Well, it’s been a while, to say the least. It would appear that our last blog post was almost a year ago. Ugh. So here’s what happened (at least with one of us. I’ll let Jeremy explain himself 😉
So I got pregnant. My husband and I had our first child in August and around the time of the last blog post is when I started the ever so ladylike first trimester symptom of nauseous and vomiting. Yum, right? It go so bad that I stopped eating cheese! CHEESE PEOPLE! I LOVE CHEESE! There was one week in the first trimester that I only ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then there was that one time that my hubby made himself a veggie burger and the sheer smell of it made me, well, yeah. And then the second trimester hit and out went the nausea and in came the intense cravings. There was that one time I wanted turkey and stuffing dinner so so badly that I ended up in tears because Boston Market isn’t kosher. But now, almost a year later, in place of intense cravings and puking and rallying is the most beautiful baby in the world (no, seriously). Ever since the little one was born, I’ve spent an insane amount on my iPhone, especially during the first several weeks of her life. When a newborn wants to eat every 2 to 3 hours around the clock and it’s 3 am, you need to do something to keep yourself awake and for me, that was perusing apps like Pinterest and Punchfork. And now that babe is finally on a bit of a schedule and the glory of nap time has entered my life (as well as the glory of an Ergo. Oh sweet, sweet Ergo), I’m able to cook again. Cooking is such a great creative outlet for me. And I didn’t realize it until it wasn’t there anymore, but so was this blog. And though my family is my whole world, a woman needs something for herself, well, at least this woman does. so back to the blog we go. This past Simchat Torah we hosted family and friends for lunch and it was wonderful having people around the table enjoying my food again. Now, don’t get it twisted, the time to actually sit down and write is limited but I’m gonna try my best to get back to it (and Jeremy promises to do the same. He told me so himself!) We know there are a bajillion food blogs out there so we’re grateful you’re back reading ours.
Tiny One
Ok, so Simcaht Torah lunch was a dairy sensation. We don’t usually go dairy on holidays but I spent the shabbat before reading the Southern Living my sister-in-law left after the family visited and my goodness, there was this recipe for caramel coffee cake that made my mouth water. Now being Southern myself, I couldn’t believe it took me 32 years to actually read my first Southern Living and it was revelatory. Sure, 85% of the recipes in it call for bacon but I find it only a challenge I wish to take on rather than a big stop sign. And sure, 100% of the recipes in the magazine could clog your arteries just by looking at them but again, challenge to make healthier, not stop sign. And Lord knows I need things to be healthier now that I gots some baby weight to lose. But I digress, let’s get back to the coffee cake. Did I mention caramel sauce? Also, did you know caramel sauce take 10 seconds to make? Dangerous. The men around the table asked for seconds so I’m gonna assume that the cake tasted good but, why don’t you give it a try and let me know 🙂
Crumbs
Mess
Cake Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
Preparation:
- 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add apples; sauté 5 minutes or until softened. Remove from heat; cool completely (about 30 minutes).
- 2. Meanwhile, prepare Streusel Topping and Caramel Sauce. Reserve 1/2 cup Caramel Sauce for another use.
- 3. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
- 4. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured shiny 9-inch springform pan; top with apples. Drizzle with 1/2 cup Caramel Sauce; sprinkle with Streusel Topping.
- 5. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. (A wooden pick will not come out clean.) Cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes; remove sides of pan. Cool completely on wire rack (about 1 1/2 hours). Drizzle with 1/2 cup Caramel Sauce.
Caramel Sauce
Bring 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup whipping cream (I used half & half), and 1/4 cup honey to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; boil, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and cool 15 minutes before serving.
Streussel Topping
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Stir together flour, pecans, melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt until blended. Let stand 30 minutes or until firm enough to crumble into small pieces.
