Lemon (Almond) Cornmeal Cake

A Few Things I Loved About Traveling in Japan

1) The free “old man” pajamas provided by the hotels

The red kimono almost made it into my suitcase. Almost.

2) Springtime is like no other

The daffodils and crocuses popping up around Boston are cute, but they’re just not the same.

3) Excellent customer service

No matter if you pull into a gas station, buy an onigiri (rice ball) from a kiosk at the train station, or ask for directions for a hotel (at the competing brand’s concierge desk), the customer service is excellent. Sometimes I wish people would just say thank you in the States more often. It does make a difference.

4) Public transportation is on time.

Without fail, the trains pull up to the station a minute ahead of departure, allow people to hop into the cars, and leave, exactly on time.

5) There’s always time for tea. And with tea, there’s cake.

Like my jet lag, I have yet to shake the habit of daily tea and sweets.

Any downtime my mom and I had, we’d pop into a cafe – at the train station, in the hotel or down a random road from temple – and order a pot or two of green tea.  With tea came sweets (“Obviously,” my mom would say), and talk of what our plans would be for the remainder of the week.

The 13 hour flight home left me exhausted. But after I climbed the stairs up to the apartment, my stomach rumbled. And it wasn’t a meal I wanted.  It was tea and cake.

Lovely Lemon Cake

“Remember when you called me after your job interview and you said you were ‘so going to work there’ because it was next door to a Whole Foods and across the street from a Starbucks?”

“It was probably the best day ever.”

Roo stops washing the dishes, ”When was the last time you went to Starbucks?”  He looks over to see me hugging myself.  ”You’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing?”

“That thing where you hug yourself like those sad monkeys we saw on PBS.  You’re obviously upset.”

“Well, that’s the last time you’re watching Frontline with me. I am not a sad monkey.”

I am so a sad monkey.

Back when I was delusional and living beyond my means living in Cambridge, my apartment was across the street from a Starbucks.  I would go there so often (ie twice a day, everyday), they started making “my drink” as soon as they saw me walk in.

“Grande, skinny, two pump vanilla latte for Lys.”

Sometimes it got awkward when I wanted a different drink.  And by awkward, I mean awesome as they would just give me both drinks for the price of one.

It pays to be nice to the baristas.

“Why are you shaking?”

“I’m not shaking.Youcrazy.Oh!Side note. Igottwolattesforthepriceofone!”

“It’s 2 p.m.  You are shaking and talking like a college kid on ritalin during finals week.”

“Wha?”

“You should lay off the ten shots of espresso in the morning.”

Besides the obvious self-induced caffeine overdose, my love for Starbucks was a $40/week habit.

They’d always find a way to draw me in.

“Buy one beverage in the morning and get any drink for only $2 after 2 p.m.!”

“Starbucks Happy Hour (ie half off frappuccinos between 3 – 5 p.m.)”

And lemon cake.

Yes, lemon cake.

Dark Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

Work has been strange.

Last month my boss announced that he was moving the lab to California.  What resulted can only be described as a workplace full of whispers.  Murmurs of who will be going, will there be raises, and the phrase, “did you hear…” repeated over and over again.

I’m kind of over it.

Not one that likes to bring home their workday, I often turn to the kitchen to let out any stress that may remain.

Did your colleague take the last of your solution and not replace it?  Knead some dough.  Picture it’s his face.  Much better.

Did a granny that smelled like moth balls hiss at you on the bus, because you were applying a “smelly lotion?” Don’t say you’d do the world a favor by calling her kids to tell them to pull the plug in a few months.  Instead, segment some citrus.

Did you lose one of your favorite technicians because they’re being transferred? Make them a cake.  Or two, because if it’s going to be a dark chocolate stout bundt, surely you’d want one for yourself.

Vanilla Citrus Pound Cake

Roo is on school vacation this week.

Translation: “I’m going to pout about having to go to work and try to wake you up at 6 a.m. anyways.”

Sighing heavily when the alarm sounds, stomping around the bedroom in the dark, then accidentally turning on the lights, may or may not have happened this morning.

I’m a real treat, I know.

But, for what I lack in manners, I make up for with cake.

You can totally apologize for not being a “morning person” with cake.

Accidentally throwing away your boyfriend’s $100 Xbox headset because you thought it was broken? And it totally wasn’t?

Kabocha Mochi Cake

One of my goals for the New Year was to push myself in the kitchen a bit more.  Changing our diet in October to help lower Roo’s cholesterol levels was a challenge all in itself, but participating in the VeganMoFo Monthly Iron Chef Challenge seemed like a great way to get out of my comfort zone.  That is, reading cookbooks, blogs, etc. and adapting those recipes to meals both Roo and I could enjoy.

