Vanilla Sugar Blog Tribute to Dawn with Blueberry Muffins and Lemon Crumb Cake!

This is not the way I'd like to be out of "retirement" in the blog world.  I haven't blogged since November of 2020.  It's a bummer to me and I can't tell you how much I miss the old days of blogging about the fantastic things I would bake and share.  Besides not baking like I used to, I'm reminded that typing up posts is my least favorite thing about blogging (as is probably true for most bloggers).  Over the years since starting my blog in 2008, I have made some wonderful friends.  I've been blessed to have met many in person and also have some great friendships with some I've never met--one of the things I love about social media!  There are so many wonderful people out there!

Dawn at Vanilla Sugar Blog was someone whose blog I started reading about 15 years ago.  We both started our blogs early in 2008.  I've always enjoyed her posts.  Besides her great treats and savory food and lots of recipes, I loved that she would do a "Friday Links" post every week with things she'd seen on the world wide web that she wanted to share.  She'd post thing like that on Facebook, too.

On June 8 of this year, I saw Dawn's husband Bob post that she passed away June 1.  What?!?  I never met Dawn and I'm not sure I would have ever made it to her hometown, but I did talk to her quite a bit on Facebook over the years.  She was always commenting on my posts, even just to take the time to say I looked great, my skin look great, etc.  We had some great DM conversations and enjoyed talking about our favorite tv shows from time to time.  Dawn lived on Cape Cod.  She loved seeing all the new candies and flavors of treats that would come out.  But being on Cape Cod she was always a bit dismayed that the new things we never ended up on Cape Cod.  They were never available there.  So I saved up the latest finds, new M&M flavors or others candies and cookies and I sent her packages a couple times.  She was thrilled!

She posted on Facebook often, sometimes quotes she liked, or photos, usually of the Cape, water or animals, birds, sharks, etc. or facts about one of her greatest loves--blueberries!  In January, I noticed I hadn't seen her post for a bit, so I messaged her to see if everything was okay.  She responded that she was just taking a social media break.  I replied, "Okay, that's allowed.  Glad that's all it is. Take care."  She then posted a couple times not long after that, but not as frequently as she had been before.  I didn't think anything of it.

Then her husband posted on her page about her sudden diagnosis with cancer in December of last year and that it took a turn for the worst and she spent the last month or so of her life in the hospital before passing.  My heart is so sad.  I didn't know him at all.  He seems pretty devastated, as expected.  He's posted a few times since then and my heart goes out to him and her family and loved ones.  I'm sad that I won't get to talk to her anymore.  

I haven't been able to get Dawn out of my mind.  Not really sure why.  What could I do?  There isn't anything, really.  I've known a couple food blogger friends who have passed away over the years and it's surreal and heartbreaking.  I guess it has made me realize how much we all need to make sure we are keeping in touch with our loved ones, telling our families and friends how much we love them and even talking to friends and acquaintances more often just to let people know we care and are thinking of them.  I'm glad I took those few minutes in January to message Dawn.  I told her someone said the word blueberry and it made me think of her.  I think of it this way--even when just a simple word makes you think of someone and you haven't talked to them for a while--take the time to do so!

I decided to make a couple things from her blog and share them here.  Since Dawn loved blueberries and knew all the facts about reasons why they are so good for you, I decided to make her blueberry muffins,  I followed her recipe and you can find her recipe on the link.  Okay, I lied, the only difference I made to her recipe was I used buttermilk instead of whole milk.  Dawn loved crumb topping!  So these muffins have a crumb topping.  She even suggested doubling the topping if you like it as much as she did.

Speaking of crumb topping--the other thing I decided to make from her blog was a crumb cake.  She LOVED crumb cake and would make every flavor imaginable.  It was never about the cake.  It was all about the crumb topping!

I decided to make Dawn's Lemon Crumb Cake.  As much as I'm a chocolate lover, I'm really liking lemon things lately.  I was easily sold on how much lemon was in this cake.  Lemon zest and juice in the cake.  Zest in the crumb topping.  And more lemon zest and juice in the icing drizzle.  I could get behind this cake.  I did only make a half recipe of it and used an 8x8 pan instead of a bundt pan (I think she made a bundt cake since my birthday is on National Bundt Day, November 15.  Yes, I'm sure that's it.) 😉 She also mentioned using a 9x13 pan, so since I was halving the recipe, I used an 8x8 pan.

