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Lemon Buttermilk Cake

January 31, 2013 ·
easy lemon buttermilk breakfast pound cake


We had a special surprise arrive last Friday ~ our baby decided to arrive a little early!  Naturally, when there is a birthday, there must be a birthday cake.  This Lemon Buttermilk Cake is quick and easy enough for a sleepy mama to whip together in minutes.  It’s not only simple to make, but the lemon cake is perfectly lemon-y, refreshing and delicious.  To dress it up, I added a simple lemon buttermilk glaze to drizzle over the loaf, with some extra to drizzle on the slices.  This cake is so good as-is, but the glaze adds a little something that makes it feel extra special.  Adam could not get enough of the baby’s birthday cake, and I discovered that despite not being a frosting person, he loves glaze.  Who can blame him!

Now to the baby details!  We had a baby girl named Greta Rose.  She is an easy baby so far and super sweet.  Seems fitting I guess, because the same could be said about Lemon Buttermilk Cake! 🙂

easy lemon buttermilk breakfast pound cake with lemon glaze




Lemon Buttermilk Cake
 
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Yields: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ¾ cup buttermilk, well-shaken
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest (finely grated, approx 2 lemons)
  • ¼ cup lemon juice (approx 1½ lemons)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Cooking spray
  • GLAZE:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon(s) buttermilk, well-shaken
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8"x4" loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a medium bowl, add the sugar, oil, buttermilk, eggs, zest, juice and vanilla and whisk to combine.
  4. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine. Pour into prepared loaf pan.
  5. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. To prepare glaze, in a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice and buttermilk until well-blended. Drizzle over cooled cake, as desired.

Sources: Real Simple for the cake, Cooking Light for the glaze
Filed Under: breakfast, dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,
healthy oatmeal raisin buttermilk pancakes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pancakes

January 17, 2013 ·
healthy oatmeal raisin buttermilk pancakes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pancakes are an easy, healthy, delicious breakfast treat that taste like oatmeal raisin cookies.  Yum!  They are made with the hearty goodness of oatmeal and whole wheat flour, sweetness from brown sugar and raisins and buttermilk, which of course makes everything good.

The first morning after I made these, Adam polished off six pancakes.  In fact, he ate that first batch so quickly, I wasn’t able to get any pictures.  Because he loved them so,  I made another batch a couple days later.  Fortunately, one afternoon I found myself with three pancakes and a good napper, so I was able to quickly snap some pics to share this wonderful recipe with you!

healthy oatmeal raisin buttermilk pancakes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pancakes
 
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Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup raisins
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let sit for 5 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
  3. After 5 minutes, add eggs, oil and vanilla to buttermilk mixture, whisking until combined.
  4. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moistened (Note: batter may be lumpy). Add raisins, folding until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.
  5. Preheat nonstick skillet to medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
  6. Spoon batter onto skillet by the ¼ cupful (adjust to desired size) (Note: If batter is a little thick, use the back of your spoon to spread/shape the pancakes). Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until bubbles form and the edges look set. Flip pancakes and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden.

Slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Apricot White Chocolate Scones

January 3, 2013 ·
lighter dried apricot white chocolate chip scones


Happy New Year!  For a special New Year’s Day breakfast, I made these Apriot White Chocolate Scones.  I always forget how quick and easy scones are to make, plus they are much more economical to make at home than to buy them from a local coffee shop.  Tastier too!  The slight tartness of the dried apricots and the sweetness of the white chocolate chips are such a wonderful complement.  I made several changes to the original recipes to lighten it up a bit:  used fat free evaporated milk instead of half and half, used light butter and also replaced some flour with whole wheat pastry flour.  The result was a delicious scone with a nice, moist texture (no dry scones here!).

Apricot White Chocolate Scones
 
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Yields: 8 scones
Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅓ cup cold butter, cut in pieces (I used light butter)
  • ⅓ cup chopped dried apricots
  • ⅓ cup white chocolate baking chips
  • 1 egg
  • ⅓ cup fat free evaporated milk
  • melted white chocolate and additional chopped apricots, for topping (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside
  2. In a food processor, pulse flours, sugar and baking powder until combined.
  3. Add butter to food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Pour mixture into a medium bowl.
  4. Stir apricots and white chocolate chips into flour mixture. Stir in egg and gradually add evaporated milk until dough forms a ball (Note: You may need slightly less than ⅓ cup). Knead dough a few times while in bowl.
  5. Pat or roll dough into 8-inch round on prepared cookie sheet. Cut into 8 wedges (a pizza cutter works well) but DO NOT separate.
  6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let sit on pan for 5 minutes and then separate wedges (Note: I used a serated knife to ensure clean cuts). Let cool completely.
  7. Optional set: Drizzle melted white chocolate and sprinkle with chopped dried apricots, if desired.

