reeses peanut butter cups, then you will love these.

A friend of mine, Sonya, who I grew up with used to make something like these. This was something we always made when we were little and had sleep overs at her house.

We'd grab some muffin tins, melt some chocolate chips, freeze em, add some peanut butter, freeze em, and then add some chocolate chips again,

and there they be!

What kid wouldn't love that?

It was always a treat to sleep at Sonya's house.

At my house, when I'd have friends over, my parents offered us carrot sticks and cheese. Goodie.

My friends loved coming to my house.

It's a very simple recipe, all you is need peanut butter, icing sugar, butter, peanuts, and chocolate chips!

Scrumptious :)

Peanuty peanut butter squares

Inspiration: Sonya Rice

1/2 cup butter

13/4 cups icing sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup peanuts

1/4 cup butter

1 cup chocolate chips

1. So first off, line 8x10 pan with wax paper.

2. Melt 1/2 cup butter on low heat. Once melted, stir in icing sugar.

3. Add peanut butter, stirring until creamy. Spread mixture into pan, patting down evenly. Then sprinkle 1/4 cup peanuts and press into the mixture

4. Melt 1/4 cup butter on low heat and add your chocolate chips, stirring until melted and shiny.

5. Now sprinkle the remaining peanuts on the peanut butter mixture, so they just sit on top.

6. When the chocolate is ready, spread over the peanut butter layer and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Tada!

peanut butter goodness.

Zesty blueberry lemon squares

Alas, the weekend is upon us!
and I have for you all, one divine recipe;
my most delicious blueberry lemon squares.
I found this recipe in a Canadian Living magazine, but I've tweeked it just a little bit...and the result?

Edible magic.

I made these squares for our Christmas staff party tomorrow night, which is for the best... since all of my cookie tins are full.

These squares are similar to date squares, but BETTER!
The crumb topping is pretty similar, but I've added chopped walnuts (Thank-you Georgetown bakery) , lemon zest, and chopped candied ginger.

The filling is definitely the cherry on top. It's basically blueberries, sugar and lots of lemons.

It's sweet and a little sour.
Gargis.

When I was a little girl, I remember climbing up the hill at my summer house with my brother and sister to pick blueberries from the blueberry patch on the top of the hill.
I was always SO excited... mmmmmmmm blueberries.
But of course when Pat and Hil had their yogurt containers full, mine had maybe a handful, just enough to cover the bottom...

I was busy eating the blueberries when no one was looking. I was a bit like Sal. "Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk"

I was never good at picking blueberries.

Strawberries were my thing.

"She picked three more berries and ate them. Then she picked more berries and dropped one in the pail-Kurplunk! And the rest she ate. Then Little Sal ate all four blueberries out of her pail!"

-Blueberries for Sal

Blueberry Lemon Squares

Inspiration: Canadian Living

Filling:
3 cups blueberries
4 tsp cornstarch, dissolved into 2 tbsp water
1/3 cup lemon juice
zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Crumb topping:
1 3/4 cups oats
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp candied ginger, chopped
3/4 cup butter, cut into cubes

1. So first off, in a saucepan, bring blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk 2 tbsp water with cornstarch and mix with the blueberries. Bring to a boil once again, stirring until thickened, about 1 minute. Then wrap surface with plastic wrap and let cool for 1 hour.

3. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Then cut in butter until it becomes crumbly.

4. Press half of this mixture into 8x8 metal cake pan, lined with waxed paper; spread with blueberry filling. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture and press lightly.

5. Bake at 350F until golden, about 45 minutes. Let cook on rack before cutting into squares.

ENJOY(:

Emma

I conquer, "The best shortbread in the world"

Jamie! It's true. Delicious, tasty, melt in your mouth shortbread. The best. Almost......dangerous.

I've been waiting to give this recipe a try, and I'm thrilled that I have. It's one to keep in the big black book of favorites.
Oh, and for all you people out there who suffer with a swollen mouth (like myself) and can't eat anything but jello, mashed up banana and yogurt; I've found you the perfect recipe! This is it. Jamie Oliver's shortbread. You don't even have to chew it, it just melts.

