Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I made this coffee cake for the first Friday of my first week of work.  As the newbie, I will admit that my intention was to lure people to my desk so I could meet more people.  It worked to some degree, though I soon learned that many people at work are quite disciplined about eating healthy.  I did meet a few new faces but at the end of the day I was still left with a third of a pan of coffee cake.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I cut the sugar from the original recipe and I'm glad that I did since I still found it a little sweet for my liking, though it does pair well with a cup of coffee. The top crust had a fragile, sugary crunch where the batter had caramelized but you can still spot the sprinkling of sugar granules that I could have done without.  I might have also thought it was too sweet since this was the first time I used Kirkland Semisweet Chocolate Chips (surprisingly, I just bought this for the first time) I usually use Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Pound Plus bar since I like my chocolate dark.  After falling in love with dark chocolate for so long, it's hard to go back to semisweet and milk chocolate!  Give this dessert-for-breakfast a try - I'll admit that I wasn't that bummed that I had a third of the pan left and it sure didn't last long at home.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
1 cups (200 grams) granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Filling and Topping:
2 cups or 12 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate bars
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 9x13 baking pan or glass Pyrex pan. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon for filling and topping.
3. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.  
4. In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Alternately mix in sour cream and then dry ingredients into butter mixture until both are used up and the batter is smooth and very thick.  
5. In a separate bowl, beat eggs whites until stiff and then fold into batter.
6. Spread half the cake batter in the bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and 1 cup of chocolate chips. Spoon remaining cake batter over the filling in the pan. Use an offset spatula to gently spread batter evenly over the filling and smooth the top. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture and chocolate chips.  Using your palm, gently press the chocolate chips into the batter a bit to make sure they stick. 
7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. Let cool, slice, and enjoy!

Award-winning Bakery Du Pain et des Idée

Du Pain et des Idée: L'escargot chocolat pistache

Du Pain et des Idées is touted by many, including David Lebovitz, as one of the best boulangeries in Paris.  Winner of the 2008 Gault Millau award for the best baker in Paris, owner Christophe Vasseur is known for his pain des amis, which are giant, flat, crusty loaves of bread.  The bakery is also known for its innovative and delicious pastries, such as the matcha tea croissant and escargot pastries.  Escargot pastries are named for their spiral shape, not for the presence of any escargot snails.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Dried Cherries

Fluffy and moist cottage cheese pancakes

I was looking for a new recipe to add to the rotation of single-serving, freezable breakfast items I stock away for our weekdays.  I had been craving pancakes for a while so it seemed like a good time to try this recipe.  I added in dried cherries and it gave a pleasant tart contrast to the rest of the pancake.  Two conclusions:

• Pancakes take way too long to cook.  Especially when you can only fit one pancake at a time on your single nonstick pan.  I must've been standing there for 45 minutes cooking these.  By the time I was done, I had already eaten 4 of them while cooking and just proceeded to cleaning up.
• I would make this again.  The cottage cheese adds a somewhat creamy component and the beaten egg whites add fluffiness when the pancakes are fresh out of the pan.  They deflate a bit if you let them cool, but they're still tasty.  I love that the cottage cheese is a good source of protein so hopefully 3-4 of these will keep us full enough through the morning.  I've frozen and re-toasted these in the toaster oven and they still taste good.  For those that dislike cottage cheese, it's noteworthy that the typical texture of cottage cheese is unnoticeable in pancake form.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes  
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk (I used 1% milk and it seemed to work fine)
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cups chopped dried cherries, optional (or other dried fruit or nuts)

2 large egg whites

1. Lightly butter, oil, or spray a nonstick skillet and preheat it over medium heat. If you are using an electric griddle, preheat it to 350F. Preheat the oven to 200F if you do not plan to serve the pancakes hot off the griddle.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, cottage cheese, butter, egg yolks and vanilla.
3. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together, mixing just until combined. Try not to over-stir the batter. Stir in the dried fruit or nuts.
4. Beat the two egg whites until they are stiff but not dry and fold them into the batter. The batter will be thick and bubbly.
5. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into the skillet for each pancake, nudging the batter into a circle. These are thick and might take a little longer to cook than most other pancakes.  Cook until the top of each pancake is starting to dry around the edges and a few bubbles form.  Then turn and cook until the underside is lightly browned. Keep in the 200F oven while you finish making the rest, but these pancakes are best served immediately.