Besides quite a bit of zesting and juicing, the cake is pretty simple to make.  I followed Dawn's recipe exactly!  That's saying a lot for me since I'm known for never sticking to a recipe.  Making just half the recipe, I used five large lemons to get the right amount of zest, so plan accordingly if you're going to make the full recipe or half.  It's worth it to make this cake sometime!  I did taste the cake and it's fabulous.  With me trying not to eat much gluten and sugar, my new goal is to make my own version of this gluten free and with different sugars.  I'll do it for Dawn.  She'd like it if I did that.  Facebook life won't be the same without Dawn commenting on all my posts and I'll miss her posts and our chats now and then.  

I will forever think of Dawn when I'm doing anything with blueberries or even see them somewhere.  I will and always have for years thought of her when I see any crumb cake and I'm sure I'll make a number of her other crumb cakes--she's made at least a dozen different flavors over the years!  Dawn is to crumb cakes 🎂 and blueberries 🔵 as Katrina is to chocolate chip cookies 🍪and chocolate 🍫.  Sending love and prayers to her husband and her family and friends.  I know everyone thought the world of her.  I did.

Hug your loved ones.  Check on family and friends.  Let them know you're thinking about them.

I'm doing well, by the way.  It's been two and a half years since I've blogged.  Life is crazy and busy and somewhat day-to-day life as usual, but I am super blessed with pretty good health since I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2013.  Family is growing way too fast.  Kevin spoils me rotten.  Maybe I'll try to blog more often.  I hope to.  I want to.  We shall see.  

 

Gluten Free Applesauce Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

 This gluten free cake was so good!  I'm trying to get some of my favorite things posted on my ol' neglected blog for safe keeping, but it's just not been easy for me--don't get me wrong, I feel good!  I just can't seem to get it done. Also had computer issues for a few months.  I won't complain.  And I'll just be short on words and see if I can get it done.

I've made this fabulous Apple Spice Cake before which I first got to experience from some cooking classes I was taking from my friend, Paige, in Kansas.  She has a great post on her blog for the Applesauce Spice Cake here.  With my autumn birthday recently (November 15) and it falling on National Bundt Day, I decided this is the cake I wanted to make gluten free for me.  Sometimes I'm not sure something will turn out well and I'll have lots of testing to do--but I sure love it when I first change a recipe and it turns out great!  So happy!

It was perfect and I have one slice left that is still perfectly moist.  My family doesn't really like when I've made something and I tell them it's gluten free.  They often won't even try it.  Sam ended up eating two or three slices and said it was pretty good!  It's not only made gluten free, but I used coconut sugar and raw honey for the sweetener!  Love it! I wanted a cream cheese icing on it since it was so good on the original cake so I made some to drizzle on the bundt cake with as little sweetener as I could and used a couple tablespoons of organic powdered sugar and then pure maple syrup.  I'll try it again to see if it's fine with just maple syrup another time.  But it turned out great and I used a lot less icing than the cake that is usually completely frosted with it.  So good though!

We had some apples here that were near "death", so I made homemade applesauce!  I peeled, cored and sliced the apples into pretty big chunks.  Then I put them in the Instant Pot with a little water and cooked them on the manual setting for ten minutes, then let it naturally release for another 10 minutes.  They were pretty well done/soft!  But it worked great!  I put them in the blender and within seconds they perfectly became applesauce! No sweetener added!

Gluten Free Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, by Katrina Smith, www.bakingandboys.com

2 cups (240 grams) gluten free flour blend (with xanthan gum)

½ teaspoon xanthan gum (yes, extra)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup coconut sugar

½ cup raw honey

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade!)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 cup non-stick Bundt cake pan (or you can also use a 10 inch round cake pan) with cooking spray. I use a non-aerosol cooking spray.  Set aside.  Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.  Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter with the coconut sugar and honey until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes on medium high speed, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Beat for another 2-3 minutes.  With a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the applesauce (add the vanilla with the first half of the applesauce), beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, until they are fully incorporated.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean—about 35 to 40 minutes.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Turn onto cooling rack and let cool completely.  It should come right out of the pan.  Carefully move cake to serving dish or airtight cake keeper. Prepare icing while cake is cooling.

Cream Cheese Icing:

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

Dash of salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons organic powdered sugar

½ tablespoon almond milk

2 tablespoons walnuts, lightly toasted, chopped (optional)

 

Whisk together the softened cream cheese, salt, vanilla, maple syrup, and powdered sugar until well combined with no lumps.  Add almond milk starting with ½ tablespoon and possibly a little more until desired consistency.  Drizzle over cooled cake.  Sprinkle with walnuts.