The rules for the Challenge are pretty simple in that there is only one rule: make an original dish.  It can’t be something that you’ve previously posted that happens to involve the “secret ingredient” or be from, for example, a cookbook.

The “secret ingredient” this month was squash.  To be honest, I knew right away I wanted to make a dish with kabocha, but how I was going to do it was a little beyond me.

Cranberry Cardamom Bread

Whenever Roo has school vacation I feel pressured into making sure there’s food in the house so that he doesn’t go back to his old ways of living on takeout.

While there isn’t anything wrong with treating yourself once in a while, Roo’s love for Foodler, and Foodler’s love for reminding him what he used to eat as a bachelor, makes me nervous.  Cheeseburgers, chicken parm subs, and pizza, lots of pizza; meals that contribute to high cholesterol levels and make Roo’s doctor say things like “statins.”

Even though I’ll be at work this week, I’m comforted by the fact that I left soup, potstickers and noodles for Roo to have for lunch.

As for breakfast, that’s a little trickier.  Roo is not one who likes to eat anything in the morning so it usually has to be something enticing like “breakfast cake.”

“Breakfast cake” is a term Roo coined months ago, after I started making healthier cakes that lacked frosting, were only slightly sweet, and great with a cup of coffee.  It was a phrase that sounded all too perfect.  And because of that, I couldn’t stop.  I’ve been making “breakfast cake” every weekend since.

This week’s “breakfast cake” was inspired a bag of cranberries I found in the back of my fridge.  With New Year’s approaching, I’ve had a sudden urge to clean and organize everything in the apartment.  The downside is that I find things like an old bag of cranberries that I was suckered into buying because the clever labeling read, “Use One, Freeze One.”

I forgot to freeze the second one.

But, cranberry cardamom bread was made, and like most spiced goods, this cake gets better the longer it sits.

If you’ve never had cardamom before, it’s a spice that I can only describe as citrusy (sure, that’s a word).  The orange zest and cranberries in this cake only enhance cardamom’s flavor; a potpourri of mid-winter awakening.

The outside of the cake is slightly caramelized, yielding a soft, pleasant crunch as you take your first bite.  The crumb is more delicate than for example, a squash based cake, but in no way does it shrink away from the bold, tart cranberries.  The slight sweetness pairs well with the berries that burst mid-baking.

I’m already looking forward to tomorrow morning so that I can have another slice of this for breakfast.

As long as Roo doesn’t beat me to the last slice first.

Adapted from Chez Us

Makes 1 Loaf

Ingredients

1 flax seed egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seed and 3 tablespoons of warm water mixed and set aside for at least 5 minutes)

Half cup soy milk (or any other non-dairy milk of your choice) and half teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, set aside for at least 5 minutes

Quarter cup of butter (like Earth Balance)

1 cup of sugar

2 cups of white whole wheat flour

One and a half teaspoons of baking powder

Half teaspoon of baking soda

Half teaspoon of fine sea salt

Quarter cup of unsweetened applesauce

Zest from 1 orange

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Half teaspoon cardamom (Cardamom is an intense spice.  If you’ve never used it before try a quarter teaspoon.  And if you hate cardamom – gasp! – try cinnamon.)

12 ounces of cranberries (A bag of cranberries you can find at your supermarket)

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Equipment

A stand mixer (or electric beaters and large bowl)

A medium sized mixing bowl

A whisk

A zester

A spatula

A 9″ loaf pan

Parchment paper or grease your loaf pan with either baking spray or butter and flour

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Place the oven rack to the middle position in the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line the loaf pan with parchment paper (or grease it).

In your standing mixer (or with a electric beaters) add the butter and sugar and cream together for about 3 minutes (until well combined).  Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Whisk the ingredients till well combined (and there are no visible lumps).  Set aside.

To the standing mixer, add the applesauce, flax seed egg, soy milk with apple cider vinegar, orange zest, vanilla extract, and cardamom.  Mix till well combined.  Be sure to scrape down the bowl, going down the sides, and back up, with your spatula.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet.  Mix till just combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the cranberries and fold into the cake batter with your spatula.

The batter is going to be thick, don’t worry.

Scoop the batter into your prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 50 – 60 minutes.  At the 50 minute marker, check the cake with a cake tester (a toothpick, knife, fork etc).  If it comes out from the middle of the loaf with only a bit of crumb, it’s done.  If the cake tester yielded wet batter still on it, throw the cake back in the oven and bake for another five minutes.  Continue checking every five minutes until it’s done.

Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before serving.

Lemon Cranberry Cake

There are times when I really miss my friends from Ireland.

Nearly six years ago, I boarded a plane headed to Ireland to attend graduate school in Dublin.  I left behind a boyfriend of five years, my family, and my closest friends from undergrad.  I think I cried.  Twice.

The first semester was a little rough.  I knew it rained in Ireland, but what I didn’t know is that it really rains.  There were mornings where I would wake up to what seemed like the billionth rainy day, unwilling to leave the comforts of my duvet and hot water bottle, wondering why I hadn’t chosen a sunnier location for grad school.

Looking back, I don’t regret it.  I came out of it with great friendships and valuable life lessons.  For one, I learned who I really was, without that boyfriend I left in the states.  Ireland made me realize that that relationship needed to end.  For that alone I’m grateful.  But what I’m especially grateful for is the friendship I have with AS.

Incredibly smart, kind, same size feet (serious luxury when you can only pack two bags of your belongings to live in a foreign country), generous and a fantastic cook; I couldn’t have asked for more in a friend.

I spent practically every weekend at her house where she would whip up “curried beans,” “salad on a warm tortilla with thai sweet chili sauce,” and “coconut rice.”  All dishes I’ve never had, but gladly ate up.

What I remember most though, was her lemon cake.  A buttery, lemony and not too sweet loaf that was incredibly easy to make and easily devoured in a day.

I wanted to make the same thing for Roo, as with the holiday season we can’t help but think of those we miss and love; AS being high up on that list.  But, with Roo’s plant-based diet I knew I couldn’t rely on the recipe I memorized years ago.  Instead, I went into the kitchen and made cake after cake (three, and it was no bueno having to eat the “losers” throughout the week) until I got my own version that I think would make AS proud.

Moist, lemony and chock full of cranberries leftover from an overzealous pre-Thanksgiving grocery trip, Roo finally did what I was waiting for: he went for seconds.  And maybe a tiny third.

Inspired by AS Lemon Cake

Makes one 9″ Cake

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Ingredients

Dry

Two and a quarter cups of white whole wheat flour

Quarter cup of ground flax seed

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

Quarter teaspoon of fine sea salt

Wet

1 flax seed egg (one tablespoon of ground flax seed and three tablespoons of warm water mixed together and set aside for about five minutes)

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar then measuring cup filled up to “1 cup” marker with soy milk (or any other unsweetened non dairy milk)

Quarter cup of vegetable oil

Quarter cup of unsweetened applesauce

Zest from 4 lemons

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups of cranberries and a quarter cup of sugar, pulsed in a food processor until chunky (you could also throw the cranberries in a large ziploc bag with the sugar and smash the cranberries with a rolling pin, wine bottle, whatever, till crushed up)

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Equipment

One small sized mixing bowl

One medium sized mixing bowl

One large sized mixing bowl

A whisk

A zester

A spatula

A food processor

A 9″ cake pan either greased (buttered and floured) or lined with parchment paper

A clean fork

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Place your oven rack in the middle position of the oven.  Preheat your oven to 350F.

In a medium mixing bowl add the dry ingredients.  Stir the ingredients together with a whisk till well combined and there are no lumps visible.

In a large mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients and stir till well combined.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing till just combined.  Add the cranberries to the bowl and stir till just combined.  Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure that all the ingredients are mixed in together.

Scoop out your cake batter into a greased or lined 9″ cake pan.  Bake until the cake is firm to the touch and your cake tester (like a toothpick) comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Allow cake to cool before serving.  If sliced into warm, it’ll try to fall apart on you. Boo.

Butternut Squash Cake with Dark Chocolate and Dried Cranberries

I’ve mentioned it quite a bit this month that some items in our CSA has been more difficult to get through than others.  Produce like kale and onions were used within a day or two, while squashes and sweet potatoes have found practically a permanent residence on the shelf next to our Keurig.

I’ve honestly never made a cake with butternut squash before, but being related to pumpkin, I figured why not do a twist on a cake that I love so much this time of year.  Also, I had such good luck with my sweet potato cake, that I was hoping I’d ride on that recipe karma to something fantastically unexpected.

Yes, I always have high expectations.  That’s how I roll.

I’m glad that I took the chance, as this cake is incredibly moist, lush, with bits of chocolate speckled through the batter, yet countered beautifully with the bright, tart cranberries.  It’s something that I look forward to making again, especially since squash season is far from over and warming our apartment with an oven baking a cake is far better than turning on the radiator (hello humidifier, please jump into my trunk at Target because our heater hates my hair).

