What do to on a rainy day?
It is a miserable day today, but sometimes a nice break. Emily and I decided it was time to take to the kitchen. We’d make a variety of things to freeze so when everyone returns in August they can just go into the freezer, take out a treat, warm it up and enjoy. Good for last minute desserts or people stopping by, etc.
We made 4 pie crusts. An essential part of summer baking. A huge thing of lemonade ( just for the weekend) and 3 types of tiny treats with little muffin pans. We wanted to make miniature bundt cakes but unfortunately the few stores out here with baking items didn’t have what we were looking for so we stuck with the miniature muffin tins.
We made bite sized brownies, lemon pound cake muffins and gingerbread snacking cake muffins. The brownies were a bit dense which we knew from the recipe but gave it a whirl anyway. Pretty simple but the brownie is something to be eaten with whipped cream and berries or tea and coffee. Very thick.
Brownies:
10 ounces softened unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 cups superfine sugar
1 1/2 cups cocoa
4 eggs
2 cups self-rising flour
Preheat oven to 350. Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the cocoa, eggs and flour and mix until combined. Spoon the mixture about 3/4 of the way into small non-stick muffin tins. I used non-stick but still sprayed them with a bakers spray to make sure they don’t stick. Better safe than sorry. Bake about 10 minute or until a toothpick comes clean when you stick it in the brownie. The tops are not that beautiful, kind of crusty looking but flip them over if you are serving them.
Lemon Snacking Cake
2 sticks unsalted butter
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
Grated zest of 3 lemons
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt). Cream butter and then add the granulated sugar and continue beating until thoroughly mixed in then add eggs and beat. Add zest and lemon juice. Now add the dry ingredients about 3 separate times alternatively with the buttermilk and beat in between additions until completely combined. Pour into small muffins tins about 3/4 of the way up, bake for about 10 minutes or until done.
Gingerbread Snacking Cake
This recipe is a little strange but is worked.
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1 T. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup unsulfured molasses
2 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350. Combine the boiling hot water with the baking soda, set aside. In a bowl sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
With an electric mixer cream the butter, then add in the dark brown sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). On low beat in the molasses, then the baking soda mixture (yes, the water), then add the flour. Once mixed up, put in the eggs and completely mix in.
Now pour the batter, like the other muffins into the muffin tins about 3/4 of the way up. Bake for about 15 minutes or until done.
We kept a few out for the weekend. The rest we put into small zip lock bags and stored in the freezer. My guess is by the end of August, the freezer will be empty.