Cinnamon Breakfast Bread

 

Who wants cake??

Often, I find that question isn't even a question at all. Sometimes, though, it's best when you have cake without it actually being "real" cake, you know? Because that means you can have it for breakfast or a snack or always every single moment of every day until it runs out and then you just make another one. 

You have just been introduced to my weekend in one sentence.

One of my favorite things is to sit down with coffee and some type of breakfast bread with a wonderful cake-like texture (whether it be sweet potato cinnamon, or cranberry orange-- hell, even good old-fashioned banana bread is great!) I actually just finished making two batches of banana bread. One was for work, and the other was for my roommate as an apology for eating all the pumpkin chocolate chip bread that her mother made us (I repent!).



All of the bread baking made me think of this Cinnamon Breakfast Bread, which was a huge hit back
when I was in high school. I brought it into my class and they flipped out over it (we were teenagers, it was food, and it was basically cake but healthier). I was the food girl in high school, because I was always bringing in test recipes and everyone knew I was either going to go into chef school or some type of food-related program. And here I am now, in Food Science and Human Nutrition. Biggggg surprise (to no one!).

Anyways. This bread cake whatever it is. This deliciousness. That's a good word for it. It's basically coffee cake, but with less saturated fat and some good old whole wheat. It's still that finger-licking, brown-sugar-loaded, melt-in-your-mouth favorite. Just healthier.

Who doesn't love yummy and healthy, am I right?

Cinnamon Breakfast Bread
Inspired by Star Tribune
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 3T packed brown sugar
• 3T sugar
• 1/2t cinnamon

• 1t apple cider vinegar
• 3/4c. light vanilla soymilk
• 1/4c. light margarine
• 3/4c sugar OR splenda
• 3T packed brown sugar
• 1/4t salt
• 1t vanilla
• 1 large egg + 1 egg white
• 2T applesauce
• 1/4c. + 2tbl nonfat vanilla yogurt
• 1c. all purpose flour 
• 3/4c. + 2T whole wheat flour
• 1.25t baking powder
• 3/4t baking soda

Instructions:  

1. In a small bowl, combine 3T brown sugar, 3T sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well and set aside. (This will be a filling).
2. Combine vinegar and soy milk, and set aside for at least ten minutes or until it looks slightly "foamy."
3. To make the cake, beat together the margarine, sugar, brown sugar, salt and vanilla until well combined and smooth. Add the egg, beating well. Add the apple sauce, soy milk mixture, and yogurt, and mix well.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat pastry flours, baking soda, and baking powder.
5. Add the flour mixture to the batter mixture alternately with the wet ingredient mixture, starting and ending with the flour.
6. Spoon half the batter into a 8x8 baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray, spreading to the edges. Sprinkle half the filling evenly over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the filling, spreading to the edges. Sprinkle with the remaining filling. Take a thin knife and swirl random designs into the batter (great step for kids to do, parents!)
7. Bake the cake until it's a dark golden brown around the edges and springs back when pressed gently, about 50 to 60 minutes. Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving and trying to remove.

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 133mg
Total Fat: 4g
      Saturated: 1g
      Trans: 1g
Sugar: 35g
Protein: 5g
Calories: 268

Upside-down Apple Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I am in love with the idea of apples right now.

With the weather cooling down, I’ve found myself craving the sweet, warm goodness of one of fall’s best fruits. There are all these recipes going around about baked apples, apple pie, apple ice cream, apple everything. My friend is fantastic at making baked apple chips (I don’t know how she gets them so perfect every time, it’s insane), so I’ve basically been on an apple fest the past few weeks. I was looking on Pinterest (because yes, I am a stereotypical white college girl who browses Pinterest when I should be studying) and I saw this recipe for Pineapple upside-down cake. It reminded me of a recipe I’ve been making for years: Apple Upside-Down Cake.