 

Slightly adapted from Betty Crocker

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,
Pumpkin Bundt Cake from Alida's Kitchen

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

November 1, 2012 ·
This easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make using simple pantry ingredients!Pumpkin Bundt Cake | alidaskitchen.com

Pumpkin Bundt Cake is a simple and delicious pumpkin pound cake, with warm spices and pumpkin-y goodness throughout.  What attracted me to this recipe, aside from a slight pumpkin obsession, is that the ingredients are simple pantry items that I have on hand at all times.  What made me fall in love with the recipe, aside from it being delicious, was how easy it was to make. The batter took me less than 10 minutes to whip together.  Then bake for about an hour, let it cool, and voila!  You have an elegant and versatile dessert that will happily feed a crowd or, in our case, treat a small family for a week. 🙂

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Not only will this Pumpkin Bundt Cake be excellent served alongside your holiday cookie platter, but it would also be a tasty alternative at Thanksgiving dinner or even served at a brunch.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake
 
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Yields: 24 servings
Ingredients
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
  • 2½ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
  • powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 10-inch bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, beat sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and add vanilla with the last egg.
  4. To the egg mixture, alternate adding flour mixture and pumpkin, beating well on medium-low after each addition.
  5. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a tootpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Let cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Pumpkin Bundt Cake | alidaskitchen.com

Filed Under: breakfast, dessert, Featured, healthy, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

September 12, 2012 ·
Pumpkin Banana Muffins put a Fall twist on banana bread with the perfect balance of pumpkin and banana. 
Pumpkin Banana Muffins | alidasktichen.com
Pumpkin Banana Muffins are a huge hit in our household. They are made with whole wheat flour, bumping the nutrition value.  The pumpkin and banana make for a moist muffin, so not a lot of oil is needed.  I typically make these as a combination of mini muffins (24) and standard muffins (3) and freeze half of the mini muffins.

So last week was Adam’s first day of preschool. I decided to make Pumpkin Banana Muffins as a special surprise after school. Pumpkin Banana Muffins are his favorite muffin of all time, so I knew they would be a hit.  He loved school and was welcomed home with his favorite treat.  It is safe to say, he had the best day!

Pumpkin Banana Muffins | alidasktichen.com

Pumpkin Banana Muffins
 
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Yields: 30 mini-muffins (or 15-18 standard muffins)
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour/1 cup whole wheat flour)
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with baking spray and fill empty cups with water. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla, until well-blended.
  4. Add banana mixture to flour mixture, gently folding until combined.
  5. Divide mixture evenly among prepared muffin cups.
  6. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes for mini muffins / 13 to 15 minutes for standard muffins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

ETA 10/19/12:  I have made these several times since posting and have experimented with different flours, since white whole wheat flour isn’t an ingredient I always have on hand.  All whole wheat pastry flour works really well, and the recipe has been updated below accordingly.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins {alidaskitchen.com}

Source: Pumpkin Banana Bread

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Popular, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
healthy carrot zucchini bread

Carrot Zucchini Bread

August 23, 2012 ·

Carrot Zucchini Bread | alidaskitchen.com #recipes
Carrot Zucchini Bread is a moist, delicious twist on zucchini bread.  If you have extra zucchini, this is definitely a must-make!

The end of summer is one of my favorite times of year because it means zucchini is everywhere.  Zucchini is such a versatile vegetable that gets turned into delicious dishes, both savory and sweet, with so many possibilities!  I found myself with some zucchini and some leftover carrots from making Carrot Cake Pancakes.  My first instinct was to make pancakes (which might come later), but Carrot Zucchini Bread has been on my list for quite a while.  A quick bread with double veggies has got to be a good thing.  Carrot Zucchini Bread is a super tasty, fun twist on zucchini bread!

Carrot Zucchini Bread
 
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Yields: 1 loaf (12 servings)
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cup grated zucchini (squeeze out some excess moisture)
  • ½ cup grated carrot
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8x4 loaf pan (or spray with baking spray) and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and oil until well blended. Add sugar and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Add zucchini and carrot, stirring until combined.
  4. Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture, gently folding until just combined.
  5. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from Food.com

Carrot Zucchini Bread | alidaskitchen.com #recipes

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
healthy buttermilk banana bread pancakes

Banana Bread Pancakes

July 24, 2012 ·
healthy buttermilk banana bread pancakes

I love having extra bananas around the house because inevitable it means they will be made into something yummy.  In this instance, I turned them into Banana Bread Pancakes.  I have been looking for a good banana pancake recipe for years and, as usual, have never found what I was hoping for.  I decided to modify my go-to pancake base recipe, mix a few things up, go heavy on the bananas and see what happens.  The result are a healthy banana pancake that tastes just like banana bread.   They are delicious plain (that’s how Adam likes them) but for myself, I whipped up a little cream cheese drizzle from my Carrot Cake Pancakes.  No matter how you top them, these Banana Bread Pancakes are simply delicious.  Adam also gives his official toddler seal of approval, which is always a win in my book!