I ask all you wise ones. Now that I've gotten my four wisdom teeth brutally ripped out of my mouth, does this make me less wise?
Can you answer that, Wise One?

It's a pretty basic recipe actually, didn't take me that long to whip up. It's the oven part that's time consuming. Most of the time, making shortbread really gets to me.. it's like you keep mixing, and mixing and mixing..... but it just never seems to stick together.
I'm always suspicious of shortbread.
Are you mixed?
Are you mixed enough?
Waaaait, are you even mixed at all?
What does that word, "mix" even mean?
I don't trust you shortbread.

So here's the recipe, give it a go!
I promise, you will not regret it.

The best shortbread in the world
Inspiration: my mate, Jamie Oliver

1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp superfine sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2/3 cup semolina
or 1 cup cornstarch

pretty basic, hey? But most delicious.
I used the zest of 3 oranges, and mixed that in with the dough. Lemons would be divine as well.

1. So first off, preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9 inch square pan.

2. Now, it is time to mix up your butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

3. Time to add your citrus zest (highly recomended!!) and mix the dough with your hands until it's nice and smooth.




4. You're nearly finished! All that's left is to roll out the dough on a floured surface until it's an even 1 inch thick all over. Then, press the rolled out dough into your square pan and prick all over with a fork.

5. Pop it into the oven for 50 minutes until lightly golden, et finit! You have now bake the best shortbread in the whole world. Now, that's an accomplishment.

Enjoy with a fresh, steamy cuppa' joe

how delightful

Best of luck,

Emma

“To appreciate the beauty of a snow flake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold.”

yes! snow, at last.

I love the first snowfall. There's something about it that's so comforting. Now it could be because I got my wisdom teeth out on Friday and I somewhat resemble some sort of forest creature... but I do enjoy being inside and watching the snowflakes gently fall. I've decided today for my first recipe to share with you all will be some hot gingersnaps. I absolutely LOVE ginger. It very well may be one of my favorite ingredients. I use it in almost everything I can. Something my family enjoys to do with 2 other close family friends of ours is have Sunday "brunch". It's such a fun tradition, but of course it can be stressful as well. What we do, is each family takes turns hosting the brunch. So this brunch involves appetizers, wine, the main meal, and of course dessert. It's more of a feast. I mean, it's usually the only meal I eat that day... aside from breakfast, of course... my most favorite meal of the day. So this recipe is one of the recipes I used for one particular brunch that we had. It was "ginger" themed. So we had candy ginger, some sort of dip with ginger, ginger fishcakes, a salad with a ginger lemon dressing, and for dessert we indulged in ginger baked apples and some delicious chewy hot gingersnaps! yum!

hope you enjoy :)

Emma

Hot Gingersnaps

Inspiration: The Joy of Ginger

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup molasses

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp vinegar

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

4 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

pinch of salt

1/4 cup preserved ginger, finely chopped

4 tbsp candied ginger, chopped

1. Bring the butter, molasses, brown sugar, and vinegar to a boil. Stir just until the butter is melted and then let cool to room temperature.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together and add to the molasses mixture. Add the preserved ginger and candied ginger (if you don't have preserved ginger, do not panic! The cookies won't be as "hot" but you could substitute by using 1/2 cup more flour and as much candied ginger as you like). Mix well, then knead.
3. Divide the dough into 2 logs, wrap in plastic, and put in the fridge until firm enough to cut
4. Slice the cookies thinly with a sharp knife, and bake on a greased cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 350F for 5-7 minutes.

VOILA! delicious, sweet, sugary treats :)

These work great for storing in jam jars and giving as christmas gifts.

Where do I begin..

So here I go.... a blog I must now begin!

I'm not quite sure how this all works, but I am so excited to embark on my blog journey.... regardless of how long it takes me to figure it out.

I thought "Sweet Suga Treats" would a very fitting name for this blog, since the recipes I will share with you all are to be sweet, sugary treats! To be honest, this blog began with a name far from "Sweet Suga Treats" but each name I came up with, had already been claimed. I think the first thing I typed in was.... goodies? oh well.

I can't wait to share some divine recipes with my no readers! HOW FUN!