Good afternoon, my dear readers! :) I have returned, this time with a completely (save one small sliver of a piece) devoured coffee cake, and a recipe to offer up in its place.
I think it is safe to say the cake was delicious, and a definite success. I, unlike it used to be, do not get to sample my cakes these days, you know, the forbidden ingredients and all, but between two friends; one recommending coconut sugar and the other, coconut flour - next time this cake is made, I WILL get to be tasting! Yum. (Btw, I'll blog about this later, but coconut 'sugar' isn't really sugar. It's an all natural sweetener. Yay!)
So. Here's the recipe. It's my modified version, because half the ingredients I substituted, and the other half I changed the measurements.. and the topping, well, I completely redid the topping. So this is my signature Wooden Spoon Girl recipe! I love having a few of my own things, with my special taste and touch added.
Here goes:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2/3 cup organic Rice Dream
2 & 1/4 cup HOMEMADE baking mix
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blackberries
1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
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3 ounces (3 squares) white baking chocolate
1/8 cup warm organic Rice Dream
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
In a medium bowl, combine the egg, sugar, lemon peel and Rice Dream; mix well. Stir in the homemade baking mix until moistened and there are no lumps (homemade may clump more, as it doesn't have anti-caking agents added). Gently fold in the berries (if they are frozen, you'll want to let them thaw, and then stir in the juice as well, but remember not to over-stir. A few juice streaks look pretty against the yellow cake).
Pour into a greased 8-inch round baking pan.
Bake at 350* for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes, then run a knife along the end of pan and turn it over onto a cake stand or serving plate. Allow to cool a while longer, as you prepare the frosting.
Break each of the 3-ounce squares in half, placing them in a small saucepan. Turn the heat to medium law, and allow them to melt, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Heat 1/8 cup Rice Dream in microwave for about 10 seconds, gradually pour into the chocolate, and stir well. Add the lemon juice, one teaspoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Cool a few minutes, then drizzle over the cake with a spoon. Do not spread.
Cut into wedges and enjoy! Serves 6.
The things you learn when you don't have all the ingredients. This goes for more than food.. it sounds like my every day life, too!
To those of you who don't know.. I've been sick with a rundown body since June 11th. (Really, it all started back in April, but that's another day's story.) Everything from immune to adrenals to liver and kidneys and skin and blood cells... just assume anything that's supposed to work, probably isn't. With the exception of my heart, and lungs, and being alive. God has kept me through this, and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
So, for me to do anything much past laying in bed reading a book or sleeping- that's a big activity. Also, before all this happened I was super energetic, worked out a lot, ran several miles a day, cooked 2-3 meals per day, and so on. Guess this girl learned that even young folks need to learn to not pile too much on their plate at once. Even WE need sleep. Can you imagine?
Lately it's been improving to where I can do one load of laundry. Or take one bath. Or make a very simple, small meal. Well, today I made me man a Lemon Blueberry coffee cake. Well, that's what the recipe said anyway. Turned out, I didn't have any blueberries.. but I had this smoothie blend my husband had made (not a smoothie yet, just the fruits) mostly consisting of blackberries and raspberries with a few blueberries. The recipe called for a cup, so I measured out a cup, and mixed it with my lightly beaten egg, by 1/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup rice milk (did I mention I don't eat gluten or dairy now, among many other banned foods? So I didn't have any regular dairy on hand, and surprisingly, rice milk tastes fantastic in baked goods.) and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest. The flour mix (my shortcut to baking, also homemade) was in there as well, and actually the berries were added last. Into my round baking pan it went, to the oven, and baked for 25 minutes.
Then I realized.. 'oh.. I don't have any confectioners' sugar for the frosting! Hm...' I scrounged through my cabinets seeing what I could find for a substitute. Then I came across the white chocolate in my freezer. Ooh! I bet this would taste good. But upon looking up recipes on the internet, it seemed even all the white chocolate frosting recipes called for the same kind of sugar I did not have. Now it was time for some improvising. I took three 1-ounce blocks off my baking bar. I placed them in a pan, over low heat, and waited for them to melt, stirring occasionally. After it was completely liquified, I put about a 1/4 cup of rice milk in the microwave for 15 seconds, then gradually poured it into the chocolate, blending after each small addition. After that I added 3 teaspoons of lemon juice (The recipe called for 4, but I'd already put in that milk, so I figured 3 would do.) It looked and smelled delicious, so I placed it on the back of the stove, to stay warm -and not harden!- while the cake finished in the oven.
My cake is now on the counter cooling, it's time to take it out of the pan and frost it with white chocolate goodness. I'll post pictures tonight, when my husband gets home and will enjoy it. My camera battery is charging right now, otherwise I could have gotten pictures of the melting process!
Recipe to follow tonight!
With Love and Joy,
~The Wooden Spoon Girl
Violet is my hypothetical baby girl.. you will probably hear my speak of her from time to time. And if I ever mention 'Malcom', that is my hypothetical baby boy. They are hypothetically not the same age and Violet it hypothetically a few years older. Now that we've cleared that up and introductions have been made... let me show you Vi's new nightie. :)
I actually bought this piece of clothing (among many others) when three of my friends were expecting this summer. When I ended up not going to any of their showers, or them thinking to tell me when their babies had been born, lol... I kind of didn't mail any of the clothes. Just as well, because I fell in love with more than one of the outfits. :)
Also.. anyone who knows me, knows that I recently have a THING for cupcakes. Hence this particular nightie being so fitting. (You may also notice I don't say 'sleeper'. It's a 'nightie'. I also don't say 'nuk', I say 'pacifier'.. and I also don't believe in using them, under any name. haha.. so, enjoy the pictures.. and my baby girl. :D
