Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounce package (227 grams) full fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg

Pumpkin Bread:
3 1/2 cups (450 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1 cup (240 ml) chopped walnuts
4 large eggs
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 - 15 ounce can (425 grams) pure pumpkin 
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 180°C and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter and lightly flour two 23 x 13 x 8 cm loaf pans.
Cream Cheese Filling:
With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and egg and process just until smooth and creamy. Do not over process. Set aside.
Pumpkin Bread: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground spices. Stir in the chopped nuts.
In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk to combine.  Whisk or stir in the pumpkin, water, and vanilla extract.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined and moistened. Do not over mix as it will make the bread tough.
Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared pans. Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half on top the two pans of batter, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of batter (use two spoons to place small dollops of batter on top of the filling). Bake the breads for about 55 - 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean (a few moist crumbs is okay). 
Place pans on a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing breads from pans. Can serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or else freeze for later use.
Makes 2 loaves.

As seen on www.joyofbaking.com

Nutty White Chocolate Blondies

Nutty White Chocolate Blondies

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 cup nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup white chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 175°C and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 23 x 33 cm baking dish with butter and flour; set aside.
Combine butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and stir until evenly incorporated. Add vanilla, salt, and baking powder, and stir until thoroughly combined.
Add eggs, and stir briefly until evenly incorporated. Add flour, and stir until just incorporated (no white streaks should remain). Stir in nuts and chips until just combined.
Transfer batter to the prepared baking dish, and bake until golden brown and set, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.

As seen on www.chow.com

Swedish meatballs

Swedish Meatballs

200g minced beef
250g minced pork
1 egg
1 small onion, finely diced
large handful of breadcrumbs (100g)
pinch of nutmeg
oil for frying
200ml beef stock
200ml double cream
bag of new potatoes
fresh dill chopped
(4 tbsp cranberry sauce)


Mmix beef & pork mince, nutmeg, finely diced onion, breadcrumbs and egg together with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
Roll and shape the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs.
Place the washed potatoes into a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Heat some oil in a non-stick pan and fry the meatballs until they brown all over.
Drain off any excess fat from the bottom of the pan.
Add the beef stock and cream to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken the sauce and cook the meatballs through.
Chop the dill and stir through the sauce at the last moment before serving with the drained potatoes (and with a dollop of cranberry sauce on the side if desired).

As seen at www.sortedfood.com

Chocolate and Cinnamon Cookies

Chocolate and Cinnamon Cookies

150 g dark chocolate
125 g soft butter
125 g brown sugar
1 egg
180 g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
75 g white chocolate
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Chop up both chocolates into pieces. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder and cinnamon and stir together until combined. In another bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg and combine. Then incorporate the flour mixture. Once done, add both chocolates and mix it in.
Put the dough on a sheet of greaseproof paper and roll it up into a log with a diameter of about 4 cm, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Once the dough is nice and chilled, remove the paper and cut the log into 0.5 cm slices. Place the slices on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for about 12-15 minutes (or if you make larger cookies, bake for about 18-20 minutes).

Tassenkuchen mit Obst

Tassenkuchen mit Obst

3 Tassen Mehl
2 Tassen Zucker
1 Tasse Mineralwasser
1 Tasse Öl
4 Eier
1 Pck. Backpulver
1 Pck. Vanillezucker
Obst nach Belieben (Pflaumen bzw. Zwetschgen oder Marillen bzw. Aprikosen) - z.B. 5 Pflaumen, in feine Scheiben geschnitten
etwas Puderzucker zum Bestreuen

Das Obst waschen, entsteinen und schneiden.
Aus den restlichen Zutaten einen Rührteig herstellen. Die Hälfte davon in einer vorbereiteten Springform verteilen und das Obst darüber verteilen. Danach die andere Hälfte Teig darüber gießen.
Bei 180°C auch ca. 60 Min. backen, bis der Kuchen schön goldbraun geworden ist.
Etwas Puderzucker darüber streuen - herrlich!