Love my bundt pan.  I've never had anything stick and I always only spray it with a non-aerosol spray.  Though I think I want to start collecting different bundt pans.  Seems like a perfect birthday/bundt day thing to do!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Browned Butter Pecan Streusel

This was the birthday cake I made for my birthday which I've mentioned before is also National Bundt Day (November 15).  I NEED to share it with you all here!  I turned this fantastic Pumpkin Cake recipe I've made before from my friend Paige at For Love of the Table, whose cooking classes I used to take and love and endulge in all the deliciousness when we lived in Kansas, into a gluten free, refined sugar free divine bundt cake!  It was so moist and flavorful and exactly how I wanted it.  I'm planning to make it again next week for Thanksgiving.  There are always so many pies at our huge family gathering and I've tried making decent gluten free ones in the past, but haven't been as in love as I want to be with gluten free crust.  CAKE--this is just what I was hoping it would be like with it's spot on pumpkin and spice flavors.

If you want, you can see my post for the original pumpkin cake (linked above) and Paige's, too.  It's a must-make sometime.  Most know I am a chocolate lover and my favorite desserts usually have chocolate, but this cake is right there at the top of my list, especially now that I've made it gluten free.

Paige's original cake has a most delicious browned butter pecan streusel on top that bakes with the cake.  While making this into a bundt cake, I realized I wasn't sure how I was going to make the best part of the cake work for it since a bundt is baked upside down, then turned out of the pan.  I didn't want to have the streusel making a caramel-like topping while it baked, so I baked it separately and decided to make it stick to the top of the cake some other way.  I made a simple cinnamon glaze using organic powdered sugar and I drizzled that over the cooled cake.  The streusel then adhered to the cake just as I'd hoped.

The cake is so moist like a great pumpkin bread and the streusel adds a perfect cinnamon, nutty crunch.  Nothing else is needed to enjoy this but some whipped cream on the side would be great.  I've known Paige for over ten years and she's always had no problem admitting she had cake for breakfast.  She is a fantastic chef and I've always loved her cakes and cookies and pies and all desserts, I'm just a sweets kind of gal. (Check out her blog, linked above!  Best photos, descriptions and instructions ever!) Cake for breakfast?  I've never really endulged that way, but after making this cake and having some for my birthday, there it sat on the counter the next morning and it was calling my name.  So I had cake for breakfast.  It was delicious every time I had a piece of it over the next couple days.  This cake needs to be posted here and made again and again!

GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE WITH BROWNED BUTTER PECAN STREUSEL, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

Streusel Topping:

¼ cup gluten free flour blend (I like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking mix)

3 tablespoons coconut sugar

½ tablespoon raw honey

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, browned in a small saucepan*

¼ cup pecans, chopped

Cake:

2 cups gluten free flour blend (I like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking mix)

½ teaspoon xanthan gum (add this even though the flour blend has some)

2 teaspoon baking powder

½ teasoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup coconut sugar

½ cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

½ cup almond milk (or any milk you choose)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

1 cup organic powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon milk (your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. *Brown the butter for the streusel in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk together while it melts and foams a little.  When almost no more bubbles form, let it heat until the butter gets a nice brown color and has a nice nutty aroma.  Pour it until another container to stop the browning/cooking process.  In another bowl, mix together the streusel ingredients, pour the brown butter in last, mix to combine.  Pour the mixture onto a foil lined small baking sheet and spread evenly, some clumps are good. Bake for 8-10 minutes.  You just don’t want it to brown too much.  Remove from oven and leave on sheet to cool.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a minute, add the coconut sugar and honey beat and until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes, scrape down the sides. Beat in the eggs for a couple minutes. Whisk together in a bowl the pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla.  Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl.  Whisk together.  Add a little of the dry ingredients to the mixer and beat together.  Then add half the wet ingredients and beat well.  Scrapes sides of bowl.  Add more of the dry ingredients, beat well, then the rest of the wet ingredients and the rest of the dry, beating well after each addition.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Spray a bundt pan with non-aerosol cooking spray (some instead butter and flour the pan, I’ve never had one stick just using spray).  Pour the cake batter into the pan and spread evenly.  Bake in preheated oven on middle rack for 35-40 minutes.  Test at 35 minutes with a toothpick to see it comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs.  When fully baked, remove from oven and let it sit in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.  Turn cake over onto a wire rack to remove from pan and let it cool completely. 

Make the quick glaze, whisking the ingredients together.  Drizzle over the cooled bundt.   Immediately after, sprinkle/spread evenly the streusel around the top of the cake.  Store in an airtight cake server.  Serve cake with some fresh whipped cream, if desired.

My Eleven Year Old Blog!

Eleven years ago today I posted my first blog post on this little ol’ spot of mine on the world wide web.  I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t know what I was doing and was only doing it so family and friends could see from me what was going on with our family.  We lived in Kansas far away all of our families and most of our friends.  I also just wanted to use this space as my way of journaling about our lives.  Here we are eleven years later!  So many changes, as expected!  I’m still here.  Sadly, not like I used to be and not like I wish.  Sometimes circumstances in our lives take precedence over what we’d really like to have happen.  I’ve learned things aren’t always as we’d like, but I am so very blessed with everything in my life, so I shall not complain.

