Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sauce

So, I've been a little absent from the world of "Chasin' Cakes" for the last two weeks. But I intend to make it up to you with something very special! This my friends, is a recipe very near and dear to my heart. I remember asking my mom to make this for my birthday several times in place of a birthday cake. This is like comfort food to the max. The kind you curl up with in front of a big roaring fire - (or in my case, my fireplace screensaver.) And it's ridiculously easy to make. Don't be fooled by it's rather homely appearance. This is by far, one of my favorite desserts on the planet!!

So here's what you need to get started:

Brown sugar, butter, an egg, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon, flour, white sugar, salt, and 3 apples.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a 9'x 9' square baking pan.

Mix together 1 cup of packed brown sugar with 1/4 cup of butter that has been softened. 

Add in 1 egg and keep on mixing!

Then add the rest of your dry ingredients: 1 cups of flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix until it's just combined. 

 Now, peel core and chop up 3 medium sized apple. (I used macintosh, but you can really use any good baking apple). We have this handy-dandy peeler/slicer thing that looks like some sort of medieval torture device. But oh does it speed things up!

Chase is just dying for an apple bit to somehow miss the bowl.....

Add in 2 cups of the chopped apples the batter. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Pour into your greased baking dish and pop it into the oven for about 30 minutes. 

When it's out of the oven, start making the sauce. (My absolute favorite part!)

In a saucepan, heat 1/3 cup of butter, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of milk, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Stir until the butter melts and the sugar is dissolved. Easy as that!

Spoon some sauce over big slice of cake and enjoy!

~Megan

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins

So, I have to confess.....breakfast is not my meal of choice. In fact, I'm one of those unhealthy people who tends to skip breakfast in favor of just a few cups of really strong coffee.

I know, I know. Bad choices.

However, I do love muffins for two reasons:

1. They are portable.
2. I can pretend they are cupcakes

This is one of my favorite muffin recipes. I've substituted the heck out of it and they always turn out amazing!









Here's what you'll need:

Blueberries, butter, buttermilk, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, vanilla, fresh orange peel, flour, sugar, baking powder,  and salt

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease or paper line your muffin tin.

In a large bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoons of salt.

In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of melted butter, 1/3 cup of buttermilk, 1 egg, and 1 egg yolk.

Take your orange and grate about 1/2 tsp of orange peel. I always do a little more because I love citrus.
Add it into the egg/buttermilk mixture and combine.

Add your liquid mixture to the dry ingredients.

Way back when I was in my high school foods class, the teacher told us that whenever you make quick breads or muffins, always create a "well" in the dry mixture and then slowly pour in the liquid mixture. I'll be honest....I'm not exactly sure why this is important, but I always do it. If any of you know the answer, then please share!

Now, dump in your blueberries! The recipe calls for approximately 1 1/2 cups. Sometimes I'll add up to 2 cups. Just because I like fruit. You can be flexible.

Mix until just combined. Don't over-do it.

Divide the batter evenly among your muffin cups.

Now, you can bake them at this point. And they would be fine. Buuut if you want them to be extra fantastic, then you have to make the streusel topping.

Combine 1/3 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 3 Tbsp. butter with either your fingers or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle evenly over the batter.

Pop them in the oven and bake them for about 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

~ Megan

Coconut Peach Cobbler

So.....do you ever get into these weird phases....where you only want to eat one thing...for weeks on end? Well, this summer, for me it's been coconut. I've gone through more boxes of coconut popsicles than I care to admit and have been adding toasted coconut to almost everything I can think of. So when I saw this recipe in an old Cuisine at Home magazine.....well, it was fate.

Here's what you'll need:

Peaches (about 3 lbs), sugar, coconut, ground ginger, butter, flour, baking powder, table salt, buttermilk, coconut extract, and milk

Get your peaches peeled and sliced and in a bowl. You'll need about 6 cups total. If you want to save some work, you can even use canned peaches. I won't tell.

Toss them with 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup coconut and 1 tsp. of ground ginger.

Place mixture into a deep dish pie plate or a 9x9 square baking dish and dot with 2 Tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces.

In a different bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients: 2 cups of flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

Cut in about 1/4 cup of butter  until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Then add in 1/2 cup of coconut, 1/3 cup of buttermilk, and 1 tsp. coconut extract.

Mix it all together, and then form it into a ball. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Roll out the ball until it's about an 8 inch circle and around 1/2 inch thick. It's okay if it's a little rough around the edges. Cobbler is not a real fancy thing.

Lay it on top of your fruit mixture. Here's where I made a little mistake....you should have about an inch between the crust and the edge of the pie pan for steam to escape. I didn't....and things got a little messy. Learn from my mistake people.

Brush the top of the crust with 1-2 Tbsp. of milk. (*tip* this not only helps the coconut stick to the crust, but it also makes it shiny and pretty. You can do this to pies as well). Top with 1/2 cup of coconut and throw it into a 400 degree preheated oven for about 25 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

Ta da! If you don't want your coconut to be this dark (mine definitely got a little crispy) you can cover it with foil for the first 15 minutes or so.

Serve with your favorite ice cream and enjoy!!!

~ Megan