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Adapted from Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Dried Cranberries

This makes two cakes, but can be easily halved.  The batter is especially thick and when the original recipe is used (for the two cakes), it is a large amount, therefore making one cake should be considered especially when not using a stand mixer.

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Ingredients

5 cups of butternut squash “moosh” (1 large butternut squash) *Peel, de-seed and cut your squash into chunks and place on a microwave safe plate.  Cover with a paper towel and microwave until very soft.  (This took me about 10 minutes.)  Mash the chunks until very smooth, thus “moosh.”

One and a half cups of sugar

2 flax seed eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flax seed, mixed with 6 tablespoons of water, set aside for ten minutes)

1 cup of unsweetened unflavored almond milk (or another non-dairy milk)

Three quarters of a cup of mild tasting olive oil (if you are halving this recipe, you will need 6 tablespoons of olive oil)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

4 cups of white whole wheat flour

1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda

1 heaping tablespoon of baking powder

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1 cup of dried cranberries (I love it when the dried cranberries plump up in a cake, so yes, 1 cup it is)

Quarter to a half cup of chocolate, chopped

Quarter cup of turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (you can use regular sugar)

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Equipment

1 large sized mixing bowl (the biggest one you have, seriously)

1 medium sized mixing bowl

A spatula

A whisk

Two 9″ cake pans

Parchment paper (optional) or grease your pan (with butter, like Earth Balance, and dust with flour)

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Place the oven rack in the middle position in your oven.  Preheat your oven to 350F.

In the medium sized mixing bowls, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Whisk the ingredients together, till combined.

In the large sized mixing bowl, add the butternut squash “moosh,” flax eggs, sugar, almond milk, olive oil and vanilla extract.  Stir till combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, in increments.  Stir till combined.  Fold in the dried cranberries and dark chocolate.  The batter is going to be extremely thick and you’re going to question my sanity.  Trust it.

Spoon out the batter into your pans.

Bake for about about 35 – 45 minutes.  At the 30 minute mark, sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the tops of the cakes.  At the 35 minute mark, use a cake tester (like a toothpick), and insert into the middle of the cake.  If it comes out with a little bit of crumb, it’s done.  If not, put it back in the oven for another five minutes, and check again.

When done, remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Dried Cranberries

This cake is good.

This cake is so good it shouldn’t even have my usual “blah blah blah, my day was so crazy because of this and that,” and “I’m hilarious!” introduction.

Seriously. Awesome.  The turbinado sugar creates an almost caramelized bottom as it settles in the cake, and the cranberries.  People, the cranberries!  They are the perfect accompaniment to the sweet potato, that literally melts away in this cake.  The cranberries become lush, as they plump up and become enveloped in a moist, molasses flavored (thank you Turbinado), spiced cake.  Yes, this cake is kind of a big deal.

As Roo said, “Babe, why is this crazy good?”

I’ve already wasted too much time.  Make this now.

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Adapted from Joy the Baker

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Ingredients

2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Half teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

Quarter teaspoon baking powder

Quarter teaspoon fine sea salt

2 cups Turbinado/Demerara sugar (I used it for a lovely caramelized bottom, but you can use whatever you have on hand)

Three Quarter Cup of Olive Oil

3 flax eggs (3 tablespoons of ground flax and 9 tablespoons of water, mixed together and set aside for about 10 minutes)

one peeled and finely grated sweet potato (about 3 to 4 cups)

1 cup dried cranberries

*optional* Half cup tart Montmorency dried cherries, chopped (I love dried fruit that plumps up in a cake, you may not be loving the life of an 80 year old, so put in what you like)

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Equipment

A nine inch cake pan

A large mixing bowl

A medium mixing bowl

A food processor with the ‘fine shred’ disk, or a hand grater

A whisk

A spatula

Parchment paper (optional) or baking spray or butter and flour for your pan

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Place the oven rack in the middle position of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Line the cake pan with parchment paper, or spray with baking spray, or butter and flour it.  Whatever your fancy.  Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the white whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Stir to well with a whisk.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add the flax eggs, sugar, olive oil and vanilla extract.  Stir well with a whisk.  At first it’ll look like an oily mess, but keep going, it’ll come together.

Add the finely shredded sweet potato to the large mixing bowl.  Fold it in with a spatula till combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, in increments, folding them together until just combined, then adding more until the dry ingredient bowl is empty.  Add the cranberries and the cherries to the large mixing bowl and fold in till combined.