Savory Dutch Baby Pancake

I'm often torn between having something sweet or savory for breakfast.  The simple solution to that, of course, is to have both!  This morning I made a double batch of dutch baby pancakes.  I split the batter in half and added 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese to one half.  What resulted was a slightly cheesy flavor infused with the usual sweet pancake batter.  I like the browned cheesy bits on the surface of the pancake, but the batter base was sweeter than I would have preferred.  If I do a double batch of sweet and savory pancakes again, I'd add the sugar to the sweet pancake after splitting the batter in half.  Or another solution would be to make the cheesy batter on its own, decreasing the sugar and adding a bit more salt or other savory herbs.  All in all, still tasty and I'll let you know how it goes with a few modifications next time.

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

I had some leftover cinnamon-sugar from making snickerdoodles the other day.  I considered different ways to use it up - breakfast bars, dutch baby, more snickerdoodles - and somehow ended up making pancakes!  With an apple cinnamon topping.  This pancake recipe was great, not only because it contained oatmeal to make it healthier, but also because I only had 1/4 cup of flour left and that's all I needed!  The original recipe calls for quick-cooking oats which I did not have.  Instead, I used old fashioned oats and roughly ground them with a mortar and pestle.  A quick pulse in a food processor would work too, just enough to break down the oats but not so much that all you're left with is fine powder.  The various oat bits, big and small, add a nice textural component to the final pancakes.  The pancakes are 3" in diameter and slightly crispy when fresh from the pan.  Leftovers can be frozen or kept in the fridge for a couple days and reheated in the toaster oven.

Oatmeal Pancakes
Makes about 12 pancakes, 3" in diameter
Slightly adapted from CookingLight

1/4 cup (1.2 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup oats (quick oaks, or roughly ground old fashioned oats)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (or slightly less than 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg

1. Combine all dry ingredients together in a large bowl and stir with a whisk.
2. Combine buttermilk and egg in a smaller bowl and mix until well combined.  Add to flour mixture and add the melted butter.  Stir all ingredients together until everything is barely moist and incorporated.  Batter will be lumpy from the oatmeal.  Be careful not to over mix the batter.
3. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat.  Lightly coat pan with a small drizzle of cooking oil or spray.  Spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake onto the pan, creating pancakes with about a 3" diameter.  Flip pancakes when bubbles appear on the tops and the edges look cooked and dry.  Cook until the bottom of pancakes are lightly browned.  Serve immediately with your choice of toppings.

I don't have an exact recipe for the apple cinnamon topping.  I started with 1/2 cup cinnamon-sugar mixture, 1 chopped apple, and 1/4 cup water.  Cook everything together in a saucepan over medium heat until sauce thickens slightly and apples are soft.

Dutch Baby Pancake

One of our recent weekend breakfast/brunch treats has been to make a Dutch baby pancake, a German pancake or popover.  The ingredients are simple and usually on hand.  Prep is quick since everything is mixed up in the blender.  Plus, it's another great use for our cast iron skillet!  Our 10" skillet Dutch baby was enough to serve the two of us.  Dutch baby pancakes will puff up as they bake in the oven and usually fall by the time you serve them, so it's recommended that you eat these immediately when they are done.  You can top them with a dusting of powdered sugar, fresh fruit, Nutella, Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, or any other sweet combination you desire.  We threw some leftover apple pie on ours and served it with an egg scramble.  I loved the crispy pancake edges!

After trying a few different recipes, my favorite one still comes from Elise at Simply Recipes.  Get your Dutch baby pancake recipe here!

Baked Shirred Eggs

Shirred eggs are basically baked eggs with a little cream, herbs, and cheese.  There are endless variations and it's easy to toss in whatever you find in your pantry.  We happened to have some sun-dried tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, and italian herbs. You can add onions or fresh herbs or even some smoked meat if you like.  The yolks came out soft like an over easy egg, making it perfect to sop up with a toasted slice of crusty bread.  This is a relatively quick and easy breakfast.  You can give each person their own ramekin with one egg or bake multiple eggs in a larger ramekin as we did.

