Apple Cake

Fall is finally here! And with everyone fawning over pumpkin flavored this and that I wanted to focus on the other favorite food for fall baking. The apple! Of course because I grew up on the orchard where I patiently waited for them to ripen so we could eat them and make them in to a myriad of wonderful things. This is an original recipe for me that I hope you enjoy!

I always find when baking with apples, pie cake or whatever, it is best to choose a mix to vary your flavors and textures.For this cake I used a mix of Gingergold, Jonathon, Fuji and Honey Crisp.

ingredients 2 cups sugar ½ cup butter, softened 4 eggs 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda ½ cup heavy cream ½ cup milk 2 tsp vanilla extract

directions preheat oven to 350F grease two 10” cake pans and set aside cream butter and sugar until smooth add in eggs and beat until fluffy add all dry ingredients and mix on low speed to combine while slowly adding heavy cream, milk and vanilla pour batter in to pans peel and slice apples thinly and toss with 3 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon bake for 45-55 min. dust with powdered sugar (optional) enjoy!

Wheat Zucchini Bread

Part of what I love to do as a baker and as a Registered Dietitian is to take my favorite recipe and make it a tad healthier so that people with medical concerns can enjoy some yummies too! For this recipe I took my previously published zucchini bread recipe and tweaked it to have less sugar, use part whole wheat flour and switched out the vegetable oil for olive oil for added heart healthy unsaturated fats. I also used more egg whites over yolks which lowers the total cholesterol! I hope you enjoy this tasty modification!

ingredients 2 eggs and 2 egg whites, beaten 1 ½ cup sugar 1 cup olive oil 2 cups zucchini, finely grated 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 tbsp ground flax seed 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 3 tsp cinnamon

directions preheat oven to 350F grease two 8x4” loaf pans or four mini loaf pans and set aside finely grate zucchini until you yield 2 cups grated, ~2 medium zucchini in a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl sift dry ingredients in to wet stir dry ingredients in to wet thoroughly pour batter in to pans, bake for 50-60 min. enjoy!

Peach Berry Crisp

I can't believe we are almost at apple and pumpkin season! It seems like I didn't get quite enough time to enjoy all the berries and peaches the summer season has to offer. In order to hold on to the last little bit of summer I had to make one last dish, a simple peach and berry crisp using our homegrown peaches, blueberries and raspberries.

I have to say, I was on point today with my baking today. Even my "pea sized crumbles" were perfect!

This was a recipe from my head and it turned out to be incredible, maybe even one of the best things I've made so far! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

peach berry crisp
ingredients 3 cups ripe peaches, peeled and sliced 2 cups blueberries 1 cup raspberries 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 3 tbsp sugar 1 tsp allspice	directions preheat oven to 400F mix together flour, sugar and allspice in a medium bowl add peaches and berries to dry mixture and toss until evenly coated pour fruit mixture into center of ungreased baking pan top with crumb topping bake for 25-30 min or until slow bubbles form from fruit enjoy!
crumb topping
ingredients ¼ butter ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ c white sugar ½ c oatmeal	directions mix together dry ingredients cut in cold butter until pea sized balls form

Peach Streusel Muffins

It is prime peach season and there is no better way to celebrate then by eating them with everything If you are looking for a sweet treat to make your day a bit better try these peach streusel muffins they are delicious! 

Of course off to the orchard I wen to pick up the most delectable peaches around. I let them sit on my counter for about 4 days until they were perfectly ripe. You can tell a peach is ripe by gently rubbing your thumb on the crease. If it is soft you have a ripe peach!

Make your batter first and let it sit. Allowing a batter to sit for 5-10 minutes gives your leavening agent time to work its magic and produce a light a fluffy muffin. Your batter will look more like a mousse when this happens!