I’m busy and tired and continue keeping on even though sometimes I would really just like to take a big ol’ break from everyday life and not have a care in the world.  Four boys will do that to you, I suppose!  A quick run down—my oldest, Scott, is getting married this week!  What?!  I know, so crazy.  He was still just nine when I started Baking and Boys!  We are excited to have Diana join our family and I’ll have a daughter!  Parker is 17 and trying to get done with high school a year early so he can graduate this May.  Fingers crossed!  Taylor is 15.  He’s in 9th grade and in his third year of percussion and is loving playing drums.  It’s loud here at our house!  Besides drums, he has taught himself how to play the ukulele and some electric guitar (so has Parker).  Sam is in 6th grade and will be 12 years old soon!  Ahhh!  So you can see, all four of my babies are growing up and things are always hoppin’ around here!

I can’t seem to bake like I used to and never get all the things I’d like to done that I dream about or even just plan to do, but life is good!  My health is good!  My husband is amazing, as always.  We are so blessed!  When I realized today is my eleven year blogaversary, I didn’t want to just let it go by, even though my blog has sat pretty dormant especially this last year.  I didn’t make anything, but Taylor had two friends over today and they wanted to make a cake and they wanted to cover it with homemade fondant.  I didn’t really want to have anything to do with it and didn’t want to deal with the mess.  They’d never made fondant, but they were determined.  Above is the cake they made with about 1% help from me.  I must say it turned out better than I thought it would.  They said it was a Legos head, even though that was not their intention when they started.  I’m tired and I didn’t really do much at all.  But it made for me to have something to post here, so here’s your cake.  I still hope to actually post things when I make something really  great that I just have to share!  We’re in full blown wedding mode here this week!

TEN YEARS BLOGGING! Gluten Free Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Hello, Everyone!  Would you believe it’s been 10 years since I started my blog!  Ten Years!  That’s so crazy to me.  Even crazier—I started my blog just before my baby turned one.  Yep, he’s almost 11 years old!  I keep wishing I could take the time to share things with you like I used to way back when.  Times have changed.  Blogging isn’t the same.  My boys aren’t the same and I think I’m definitely busier with three teenagers and a 10 year old.  My health isn’t the same.  So much change.  In my heart though, I’m the same—I still love food (treats especially) and want to share my favorites here with a good dose my life and family.  Sigh.  So here I am, blogging sparingly, but still here nonetheless.

 

I still have this idea to revamp some of my favorite treats into healthier and gluten free versions, so I’ve done it again today with this Gluten Free Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake—which I’ve taken from this heavenly Chocolate Zucchini Cake.  Took a few tries, but THIS recipe I’m sharing here today is great!  It’s not as healthy as it could be, but it’s still gluten free and refined sugar free and I’m happy about that.  I will work on another version that is grain free and maybe dairy free, but I’ve sure decided with baking lately and trying to make things vegan for one of my sons, that baked goods benefit greatly from eggs and butter!

Never, ever would someone even guess this decadent chocolate cake has a vegetable.  You cannot tell there is zucchini in it. 

Gluten Free Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend

6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon xanthan powder (even if your flour blend has some, add this extra)

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup coconut sugar

6 tablespoons raw honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)

1 cup finely grated zucchini, liquid squeezed out in a tea towel

½ cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Ganache—

3 ounces heavy cream

4 ½ ounces Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick foil (optional, but I love doing this for easily removing the baked cake from the pan), spray with cooking spray (here I prefer the no-propellants coconut oil spray). Set aside. Add gluten free flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Cream the butter, coconut sugar and honey in mixer for 3-5 minutes, until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat another couple minutes, scrape the bowl to make sure all is combined. Add the zucchini and mix together. While the mixer is going, add part of the dry ingredients, then some of the milk, then more dry ingredients, the rest of the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Beat it in the mixer for 3-5 more minutes. Since it is gluten free, it will be fine! Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with just moist crumbs. Let cake sit on a wire rack to cool.

Make the ganache. In a glass microwave safe bowl, heat the cream in 20-30 second intervals until it’s bubbly around the sides (this can also be down in a pan on the stove). Pour the chocolate over the cream and let sit for a minute. Slowly stir the chocolate and cream until smooth. Remove cake from pan with the foil edges. Carefully remove the foil from the bottom, let cool completely while ganache cools more and thickens slightly. Spread the ganache evenly over the cake. Store in an airtight cake holder. Cut into nine squares and serve. (Next I’m going to bake this cake in a 9x9 inch pan for the cake to ganache ratio to be a little better!)

