vanilla

#BundtBakers: Pears

~ lk529 ~ 24 Comments

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This month’s edition of #BundtBakers is a little different. No, you won’t notice anything unique about this month compared to any of the previous #BundtBakers events but behind the scenes I’m the one hosting! #BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

I’ve selected a theme of Pears for November 2016. When I told my mom she said, “but you made a pear cake last month.” Yes, yes, I did. I’m that much obsessed with pears this fall.

How did this pear obsession begin?

Friends of ours brought over a fruit salad one evening and there were pears in it. These pears were perfectly ripe and reminded me how delicious a pear can be! I’ve since been buying them when I can get decent ones at the grocery store. Treat loves them, too. They’re such a perfect late night snack.

My favorite pear variety of choice is the boring ole Bartlet. I went rogue and bought a Bosq for a salad (but my husband ate it). We didn’t care for it as much.

The pear cake I’m sharing today varies from the my previous one because the pear is shredded! The shredded pear almost disolves into the cake batter as it’s baking, but you still get that bit of pear texture. I decided to pulse some walnuts instead of using almondmeal and I love the flavor it gives to the cake. Another change I made from the recipe of inspiration was to use honey instead of maple syrup. Pear, honey, and walnuts, are a perfect flavor combination and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. It had me thinking of a cheese platter and I decided to use mascarpone cheese in the frosting again, too.

My husband perfers just about every cake to be warmed up in the microwave. I’m the opposite and like my cake at room temperature, even cold for some recipes! For this bundt cake, though, I am 100% on board with warming it up. Yum.

Honey and Walnut Pear Bundt Cake

Ingredients for cake:

  • 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 1/4 C honey
  • 1/2-1/2 C walnuts
  • 1 1/3 C flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 C milk
  • 1 pear, shredded

Ingredients for frosting:

  • 4 tbsp mascarpone, softened
  • 2 tbsp butter, softened
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla paste
  • 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • milk, as needed
  • pinch of salt, if desired

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease a bundt pan.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at at time, mixing until incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and honey.
  3. Put walnuts in a food processor and pulse until fine – should yield 1/4 C.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/4 C of the walnut crumbs, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
  5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix until combined. Add the milk, mix until incorporated. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients. Add the shredded pear and mix.
  6. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake 50-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out cleanly. Allow cake to cool before unmolding.
  7. Make the frosting: Place mascarpone, butter, honey, and vanilla in a bowl and whisk with a hand mixer until combined. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Add milk as needed a teaspoon at a time. If desired, stir in a pinch of salt. Pipe frosting over cooled cake.

*The cake recipe is modified from Tessa at http://thecakeblog.com/2015/12/maple-pear-cake.html*

Honey and Walnut Pear Bundt Cake for #BundtBakers from Sew You Think You Can Cook

You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Almond Pear Bread Pudding from Food Lust People Love

Fresh Pear Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze from The Queen of Scones

London Fog & Pear Bundt Cake from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs

Orange Pear Bundt Cake from Basic N Delicious

Pear and Date Bundt Cake with Caramel Mascarpone Sauce from kidsandchic

Pear and Hazelnut Bundt from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Pear and Port Bundt Cake from Palatable Pasttime

“Pear”fect Rum Raisin Cake from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Pear Pecan Coffee Bundt Cake from Patty’s Cake

Pear Spiced Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes

Pear Streusel Crunch Cake from Noshing with the Nolands

Pumpkin Pear Bundt Cake from Making Miracles

Roasted Pear & Walnut Spice Cake Bundt from Brooklyn Homemaker

Salted Caramel Pear Bundt Cake from Tartacadabra

Spiced Pear Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm

This recipe was my personal favorite of November 2016. I’ve added it to An InLinkz Link-up celebrating monthly favorite recipes on Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking. 

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Blog-iversary 3

~ lk529 ~ 20 Comments

3 yrsSew You Think You Can Cook is 3 years old!

This past year has been a whirlwind in my personal life between welcoming a second baby boy to our family and moving across the country.

Blogging-wise I have continued to grow. I have 43 more followers by e-mail and 270 more Facebook fans. I’ve become more active on Twitter and Instagram with a total following of 423 and 530, respectively.