Baked Shirred Eggs
serves 2

4 eggs
4 tablespoons heavy cream (milk works too)
2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a 6 inch ramekin. You can use a smaller size and adjust your cooking time for desired egg consistency.
2. Crack the eggs into the ramekin and pour the milk onto the eggs. Sprinkle the sun-dried tomatoes and cheese into the ramekin.  Season with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper as desired. 
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (12 for a very runny yolk, 15 for a firmer yolk), until the egg is 'set' to your preference. Serve immediately with toasted bread. Eggs will continue to set up as you eat, so get them to the table as soon as possible.

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

I've recently re-established my love for steel-cut oatmeal.  Its heartiness, creaminess, and chewy texture makes it hard for me to imagine going back to eating the mush of regular oatmeal.  With great versatility, the possibility of add-ins is endless and makes this an easy staple to whip up for breakfast using whatever I can find the kitchen.  This weekend I happened upon some frozen canned pumpkin I stored away in the freezer.  The pumpkin and spices in this recipe conjured up memories of Fall amidst the recent chilly mornings of Spring.  Baking the oatmeal was a great change since I didn't have to babysit and stir the pot the entire time.  The oatmeal is amazingly creamy right when it's finished.  Leftovers can be saved in the fridge or freezer and reheated with a splash of milk (or even coffee creamer for lack of milk) to bring back its wonderful texture.

Baked Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
Adapted from theKitchn 
Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup pumpkin or squash puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat.  When butter begins to foam, add oats and stir for about 3 minutes until toasted.
2. Push toasted oats up against one side of the pot.  In the clear space, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add pumpkin puree into the melted butter and let sit for 1 minute before stirring, leaving the oats on the side.  Add sugar and spices and stir together with the pumpkin for 3-4 minutes until the color darkens slightly.
3. Pour in the milk and whisk the oats, pumpkin mixture, and milk all together.  Whisk in water, vanilla, and salt.
4. Place the lid on the pan and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and lift lid, being careful of the rising steam.  Stir oatmeal and it will continue to thicken as it cools.  Sprinkle oatmeal with dried cranberries.  Serve immediately or let it cool to store in the fridge or freezer for later. 

Spinach and Roasted Bell Pepper Strata

Last week, we decided to make a strata for Saturday brunch.  The ingredients were easily compiled on Friday night and left overnight to sit in the fridge.  On Saturday morning, we simply preheated the oven, popped the dish in, and an hour later we had a delicious morning meal.  With only two of us, the delicious leftovers served us for breakfast for several days after. Yay for easy-to-prep meals with leftovers!

Spinach and Roasted Bell Pepper Strata
Adapted from smittenkitchen
Serves 6-8

10 ounces fresh spinach (or frozen spinach that's been drained and chopped)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes (1/2 lb)
8 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella (3 cups)
6 ounces roasted red bell peppers, diced (from a can or jar)
2 3/4 cups milk
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1. Saute onions in butter in a skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for 1 minutes.  Add spinach and stir until spinach is fully cooked down.
2. Lightly grease a 9x13 glass baking dish with butter.   Spread half the bread cubes into the bottom of the dish.  Top with half the spinach mixture and half the shredded cheese.  Repeat with the second half of the bread cubes, spinach and cheese.  On the top layer, evenly spread the diced roasted red bell peppers.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.  Pour mixture evenly over the strata.  Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours or up to one day.
4. When you are ready to bake the strata, remove it from the fridge and let stand in room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350F.  Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes, until strata is puffed up and golden brown.  Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.  Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated in the microwave. 

Blueberry cream scones

What to do with leftover cream?  Make breakfast for the week!  This first attempt at scones turned out quite well....fluffy on the inside with a satisfying buttery, crunchy exterior, dotted with dried blueberries and laced with a subtle hint of grated ginger.  The basic cream scone recipe allows for add-ins of your choice.  Definitely a keeper!

Dreamy cream scones