Deanna's Daughter

On Wednesday while I was making the Zucchini-Bacon-Macaroni Pie I also made the marinade for Thursday’s Sake Pork Tenderloin which we had with a mini Greek salad and new potatoes with lots of butter (as requested by the girls).  And I can’t seem to get enough pie so I also happened to whip up a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie on Thursday morning and then found myself buying enough peaches at the market (where we had to go for the potatoes) for perhaps another peach dessert this weekend…we’ll see.

Friday was leftovers, Saturday we were all invited to our friend’s 10th Anniversary celebration so by Sunday (today), I definitely felt like cooking.  This cake was for lunch, borrowed from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman, and we’re having Chicken Pot Pie for dinner which I’ll have to post tomorrow – I didn’t realize it wasn’t up yet!

Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

1/2 c. sour cream

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 t. instant espresso powder (I used instant coffee)

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 c. grated zucchini

1 c. slivered almonds

1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease your bundt pan.  In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla and in a medium bowl mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder.

Using your electric mixer, combine the butter and both sugars and beat for about 3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add in one third of the flour mixture and mix well, and then half of the sour cream mixture and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between additions.  Continue with the flour mixture, then sour cream mixture and finish with the last of the flour mixture.

Make sure it’s all well combined and then stir in the zucchini by hand, followed by the almonds and chocolate chips.  Scrape the batter into your bundt pan and smooth out the top and then bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a platter.

We had this warm with lunch and it was awfully good…

Kyla is a wizard in the kitchen and thankfully she’s also very generous with her recipes.  Her original recipe for this is with rhubarb in a 9 x 13, I tweaked it slightly only to make it smaller, and used a bit less sugar.  I have also doubled the recipe below and used blueberries, topping each piece with a dollop of plain yogurt and it was divine.  Attached are pictures for both versions.

Kyla’s Coffee Cake

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 c. butter – softened

1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. flour

3/4 c. finely diced rhubarb

Topping

1/4 c. light brown sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 t. cold butter

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8 x 8 pan.  In a small bowl mix together the sour cream and baking soda and set aside.  In a second small bowl, combine the 3 topping ingredients with a fork until it’s mealy in texture.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and dark brown sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix well and then the sour cream mixture, stirring to combine.  Add the flour and stir until it just comes together and then add the rhubarb and mix.

Scoop batter into the prepared pan and evenly distribute the topping mixture over all.  Bake for about 25 minutes.

For a 9 x 13 pan, double everything – different fruit also seems to work – and bake for about 35 minutes.

The name really just means that it’s a soft and chewy, very tasty brownie – with dried cherries in it.  Adapted from Lauren Chattman’s ‘Cake Keeper Cakes’, we had this with some vanilla ice cream and our favorite chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Cherry Snacking Cake

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 c. flour

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c. dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease an 8-inch square pan.

Melt the chocolate on low power in a small bowl in the microwave – this should take about 2 minutes, but be sure to check it every 20 seconds or so – then set it aside to cool slightly.

In a separate small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt, and then in a small glass jug, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla and set aside.

Put the butter and sugar in your electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes until it’s fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Then with the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture, repeating with both and ending with the last of the flour mixture – stop as necessary to scrape down the bowl.

Add the chocolate and blend until well combined and then stir in the cherries by hand.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.