In this fourth year I hope to find the time to delve into monetizing the blog and gaining some sponsored posts. That’s if my two busy boys allow me to do so! I did however, finally pay to own my domain name! As my “birthday gift,” take a look up at the top of your browser and you’ll notice something a little different. The “dot wordpress” is no longer there! I hope your finger memory (and mine!) adjusts quickly when you type in sewyouthinkyoucancook.com.

For Mother’s Day 2016 my husband got me a macro lens for my camera and I have enjoyed taking photos even more! I’m even breaking out the tripod these days. Now when I recreate a recipe from my blog for dinner, I try and reshoot the photos. Updated photographs can be found on Balsamic Glazed Beef Roast, Baby Baked Beef Burritos, and Sweet Potato Waffles.

I hope you’ll continue to follow along with my journey here on the internet.

It has become my tradition to share something new to me on this milestone. For my 1st year, I baked with olive oil. For my second, I made marshmallow for a cheesecake. Keeping with the sweet side of experimentation, this year I’m sharing a vegan cupcake!

Why vegan?

We have friends here in California that we knew in Ohio as well who follow a vegan lifestyle. They have a daughter who is 4, a son who is only 2 weeks younger than Firecracker, and are expecting a third child in a month-ish. We did a play date with them and Firecracker was insistent about wanting to bake cupcakes with “Emmer.” I found a recipe that didn’t require any strange ingredients (borrowing almond milk from them) or coconut. The kids did a fabulous job making these cupcakes and the dozen didn’t last long. Icing didn’t come to fruition though and instead I ended up with a glaze. But it’s a glaze that was fantastic! No one felt bummed or cheated by not having a beautiful frosting peaked top.

We will be having a joint birthday celebration for the 2 year olds next week and I’ll be remaking the cupcake base. Now to find an actual frosting – if you have a recipe for coconut free vegan frosting please share it with me in the comments!

This recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 C flour
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 C almond milk
  • 1/3 C olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tin with liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the almond milk, olive oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
  3. Divide batter in cupcake tin. Bake 18-20 minutes. Allow cupcakes too cool in the pan for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Alison at http://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-vanilla-cake/*

Vegan Maple Glaze

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 1/2 C almond milk
  • 1/2 C canola oil
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. Using a hand mixer, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Poor over cooled cupcakes.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vegan Maple Glaze Sew You Think You Can Cook

SRC: Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

~ lk529 ~ 19 Comments

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It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the Secret Recipe Club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was in a mad scramble to make something from my assigned blog, The Avid Appetite. While I’ve had my assignment for a month, it’s been one heck of a month between my husband going on his first work trip since the boys have been born, finally getting internet, and traveling for my brother’s wedding it’s been hard to get into a rhythm that supports my hobby!

Rachel is the mastermind behind The Avid Appetite. Rachel has been sharing her culinary adventures for over five years! She’s a wife, mother, and brand licensing professional living in NJ. Sounds busy to me. She shares family stories on Tuesdays (hey, me too, with my Tuesday Tattles series!), consider yourself pre-warned for some adorable Penelope cuteness overload.

Her recipe index left me with 15 items to consider for today’s reveal! From those 15, real consideration was given to a Chicken and Pineapple dish and a Baked Oatmeal. Had I been assigned her blog two months ago when I was in my blood orange obsession there’s no question that I would be sharing this Loaf Cake or these Shortcakes. And I will be revisiting her Caramelized Potato Parsnip Tart next week, too.

Due to my {self imposed} shortened time table I settled on a smoothie. Her sweet daughter sold me on the Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie. Precious. Well, that and the fact that I had some farmers market strawberries in my freezer. It’s as if it were meant to be because the amount called for in her recipe was the exact amount I had saved! I did substitute plain Greek yogurt for the vanilla so I doubled the amount of vanilla extract. I can’t believe I’ve never thought to put extracts in my smoothies. That quality of sweetness can’t come from anywhere else. I felt like I was drinking a smoothie from a smoothie place, not my own kitchen. It reminded me very much of a smoothie I used to get in between classes back at Auburn. Amazing how something so simple can bring back memories over 6 years old.

This smoothie recipe will make two servings. I saved one glass (aka what Firecracker didn’t finish) for the next day and it was still perfect!

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook (kid approved)

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C frozen sliced strawberries
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. Place ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth.

*This recipe is modified from Rachel at http://www.theavidappetite.com/home/2016/1/31/strawberry-vanilla-smoothie*

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in The Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

#BrunchWeek: Vanilla Orange Scones

~ lk529 ~ 8 Comments

Welcome to the first day of the third annual #BrunchWeek hosted by Terri of Love and Confections and Shaina of Take a Bite out of Boca! To kick off the week I decided to try my hand at something that’s been on my culinary bucket list for quite some time – scones! For some reason I always had the impression that scones are difficult to make. No idea where I got that – not only was this an easy recipe, but it was quick, too! I was able to get my scones into the oven just as my little man was waking up from his short nap. (phew!)

Today’s recipe is adapted from my friend Tara’s blog, Tara’s Multicultural Table. Because we no longer live within 30 minute of each other (try 7.5 hours now) I have to make her pastries myself instead of being delivered delicious sweets.

Nielsen-MasseyHer recipe for Vanilla Orange Scones definitely called my name when Nielsen-Massey was announced as one of our #BrunchWeek sponsors. We were given a choice of extracts (almond, lemon, orange, chocolate, coffee, or peppermint; rose water or orange blossom water) in addition to their vanilla bean paste! My grandmother’s recipes utilize a lot of almond and lemon extracts, so I already had some in my pantry. I even had peppermint leftover from the holidays. I wasn’t sure how to use coffee or chocolate (although I’m greatly intrigued) but I knew I’d find plenty of uses for orange extract!

pacariTara made a beautiful vanilla bean glaze for her scones, but I saw an opportunity to use another product from a generous sponsor. Pacari sent a great selection of their chocolate products: dark chocolate covered golden berries, banana, and cacao nibs; cherry, passion fruit, and lemon verbena chocolate bars; and a sample of their raw 70% cacao. I used the latter to create a glaze that complimented these scones beautifully. I coated the tops of 5 of them, drizzled the chocolate over another 5, and the last two received a half-dip into the chocolate!

Vanilla Orange Scones

Ingredients for the scones:

  • 2 C flour
  • 1/3 C Dixie Crystals granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp cold butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 C milk
  • 1 tsp orange extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Ingredients for the glaze:

  • 1/2 C 70% cacao chips
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tsp light corn syrup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Steps for the scones:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor fitted with a dough blade and pulse to combine. Add in the cubed butter and pulse until a crumb-like texture is achieved.  (Alternately you can do this by hand, with knives, or a dough cutter.)
  3. In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk, milk, orange extract, and vanilla bean paste.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the food processor and pulse until combined.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a disk 3/4″ thick. Cut the dough into 6 wedges, giving you a total of a dozen scones.
  6. Place scones on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow scones to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Allow scones to cool completely before glazing.

Steps for the glaze:

  1. Melt chocolate, butter, and corn syrup over a double boiler.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
  3. Glaze cooled scones.

*The scone recipe is adapted from Tara at http://www.tarasmulticulturaltable.com/vanilla-orange-scones/ and the glaze is adapted from Ginger at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/satiny-chocolate-glaze/*

Vanilla Orange Scones for #BrunchWeek from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway and be sure to check out the other bloggers who posted more brunch recipes today:

BrunchWeek 2015 Logo
BrunchWeek Beverages:
Blueberry Sangria from Love and Confections
Spring-Infused Lemon Drop from Culinary Adventures with Camilla.
Bloody Margarita from The Suburban Soapbox

BrunchWeek Egg Dishes:
Caramelized Onion, Swiss Chard, Mushroom and Alpine Cheddar Croissant Strata from Taste Cook Sip.
Crab Cake Eggs Benedict from The Redhead Baker.
Fried Eggs with Kale and Mushrooms from Hip Foodie Mom.
Chimichurri Breakfast Sandwich from Healthy Delicious.
Asparagus, Brie and Smoked Salmon Omelet from girlichef.
Braised Leeks with Poached Eggs from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner.

BrunchWeek Breads, Grains and Pastries:
Savory Pancetta and Cheddar Waffles from The Little Ferraro Kitchen.
Avocado Toast Bar from Sarcastic Cooking.
Mocha Nut Granola from greens & chocolate.
Chocolate Hazelnut Croissants with Bourbon Sauce from {i love} my disorganized life.
Berry Cacao Nib Scone Cakes from The Spiffy Cookie
Spiced Pear Oatmeal from Making Miracles.
Overnight Cinnamon Bread French Toast from That Skinny Chick Can Bake.
Nutty Chocolatey Oatmeal Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm.
Vanilla Orange Scones from Sew You Think You Can Cook.
Sour Cream and Dark Chocolate Oat Bread from Bread Booze Bacon.
Cherry Vanilla Almond Granola from Cupcakes & Kale Chips.
Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins from My Catholic Kitchen.
Macadamia Nut Crusted French Toast with Spiced Pineapple Syrup from Cooking in Stilettos.
Maple Cinnamon Scones from Pink Cake Plate

BrunchWeek Main Dishes:
Breakfast Wraps from Big Bear’s Wife.
Brunch Charcuterie Cheese Board from Quarter Life (Crisis) Cuisine.

BrunchWeek Fruits, Vegetables and Sides:
Whipped Yogurt and Ricotta with Figs and Honey from Take A Bite Out of Boca.
Gluten Free Swiss Chard and Mushroom Galette from It Bakes Me Happy.

BrunchWeek Desserts:
Mini Creamsicle Bundt Cake with Vanilla Bean Glaze from It’s Yummi.
Lemon Bars from Chelsea’s Messy Apron.
Chocolate Walnut Macarons with Salted Caramel from Baking a Moment.

Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Bob’s Red Mill, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, California Walnuts, Dixie Crystals, Grimmway Farms/Cal-Organic/True Juice, KitchenAid, Le Creuset, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, Pacari Chocolate, Stonyfield Organic, Vidalia Onions, and Woot Froot for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek. All opinions are my own.

SRC: Vanilla Extract

~ lk529 ~ 32 Comments

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Today is another Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the secret recipe club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was assigned Ros’s blog The More Than Occasional Baker. Ros’s blog name doesn’t lie – her blog is entirely made up of sweets!

I was really hoping to do a savory post for this month’s SRC post because you might have noticed that my August archive has an unusual amount of dessert recipes. I guess my blog wouldn’t show up in a summer bikini body recipe search! But alas, the assignments were sent out and my hands are tied. I’m sure you are all completely bummed. 😉

I almost didn’t participate in this month’s Secret Recipe Club reveal, but after not participating last month to focus on our new family member (my son was born July 3rd) I just knew I couldn’t sit another month out! When July 28th rolled around I found myself feeling lost without a SRC post! I still scrolled through the reveal day posts though – you should too!

This month we moved from Florida to Ohio and spent a week with my husband’s family in Alabama. I knew it’d be hard to squeeze in some home cooking. Luckily I found this how-to for Vanilla Extract on Ros’s blog! I’ve been wanting to try making my own vanilla extract, and now I have the perfect excuse. Well, two really. One: I have to restock my pantry anyway, so why not?! Two: It’s on my SRC assigned blog!

Don’t think my selection of Vanilla Extract means Ros doesn’t have some awesome recipes. She does! When life settles down again (will that ever happen now that I’m a mom?!) I’ll definitely be putting my favorite soda in her Root Beer Bundt Cake, using my poppy seeds in her Orange Poppy Seed Muffins, and getting a feeling of summer when the weather turns cold with her Lemon, Lime, and Basil Cookies. She also has some very fun ideas with my favorite savory snack, popcorn – check out this Popcorn Cake!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Ingredients:

  • vodka
  • vanilla beans

Steps:

  1. Put vodka in an airtight bottle. (I used a salad dressing mixer that I found at the local thrift store!)
  2. Add vanilla beans – scrape out the seeds and add to the bottle along with the pods.
  3. Allow vodka and vanilla beans to transform into vanilla extract over the course of 4 weeks.

*This recipe is adapted from Ros at http://themorethanoccasionalbaker.blogspot.com/2012/10/homemade-vanilla-extract.html*

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To see the other bloggers who participated in the Secret Recipe Club this month click here: