Tag Archives: apples

In the absence of actual apple pie– Apple Pie Muffins

Posted in Autumn baking, Baking Recipes, Cupcakes & Muffins, My favourite things, The Breakfast Bin by

You ever have days when you get a hankering for apple pie but you’re too lazy to go through the motions of making the dough, chopping up the apples, and all that? I do. A lot of times actually. So then you might ask, ‘Why don’t you just run down to the store and buy one?’ To be honest, I haven’t found a store-bought apple pie in my neck of the woods that tastes half as good as a homemade one. So what’s a girl to do in such a situation? Well this is the part where I tell you about how this muffin would be a nice substitute for apple pie, but if there’s one thing I learned after all this time I’ve been baking, it’s that there really isn’t a substitute for good ‘ole apple pie. And yet I can’t resist the charm of other pastries that interpret this lovely classic. I made a cupcake-version of apple pie a while back, and while they were good, I have to say these muffins were oh so much more satisfying! Continue reading for the recipe

About these ads

San Francisco and Apple Crumble Loaf Cakes

Posted in Autumn baking, Baking Recipes, Quickbreads & Loaves, Simple cakes by

The other day I was checking my Instagram feed and I saw a friend of mine post a lovely autumn picture of orange trees lining a long road somewhere in New York. I immediately felt a bit sad, maybe just a tad jealous, mostly because I feel like I’m stuck here and she’s enjoying herself ever so much over there, living her dreams in New York’s fashion world and what-not. Well the weather here has been sweltering and summer-like, the rays of the sun blanketing everything with a yellow reminiscent of a morning in the desert. It’s literally impossible to walk outside without squinting against the harsh sunlight and feeling it prickle against your skin. The woes of living the tropics!

These days I find myself wishing so constantly to escape somewhere. A place where I’ve left a piece of my heart perhaps? Alas, I have no choice at the moment but to daydream and find solace in my hobbies, like baking for instance. Admittedly, it’s getting harder to make myself feel better for longer stretches of time whenever I don’t keep myself occupied.
Continue reading for the recipe

A slice of apple pie a day keeps insanity away

Posted in Autumn baking, Baking Recipes, Must-Makes from Martha, Pies & Tarts, Timeless Treats by

Things have been crazy around here.

The effects of the flood have not, to put it mildly, been pretty. In fact, looking at the aftermath of it is depressing. We’ve packed a lot of old clothes and shoes for the relief drive, but on a personal level, the damage and loss we have sustained in our own family company is also brutal. Let’s just say we’ve been cleaning for three days non-stop and haven’t even made it to a quarter of the stocks and other things that need to be rescued. The paperwork on my desk is slowly piling up, neglected in favour of other more dire priorities. I reckon it will take about a month to get everything back in their original state, but I hardly feel like I am in a position to complain. I have to be resilient, just like everyone else. Just like those who received a worse beating from this storm.

A more optimistic picture after this horrible flood. I don’t have the heart to document anything else.

It amazes me how two very opposite things can happen in the same week– on the same day even. On Thursday the rains finally heaved its last sigh and it took only a few hours for the flood in our area to disappear completely. In the morning the streets had looked like a lake and come afternoon it was dried out, leaving not even a single sign that there had been a deluge. But it has certainly left something in me at the end of this week: a severe tiredness; and some paranoia with any sound that resembles that of rain. Every time the trees outside my window so much as rustle, I look up to see if it is raining again. Things are not normal yet despite how they may appear; not by a long shot.

But a dash of good cheer: One of the more admirable things about people is their ability to pick up the pieces after the storm is done and move on. That’s always the case isn’t it? You either carry on with your life and do the best you can, or let the negativity weigh you down and carry you off into a bad place. I choose the first option of course, and though it may be tiring at times, no one ever disallowed taking breaks to shake off the weariness.

Today is a Sunday, and in preparation for another long period of cleaning this coming week, all I want to do today is watch The Newsroom, play Rockband 3, visit a bookstore, and write about apple pie. Not necessarily in that order.
Continue reading for the recipe

{Recipe Round-up} Fruity Comfort Food

Posted in Pies & Tarts, Recipe Round-Up, Yeasted breads by

What’s your favourite kind of comfort food? For a lot of people that is probably a tough question. I know I’ve got quite a few at the top of my mind, but one of them happens to be Apple Crisps or Apple Crumble. I just love the cinnamony scent and taste of the tender apples contrasting with the deliberate grittiness of the topping. I love how its simplicity, and the fact that it can be so easily and quickly thrown together, essentially epitomizes a lazy day at home in your pyjamas; hair unkempt, kicking back with a nice warm mug of coffee– no pretentions, no embellishments. Nothing else except plainly existing as who we are. In the same manner, an Apple Crisp is rather straightforward; just apples and crisps. And on the occasion that we do eat it with a little bit of Vanilla Ice Cream, well, I don’t know about you but I like eating ice cream on my lazy days the most.

I made this Apple Crisp from Joy The Baker a few weeks ago and ate it with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream for ultimate comfort. If you would notice on the pictures, there was more crisp than there were apples. That’s unfortunate because the apples are the best part for me. Why do I always seem to run out of apples at such a crucial time, but have a fridge full of them when I’m not in the mood for apple recipes? Such a profound question for the Universe.