When I was in high school, I was inspired by a recipe from Relish, which I followed avidly while in Arizona (our local newspaper got Relish snippets on Thursdays, and I would wait with bated breath to see what was inside). Seeing the cake on Pinterest made me want to make these again! These upside-down apple cake squares are so perfect for welcoming fall. Well, here in CO, it’s hard to actually call it “fall”—after all, we just switched from a 32 degree day to a 72 degree weekend. Talk about crazy. I feel like CO skips around between summer and winter as it pleases, and if we are lucky then fall lasts a few weeks. It’s so sad! One of my favorite things about fall is the leaves changing, and it doesn’t last very long here.

Anyways! Back to the food (which is what we are all here for, let’s be honest). The cake itself is light and fluffy and made extra special with a touch of cornmeal. Cinnamon is perfuming my entire house right now, plus the apple-maple combo is practically intoxicating. To top it all off, I added a maple-cream-cheese drizzle over the top to balance some of the sweetness and to make it look even more tempting.

These are best eaten while warm out of the oven, but I remember that I once took them cold into my English class in high school and they got devoured. No one had any clue that they weren’t sugar-loaded or unhealthy. Ok, I’m salivating just thinking about it. I’ll hurry it on up, and get to the recipe!

Upside-down Apple Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting 

Serves 12  Serving Size: 1 square

Ingredients:

• 2T light margarine
• 1/3c. sugar OR splenda
• 1/4c. sugar free maple syrup
• 2 crisp apples (I used gala), peeled, cored and cut into slices
• 1/4c. light margarine
• 2/3c. sugar OR splenda
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2 room temperature large eggs
• 1c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2c. yellow cornmeal
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/2tsp cinnamon
• 1/4c. no sugar added applesauce
• 1c. lowfat vanilla yogurt
• 1/2c. low fat cream cheese
• 3T to 1/3c. sugar-free maple syrup (use less for a thicker glaze, more for a thinner glaze)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add apples (in a solid, even layer) and sugar and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Flip over apples (or move around in pan), add maple syrup, and cook an additional 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, beat margarine and sugar using a electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Combine applesauce and yogurt. Alternate adding in the flour mixture and the yogurt mixture in batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture (ex. flour, yogurt, flour, yogurt). Mix until well blended.
4. In a 9x9 square metal pan sprayed with cooking spray, layer out the apples so there are no gaps on the bottom and so the layer is even. Pour any liquid that is with the apples into the pan as well. Spoon the batter over the apples, making sure to start with the edges and work inward (in order to avoid the maple syrup bubbling up the edges of the pan). Place in over and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and cooked (springy to the touch).
5. Remove from oven, and let cool at least ten minutes (if you don't, your cake falls apart when you flip the pan over). Invert the pan onto a serving tray. Carefully remove the pan from the cake. 
6. Beat the cream cheese and maple syrup with an electric mixer until desired consistency is reached, and drizzle over cake while still warm. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Nutrition Information (Sugar):
Sodium: 210mg
Total Fat:6g
       Saturated: 2g
       Trans: 1g
Sugar: 14g
Protein: 5g
Calories: 198


Nutrition Information (Splenda):
Sodium: 210mg
Total Fat:6g
       Saturated:2g
       Trans:1g
Sugar:6g
Protein: 5g
Calories: 164

RWB Angel Food Cake with Lemon-Almond Cream and Berries

Independence Day is just five days away, everyone! Any fun plans? I've been seeing fireworks stands all over and I've been making myself resist buying some, partly because I think I would totally cause a disaster. I grew up in drought-ridden Arizona for the first eighteen years of my life, so we were always excited when they let the city shoot off fireworks (they didn't want to set the nearby forest on fire). If you guys have heard about that huge fire that started in Oak Creek and scooted up near to Kachina, that is right by my hometown, Flagstaff. Fires were an unfortunately normal occurrence; when I was fifteen, my boyfriend at the time went on a hike with his family at the 13,000ft mountain near town and they got caught in the middle of a fire that basically burned half of the trees on the peaks. They had to run with all their camping gear as the ash rained down on them. Being a typical teenage boy, he stopped to take pictures of the flames for me. 

Because, you know, safety.

So let's all remember to be careful with our bonfires, BBQs, and fireworks this fourth! Yeah? Sounds good. Anyways, moving onto the food, which is what we are all actually here for, right?