Here’s what’s happening with my family lately--

Scott proposed marriage to his girlfriend!  He told us on Christmas, even though he asked Diana to marry him back in August.  Little sneak!  They are happy and plan to get married in a couple years after they get things more set financially. ; )

Parker has been busy with his first job at Target during the holidays.  He works at a thrift clothing store right now, but plans to go back to Target when they hire him back in March.  He’s also busy with school trying to get enough credits to graduate a year early.  He’s ready to go places!

Taylor is busy in 8th grade with percussion and loves drumming!  He’s actually taking drum lessons on the side through someone Kevin knew at UVU.  It’s nonstop drumming around here, on drums and drum pads and counters and anything!  He was selected with a couple others to be in the school drumline and they got to go to all the home boys’ and girls’ basketball games and play during timeouts and halftime.  He loved it!  I enjoyed going and watching him and recording lots of his beats!  He’s actually written a couple of his own cadences.

 

Sam recently “earned” a trip to Disneyland with me, so we went and had a blast for two days with my friend, Bonnie, and her four girls.  Sam had never been to Disney or California.  We flew over in a flash and played hard and it was over before we knew it.  Sam LOVED Guardians of the Galaxy at California Adventures (me, not so much).  He also loved the Raging Waters ride.  That one WAS pretty fun—and wet.  My favorite at C.A. was Soaring Around the World.  So awesome!  It was fun to see Mickey and a bunch of other characters and lots of fun hanging with friends!

You might be wondering about my health.  My MS (multiple sclerosis) is 100% stable and I’m doing well!  I’m super blessed and the medication I get (by a two hour infusion every 36 days) seems to be doing it’s job of keeping the MS in remission.  Lots of prayers and fingers crossed!  Again, I cannot believe ten years have passed since I started this blog.  It breaks my heart to not be doing as much as I used to with it, but we just go with the flow of life and do what we can, right?  I’m still going to keep updates around here from time to time and hope to keep sharing my healthier changes to the treats and desserts I make.  I still make “regular” things as well.  When I have something to share, I hope to get it done.  February 17, 2018—can you believe it? 

Gluten Free Banana Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Recipe, Vegan, too!

Hello?  Is anyone here?  I’m here!  My last post was exactly one year ago.  What in the world have I been doing?  Just being a busy mom of three teenagers and a ten year old.  That and I just felt like I needed a break.  Not sure why.  I have missed blogging terribly.  I started feeling like a part of who I am was missing.  I love baking and I love sharing it with others.  My health is great!  I cannot complain at all.  With my diet changes of going gluten free and refined sugar free (and my 15 year old deciding to be vegan!), I think I had just been in a rut on what to do, what to make, what to share and post here.  But I decided I really want to try again with this little part of me that was missing.  I’m not in it for hundreds of thousands of visitors.  I’m not going to be making videos.  My blog is WAY outdated.  But I don’t care.  I need to do it for me.  A lot of it is that I’ve just decided I need to keep documenting things I love somewhere else besides just scribbled in a notebook.

 

My idea the last couple months has been to take some of my favorite tried-and-true recipes, whether they be from here on my blog, or favorite blogs or cookbooks and make them gluten free, refined sugar free, and sometimes vegan and share them with you.  I’ve made a number of things already and am so happy with how they are turning out with simple changes like gluten free flours, unrefined sugars (coconut sugar, raw honey, agave, etc.).  I plan to share links to my favorite cookbooks, blogs and recipes as they were originally made, then post my changed results here.  Does that sound good?  I think so.  I’ve asked a few people and they think it’s a great idea.  So I’m here to try it!

 

Now, this cake—I first shared this cake not long after starting my blog in February 2008!  I saw it on a blog, who adapted it from Bon Appetit in a 2003 magazine article.  I adapted it enough that I’m leaving you the link to my post for this Absolutely Delicious Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake.  I made this more times than I can count over the years.  Well, I’ve come up with a new, delicious favorite that everyone here loves, except it’s gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free.  The boys don’t care!  This is a good sign.  A lot of times, they won’t even try something when I tell them it’s gluten free.  This is gone so quickly every time I’ve made it recently, which is like three or four times. 

I made this again yesterday for dinner as we were having the LDS sister missionaries over and one of them has celiacs.  They both went crazy over how good it was and we let them take the leftover cake home.  There wasn’t a lot left, maybe two pieces, but it’s because they had seconds while we were eating it!  Win.  I love when someone is happy with something I’ve made, especially when there are changes that most would think would make something taste strange.  This one is good!  Try it!  It is our go-to when we have overripe bananas.