This batter is going to be extremely thick.

You’re going to question it, I know. But trust it!  It’s going to be goooooood.

Pour/spread the batter into the cake pan.

Bake for about forty five minutes to an hour.  (My stove runs incredibly hot, so it takes only 45 for me.)

Cool within the cake pan for about fifteen minutes.

Remove from the cake pan and cool completely.

This cake freezes beautifully, so bake and hoard folks, bake and hoard.

Demerara Quinoa and Carrot Cake

Just a warning, this is not your typical all-American, “carrot cake.”

I’ve said in the past that I hate carrot cake.  I wish I liked it, I really do.  It would, for example, make family functions easier, as my father loves carrot cake.  He has even gone so far to question my relation to him, as he can’t understand why I, his daughter, would loathe a nut filled, over spiced, cream cheese laden thing.  Ok, the latter part is my description of the cake.

Sorry Dad, I’m yours, carrot cake hating daughter and all.

Well, now that we’ve gone over that speed bump, let’s start over fresh.

I’ve been receiving what seems like an endless supply of carrots from my CSA.  Week after week I’ve opened the cute, little green reusable shopping bag to find bundles of crooked-legged carrots waiting to be used at the bottom.

I love carrots raw, cooked in savory dishes, whatever, just don’t put them in a cake.  Roo on the other hand, likes carrot cake, but isn’t a fan of them otherwise.  And for someone who doesn’t like carrots, he’s had to endure them for dipping into hummus, soups with a suspicious amount thrown in (“Where are the potatoes?”), and a stir fry that should have honestly been called, “carrot sauté with a couple green leaves on the side.”

Needless to say, I needed a new sneaky method to use up the carrots without Roo becoming convinced he was going to turn orange from an overdose.

Quinoa carrot cake was the answer.  I was a bit nervous making it as I’m clearly jaded from the original stand-by from (what I’m convinced of) “suburgatory.”  Also, I’ve never used quinoa as a “flour” for a cake before, and had no idea how it would turn out.  Would it still be intact, curly-tails and all?  Would it have a strange aftertaste?

The cake turned out to be extremely moist, with a subtle nutty flavor (from the quinoa), and the crunchy demerara sugar topping almost made me almost feel a little guilty when eating it.  Like stealing the sugar crusted tops of blueberry muffins your mother would make on a Sunday morning, kind of guilty.

Was that just me as a kid?

But don’t feel guilty dear reader, it is so so good.

Like snakes on a plane good.

If you like that kind of thing.

No?

Well then you’ll just have to take my word for it.

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Adapted from Fresh365

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Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup demerara sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

Three quarters of a cup of white whole wheat flour (If you only have all purpose, you can use that)

Three quarters of a cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Quarter teaspoon fine sea salt (I use Diamond)

Half cup vegan butter (like Earth Balance), melted and cooled

Half cup soy yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds, combined with 6 tablespoons of water, mixed and set aside for about 10 minutes)

1 heaping cup, loosely packed, finely grated carrots (I used the “fine grate” side of the blade on my food processor)

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Equipment

A loaf pan (I used an 8″x4″)

Two medium sized mixing bowls

A spatula

A whisk

Parchment paper (optional) to line your loaf pan with, or vegan butter and flour to coat your pan with

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Place your oven rack in the middle position in the oven.  Preheat your oven to 350F.

Line your loaf pan with parchment paper, or grease and flour it.  Set aside.

In your first mixing bowl, add the quinoa, white whole wheat flour, all purpose flour,sugar, baking soda and salt.  Mix them together with a whisk.

In the second mixing bowl, add the melted butter, soy yogurt, flax eggs and vanilla extract.  Mix them till combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, in increments, mixing till just combined.  Fold in the grated carrots till combined.

Pour/scoop (the batter is quite thick) the batter into your prepared loaf pan.  Smooth off the top of the batter.  Or not, and call it “rustic.”

Place the loaf pan in the oven.  Bake the cake for about an hour.  At the 45 minute mark, sprinkle the tablespoon of demerara sugar over the top of the cake.  At the 50 minute mark, check the cake with a toothpick/cake tester (I used a knife as I ran out of toothpicks).  If the toothpick/cake tester comes out clean, it’s done.  If not, bake for another five minutes, and repeat testing until the cake is done.

I’ve eaten this cake warm, and it’s delicious.  But, like most bakers suggest, it is better to wait to eat this cake when it’s cooled to room temperature as it tastes best the way it’s supposed to be served.