Lemon Coffee Cake

My Little Man is 1 today! We have a busy evening planned, so we decided to celebrate first thing before Daddy went to work and big sisters went to school. Plus, this was the perfect excuse for me to try the Lemon Coffee Cake Kate posted recently.

Now, you may be thinking: "What kind of 1 year old wants lemon coffee cake for his birthday?" Answer: the kind with a pregnant mama who's been craving this cake for a week! Little Man eats anything and everything put in front of him, so I assure you, he (and everyone else in the family) thoroughly enjoyed this sweet start to our morning.

Here's my take on the recipe that I've adapted from Cooking During Stolen Moments

For Streusel:

• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 3 T. butter
• 1/2 c. flaked coconut (I used sweetened, but this dish is plenty sweet if you prefer unsweetened)

In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in coconut.

For coffee cake:

• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. all purpose flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3/4 c. butter, softened
• 3/4 c. plain yogurt (I used lowfat, any would work)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T. freshly grated lemon peel
• 1 egg
• 1 small jar of lemon curd (find this in the jams/jellies section. My jar was 10 oz, so anything close to that would be fine)

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients, except lemon filling, and beat until well combined. This is going to be really thick - think cookie dough instead of cake batter!

To assemble:
Butter and flour a Springform pan. Spread 1/2  the cake batter into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle on half of the streusel topping and spread on the lemon curd or filling, to within a 1/2 inch of the edges. Spoon on remaining dough and remaining streusel. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown and set. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Remove sides of pan.

For Glaze:

• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 t. lemon juice
• 1 t. water

While cake cools, stir together powdered sugar, lemon juice and water. Drizzle on top of coffee cake and let cool completely.

This is a sweet, rich traditional coffee cake. The lemon and coconut are great springtime flavors that make this every bit as good for breakfast as it is for dessert!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I tried a new whole wheat bread last night and we really enjoyed it. It is not *exclusively* whole wheat so it didn't give in to the tendency to become dry or cardboard-esque. The honey gives it a touch of sweetness making this bread a perfect side to dinner, breakfast or just a snack!

21/4 t Bread Machine Yeast (this is one packet if you're using packets of yeast)
2 C bread flour
1 C whole wheat flour
2 t salt
1 T butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 C honey
1/2 C milk, warmed
1/4 C water, warmed
1 large egg, at room temperature

Dump everything into your bread machine in the order specified in your manual. For me, that meant the ingredient list in reverse. Use a basic/standard setting.

Go do something fun - in a few short hours, you'll have warm delicious bread!

Weekly Dinner Menu

Sunday: Spaghetti Pie, Peas
Monday: Roasted Chicken, Salad, Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice & Veggies
Wednesday (Happy 1st Birthday Baby Boy!): Tortellini Soup, Brazilian Cheese Rolls
Thursday: Chicken Florentine, Salad
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Party Time! Hot dogs & Hamburgers on the grill, potato salad, macaroni & cheese & assorted munchies.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

When I woke up on this late March morning to SNOW, I felt like adding a little Spring flavor to our breakfast table. I had seen Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins on the So Tasty, So Yummy blog recently and knew I had to make them. They didn't disappoint! My recipe features less sugar, whole wheat flour and more strawberries. It does take a few extra minutes to dice all those strawberries, but the result is so worth it and the yield is great (24 muffins) leaving plenty to enjoy now and freeze for a quick breakfast or snack later in the week. Look for these to appear again this summer with blueberries and lemon zest or maybe blackberries... the possibilities are endless!

1 cup All Purpose flour

1 cup Whole Wheat flour (I like King Arthur White Wheat flour best)
1 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixer cream together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar.  Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix until just combined.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Then add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until just combined.  Be careful not to over mix.

The batter will be thick, almost like cookie dough.  Stir in the strawberries.

Spoon batter into a paper lined muffin pan.  Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes,until the tops are golden.  Cool on a rack, but not too long - they are delicious warm! 

Makes 24 muffins.

Am I really doing this?

I have a little habit of sharing what I'm cooking on Facebook. One day, I off-handedly made a comment that in my next life I'll be a food blogger because I love cooking and baking and shopping and eating and... (you get the picture). Well, so many of my fabulous friends encouraged me that I decided to make like a Nike ad and "Just Do It!" So, here I am in the blogosphere where I hope to keep track of what's cookin' in my kitchen. I like to steal share recipes from other websites and blogs and I almost always change them up a bit and give them my own spin. I'd love to know what's going on in your kitchen too!