Lemon Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

Lemon Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

On the last day of my vacation in California, I baked some cookies and a Lemon Cream Cheese Crumb Cake. I love lemon anything and I wanted my family to have something to enjoy after breakfast. I never feel well on the day I fly back home as I do not enjoy being a plane and my stomach is in knots. However, I did enjoy my warm slice of this crumb cake, and highly recommend the recipe from I Am Baker (link below). The combination of the fresh lemony taste with the creamy cream cheese layer and the crumb topping is so amazing. Lemon lovers this is a great recipe to try. I omitted the glaze as I did not want it to be so sweet but you can add it if you wish.

Lemon cream cheese crumb cake just taken out of the oven

Crumble Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed

3/4 cup All Purpose Flour

1/3 cup Powdered Sugar

Crumble Directions
In a medium size bowl, use a pastry cutter, processor, fork, or your hands, and incorporate the butter, flour and sugar; set aside.

The butter should end up in small pieces the size of a pea.

My slice of warm lemon cream cheese crumb cake - so good!

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

8 ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature

Cream Cheese Directions
Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed, mix together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy; about 1 minute. Set aside.

Yummy slice!

Cake Ingredients
2 cups All Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

2 tablespoons Lemon Zest

1/3 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened

2 Large Eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Milk

Adding the cream cheese mixture

Cake Directions
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Heat oven to 325°F.

Grease/flour a 9-inch square pan; set aside.

Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy; about 2 minutes.

Add the lemon zest and combine.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.

Cream cheese layer spread all on top of the cake batter

Add the milk and lemon juice and mix until combined.

On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.

Pour cake batter into prepared square cake pan.

Using a spatula spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter covering it completely.

Crumb topping added over the cream cheese layer

Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the cream cheese mixture covering it completely.

Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour. Oven temperatures vary. I checked my cake at 40 minutes and adjusted the time accordingly.

Check cake by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean the cake is done. My cake baked in 1 hour.

Remove from oven and let it cool for 1/2 hour before serving.

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake visit, I Am Baker:
https://iambaker.net/lemon-cream-cheese-coffee-cake/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

On New Year's Day, I baked a Lemon Meringue Pie for my father-in-law. Every time we visit our family in California, I make this for him. This is the recipe his Mom made him and it is his favorite dessert. I used Marie Callender's Pastry Pie Shell as it bakes up really well and is a time saver. I do not use a lot of the meringue on top of the lemon filling as my father-in-law just likes a little bit. The lemon filling is the real star in this recipe. If you want more meringue just double the recipe.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Pie Crust
Ingredients
1 Marie Callender's Pastry Pie Shell

Directions
Heat oven to 400°F.

Thaw the frozen pie shell for 10 minutes.

Using the tines of a fork, prick the bottom and sides of the pie shell.

Bake for 12-15 minutes; until browned.

Let the pie shell cool completely before filling; about 30-40 minutes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Pie Filling
Ingredients
1 Jello Brand Cook & Serve Lemon Pudding Mix

3/4 cup Sugar

3 Egg Yolks, beaten (Reserve the Egg Whites for the Meringue)

3 cups Water

Dad's slice

It is so yummy. This pie was gone quick.

Directions
In a medium size saucepan on low heat, combine with a spatula the Lemon Pudding Mix, sugar, 1/2 cup water and egg yolks.

Stir in remaining 2 1/2 cups water.

Increase heat to medium.

Bring to a full boil stirring constantly. It will thicken quickly so keep an eye on it.

Cool for 5 minutes, then stir and after 5 minutes, stir once more.

Pour the lemon filling into the pastry pie shell.

Marie Callender's Pie Shell ready to bake

Lemon Jello Cook and Serve

Meringue
Ingredients
3 Egg Whites

1/3 cup Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.

Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy.

Gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form.

Making the lemon filling

Lemon filling cooking

Lemon filling is cooked

Add the cream of tartar and mix for 15-20 seconds.

Immediately spread the meringue over filling.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until meringue has browned on top.

Cool at room temperature and place in the fridge to set for 4-5 hours.

To make Pie Crust from scratch, I recommend Ina Garten's recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-pie-crust-recipe2.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Apple Crumb Pie

Apple Crumb Pie

Happy Holidays everyone! I love apple pie but I think apple crumb pie is even better as I prefer less pie crust. I use Granny Smith and Gala apples and love the sweet and tart combination. The aroma of cinnamon and apples while this baked was dreamy. With each bite you get a scrumptious cinnamon spiced crumb with sweet-tart tender apples, and a yummy pie crust on the bottom layer. This is another great recipe to share with family and/or friends this holiday season. Recipe below and directions.

