Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Loaf
2 1/2 cups prepared pumpkin pie filling (not from the can - homemade prepared filling you would pour right into a pie)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup oil
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Stir together the pumpkin pie filling, flour, baking powder, and sugar. Pour 2/3 of the mixture into pan.
Add cocoa and oil to remaining mixture and place in spoonfuls on top of batter. Use a knife to swirl it in.
Bake for about 45 minuted until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
After being away from home for a few weeks now, I was delighted to hear that a family friend from back home was heading this way, and as willing to deliver me a care package from my parents. Although I am certainly enjoying a lot of great food here, there isn't anything quite like your mother's own home baking - the comforting treats you grew up with! This can sometimes be a challenge to send, depending on how far away you are, and what means of sending the package are available to you. Care packages must include treats suitable for travelling - think cookies and breads, not cakes or anything with perishable ingredients (no turkey dinners). Luckily, in this case, we had same day personal delivery, so my treats stayed fresh and undamaged. My mother sent me a batch of soft date cookies, as well as a slab of her infamous double chocolate zucchini loaf, which she always makes near the end of summer when zucchinis are ripe, but which I did not get a chance to have before I left. It is moist and delicious and makes a good snack, dessert, or possibly a breakfast for me! My mother also sent me some new recipes she clipped out of our local newspaper. Thanks again Mom! :)
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Remember the {Cinnamon Cream Cheese Loaf Cake} my mother created not too long ago? (If not, just click the title for the link). She creatively manipulated an existing recipe to create something new and tasty. Well, she took that same recipe and changed it yet again, and of course, this time she used chocolate. Since it was chocolate, of course I enjoyed it, though I did notice some differences between this one and the cinnamon version. This version is less sweet due to the addition of cocoa and no additional sugar, which doesn't bother me because dark chocolate is my favorite. This version also seemed slightly drier, which may be due to the addition of cocoa as well, but it was not a big difference. My mother also had a bit more difficultly spreading the layers, maybe because more than half of the chocolate layer was spread on the bottom, but I really like the look of the swirl effect. Next time, I think she may try adding some miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips to the cream cheese filling to amp up the chocolate flavor and add a little more sweetness.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Loaf Cake
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
1 package (8 ounces / 250 grams) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 large egg
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Beat in the oil, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
In a separate small bowl, beat the filling ingredients together until smooth.
Spread half of the batter in prepared pan. Top evenly with the cream cheese mixture. Spread carefully with remaining batter, or gently swirl them together. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This can be served warm, but is much better well chilled just like a cheesecake.
This is a little recipe my mom whipped up, seeing a block of cream cheese in the fridge and using it as inspiration. She used a basic loaf recipe to start, but changed it up a lot. This makes a nice, comforting snack cake. The cake itself gets some flavor from cinnamon, and is slightly moist, but it's the cream cheese filling that really makes it decadent and pulls it all together. It's rather quick to make and I think it even gets better with age, not that it sticks around for very long.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Loaf Cake
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
1 package (8 ounces / 250 grams) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 large egg
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Beat in the oil, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
In a separate small bowl, beat the filling ingredients together until smooth.
Spread half of the batter in prepared pan. Top evenly with the cream cheese mixture. Spread carefully with remaining batter. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This can be served warm, but is much better well chilled just like a cheesecake.
Espresso Mocha Swirl Loaf
1 Tablespoon instant coffee powder
3 Tablespoons boiling water
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 Tablespoons milk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir together the coffee and water, set aside to cool, then stir in the cocoa.
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, yogurt, and milk. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Beat in the sugar. Beat in the remaining ingredients, beat well for one minute.
Divide batter in half. Add the coffee mixture to one half.
Place three spoonfuls of each batter into the bottom of the pan, alternating flavors. Repeat this for two more layers, ensuring chocolate batter is on top of vanilla and vice versa. Gently swirl the batters together with a knife.
Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
This is a fairly easy snack loaf to make. It has a nice coffee flavor, but not too much of a chocolate flavor. The swirled flavors make it look pretty. It is light and fluffy and can be served in a variety of ways, or simply as well with a steaming mug of espresso.
Quick Seedy Bread
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup oil
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the first eight dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the milk, egg, and oil. Stir well and spread in prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
This is a hearty, healthy loaf with lots of texture. The seeds could easily be varied - poppy seeds or pumpkin seeds would be nice, or even ground nuts such as almonds could be substituted. I guess it is more of a loaf than a sandwich bread, so it is delicious spread with butter, honey, jam, or peanut butter. But it could be used as a sandwich base as well, especially if the sugar content is reduced.