 

Gluten Free Banana Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (vegan), by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

*Streusel topping:

1/4 cup coconut sugar**

1/2 tablespoons agave nectar

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

 

Cake:

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (xanthan gum included)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup (4 ounces) coconut oil

1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, 2 1/2 tablespoons water, let sit for 5 minutes)

1 1/3 cup mashed banana (about 4 small/medium or 3 large bananas)

3 tablespoons almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg’s)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Make the streusel topping.  Combine the coconut sugar with the agave, mix together with a fork until it is all moist like brown sugar.  Add the pecans, cinnamon and chocolate chips.  Stir together, set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8x8 inch square pan (9x9 also works fine!) with nonstick foil and spray lightly with a non-propellant cooking spray (I like coconut oil).  In a small bowl, make the flax egg, let it sit while you prepare the rest.  In another small bowl, combine the almond milk and vinegar, let sit.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisk together and set aside.  In a large bowl, add the coconut sugar, agave and coconut oil.  Whisk until well combined.  Whisk in the flax egg and almond milk mixture and the vanilla.  Stir in mashed banana (sometimes I pulse it in a food processor, sometimes I just mash them with a fork).  Fold in the dry ingredients.  Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Evenly sprinkle the topping over the cake batter.  Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.  Let cool on a wire rack completely.  Remove pan using foil edges.  Carefully remove cake from the foil and put it on a serving plate.

*Note—The original Absolutely Delicious Banana Cake I linked above also has streusel in the middle.  I did make it that way once (photo above), but decided it’s not necessary.  Good, but not necessary.  So if you’d like you can double the topping able and put half of it on half the batter in the pan.  It’s all natural sugars, so no harm done!

**Make your own, all-natural brown sugar.  Combine coconut sugar with agave (use amounts posted above in the streusel for the correct consistency) until moist.  It’s perfect, in my opinion!

 

 

Make your own healthy, all-natural “brown sugar”.  Combine coconut sugar with a touch of agave, raw honey or molasses, mix with a fork until all moist.  Use about 1/2 cup coconut sugar and 1 tablespoon agave/honey/molasses.  I love it!

If I had some more overripe bananas right now, I’d make this again today.  Guess I’ll have to wait another couple days. 

You may be wondering what is going on with my family.  Quick update, Scott graduated school last year and is 19, has a girlfriend that he spends all his time with when he’s not working at Taco Bell.

Parker is almost 16, almost done with driver’s ed, aching for a job and will start his sophomore year of high school soon!  He’s currently having “fun” with hair colors.  He did purple and a pink for a while, but his hair is currently an orange color (MS awareness???).

Taylor is 13 and starts 8th grade soon.  He’s busy being a crazy 13 year old and doing his best trying not to drive me crazy.  He’s pretty funny and still likes lots of creative crafty things.

Sam is 10 and about to start 5th grade.  This is crazy!  When I started my blog, Scott was 10 and my baby was a baby!  Waaahhhh!  They aren’t supposed to grow up so fast!  Sam loves baseball and discovered this year that he loves being the catcher. 

Kevin and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary in June!  Twenty years—what????  Crazy.  He’s amazing and treats me like a queen.  I don’t deserve him.  He receives awards at UVU for being an outstanding educator.  He got to be in a spread in UVU’s magazine as Captain America.  He’s my hero.  He’s a great professor, just took over as department chair in the business school at UVU, he’s a wonderful dad and the best husband!  So there.

For our 20th, since we didn’t get to take a big trip or anything (he taught for the summer session of school), he surprised me with a bunch of my favorite concerts over the last month, including New Kids On The Block/Paula Abdul, David Archuleta, the Utah Symphony and GENTRI and we got to spend some time together in Salt Lake City.  I’m spoiled.  Love my life.  My health is good.  MS is 100% stable, nothing new.  Besides being tired more than I’d like, I’ve got this.  Glad to be back here and hopefully I’ll post again soon!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe and Zucchini Lemon Cranberry Walnut Muffins Recipe

This original post from 2009 disappeared from my blog.  Not sure how or why.  But here’s a new current repost of it---It's that time of year.  You practically have them growing out your ears.  I'm talking about zucchini.  Some of them are huge.  They aren't quite as good for savory cooking when they get too big.  But they make a dang good killer chocolate cake!  Bah--look at this!

Yep, believe it or not, there is zucchini in there!  I know.  I hear ya.  You just would NEVER know it's there.  So this means this cake is healthy, right.  Well, we can pretend anyway.  Sigh. 

Yeah, it's not healthy.  But for goodness sake, it's delicious!  (Dad--it's chocolate cake!)

