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Summer Sunshine Coffee Cake

Breakfast, Dessert, ,

I have the perfect summer weekend breakfast treat for you today! Made from homemade biscuits and full of bright citrus flavors, it also makes a great afternoon pick-me-up, or even a light dessert. And it’s easy to make and comes together fairly quickly, making it great for last-minute or unplanned guests.

I got the inspiration from Paula Deen’s Orange Coffee Cake, but I wanted to make it a little more homemade. Instead of canned biscuits, I decided to make homemade angel biscuits, which are essentially a yeasted buttermilk biscuit. They are a little flaky and a little bread-y, and I think they are perfect in this application.

I also wanted to update the flavor slightly. I’m personally not a huge fan of orange flavor, but I thought mixing it with grapefruit would be a nice twist. I really like the combination in this cake. The two flavors complement each other well, without either being overwhelmed by the other. And the citrus really brightens up a cake that could otherwise feel heavy and rich. I finished if off with a cream cheese glaze, flavored lightly with grapefruit juice, since I thought that would be a little more subtle than orange, but you could use either one.

You could definitely change up the flavor with whatever citrus you love, or have on hand. I personally love limes, and think that would make a great cake. Blood oranges would make a fantastic winter cake. And can you ever go wrong with Meyer lemons? Use just a single fruit, or mix a few together to find your perfect cake.

I really hope you give this recipe a try. If you’re intimidated by yeast dough this is a perfect place to start, since there isn’t a ton of kneading. And if you really don’t want to use yeast or wait the short rise time, you can use your favorite biscuit recipe and follow the rest of the directions with that dough. However you make it, I know you’ll love it!

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 Summer Sunshine Coffee Cake
Servings
people
Ingredients
Biscuits
Filling and Topping
Icing
Servings
people
Ingredients
Biscuits
Filling and Topping
Icing
Instructions
  1. Combine yeast, warm water, and 2 teaspoons sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Grate cold butter into flour mixture (see recipe notes for tips), and toss gently to combine well and coat all pieces with flour.
  3. Stir in yeast mixture, sour cream, and milk and mix well. Dump onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until mixture is smooth and all flour is fully incorporated.
  4. Place into a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approximately 30-45 minutes.
  5. While dough is rising, combine 1/2 cup sugar with orange and grapefruit zests and mix well. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.
  6. Once dough has risen, lightly punch down and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Sprinkle with half of sugar and zest, then fold dough in half.
  7. Roll again lightly to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out biscuits with 3-inch round cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Try to get as many out of the first roll as possible. Ideally you should get 7 to 8 biscuits with the first roll. Lightly press together any scraps and cut additional biscuits. You should have 9 in total.
  8. Place one whole biscuit, one from the second batch of cutting, into the center of a greased 9-inch pie plate or cake pan. Cut remaining 8 biscuits in half with a sharp knife, creating half circles. Place the 16 pieces around the center biscuit, slightly overlapping and with all cut sides facing the same way, like flower petals.
  9. Brush the top of the biscuits with the melted butter, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar and zest mixture.
  10. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
  11. While coffee cake is cooling, make icing. Whisk together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add enough juice to make a thick icing that is just thin enough to be drizzled. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Recipe Notes
  • When grating butter into flour mixture, use full stick (8 tablespoons). Unwrap most of the way, and while holding the wrapped end, grate in 7 tablespoons. Save remaining tablespoon for topping.
  • Use any combination, or single flavor, of citrus zest and juice.
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Blackberry-Mint Cheesecake Tart

Cheesecake, Dessert,

Blackberry season is in full swing, and this Blackberry-Mint Cheesecake Tart is the perfect dessert for these hot summer evenings. It’s rich and creamy from the cheesecake filling, but it’s kept light with the addition of the blackberry-mint jam.

It starts with a graham cracker and oatmeal crust. The oatmeal gives it a crisper texture and a nice nuttiness that helps to balance everything out. You can, of course, use all graham crackers, or any other cookies you prefer. A chocolate cookie crust would be delicious with this!

I wanted to make this a tart instead of a huge cheesecake to help to keep it feeling lighter. But it is a cooked cheesecake filling. You can absolutely use your favorite no-bake cheesecake filling here. I have never cared for gelatin-set fillings like most no-bake cheesecake are, so I went with a baked version.

The final element is the blackberry-mint jam. Use whatever berries are in season and sound good to you. Raspberries or strawberries would work perfectly. And feel free to omit the mint. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, substitute basil, thyme, or even rosemary!

