Baking Anxiety

*! Updated by Shan 07.31.08

Let's have our baking list line-up and plans:

1. Blueberry Coffee Cake

--> How delicious and seemingly easy! Of course, we always take twice as long as the average human - so doubling an hour makes two hours. We definitely have two hours (or more) to spare from our already incredibly busy schedule. *cough* But it's definitely worth the try, and we'd keep you updated with our results.



--> Recipe: (credits: Chocolate & Zucchini)

- 200g (1 2/3 cup) flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 115g (1 stick) butter, diced, at room temperature
- 200g (1 cup) white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 240ml (1 cup) plain yogurt or fromage blanc or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 500g (3 cups) fresh blueberries
- 40g (1/4 cup) brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C (360°F). Grease a 22-cm (9-inch) cake pan, preferably nonstick with a removable bottom.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a food processor, mix together the butter and white sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the yogurt and vanilla, and mix again. Add the flour mixture, and mix again until just combined.

Pour half of the cake batter in the cake pan. Pour half the blueberries over the surface. Cover with the rest of the batter, top with the remaining blueberries, and sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar.

Bake for an hour, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack, let stand in the pan for ten minutes, then unclasp the sides of the pan and let cool completely before serving.


2. Apple Cup Pies
--> The recipe calls for nimble fingers and a keen eye for perfection. While An has neither of these things, Shan has both - so through teamwork, we can surpass the impossible. Haha.














--> Recipe: (below) (credits: EggsOnSunday)

For the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I put the sticks in the freezer for 30 minutes before starting)
- 6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
- 1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash
- additional granulated sugar to sprinkle on the tops

For the filling:
- 2 large apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 2 tsp flour

Equipment:
- 3 1/2-inch biscuit cuttermuffin pan
- Oh, Shangela needs some professional chef hats (;

Directions:
1. In a food processor, blend the flour, sugar, and salt.

2. Add the cubes of cold butter and process using short pulses until you get coarse meal.

3. Add the water and blend using on/off pulses just until clumps are starting to form, or until you can pinch the dough and it holds together. If it looks a little dry, add a little more water (I found I had to use 1-2 more tbsp.)

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half then gather each half into a ball. 5. Flatten the balls into disks, wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour.

5. Combine your diced apples, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and flour in a bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly butter the insides and around the top rim of your muffin cups - I found it easiest to use the cups that weren’t immediately adjacent to one another (see picture above.)

7. Take the first disk of dough and roll it out to about 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use the biscuit cutter to cut out 6 circles (I found I usually get about 4 circles out of the first roll, then I have to gather the dough and re-roll to get the remaining 2 circles.)

8. Repeat with the second disk of dough, so that you have 12 circles total.

9. Make the cup pie bottoms by pressing 6 of the circles of dough down into the muffin cups, firmly pressing with your fingers to line the cup evenly (the dough will fold a bit on the sides, but just mold it with your fingers to follow the surface of the muffin cup.) Press if needed so that it comes to the top of the cup (it’s okay if it goes a bit over in places.)

10. Divide the apple filling among each of the cup pie bottoms, mounding it in each cup.
One by one, place the remaining 6 circles over each cup pie. Firmly press down all around the circle where it rests on the muffin pan, up to where the filling begins — you want to ensure the top crust has adhered to the bottom crust.

11. Flute the edges with your fingers using your preferred method (I usually take lay the index and middle fingers of my left hand on the edge of the crust and pull back on the dough between those fingers with the index finger of my right hand — you can kind of see in the picture above.)

12. Using a small paring knife, cut slits in the tops of each of the pies. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

13. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

14. Take the muffin pan out and let it the pies cool, in the pan, on the cooling rack for about 30 minutes, then remove them from the pan to cool the rest of the way on the rack.

Makes 6 cup pies, with a little crust left over (you could bake it and eat it as cookies!) Shan's note: Oh no...this will take another 2 hrs...;D


3. Pumpkin Cheesecake
--> At first glance, it seems almost too difficult for my amateur abilities. But I think the power of 2 can make this delicious recipe possible! The only thing is... Pumpkin Puree? Never even heard of such a thing. We can definitely journey down to Albertsons, though.
--> Recipe: (below) (credits: Allrecipes.com)

4. Banana Crumb Muffins - Check! ; by Baker An ! <3
--> All of the supplies are close at hand, and they seem very do-able. And nothing's nicer than a nice crumbly muffin on a hot summer day!
--> Recipe: (below) (credits: Allrecipes.com)

5. Little Lemony Ricotta Cheesecakes
--> Again, it seemed entirely impossible when I first read the recipe, but c'mon, we've got a whole summer ahead of us to experiment. I read the comments, and apparently, all of the results have been fantastic.
--> Recipe: (below) (credits: EggsOnSunday)

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