After buying two giant, cheap zucchini at the farmer's market last week, I went on a Google search for just what to do with them.  I already shared with you my zucchini ("apple") crisp.  I knew there were all kinds of quick breads and muffins out there with zucchini and I even knew there were zucchini snack cakes.  But THIS cake, it's not just your run-of-the-mill "snack".  This is big time dessert here.  Kevin was even a little bummed that I didn't have any ice cream to serve with it.  (I know, me, slacking on the ice cream making! ;)

I found this beauty on Em's blog,  The Repressed Pastry Chef.  I actually didn't even know she was a fellow TWD baker.  (What?  I can't read them all.  I wish.  But after finding this cake on her blog and browsing around a bit, I've added her blog to my reader.)  Em found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website.  I halved the recipe and baked it in an 8x8 inch baking pan.  I made some minor changes, so here's the recipe as I made it, but please when you're done with me, go look at Em's!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake, adapted by Katrina from The King Arthur Flour Company and Em at The Repressed Pastry Chef (halved)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup canola oil

6  1/8 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup buttermilk (original recipe calls for sour cream or yogurt)

1  1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1  1/8 ounces Dutch-process cocoa

(optional 1 teaspoon espresso powder)  I did not use it

1 cup zucchini, finely grated (middle/seeds removed)

1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips  (I used 58% cacao Ghiradelli chips)  (I didn't halve the chips)

Ganache Icing--

3 ounces heavy cream

4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (I used the Ghiradelli chips)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with foil.  Spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Beat in the egg.  Scrape sides of bowl. 

Stir in the buttermilk alternately with the flour.  Then add the cocoa.  Mix until well combined.  Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.

Pour and spread the batter evenly in the baking pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes (mine took 32 minutes), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake on a wire rack.  Remove the cake from the pan using the foil edges.

Prepare the ganache by heating the cream to a simmer.  (I actually used the microwave and it worked great, just do it in 20-30 second intervals and stir in between.)  Pour the cream into a bowl with the chocolate chips.  Let sit a minute or two.  Stir the melted chocolate and cream until combined and smooth.  Spread over cake evenly with an offset spatula.  See how long you can wait before cutting slices of the cake and eating it.  (The ganache hardens as it sits, but doggonit it's good right away! ;)

You know you want a bite.  I'm not kidding, there's zucchini in there.  (You would never in a million years know it, Bob!)

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now after all that, take a deep breath, it's going to be okay.  Breathe.  Okay.  I kind of feel like these poor little muffins will take a huge back seat to that cake, BUT just keep in mind, sometimes you feel like a muffin and sometimes a little cake and the muffins really could be considered somewhat healthy and a great grab and go breakfast or perfect snack and they are also delicious if I do say so myself.   You'll have to try them and give them the credit they too deserve just as much as that cake.  Again, in my Googling around, I ran across this Low Fat Lemon Zucchini Bread on about.com.  These muffins were inspired by that bread, but I changed many things and came up with these darn-tootin' good muffins.

Zucchini-Lemon Cranberry Walnut Muffins, by Katrina

1  3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or could use all purpose)

1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)

1/4 cup coconut oil (or any vegetable oil)

1 large egg

1 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup low fat buttermilk

1 cup zucchini, seeded and finely grated

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

turbinado sugar for sprinkle over top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper liners (this made 14 muffins). 

In medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Whisk together and set aside.  In another bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest, combining it together with your fingers until the sugar is moist, yellow and fragrant.  (I got this idea from Dorie Greenspan and love it.)  Combine the zesty sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk until well mixed with a wire whisk.  Stir in zucchini.  Add the dry ingredients with the wet and fold together just until moist.  Fold in nuts and cranberries.  Fill each muffin cup with a good sized scoop of batter.  Sprinkle each with turbinado sugar.  Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.  Set pan on wire rack and cool for five minutes.  Remove the muffins from the tin and cool to room temperature on wire rack.

There is some nutty, berry-sweet goodness hiding in there and a wonderful lemon flavor!

You've seriously got to try these.  Coming soon--more zucchini!  I bought two giant ones remember.  These two recipes didn't even use one whole one.  Did you know you can grate the zucchini and freeze it in plastic bags?  It will last a couple months in the freezer.  Run to your gardens, neighbor's gardens, farmer's markets, grocery stores now and stock up!  You'll for sure want to make this cake and these muffins over and over again! ;) 

Sweet Potato Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake (Gluten Free, Grain Free)

This was my birthday cake I made a couple weeks ago, but it would be perfect for your Thanksgiving desserts or Christmas, or any holiday or any occasion or just because you want cake—it’s practically healthy!  Get this—the cake is not only gluten free, but it’s grain free and it’s made with much healthier coconut sugar and raw honey for the sweetener.  Hello, it also has a vegetable in it.  The sweet potato acts like pumpkin.  I love the flavor.  With sweet spices added, sweet potato and and chocolate go together perfectly!  If you’re trying to find healthier desserts or have diet restrictions, this pretty bundt cake would be just right for you. 
It was certainly just right for my birthday, which just happens to fall on National Bundt Day, November 15.  I’ve enjoyed making a bundt cake for my birthday for a number of years now, ever since Mary at The Food Librarian started in with her love of bundts.  She has hundreds of bundt cakes posted on her blog.  She would even do 30 days of bundts leading up to my birthday National Bundt Day, and post a bundt a day before that.  She did that for a couple years.  She has some great round ups of all the cakes she’s made as well as some round ups of the bundts everyone makes to join in the fun and send her their links. 