For the Pie Crust:
Pie Crust Homemade (see link below) or Store Bought

Crumb Topping Ingredients:
1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

2 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, cut into 1/2 inch size pieces, room temperature

Filling Ingredients:
7-8 Granny Smith and Gala Apples or any variety you prefer

2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour

1/3 cup Granulated Sugar

1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Coarse Salt

4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

Yummy oeey gooey Apple Crumb Pie

Directions
Make the crust or use store bought.

Roll out dough and place into 9-inch pie plate.

Trim the edges if necessary and crimp or style the edge of the dough as you wish.

Place uncovered in fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Make the crumb topping:
In a large bowl mix together the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until you see small piece of crumbs; set aside. (You may also use a spatula or your hands.)

Apple Crumb Pie taken right out of the  oven

Make the filling:
Heat oven to 400°F.

Place an aluminum foil lined baking sheet on the lowest oven rack.

Peel the apples and then use corer.

Take each sectioned apple and thinly slice and put in a large bowl. (This step takes the longest.)

Once the apples are sliced squeeze out any liquid (I forgot this step which is why mine oozed over the crust) then add the melted butter, flour, ground cinnamon, salt, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and lemon juice and toss together.

Place the apple mixture over the cooled pie crust.

Add the crumb mixture all around the top and sides covering completely.

Delish slice of Apple Crumb Pie

Place over the hot baking sheet in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, place a pie shield or aluminum foil over the pie crust edges so they do not burn.

Bake for 60-80 minutes.

Check pie after 60 minutes and use a pairing knife to check if apples are soft. If not, adjust time accordingly.

Place pan on a wire rack to cool.

If not serving right away, cover gently with aluminum foil and place in fridge until ready to serve.

This recipe was adapted from Food Network Magazine, November 2019, Classic Apple Crumb Pie, pg. 134.

For the Ina Garten Pie Crust recipe, visit:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-pie-crust-recipe.html

-Enjoy!

Sophia/Two Frys

Autumn Leaves Cookies

Autumn Leaves Cookies

Autumn Leaves Cookies

Leaves with feathering technique

If you saw my previous post, Apple Cider Sugar Cookies you read I made various leaf cookies with the apple shaped cookies. I love Fall and leaves of all shapes, sizes and colors are all around this time of year. To honor the beauty of the season, I made Autumn Leaves Cookies. See the link above for the recipe ingredients and directions.

Autumn Leaves Cookies

The colors used for the Royal Icing are AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Color in Super Red, Golden Yellow, Orange, and Chocolate Brown.

Autumn Leaves Cookies

Use 1-2 drops at a time until you reach the color desired.

Pretty leaves

I used Sanding Sugars in Yellow, Orange, Red, and Brown.

I made the center tree with autumn leaves as dots in various colors

To make the Maroon color, I used Super Red and Chocolate Brown.

Leaves and Tree with Leaves Cookies

I used the feathering technique to make some of the cookies. I first did a border around the cookie and waited 1/2 hour and filled completely in three different colors until filled. Use Wilton Scribe tool or toothpick and gently drag across the wet icing to make a pretty design.

Tree and Various Leaf Cutters

-Enjoy!

Sophia/Two Frys

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

I came across a recipe for Spiced Apple Cut-Out Cookies from the blog, Semi Sweet Designs (link below) and really wanted to give it a try. I recently bought Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Mix and purchased Apple Butter to complete the ingredients for this recipe. The only ingredient I added was a little salt. I feel salt is essential to offset the sweet taste of sugar cookies in general, and bring out the flavor. I made the cookies using an apple and various leaf cutters (see here). The results were great! The cookies are soft and chewy, and have a warm Apple Cider flavor. These cookies are the perfect balance of sweet and tangy all in one cookie. It goes splendidly with a cup of coffee or your favorite tea. I really recommend you try it. See recipe and directions below.

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies (Depending on cutter size)

Ingredients
3 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour

½ tsp Baking Powder

3 packets Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Mix

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

½ cup Light Brown Sugar

½ cup Granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened and cut into 8 pieces

1 Large Egg

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 tablespoons Apple Butter

2 essential ingredients Alpine Spiced Apple Cider and Apple Butter

Directions
Whisk together flour and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugars in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for 10 seconds.