Top with your crumbly streusel topping and get these beauties in the oven so you can enjoy your finished product!

muffin batter

ingredients ½ cup butter, room temperature ½ cup white sugar ¼ cup brown sugar, packed 2 eggs ½ Greek vanilla yogurt 2 tsp vanilla 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp allspice ½ tsp salt 2 cups peaches, peeled and diced

directions preheat oven to 425F grease muffin pan and set aside cream butter and sugars until smooth beat in remaining wet ingredients mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl sift dry ingredients in to wet mix thoroughly with a rubber spatula, stir in diced peaches until incorporated pour batter in to pan, sprinkle with crumb topping bake at 425F for 5 min. then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 15-20 min. use crumb topping recipe from my peach and blueberry pie post enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread

Exploring zucchini bread again because any way I can sneak veggies in to my food is a successful day. This time I wanted to combine it with something a little different, bananas! And what did I end up with? A delicious, chocolaty, gooey bread that has fruits AND veggies in it!

Zucchini fresh from the farm and personally I just love how it looks grated!

Get your ingredients together! This time I used fresh brown eggs the Wickersham cousins in Marlborough. Mix your wet ingredients and dry separately and then combine.

Sprinkle with a little extra chips :) because who does need a little more chocolate in their life!

I always make mini loaves because they are easier to share!

I hope you enjoy this little indulgence of mine as much as we do!

ingredients 2 eggs, beaten ½ cup white sugar ½ cup brown sugar, packed ½ cup butter melted 2 cups zucchini, finely grated 2 tsp vanilla 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cocoa powder 2 ripe medium bananas, mashed ½ tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup chocolate chips

directions preheat oven to 350F grease two 8x4” loaf pans or four mini loaf pans and set aside finely grate zucchini until you yield 2 cups grated, ~2 medium zucchini in a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl sift dry ingredients in to wet stir dry ingredients in to wet thoroughly pour batter in to pans, sprinkle with extra chips bake for 40-45 min. enjoy!

Peach and Blueberry Pie

I can't think of a better way to celebrate a sunny Saturday than with a delicious pie!

First stop? The orchard of course to pick up the necessities.

After tedious inspection and selection (not! everything here is great!) and some time with my favorite orchard employees the baking began!

Tip! To keep your outer crust from burning when baking, wrap it loosely in tin foil for about 2/3 of the baking time! Remove it for the rest of the baking and you will have a golden brown crust!

And voila! Peach and blueberry pie with crumb topping!

No I didn't make my own crust, when you're craving pie you just have to cut to the chase! Look for a homemade pie crust to be featured soon!

peach and blueberry pie

ingredients 6 cups ripe peaches, peeled and sliced 2 cups blueberries 3 tbsp all-purpose flour 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp cinnamon

directions preheat oven to 425F butter a 9” pie plate, spread pie crust evenly mix together flour, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl add peaches and berries to dry mixture and toss until evenly coated pour fruit mixture into center of an uncooked pie shell top with second crust or crumb topping (recipe featured below) put in oven, turn down heat to 350F bake for 40-45 min or until slow bubbles form from fruit enjoy!

crumb topping
ingredients 1 stick butter, cold ½ cup sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ tsp cinnamon	directions mix together flour, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl using a cheese grater, grate stick of butter into dry mixture using a pastry cutter, cut grated butter in to the dry mixture until pea sized clumps have formed (grating the cold butter makes it easier to manipulate)

Zucchini Bread

One of my favorite things to eat when Summer comes our way is zucchini bread. The combination of spices and flavors is simply to die for! I have been seeing lots of posts of people making it and I thought it was high time I made some myself. So, I ventured out to the orchard and hunted down some delicious homegrown zucchini. I snagged my mom's secret recipe, probably one of the best (and simplest) versions of zucchini bread I have ever had, and got to work! 

Look for a healthier version on this blog called Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread! 

The end result- yummy and delicious mini loaves! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do :)

ingredients 3 eggs, beaten 2 cups sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 2 cups zucchini, finely grated 2 tsp vanilla 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 3 tsp cinnamon

directions preheat oven to 350F grease two 8x4” loaf pans or four mini loaf pans and set aside finely grate zucchini until you yield 2 cups grated, ~2 medium zucchini in a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl sift dry ingredients in to wet stir dry ingredients in to wet thoroughly pour batter in to pans, bake for 50-60 min. enjoy!