Rainy Day Blueberry Pie

My new roommate received a rather large bag of blueberries and there being far too many for two people to eat, we decided to make some pie on our rainy day off.  This pie is rather sweet, so feel free to adjust the amount sugar to your liking.  When still cooling off the filling can be a bit runny, but if kept in the fridge over night it will come out of the dish in clean slices.  It goes especially well served warm with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Preheat your oven to 390 degrees Farenheit (convection ovens to 375 F).

Pie Crust:
1 1/2 to 2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
ice cold water

First mix the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.  Wash the butter in cold water, and by this I mean run water over the butter and squeeze it between your palms until the butter become soft and malleable.  Then add the butter to the flour mixture and knead it, adding a little more ice water to the dough as necessary.  Cut the dough in half and roll out each portion.  Fit one portion to a standard pie pan, and save the other to use as a top piece.

Filling:

3 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon or orange juice
1/3 to 1/2 cup flour

Mix all the ingredients together, being careful not to squash too many of the berries, then pour the filling into the pie crust.

Fit the top portion of dough over the pie.  I was making 2 pies, so my top crust was rather thin, hence the splitting you can see happening in the pictures.  To avoid this, simply make your crust thicker (although too thick results in uncooked crust).  Always make vents in the top crust of covered pies to allow for proper baking.  I like to draw pictures on mine, but you can also simply make several lines with a knife across the pie top.

Bake for 25-30 mins, or until the crust in golden brown.  Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes and serve! 

Chocolate Chai Tea Brownies

Since tomorrow is the last day together with my work friends, I am bringing these brownies for everyone to share.  They are great for many occasions due to their quick preparation time and simple ingredients, yet sinful texture and flavour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (I use convection, so I preheated mine to 315 F). 
Butter and flour a 8"x8" baking pan.

First pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup boiling water over a Chai tea bag in a bowl and set aside.  Allow to steep as long as possible. 


Main Ingredient mix:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs

Cream the above ingredients in a mixing bowl until very smooth in texture.

Then melt 2 ounces of dark semi-sweet chocolate in a microwave or over low heat in a saucepan.  If melting in a saucepan, stir constantly.
If using a microwave, melt in increments (I suggest 20, 15, 10, 6, then 5 seconds) to avoid burning.  Stir thoroughly between microwaving, as the chocolate will melt a lot in its own heat.

Add this to the batter and mix thoroughly.
Remove the teabag and pour the tea over the batter, then mix again.

Add 3/4 cup-4/5 cup flour to batter and mix well.  The batter should be very smooth and somewhat thick but not so much that it won't ooze out of the bowl into the pan.

Spread batter evenly in the pan and bake for 25-35 minutes.  (I baked mine for exactly 32 minutes)

When a cake tester pulls out clean, remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes.  Then cut into 16 squares and these brownies are ready to serve!

Japanese Kasutera Cake With Fresh Fruit, Strawberry Jam and Yogurt Icing

For my birthday this year I experimented with Japanese kasutera, and found this one to be one of most satisfying cakes I have tasted.  Its texture is like that of a pound cake, however its flavour is light, fluffy, and tinted with citrus.  In combination with the icing and just a bit of jam, it proves a treat that doesn't allow for many leftovers.  The fresh fruit adds an additional burst of flavour.

I am not well-informed on the subject, but the word "kasutera" actually derives from the Spanish (or Portuguese?) "Castella."  So the roots of this cake may actually be early European, however I'm sure the cake was modified slightly when it reached Japan.  It is very popular at festivals and events.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 5/8 cup (180g) organic cane sugar
1 heaping 3/4 cup (200g) flour
1 tablespoon (15ml) orange or lemon zest (I used lemon)
1/5 cup (50 ml) vanilla soy milk
1/5 cup (50ml) fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) honey
3/8 cup (90 ml) vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit, 10-15 degrees lower for convection ovens.
Butter and flour two round cake pans (I used 8"x1.5") and line with fitted wax paper.

I highly suggest using a mix-master for this cake in order to obtain the correct light texture!

First, whip the eggs and sugar on high (8-10) speed for 5-7 mins.
Then, on medium (6-7) speed add the flour, the milk, then juice.
Mix for another 3-5 minutes, then add the zest, honey, and oil.
Mix on low to medium speed for another 5 or 10 minutes. 

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 F, then lower the temperature to 325 F for 45 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a cake tester pulls out clean.
Remove from the pan and cool.  To achieve the affect of my cakes, cool face down on cooling racks.