   

Banana Bread Pancakes
 
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Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup low fat buttermilk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 3 to 4 overripe bananas, mashed (approx 1½ cups)
  • Cooking spray
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, oil and mashed bananas until well-blended.
  3. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring gently until just moistened (batter may be lumpy). Let batter sit for about 10 minutes.
  4. Preheat nonstick skillet to medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
  5. Spoon batter onto skillet by the 2 tablespoonfuls to ¼ cupful, depending on desired size (Note: If batter is a little thick, use the back of your spoon to spread/shape the pancakes). Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until bubbles form and the edges look set. Flip pancakes and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden.

 

Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
healthy buttermilk oatmeal peach muffins

Oat Peach Muffins

July 17, 2012 ·
healthy buttermilk oatmeal peach muffins

One of the first cookbooks I purchased was the Better Crocker’s New Choices Cookbook.  I have found several wonderful recipes in that book, including these Oat Peach Muffins.  These muffins are one of my very favorites from the book, and it’s nice knowing they’re made on the healthier side.

What really makes these muffins amazing is the molasses.  Molasses adds such a delicious character to the muffins and really goes well with the peaches and cinnamon.  The oats give a hearty texture, while the buttermilk yields a moist crumb.  These muffins are a great way to put to use all of those fresh peaches this time of year.   I do often use frozen peaches though, so we can enjoy these muffins all year long.

Oat Peach Muffins
 
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Yields: 12 muffins
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup chopped peaches (thawed if frozen)
  • Cooking spray
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray (or line with paper liners).
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk. Add brown sugar, oil, molasses, vanilla and egg, whisking until blended.
  4. Fold in flour mixture with buttermilk mixture until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in peaches.
  5. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Adapted from Betty Crocker’s New Choices Cookbook

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

S’more Muffins

July 3, 2012 ·

These S’more Muffins are everything you love about a s’more baked up in a tasty little breakfast treat.  These are made with graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips and lots of miniature marshmallows.  The marshmallows in the actual muffin melt into the muffin, while the marshmallows on top get sticky and gooey.  The buttermilk lends a moist crumb to these muffins and a bit of brown sugar deepens the flavor.

I recommend not using muffin liners with these, as these muffins live up to the reputation of the campfire treat and can be sticky.  I just used baking spray (the cooking spray that has flour) and let the muffins cool in the pan long enough.  They came out perfectly.  These S’more Muffins are moist and delicious and a fun way to start any morning!

Sâ??more Muffins
 
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Yields: 12 muffins
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup graham cracker crumbs (about 4 sheets)
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1½ cups buttermilk
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini)
  • 1¼ cups miniature marshmallows, divided
  • Cooking spray
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cracker crumbs, sugar, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.
  4. Add buttermilk mixture into flour mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and 1 cup marshmallows.
  5. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Top with remaining marshmallows (2-3 marshmallows per muffin).
  6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before gently removing from pan. Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adaped from Taste of Home: Cupcakes & Muffins

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Strawberry Banana Pancakes

June 22, 2012 ·

We recently picked up several pounds of strawberries from a local farm, and I’m chipping away at my long list of things to make.  At the top of the list was pancakes, but not just any strawberry pancakes… Strawberry Banana Pancakes!  I searched online for inspiration and found nothing, so I decided to just make something up.  I took my standard pancake base recipe, combined it with my Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes and added some banana.  The result is a Strawberry Banana Pancake made with a buttermilk pancake base, a good dose of vanilla, and a generous amount of chopped strawberries and mashed bananas.  Such a delicious combination!

I never thought my little Adam would ever love any pancake more than Cottage Cheese Pancakes.  Well, after making these Strawberry Banana Pancakes, I stand corrected.  He devoured 4 pancakes with impressive speed and has been asking about them ever since.

Strawberry Banana Pancakes
 
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Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1¼ cups low fat buttermilk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups diced strawberries
  • 2 mashed bananas (about 1 cup)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • Cooking spray or addtional oil, for pan
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, oil and mashed bananas until well-blended.
  3. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring gently until just moistened (batter may be lumpy) and then fold in strawberries. Let batter sit for about 10 minutes.
  4. Preheat nonstick skillet to medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
  5. Spoon batter onto skillet by the 2 tablespoonfuls to ¼ cupful, depending on desired size. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until bubbles form and the edges look set. Flip pancakes and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden.

 

 

Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,