Add egg, vanilla extract, baking powder, apple cider packets, and apple butter and mix until incorporated; about 1 minute.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture and incorporate.

The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.

Cut in half and roll dough into 2 balls, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight. I chilled my dough for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll with rolling pin until desired thickness is reached.

Cut out shapes.

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies just taken out of the oven

Place onto cookies sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Bake 7-12 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. My cookies baked in 11 minutes. Oven temps vary so check the cookies at the 7 minute mark.

Make sure cookie sheets cool in between baking. I place them in the freezer for a few minutes and then place cut-out dough on cold cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. This is important. Do not use hot cookie sheets or the cookies will spread and lose their shape.

Wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies with cookie spatula to cooling racks to complete cooling; about 1 hour.

Decorate once the cookies are cool to the touch.

I used Red, Green and Brown sanding sugars on half of the apple cookies for variation.

Royal Icing
Ingredients
4 Egg Whites

4 teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract

1-3 teaspoons Water

Apple cutter and an Apple cookie

Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, set aside.

In a bowl, add egg whites.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice.

Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment and mix on high for 1-2 minutes.
Add vanilla extract and mix for 5-10 seconds.

With mixer speed on low, slowly add sifted sugar and beat on low until smooth.

If needed, you may add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency. I used a flood icing consistency for this recipe.

Watch the Joy of Baking (link at the end) video for both Flooding Consistency and Piping Consistency Royal Icing. If you prefer a recipe using Meringue Powder, it is also available at this link.

Separate the icing in plastic containers with lids.

I use AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Color Super Red, Green, and Chocolate Brown. Use 1-2 drops at a time until you reach the color desired.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.

Transfer the icing immediately into squeeze bottles.

If the royal icing hardens due to exposure to air, use a spray bottle and spitz a little bit of water, and shake well holding the tip with your finger.

Test the icing consistency on a paper towel before decorating the cookie. Be careful doing this since you do not want to make the icing to end up watery and break up.

Outline and then fill each one by sections. I did the apple body first and then waited 1/2 hour and did the leaf and then the stem.

Use a cookie stick or paintbrush to reach the edges, and use tip of cookie stick or a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the icing.

Let cookies dry overnight. This is essential so the icing does not stick together when you stack them or place in cookie tins or gift bags.

If you are baking and it is humid, allow more time for the cookies to dry.

For the Spiced Apple Cut-Out Cookies visit Semi Sweet Designs:
https://semisweetdesigns.com/2017/07/11/spiced-apple-cut-cookies/

For the Royal Icing Recipe and Video Tutorial, visit Joy of Baking:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html

-Enjoy!

Sophia/Two Frys

Apple Pie

Apple Pie

Apple Pie

I asked my coworker Carole what she would like me to bake for her birthday, and she requested Apple Pie. She is not a fan of tart apples so for her pie, I used 6 Gala Apples and 3 Granny Smith Apples and 3 Gala Apples for our pie, which is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. For the pie crust, I use Ina Garten's (see link below) Pie Crust recipe and instructions. You can make the pie crust a day or two ahead and keep it covered in the fridge until ready to use. Bring the pie crust to room temperature before rolling out the dough. I use Paula Dean's apple shape cutout that I put over the crust. I doubled the recipe and the one below is for the sweet-tart pie, but use Gala or any other sweet apple you prefer. The crust is light and flaky, and I reduced the sugar by 1/2 cup and you wouldn't even notice it since the lemon juice and all the spices develop the flavors together beautifully. The sweetness is balanced by the tart Granny Smith Apples. You really need to make this Apple Pie! Recipe below.

Apple Pie Ingredients
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced

3 Gala Apples, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup Turbinado Sugar + 1 teaspoon to sprinkle over the crust

1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed

2 tablespoons, All Purpose Flour (King Arthur)

1/4 teaspoon, Coarse Salt

1 teaspoon, ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon, ground Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon, ground Allspice

3 tablespoons, freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

1 Egg beaten + 2 tablespoons water for Egg Wash

2 tablespoons Butter, cold and cut into small cubes

Apple Pie slice

Directions
See link below for Ina Garten Pie Crust recipe.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly beat egg with a fork in a small bowl with water; set aside.

Peel and slice apples using a corer and add to a large bowl.

Add lemon juice and combine.