I can’t wait to make this cake again.  I recently bought two sweet potatoes that were huge—one was over three pounds!  I baked it and used it to make a puree.  It was well enough for this cake and a lot more.  Some of it even went in the freezer since I went out of town and couldn’t eat it all up before it would have spoiled.  I still have the second big one and some smaller ones to use up.  I thought the big one wouldn’t be good (over grown) or as sweet or something, but it was great and perfect for this cake!
Sweet Potato Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!
4 ounces good chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 cup almond meal/flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup (168 grams) raw honey
1/2 cup (224 grams) coconut oil
1 cup (250 grams) sweet potato puree (Make sure it’s cool if you’re baking it right before using it. I baked mine the night before I made the cake, then cooled it and stored it in the refrigerator, then pureed it right before using.)
4 large eggs (I actually used 5 sm-med. farm fresh eggs, for a total of 202 grams out of shell)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
Ganache Drizzle:
2 1/2 ounces chocolate (I used mini chocolate chips)
4 tablespoons heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spread coconut oil evenly over the surface of the bundt pan.  (You’ll want at least a 6 cup bundt pan, but bigger will work, too, it’s not a super high cake that totally fills the pan.)  You can also dust it with cocoa powder or almond flour or coconut flour, but I didn’t, just oil.  (The cake stuck in one little place and usually doesn’t at all when I add some kind of flour after oiling the pan.)  Set aside.  Melt the 4 ounces of chocolate in a medium sized microwave-safe bowl.  Stir after 20-30 second intervals until all melted and smooth and let cool while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the arrowroot, coconut flour, almond flour, baking soda, salt and all the spices.  Whisk together, set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the coconut sugar, honey and coconut oil.  Whisk (or use mixer) until well combined.  Add the sweet potato puree and beat until combined.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix together until well combined.  Remove about 1/3 of the cake batter from the bowl into another pan and add the 4 ounces of melted chocolate to it, then combine well. 
Working in spoonsful or scoops at a time, put the batter in the pan, first the sweet potato cake batter, then in opposite places around the bundt the chocolate batter in spoonsful.  Continue in layers of both cake batters until you’ve used it all.  Take a butter knife and swirl the batter to make the marble effect (not too much swirling or it will not look marbled).  Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.  Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes.  Turn the cake over and let it sit for a couple minutes, then tap the sides and bottom of the pan to release the cake.  It should come out nicely!  Heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl until slightly bubbly (careful it doesn’t boil over, it can come to that stage pretty quickly, especially since it’s such a small amount.)  Pour the heated cream over the 2 1/2 ounces of chocolate, let sit for a minute.  Then slowly stir it together until the chocolate is all melted and you have a nice smooth ganache.  You can do this while the cake is cooling as it sets up a bit after it’s all melted.  Drizzle the ganache over the cake (I put it in a plastic zip top bag and snipped the corner off to drizzle it over the cake, you can also do it by the spoonsful.) 

As I wrote down the recipe, it seemed a little involved, but I have found if you get everything out and in place (Mise en place, I’m all for it!), it’s not bad at all.  Prep everything ahead of time, bake your potato, melt the chocolate, etc.—it’s really not too bad.  And fun.  And worth it for this cake!  Not only does it taste great—it looks great, too.  I think it’s a real show stopper.  If you had this on your dessert table and didn’t tell anyone it was grain free, I don’t think anyone would even know.  Only Kevin and my son, Scott, even tasted the cake.  But after that I hid the rest for the next couple days so they didn’t eat more, because it was all for me on National Bundt Day—MY BIRTHDAY!  I thought it tasted better the next day and the next.  Maybe because I’m kind of cake-deprived, but try it and tell me what you think!
I’m home for Thanksgiving in Idaho with my parents while my awesome husband is home with the four boys.  He’s amazing and I am so blessed and grateful for all the wonderful blessings I have been given.  He even spent the last two days repainting our bedroom—5 1/2 years in our home and we’ve never really liked the paint in our room.  Love it now!  Happy Holidays to all!