Tag Archives: breakfast

breakfast, breakfast sweets, coffee cake, Uncategorized

Dad’s favorite Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

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Dad's Favorite Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake by Two Carolines
This version is without almond extract or slivered almonds due to my stepson’s tree nut allergies. It’s really great either way.

It’s a King family tradition for birthdays and celebrations that the person of honor gets to pick their favorite meals for the day. That means a favorite breakfast, dinner and dessert. We all had our different favorites and go-tos, but this coffee cake was probably the most requested by all of us, especially my dad. It’s best when made the night before, or if it has hours to cool to room temperature, ’cause the cream cheese can fall a bit if it’s too warm. But let’s be honest; a pool of creamy, jammy goodness can’t be a bad thing, can it? Also, Creamy Jammy Goodness sounds like a 70’s cover band, amiright?

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup sour cream (or substitute with plain greek yogurt)
1 egg
1 t. almond extract
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 cup sliced almonds

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour bottom and sides of 9 or 10 inch spring-form pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Using pastry blender or fork, cut butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture.
  2. To remaining crumb mixture, add baking powder, baking soda, salt, sour cream, 1 egg and almond extract. Blend well. Spread batter over bottom and two inches up sides of prepared pan. (Batter should be about 1/4 inch thick on sides)
  3. In small bowl, combine cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar and 1 egg; blend well. Pour over batter in pan. Carefully spoon preserves evenly over cream cheese filling.
  4. In small bowl, combine 1 cup reserved crumb mixture and sliced almonds. Sprinkle over top.
  5. Bake at 350 for 45- 55 minutes or until cream cheese filling is set and crust is deep golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Serve warm or cool, cut into wedges.

-CK 1.0

coffee cake, Pumpkin, Uncategorized

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

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Two Carolines Pumkin Streusel Coffee Cake.jpgYa’ll know that Pumpkin Season is in full swing, and we want to take advantage of that as much as possible. We want ALL things pumpkin. We are seeing cereal, crackers, candy, cookies, pasta, drinks, etc., etc. doused with pumpkin flavor. We need to feed this addiction morning, noon and night. So, we are starting with your morning. Why don’t you wake up to this beauty tomorrow? I’ve been thinking about a pumpkin coffee cake for a while now and found the perfect recipe over at King Arthur Flour. I only changed one thing with the spices, and I think this cake is going to be the best part of waking up for anyone who has the good sense to make it.

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Topping

  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter

Filling

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, optional (this is only for color, not for taste)

Cake

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8″ square pan or 9″ round pan.
  2. To make the topping: Whisk together the sugar, salt, flour, spice, and nuts. Add the melted butter, stirring just until well combined. Set the topping aside.
  3. To make the filling: Mix together the brown sugar, spice, and cocoa powder. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.
  4. To make the cake: Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
  5. Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.
  6. Pour/spread half the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it all the way to the edges. If you have a scale, half the batter is about 13 1/2 ounces.
  7. Sprinkle the filling evenly atop the batter.
  8. Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don’t combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.
  9. Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.
  10. Bake the cake until it’s light brown on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. 
  11. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve the cake right from the pan.

-CK 1.0

Uncategorized

Supergood Superfood Breakfast Bowl

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Does anyone else in the room feel like they need a bit of a detox this time of year with all the delicious and rich foods around? Or at least a fighting chance to start the day right in the morning? I clearly have a penchant for breakfast foods and grains, so I’m sharing another recipe that I make often. I am the type to get hungry every two hours, but this breakfast keeps me full all morning and—bonus—zero guilt!

This recipe is for one bowl, so obviously scale up as needed.

Start with:
1/4 cup pearl barley (or steel cut oats, but they don’t have those in Berlin)
1 tablespoon quinoa (red, white, black—whichever you prefer)
1 1/2 cup boiling water

Cook for about 15 minutes on the lowest heat until water is almost absorbed and grains are getting soft.

Add:
3-4 dates, chopped
3-4 dried apricots, chopped
1/2 tablespoon chia seed
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1 tablespoon golden raisins
1 tablespoon slivered or sliced almonds
dash cinnamon
smaller dash nutmeg
splash of maple syrup
(I just throw these in willy-nilly, but I’m trying to use measurements for recipe purposes, so feel free to play with proportions and ingredients)

Cook together another 5 minutes or so until desired consistency. Top with toasted coconut chips and a large helping of feeling REAL good about yourself.

breakfast sweets, Uncategorized

Banana Bread Granola

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Since living in Berlin, I’ve adopted a few local habits. 1) giving dirty looks to people on the train who are taking up two seats, 2) riding my bike everywhere—as often as possible, 3) I say the word “genau” too much, and 4) I start almost every morning with some form of müsli or granola and fruit. I live with a pretty lo-fi kitchen here, without all of my normal accoutrements and gadgets, so I always am on the lookout for simple recipes and things I can put together very easily. This recipe from Minimalist Baker perfectly fit the bill. I adjusted a few things based on what I have, and some personal preferences, so here is my version of the recipe.

3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup chopped almonds
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon flax seed
1/8 cup toasted wheat germ
1/8 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, warm the coconut oil, maple syrup (or honey) and vanilla extract. Once liquid, remove from heat and whisk in mashed bananas until well combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Spread the mixture evenly onto baking sheets prepared with silpat or baking paper and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once, halfway through baking. Watch well after 25 minutes, to reach desired crispiness.

Once the granola is visibly browned, remove from the oven and toss just a bit to let the heat escape. Cool completely on the baking sheet. Sometimes I return it to the turned off oven and leave it in overnight to dry it out a bit. The granola can be stored in an air-tight container for a couple weeks—if you can last that long! Genau!