Fall also means cranberry season. I had some cranberries in the fridge, and I was looking for something to make with them. I remembered this idea for a cranberry ribbon loaf, which sounded nice, and decided to try a combination of this and my own ideas. It turned out great. This loaf is soft and very moist. It is certainly sweet enough that you don't get that lip-puckering tart cranberry bite. It is a lot like banana bread, but with cranberries instead of bananas. It also gets some flavor and texture from the addition of coconut, though this could probably be omitted if you wish. Chopped walnuts may be a nice addition instead. The cranberry is swirled into the batter. Not only does this make for a pretty presentation, it also blends the tart cranberries with the sweet loaf, so you get a bit of each in every bite.
Cranberry Ribbon Loaf
LOAF
2 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons oil
CRANBERRY FILLING
2 cups coarsely grated cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
CRANBERRY FILLING: Stir all ingredients together.
LOAF: Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the first five dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and beat for a minute.
Spread 1/3 of the batter in the prepared pan. Spread with 1/2 of the cranberry mixture. Spread another 1/3 of the batter, the remaining cranberry mixture, then the remaining batter. Gently swirl the batter using a butter knife.
Bake for about one hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for five minutes, then remove to cool completely. This slices better after a day or so, if you can wait that long!
WW Buttermilk Quick Bread
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup natural wheat bran
1/2 cup ground flax seed
2 Tablespoons granulated (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups milk + 1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine, melted
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Stir in the wet ingredients, spread in prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes until bread is done.
This is the bread I asked my brother to make for me. I changed the recipe a bit from what I found online. The bread tastes better then it looks, I blame it on my poor slicing skills. quick breads are more difficult to slice evenly than yeast breads are.
Lately I have been neglecting my blog a bit. I have not been baking much lately, as it is a busy time of year with Christmas preparations and many other things going on. I haven't even really began my Christmas baking yet, although my mother certainly has, and is probably practically finished. I have not even been making much of the things I normally make on a regular basis, such as squares, biscuits, and cereal. I did not even have time to make bread this week, and had already used up my emergency stash of homemade bread I try to keep on hand in the freezer. Now, I will eat store bought bread upon occasion, I just really prefer the taste, texture, and heartiness of homemade bread, plus I love to bake myself. I also like how I can make every loaf different, and change recipes to suit my tastes. The past few weeks I have been making quick loaf breads to tie me over, as I didn't really have time for kneading and rising and proofing and such. These loaves just use baking powder and/or baking soda, and no yeast. This week though, I couldn't even find enough time for that, so I enlisted help. I asked my brother if he wouldn't mind making me a quick loaf of bread, the kind where the dry ingredients are stirred together, the liquid are added, and the batter is poured in a pan and baked. He did a great job, and I really appreciate it. Although it is not bread I made myself, it is still homemade bread from a recipe I chose, and is the next best alternative. I will feature the loaf tomorrow and comment on how it turned out!
This is the banana loaf (or banana bread) that my mother sometimes makes instead of the usual banana chip cake or banana chocolate chip muffins. Surprisingly I think this one is my favorite of the three, even though it does not contain any chocolate Maybe it is because she does not make it as often, so it is something different and it remains special. Banana bread is one of those special baked items that just reminds you of home. I cannot imagine eating store-bought banana bread. Banana bread is a great comfort food, and I cannot think of anyone I know who does not like banana bread. Every family has a slightly different recipe for banana bread that they like the best. I have, of course, tried banana bread made by others, but I always think my mother's is the absolute best. Most times, I just like my banana bread plain, enjoyed with a glass of milk for an afternoon snack. However, many people enjoy banana bread with butter, and it is extra delicious with peanut butter or chocolate hazelnut spread. It is always welcomed packed in a school lunch, and can be good for breakfast and even sandwiches too! My absolute favorite part of banana loaf is the top. I always save the top for last. It is the moistest, and softest, and tastiest part of all. I actually prefer banana bread that is a few days old to fresh banana bread, because the top becomes even better with age. Though I must admit, banana bread warm from the oven when the crust is still crispy isn't too bad either.
These are Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaves my mother makes every year during zucchini season. My mother also took this picture, and I have to admire her photography skills and excellent taste in prop styling. Thanks Mom! In August, when the zucchinis are ready to harvest, we always like to have plenty of small ones, like the one pictured here, to boil and eat fresh or to use in stir-frys and other dishes. We also like to have a few bigger zucchinis, the ones that are left to grow a little too long. These big zucchinis don't taste very good fresh, but they are excellent once cut-up, shredded, and used in baked goods. You could always use small zucchinis for baking too, but then you need to shred a lot more zucchini, and they are good for eating fresh, so why not enjoy them like that. However, the giant zucchinis aren't even good for baking. They really have a poor flavor, and they are only good for hollowing out, stuffing with other delicious ingredients, and baking for a long time until tender.