By now you guys have seen your share of red, white, and blue all around: in the grocery store, on the streets, and in the recipes floating around online. I want to throw my own recipe into the mix. What's better during summer than a light dessert with the fruits of the season? That's pretty much what my mindset was when I created this recipe. It's another one from my old blog (Michelle's Healthy Bites) and it's good enough that I can't help but share it again. I just love it so much. First you have the fluffy, sweet cake. Then you add on some lemon-almond whipped cream (to DIE for and so easy, I promise) and fresh berries.The cream adds a slight floral nuttiness and depth, and the fruit brightens it up (not only taste-wise, but also for a stunning presentation). Raspberries contribute a slightly tart, but still sweet element that rounds out the entire dish.

Basically, this is heaven. And perfect for a party.

A Fourth of July party...

Coincidence? I think not!

(Also good for other parties because the entire world isn't America, even thought Americans tend to want to think so. To all my international/ non-American readers: this is still yummy and patriotism aside, an awesome recipe). 

Angel Food Cake with Lemon-Almond Cream and Berries

Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 12 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar*
• 1 and 1/4c. splenda*, divided
• 1c. cake flour
• 1 and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1tbl water
• 1/2tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4tsp salt
• 2c. light whipped topping (such as cool whip or a non-dairy alternative), thawed
• 1/4tsp almond extract
• The zest of one large lemon
• 2c. fresh raspberries
• 2c. fresh blueberries

Instructions:

1. Allow the egg whites to come to room temperature in a large, clean, covered bowl (takes at least 30 minutes, and remove egg whites from the egg before doing this).
2. Preheat oven to 350F. 
3. Add 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup splenda into a food processor. Pulse the sugar a few times. This makes it finer, and gives the cake a lighter texture. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. It really does make a difference!
4. Add the flour to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine, or sift the flour and the sugar twice so it is nice and fine.
5. Add cream of tartar, water, vanilla extract, and salt to the egg whites. Beat on high with an electric mixer (hand-held or other) until it becomes very foamy. Slowly add in the remaining 1c of splenda.Continue to beat the eggs until medium (between soft and stiff) peaks form. At this point, switch to a spatula and gently, gently fold in the flour mixture, 1/4c. at a time. Take this nice and slow, and incorporate the entire mixture.
6. Gently spoon the batter into two 8x8 square UNGREASED baking pans. Lightly run a knife through the batter to get rid of bubbles (I just did three lines each way) and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes. You will know they are done when the cake springs back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (but I personally like the touch method more).
7. As soon as they are out of the oven, turn them upside-down on a heat-safe surface. Don't try to take the cakes out: let them cool for 30 minutes. I'm serious when I say thirty minutes. If you don't do this, expect ruin and sadness. After 30 minutes have passed, the cake will have receded slightly from the edges of the pan. My first cake separated from the pan by itself; the second one needed to be convinced to leave. Just run a thin spatula on the bottom, very gently, and turn the pan upside-down.
   
   Very Important Note: Angel food cake is often said to taste "eggy," and that is because the cooks do not let it cool for long enough. Wait at least 3 hours before you frost or slice into this cake.
    
8. To make the cream, combine the whipped topping, almond extract, and lemon zest in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.
9. To assemble the cake, cut each “loaf” into 6 slices. Evenly divide berries and cream among the twelve slices.

Nutrition Information*

Sodium: 111mg

Total Fat: 2g

      Saturated: 1g

      Trans: 0g

Sugar: 21g

Protein: 5g

Calories: 174

 

*Note: this recipe contains splenda. Scientific evidence indicates that there is nothing wrong with moderate amounts of artificial sweeteners, and I have calculated the amount in this recipe so it is well within safe limits. However, all sugar can be used if you so desire. The nutrition information for the all-sugar recipe is below: 

Sodium: 111mg

Total Fat: 2g

      Saturated: 1g

      Trans: 0g

Sugar: 42g (you can see why I use splenda now)

Protein: 5g

Calories: 255
*Also, here is if you used all splenda (which also works quite well):

Sodium: 111mg

Total Fat: 2g

      Saturated: 1g

      Trans: 0g

Sugar: 5g

Protein: 5g

Calories: 109