Super Moist Honey Cake

 

Here's a super moist cake for you all.

It's actually a quick bread, but it is extra moist and tender, almost like a cupcake:)

As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it.

It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but I can tell you that you'll want to bake it over and over again!

Basically, it's a spice cake, but with a surprise of a distinctive honey flavor.

The honey taste is definitely there, which is perfect for me because I adore honey.

I was planning to have these with a drizzle of honey, but I don't even think that was necessary!

These are perfect for breakfast, a quick snack, or even as a dessert.

 

Super Moist Honey Cake
makes one 9x5" loaf
Recipe adapted from SmittenKitchen
Ingredients*
1 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/6 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/6 teaspoon ground cloves
1/6 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/6 cup (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup warm coffee
1/6 cup (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rye or whiskey ( I just used water - worked fine!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Generously grease 9x5" loaf pan with baking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Make a well in the center and add oil, honey, both the sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee, orange juice, and ryr or whiskey (or water). I have learnt from this recipe that if you meaure the oil first, then the honey, the honey will slide out beautifully without leaving any sticky bits behind! With an electric mixer on low speed, stir together all the ingredients until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake springs back when you gently touch the center, about 45 to 55 minutes. Let the cake stand for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

*I know the ingredients measurements are a little strange, and that's because I divided the original recipe by three! If you want to, you can bake 3 loaves with the following amounts:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup olive oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup rye or whiskey

 

 

 

Super moist banana snack cake

I don't usually make the same recipe more than once, because I like variety, but this is one of the very, very, few recipes that I call my "go-to" recipe. 

These are bomb.

They are the most tender banana breads you will ever have.

So tender that I called it a cake rather than a bread.

They have a wonderful, deep banana flavor, and literally, they MELT IN YOUR MOUTH.

Oh, and you wanna know something even better?

They freeze beautifully.

Simply wrap each piece in plastic wrap, freeze 'em, and thaw in the refrigerator when you feel like snacking! 

20 seconds in the microwave is all it takes for a "freshly baked" banana cake :)

 

Super Moist Banana Snack Cake
recipe from Cooking light
serves 12
Ingredients:
6 3/4 oz all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups - spooned and leveled)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 1/2 medium bananas)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower)
1 large egg, lightly beaten.
cooking spray
1/2 cup cool whip (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.
In a small bowl, combine yogurt, banana, oil, vanilla and egg; stir until well blended. Add yogurt mixture to the flour mixture in the large bowl, stirring just until moist.
Pour the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Serve with whipped topping, if desired. (Since the cake was so moist and tender, I found that it didn't even need a topping!)

See how tender that is?

The Moistest Blueberry Crumb Cake.. EVER.

I love Martha Stewart's recipes. 

Her recipes almost always guarantee success, so I browse her website practically everyday. Once I start browsing, I just can't stop. The list seems to go on forever, and there are loads of creative recipes that I've never even thought of.

But of course, there are plenty of classic ones that bring me a feeling of 'home, sweet, home', and this blueberry crumb cake is definitely one of them.

This cake is the yummiest, the moistest, and the most tender crumb cake I have ever baked. 

Usually, when I bake things in a square pan, the edges become a little firmer than the inside, but this cake is moist and tender right until the very edge of it. When I hold it in my hands, they kind of feel marshmallow-y and very soft, and they almost fall apart because of their tenderness. The streusel crumbs on top have a very slight crunch, but they're still on the softer side. And they don't even have a lot of butter in them! But don't get me wrong. It is NOT over-tender.

I have tried this recipe 3 times, each with cherries, blueberries, and peaches, and all of them turned out absolutely amazing. This is going into my 'best recipes' file, and I highly recommend you try it out too:)

Blueberry Crumb Cake

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1+1/2 cup all purpose flour

1+1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1+1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 tsp all purpose flour (for coating blueberries)

For the Streusel Topping:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.

For the Streusel Topping:

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter with your hands or a pastry blender until large, moist crumbs form. Chill. 

For the Cake:

Combine milk and lemon juice.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a large bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar with and electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately until just combined. In a large bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 tsp of flour. Fold into the batter; spoon into prepared pan.

Sprinkle cake with streusel topping. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely. Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Moist Cocoa Brownies

I'm so into brownies these days. 

For the last few months, I've been obsessed with cakes covered in whipped cream, so I had them practically everyday. I'm still not over it, but two weeks ago, this amazing book of brownies caught my eye.

It was full of awesome bars, brownies, and blondies recipes, and I just HAD to buy it.

Plus it was on a clearance sale!

I've tried three of the recipes so far, and all of them turned out great.
This was my first brownie from the book, and it's moist and chocolatey, with some crunchiness from a handful of nuts; it's just like the classic, most basic brownies you can ever bake.

Moist Cocoa Brownies

Recipe very closely adapted from Good Housekeeping: Brownies

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Direction:

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Combine flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat; remove from heat and stir in sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved, mix in eggs, then stir in vanilla extract. Stir in flour-cocoa mixture and mix until moistened. Stir in chopped nuts and pour batter into a 9-inch square pan lined with foil. Bake for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then on a wire rack, until completely cooled. Cut into 16 squares. You can dust some powdered sugar on top just before serving, but to me it tastes gorgeous even without it:)

Enjoy!