The large quantity of chocolate in these loaves helps to mask the zucchini quite well. These loaves are double chocolate - cocoa in the batter, along with plenty of chocolate chips. However, small threads of green do poke through all of the chocolate. When my brothers and I were younger, my mother used to tell us that this was simply green coconut. The shape and size did look like coconut, and at the time we didn't know that there isn't really a such thing as green coconut unless it is dyed. But this worked in convincing us to try it, and we have loved it since. We certainly never suspected that it was actually a vegetable. The secret slipped out when we heard our mother discussing the recipe with a friend. By that point though, we had already eaten so much of the loaf and loved it that we didn't care. That made it a lot easier for my mother to make the loaves, as now she could make them when we were around and not have to hide the fact that she was using zucchini. A relative also shared a recipe for zucchini crisp with me. It is just like apple crisp, with an oatmeal and brown sugar topping, except the base is made with cubed zucchini instead of apple. She says no one can tell that it's actually a vegetable crisp and it is delicious. She also sent a recipe for candied zucchini, which I haven't yet tried but it sure sounds interesting.
This is a slice of triple lemon loaf my grandmother made. The recipe came from a cooking magazine that both she and I subscribe to, and we had been discussing this recipe. We both agreed that it looked tasty, quite simple, and very lemony. However, she beat me to it and made it first. The recipe makes two loaves, so there was plenty for sharing. The recipe also states that the loaves freeze well, which is what my grandmother did to save some for me and others to try. These lemon loaves get a triple hit of lemon flavor: lemon jelly powder, lemon cake mix, and actual lemon juice and zest. The lemon jelly powder, along with some oil and four eggs, help to keep the loaves extremely moist. The loaves are also pierced after coming out of the oven and are soaked in a lemon juice and icing sugar mixture, which makes them even moister. These loaves are incredibly moist - the slices are easy to cut and serve, but they almost melt on your tongue, and are a bit sticky to the touch. The loaves are definitely sweet enough, the glaze helps with that too, but not sickly sweet. My mother described them as "Just like biting into the filling of a lemon meringue pie."
Triple Lemon Loaves
1 cup boiling water
1 package dry lemon jelly powder
1 package lemon cake mix (two layer size)
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup lemon zest
4 large eggs
1 cup icing (confectioner's) sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease two 8x4 or 9x5 inch loaf pans very well.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the water and jelly powder for about two minutes, until dissolved. Add the cake mix, oil, zest, and eggs, blend with a mixer until well blended. Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. With a large fork, pierce cakes at 1/2 inch intervals.
In a small bowl, mix the icing sugar and juice until smooth. Pour over top of loaves, allowing the loaves to soak it in. Let loaves cool in pans for 30 minutes, then remove to cool completely.
No matter how many different kinds of whole wheat bread I make, I can never seem to find quite the perfect one. Or maybe I just keep making different recipes because I like to try out a so many different recipes as possible and I like variety. Why make the same thing twice when you can make something new? Unless of course, the first one was really good in the first place. I didn't have a lot of time today, so I made another quick bread. This was probably the quickest one yet. Mix all of the dry ingredients, add the wet, and put in an eight inch round cake pan. I found the idea for the recipe online and modified it to suit my taste of course. It is quite tasty, especially for something so quick and easy to make!
Quick Oatmeal Whole Wheat Loaf
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons oil
Preheat oven to 350◦F.In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients then add to the dry. Stir gently until combined. Turn into a lightly greased eight inch round cake pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
Yesterday I had the craving to make and enjoy some homemade bread but I didn't have a lot of time to do it. I didn't have the time to mix up the dough, I didn't have the patience to knead, and I didn't have the oven space to allow the dough to rise. So I took the easy way out and made a quick-bread, more like a loaf. Loaf breads are a lot quicker and easier than making traditional yeast breads, and they can also turn out quite well. They aren't quite as sturdy as yeast bread, and they are usually richer, so they are not the ideal choice for sandwiches. They are an excellent choice for breakfast and snacks though. Loaf breads use chemical leavening such as baking powder or baking soda in place of yeast, so they do not need to pre-rise. They also tend to be moister and sweeter than yeast breads. This loaf was very moist, sweet, and soft. The taste and texture reminded me of banana loaf without the banana. This loaf contained whole wheat flour, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, buttermilk, and egg, making it quite hearty and nutritious.