Print Recipe
 Blackberry-Mint Cheesecake Tart
Keyword Cheesecake, Berry
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Crust
Jam
Cheesecake
Keyword Cheesecake, Berry
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Crust
Jam
Cheesecake
Instructions
Crust
  1. Break up graham crackers slightly and place into a food processor with the oats and sugar. Pulse until graham crackers are in fine crumbs.
  2. Add melted butter and process until it is thoroughly combined.
  3. Press into an 8" round or 13"x 4" rectangular tart pan.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 7 to 9 minutes or until crisp. Set aside to cool.
Jam
  1. While crust is baking, combine blackberries, sugar, and mint in a small saucepan.
  2. Stir over medium heat until berries have broken down and mixture comes to a boil. Mash blackberries slightly with a spoon or spatula if necessary.
  3. Cook, stirring often, until the jam thickens. It will thicken further as it cools.
  4. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve if desired to remove seeds. Set aside to cool,
Cheesecake
  1. Cream together cheese and sugar, with either a hand mixer or stand mixer, until thoroughly blended and no lumps of cream cheese remain.
  2. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla and mix well.
  3. Pour into cooled crust.
  4. Dollop spoonfuls of the cooled jam over the cheesecake filling. You will not need all of the jam - use only about 1/2-3/4 cup in total and save the rest for toast or biscuits!
  5. Swirl the jam into the filling with a butter knife.
  6. Bake at 300 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is nearly set. There should be a very slight wobble to the center, but it should be firm around the edges.
  7. Cool on the counter slightly before refrigerating at least 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
  • Use any cookie crust you like - chocolate would be great!
  • Substitute your favorite no-bake cheesecake filling. Just swirl the jam in as instructed and refrigerate.
  • Use any berries you prefer. Strawberries and raspberries would work perfectly.
  • Omit the mint if desired, or be adventurous and try basil, thyme, or rosemary!
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Mocha Irish Cream Cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day

Uncategorized, ,

It snowed this morning!! We have had almost no snow this year, and actually hit 80 degrees last week, and I was missing winter. But I woke up this morning to big wet snowflakes! That has absolutely nothing to do with these cupcakes, but I was so excited I just had to share. 🙂  

Anyway, on to the cupcakes! Do you guys do anything special for St. Patrick’s Day? Do you attend a parade, or bake anything special? I’ve never really celebrated it much, but a few weeks ago I was in Michaels, mostly just browsing, but with my Cherry Chocolate Chip Rolls in mind. I was supposed to be looking for something Valentine’s Day related while I was walking down the baking aisle, and then I spotted these St. Patrick’s Day sprinkles.

 

I decided I had to have them, but then I had to figure out what to do with them. Cupcakes sounded like a good idea, but what kind? So I started searching Pinterest for St. Patrick’s Day ideas. It seems like Irish cream is pretty popular right now. And since Irish cream has a lot of the same flavors as mocha, I decided to incorporate in into a favorite mocha cake of mine. And make them cupcakes, because cupcakes are just more fun.

I thought it might be easier (and cheaper!) to use an Irish cream coffee creamer. Since I don’t drink coffee, I had never tried the creamer before. Before I started trying to add it to my cake recipe, I tried it straight. Oh my goodness, you guys, it is SWEET. So I knew immediately I would have to reduce the sugar in the recipe. Thankfully, it turned out perfectly on my first attempt, but I sure am glad I tried the creamer first!

To top the cupcakes, I figure I might as well go all the way and make an Irish Cream buttercream. It was a good idea. The cupcakes aren’t overly sweet, so a nice big swirl of buttercream compliments them nicely. And it gives the sprinkles a pretty place to land. 🙂

If you aren’t a fan of Irish cream, or coffee in general, you can make some adjustments to this recipe pretty easily. Try any flavor of creamer that sounds good to you. And if you are using a non-mocha flavoring you can leave the instant coffee out of both the cake and frosting. Amaretto would be fantastic (I LOVE chocolate and almond together!). You can amp up the flavor by adding a little bit of almond extract. Or what about the salted caramel mocha? I might add some salted caramel into the buttercream for that one. A peppermint or peppermint mocha version would be fantastic at Christmas! For now, I’m going to stick with the Irish cream, but I definitely have other ideas brewing! 😉



Print Recipe


Mocha Irish Cream Cupcakes

Adapted from the Mocha Coffee Cake at Health.com. http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,50400000112136,00.html

Course Dessert

Servings
cupcakes


Ingredients
Cupcakes

Frosting

Course Dessert

Servings
cupcakes


Ingredients
Cupcakes

Frosting


Instructions
Cupcakes
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners and spray lightly with non-stick spray.

  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl and set aside.

  3. Dissolve instant coffee granules in the coffee creamer and set aside.

  4. Cream butter and sugar until very well combined, about 2 minutes.

  5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

  6. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with first the sour cream and then the creamer. Mix just until combined after each addition.

  7. Divide batter evenly between the cupcake tins, filling each about 3/4 full.

  8. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

  9. Cool completely before frosting. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

Frosting
  1. Combine creamer and instant coffee. Set aside.

  2. Beat butter, shortening, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined.

  3. Add half of the powdered sugar and beat until creamy. Add half of the creamer mixture and mix again.

  4. Add the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the remaining creamer mixture. Beat until combined.

  5. Turn mixture on high and beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add additional powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time or creamer 1 tablespoon at a time to adjust consistency if necessary.

  6. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.


Recipe Notes

Buttercream makes enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes. If you prefer a smaller layer of frosting, cut recipe in half.

Substitute any flavor creamer for the Irish cream, eliminating the instant coffee granules if preferred. Enhance with extracts if desired. Almond in Amaretto, peppermint in peppermint mocha, etc.


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