Icing:
This recipe is very much to your taste.  The first batch I made used butter and I found it too greasy, so I remade it without.  I had leftover icing afterward, which made several tasty fruit parfait desserts in nights following.
1 to 1 1/2 cups yogurt
1 cup shifted sugar or icing sugar
1/4 cup butter (optional or to taste)
4 tsp honey

Cream all ingredients on high speed for 30 minutes, and refrigerate overnight.  It will be runny when you put it in the fridge and perhaps even when icing the cake, however if you refrigerate the cake after it will harden more.

For the strawberry jam:
I spread on organic sugar-free jam, however you could also melt it in a saucepan over low-med heat, and allow to cool for a more glaze-like texture.

Assembly:

Take the two cake layers and place each on a separate plate, design-side facing up.  Lather with strawberry jam, and then gently flip one layer on top of the other, so the two jam sides stick together.

Lather with spoonfuls of icing until thickly coated.

Wash and dry fresh strawberries and blackberries, and arrange in your desired pattern on top. 

If desired you can refrigerate the cake after this, or serve immediately.  It goes very well with vanilla ice cream too. 

Itadakimasu!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Birthday Cake

Hi Everyone,
Finally starting a blog, since my massive recipe collection is taking up too much paper, and I feel like sharing them.
Just a little about me: I'm studying classical music composition, flute, and creative writing in university.  I'm also crazy about art and cooking, but I can't major in everything.
I love to cook.  It is the one way I really feel the stress of things leave me, when I can make something especially delicious to share with my friends.  I can't say how often I will be posting, but let's just see how it goes.  If anyone has requests for certain types of recipes, just let me know.  :)

 SO............
 Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake!

It's a great cake for parties.  This recipe makes one fairly large cake although you may want to half or double the recipe.  The zucchini is a flavour enhancer, and should not be a problem for picky eaters, since you can't see or taste it very much.  If you think it'll be a problem in the cake reception, just don't mention the zucchini, but the cake really isn't the same without it.  ^^

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Farenheit (160 degrees Celcius).  If you have a convection oven you might want to lower the temperature 10-15 degrees F. 

Butter and flour a 9"x13" baking pan, and place fitted wax paper in the bottom of the pan.

Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
2 large eggs
1-2 tablespoons vanilla
1/2 cup soured milk

Cream all these together, adding the milk only at the end.

Dry Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/8 cup (4 tablespoons) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Mix all these together and add to the wet ingredients.

Now here's the time-consuming part: finely grate 2 cups of fresh zucchini.  There will be a lot of zucchini juice when you're done, so save this separately.  Add the grated zucchini to the batter, and add increments of the juice if more liquid is needed.

Lastly add 1/4 cup (or more if you wish) of semisweet chocolate chips.  Stir the batter, but not overly so.  It should be fairly thick, and you won't be able to pour it.   Scoop batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester pulls out clean. 

Allow to cool.  If you are planning to ice the cake, keep it in the pan and place the whole thing covered in foil in the freezer until just before icing.

Icing Recipe:

2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons milk (add more if needed)
1 tablespoon vanilla
2-5 cups icing sugar, depending on the amount and thickness you desire

If you aren't planning to use a mix-master, make sure to blend this for a really long time.  First cream the butter, then add the milk and vanilla.  When very well mixed, add the icing sugar in 1/2 cup or one cup increments.  More milk may be needed to even out icing sugar.  Put icing in fridge overnight.

This makes white icing.  To make coloured icing, add a drop or two of food colouring.  Too much added dye gives a funny taste, so only use enough to make the colour you need.  For darker colours, expect to have a coloured tongue after eating.

Decorating:

Decide on a design, draw the outline and basic shapes on image-sized paper, and cut out.  Decide on colours of icing and any candies you need.  Separate them by area of the design before beginning to ice the cake. Have toothpicks ready.

Pull out the icing 15-30 minutes before you plan to start icing.  Get your icing kit (or plastic ziploc with a whole in the corner), knives, spoons, and spatulas ready to ice in areas.
 

Pull cake out of freezer and lay onto a foil-covered serving platter (I use a wooden plank).  Lay your cake design over it, and cut around.  Use toothpicks to add extra cake to make a desired shape (but try to remove them before icing if possible).

Ice the cake quickly before it thaws out.  Preferrably ice in lighter colours first, and darker colours after.  For flat icing, use a knife or spatula.  For fancier textures, use your icing kit or ziploc bag with a metal design tip.  If you've got a really strong ziploc (freezer brand is usually good) you can sometimes cut a design for the icing (e.g. 4 small flower petals) into the bag instead of a small hole. 

Afterwards add your candies.  Be warned that you don't want to do this in a boiling hot kitchen, or the icing will begin to melt and the candies will not stay in place.  To avoid getting cake crumbs in the icing while working on the design, use thick knife fulls of icing.  Generally with the icing kit or ziploc this isn't a problem.

So there you go... chocolate chip zucchini birthday cake.  Enjoy!!!!