I really liked the combination of flavours on this Apple Crisp. The topping is just chock full of deliciousness (pecans and oats!). Unfortunately I didn’t feel like this would be the one recipe I would love to keep making over and over when I’m in need of a quick fix. (Or when I’m in the mood for apple pie but am too lazy to make the crust.) Alas, something was amiss for me in this Apple Crisp. Because the topping is very flavorful and sweet, it has a tendency to overpower the apple flavour a bit; but it might be because I did not use enough apples. I also thought it takes too long a time to bake, the issue of which could be resolved by baking this in individual ramekins. That said, I would definitely urge you to try this recipe out at least once, because it still is quite a good, solid recipe. And maybe if you up the apples a bit, who knows, it might even become your favourite recipe!

The other recipe I made were these Blueberry-Cinnamon Rolls from Annie’s Eats. Anything with blueberries in them just make me feel all giddy inside. I think it is largely because I like how they pop in your mouth once you bite through the skin of the berries. I don’t know, I must not be eating enough. However it’s been quite some time since I’ve declared desserts or pastries with hot, bubbling berries in them as one of my comfort foods. (Mixed Berry Cobbler? Yes, please!)

If you’ll remember, I made some regular old Cinnamon Rolls last time with my version of Cream Cheese glaze. Yes, I liked them a lot, but I think this particular recipe is better in that this bread has a nicer, softer crumb. (I often find myself favouring recipes that use bread flour like this one.) Also, the bursts of blueberry flavor is quite delightful among all the cinnamon flavour. The berries give these that jolt of juicy tanginess, and I think that adds a lot to these rolls as a whole.

My main issue with this recipe is the glaze. I simply cannot bring myself to use 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar to make the glaze. So if you would notice, my glaze is quite thin, because I cut down to sugar to about a cup or so. The goal was to make it taste lemony, because blueberries plus lemon is a fantastic combination! But it still ended up being sweet with just a slight tanginess, and I think this overt sweetness takes away from the flavours of the bun itself (not to mention the berries). In any case, I must confess that this has become my go-to Cinnamon Roll recipe because the bread part is just really good. I’ll be sure to pair it with my version of Cream Cheese glaze.

Truth be told, I think this particular yeasted bread recipe deserves a feature on the blog! I’ll probably do it once I concoct some interesting filling to make it a bit different from the usual.

~~~

The Recipe Round-Up is a review of recipes that almost made it but end up not getting featured on the blog for one reason or another. Most of the time the reasons will fall among these three: 1. my dissatisfaction over my photos; 2. I’ve done a similar recipe before and this is merely a variation; 3. the results of the recipes to me were almost there, but not quite. There will still be some commentaries on how I would’ve improved the process or the recipes, plus all my usual observations. But instead of providing my re-written version of the recipe, I will simply link you to where I found it.

{Dearly Dreaming Dorie} Flakiness is occasionally a good thing

Posted in Baking Recipes, Dearly Dreaming Dorie, From the books, Pies & Tarts by

And by that, I most definitely am not referring to people. Flaky people are one of the worst, and I don’t even want to go into detail because that would have to be a whole blog post on its own (I’ve got a lot of experience from my university days, believe me). But flaky pastries? Now that is the only good kind of flaky in my book. Wouldn’t you agree?

It’s funny how carefully I am going through Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook. I believe the correct term for what I am doing is savouring her book. Baking the recipes one by one is perhaps a testament to my love, positive review, and glowing recommendation of her cookbook. All the recipes I have made so far have been scrumptious, and I have been really pleased with the enthusiastic feedback from family and friends. I wanted to try something a little different instead of my usual quick breads and cookies, and it just so happened that I was in the mood for something flaky.

Continue reading for the recipe

If you have an apple and I have an apple, how ’bout some pies?

Posted in Baking Recipes, Dearly Dreaming Dorie, From the books, Pies & Tarts by

I have very mixed feelings when it comes to apples. I really don’t like to eat them (well, not unless there’s a bit of peanut butter smudged over them). But apple juice is one of my favourite juices, and apple-flavoured candies and drinks, even candied apples, are always welcome to me. I also happen to love all sorts of pies and tarts with apples in them. There’s just something about the soft tanginess of apples baked with the fragrant sweetness of cinnamon that is so heavenly… So am I or am I not a fan of apples? I feel slightly confused.

That said, I find a great deal of peace in peeling apples (given that there are less than ten in number). I always look to see if I can peel it all the way with the skin ending in one long and curly strip. And when I do, it reminds me of that moment in Sleepless in Seattle when Meg Ryan heard Tom Hanks over the radio, talking about how his late wife used to peel apples this way. I love that movie. It’s one of my first Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks films back when I was a kid. In fact, I believe I even watched this movie along with You’ve Got Mail on the same day. I’m getting washed over by nostalgia here.

Before I go on blabbering about how much of a sucker I am for romantic-comedies, this post is going to be all about tarts and pies made of… You guessed it! Apples. It’s not a Dearly Dreaming Dorie post simply because only one of the two recipes I’m sharing is hers. I only managed to make one apple recipe from her book as of this writing (because of the tons of millions of other recipes I want to make on queue), and it is a slamming delicious one I will certainly be making again sometime soon. Not to be outdone, the Tarte Aux Pomme I found in the Beyond The Plate blog was equally satisfying.

Read more