Add the sugars, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and and mix the ingredients.

Place apple mixture into pie dish over crust.

Add butter cubes over the apple filling.

Top with second pie crust. Take excess crust and tuck in and seal together, and with the tines of a fork press down all around the crust.

Make 4-6 slits on the top of crust and add decorative apple cutout.

Brush the crust lightly with egg wash and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the crust.

Bake Apple Pie for 40-55 minutes until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. My pies took 50 minutes to bake.

Cover the edge of the crust with a pie shield or with cut strips of aluminum foil and remove after 20 minutes to prevent burnt edges. If you do not own a pie shield, I recommend you purchase one. I use Mrs. Anderson's Pie Crust Shield.

After you take the Apple Pie out of the oven, let it cool completely on a wire rack for 2 hours before serving.

For the Ina Garten Pie Crust recipe, please visit:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-pie-crust-recipe.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Muffins

Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Muffins

Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Muffins.

Our first snowstorm of winter arrived this morning. As I write this, it is still snowing and should accumulate to be a big one. It's nice being home in my PJs watching the news, looking out the window and admiring the beauty that is snow. The snow plows are out on the street clearing the streets and people are clearing their cars only to have to come back out to do it again. I wanted to bake something this morning and used some of the cranberries in my freezer for this recipe. I changed the original recipe from the blog, Sweet Peas and Saffron and added freshly squeezed lime juice and replaced milk with coconut milk. These Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Muffins are fluffy and more tart than sweet. The cranberries and lime really balance the sweetness of the coconut flakes and the flavor combination is great. These muffins are perfect with coffee, tea and hot cocoa. Recipe is below.

So tasty.

Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Muffins.

Yield: 15 Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups  All Purpose Flour ( I use King Arthur)

¾ cup Granulated Sugar

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

½ teaspoon Coarse Salt

1 Extra Large Egg

1 cup Coconut Milk (I use Silk)

¼ cup Vegetable Oil

½ cup Shredded Coconut + 3-4 tablespoons for sprinkling

Zest from 1 Lime

1 teaspoon Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

2 cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

1 dozen of the 15 Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Muffins I baked.

Lovely and yummy.

Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line muffin/cupcake tray with muffin papers (medium/large); set aside.

In a large bowl, using a whisk or spatula, combine the flour, coconut, baking powder, salt, sugar and lime zest.

So good.

Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Muffins.

In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg with a fork.

Add the coconut milk, vegetable oil, and lime juice and mix with a spatula until incorporated.

Take the wet ingredients and stir with spatula into the dry ingredients and incorporate. Do not over mix.

Gently fold in the cranberries.

On wire rack cooling.

Close-up.

Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, add the batter into the muffin papers ¾ full.

Sprinkle the top of each muffin with ½ teaspoon of shredded coconut.

Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. My muffins baked in 17 minutes.

Muffins right out the oven. 

Check out these pretty muffins.

Let muffins cool in pans for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Sweet Peas and Saffron:
http://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/2015/03/cranberry-lime-coconut-muffins.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Cranberry Apple Cake

Cranberry Apple Cake

Cranberry Apple Cake

I always wanted to bake a cake with fresh cranberries for Thanksgiving. I just did not have a recipe I trusted until I came across this Cranberry Apple Cake recipe in my Ina Garten, How Easy is That? cookbook, pgs. 204-205 and had to make it. I trust Ina Garten's recipes more than any other chef out there since I have never been disappointed, and the results are always a smashing success! This recipe also has orange zest, fresh orange juice, apple and cinnamon and is the perfect dessert to share with your family for Thanksgiving. It has a little bit of sweet with the right amount of tartness. A nice cup of coffee or tea goes great with a warm slice of this cake.

Cranberry Apple Cake ready to go in the oven

Cake Ingredients
12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over for stems

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

2 oranges, 1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided

2 x-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Cranberry Apple Cake fresh out the oven

Directions
Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Take a paper towel and dry rinsed cranberries until dry.

Combine the cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.

My slice of Cranberry Apple Cake

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.

With the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined.

On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt.

First slice cut, Cranberry Apple Cake

Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate.

Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely.

Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. My cake baked in 55 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cranberry and Apple Cake, Ina Garten, How Easy Is That? cookbook

For the Cranberry Apple Cake recipe, please visit:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/easy-cranberry-and-apple-cake-recipe.html

Cranberry Apple Cake, Copyright 2010, Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?, All Rights Reserved.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys