Baked

I picked up some of the last of the summer fruits out there, and threw them together to make a quick and easy crumble. If it weren't for my addiction to orange zest whipped cream it would have, almost, been on the healthy heart side!

Cherry Blackberry & Blueberry Crumble - makes one 8x8 pan or 4 small ramekins

Filling:
3 cups mixed berries (if using cherries, make sure to remove the pits)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Crumble Topping:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3 oz unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds or walnuts, chopped (I used almonds this time)

If you would like to add the whipped cream...
Whip up 250 ml of whipping cream with 1 tablespoon sugar, then stir in the zest of one orange. Yum.

Preheat heat oven to 375f. Apply a light spray of oil in pan or ramekins and set aside.
For the filling, mix together the berries and cherries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and orange juice. Try not to smash up berries.

In another bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cold butter. I used my hands to mix together until a crumbly mixture forms. Fold in the rolled oats and almonds.
Pour filling into ramekins and top with crumble topping. Bake for about 25 minutes until top is golden colour and filling is bubbling. Allow to cool before eating or, take my word for it, you will burn your tongue ;) Top with orange whipped cream, and enjoy!

What fruit combos do you lean towards? Let me know!

Have a great day. Back soon.
janis

Baked

I hope your week is going well! Mine has been full of torturing my husband over my photography website redesign and, whew, it's taking a lot out of him me.

I baked some muffins over the weekend, that are pretty tasty. I should bring a few of these for the next long day shoot I have instead of eating them all myself.

Cherry Walnut Oatmeal Muffins - makes 12

3/4 cup rolled oats, toasted
1 cup gluten free all purpose flour* (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/3 cup ground flax seed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon guar gum
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
zest of one large orange
3/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
* feel free to swap the g-free flour, almond meal and guar gum, for 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (white or whole wheat). I've made these both ways, I'm just trying to stick to g-free where I can!

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Spread oats out on a baking sheet, and toast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to bowl and set aside to cool. Add the flour, almond meal, flax seed, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, guar gum and salt to the cooled toasted oats. Stir to combine.

In another bowl, mix together yogurt, melted butter, eggs, and orange zest. Make a well in the centre of dry mix and pour in yogurt mixture. Stir ingredients together until just blended. Fold in cherries and walnuts.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre, comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Just add butter, and enjoy!

Back soon,
Janis

Baked

Hope you're all having a lovely Monday! Did you have a nice weekend? For all my fellow Vancouverites, wasn't that sun, well, summery? So nice.

I tried out a recipe that is based on one that I saw in Alive magazine, this weekend. The recipe called for pineapple, but I thought I'd try cherries and pecans.  The cake itself is really moist, and I love the cherries!

Upside Down Cherry & Pecan Quinoa Cake - makes one 8x8 inch cake

Topping: (I just made this up, not the original recipe)
1 lb of cherries, pitted and halved
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cake:
1 cup cooked white quinoa
2 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup plain, low fat yogurt
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

To make topping: Place pitted and halved cherries in a baking dish, with pecans, maple syrup and lemon. Mix together and roast for about 15 minutes in a 375F oven. Watch that the mixture doesn't burn. Place cherry mixture in an 8x8 inch pan (spray pan with a little oil), and set aside.

To make cake: In a food processor, process cooked quinoa, egg yolks, sugar, yogurt, apple sauce, and vanilla until very smooth. About 2 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Add quinoa mixture to flour mixture and stir until no flour streaks remain. With a spatula, gently fold egg whites into quinoa batter until just incorporated. Gently spoon batter over cherries.

Bake in centre of oven for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan, for about 10 minutes, before running a thin knife around edges and inverting cake onto a plate. Top with a little maple syrup whipped cream if you like.

This cake is actually pretty good for you (minus the whipped cream that I added!), so I hope you give it a whirl. There are so many options with this one!

Back soon!
janis