Apple Cider Donut Cake

 

Apple Cider Donut Cake

A tender and moist apple spice bundt cake with a cinnamon sugar coat.

Servings 18

Ingredients

For the Cake

·         3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour

·         2 tsp (5 g) ground cinnamon

·         1/4 tsp (1 g) nutmeg

·         1 tsp (5.6 g) salt

·         1 1/2 tbsp (21 g) baking powder

·         1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar

·         1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar

·         1 cup (224 g) vegetable oil

·         3 eggs at room temperature

·         1 cup (250 g) applesauce at room temperature

·         1 cup (248 g) apple cider at room temperature

·         1 tsp (5.6 g) vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating

·         1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter melted

·         1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

·         2 tsp (5 g) cinnamon

Instructions

1.     Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray and then dust with flour. Set aside.

2.     In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3.     In a large bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar and oil. Mix on medium speed to combine.

4.     Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and mix on medium speed for about two minutes.

5.     Add the applesauce and vanilla. Mix to combine.

6.     With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the apple cider. Continue alternating the flour mixture and the apple cider, finishing with the flour mixture. Mix until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will be slightly thin, not thick.

7.     Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.

8.     Let the cake cool for an hour in the bundt pan before turning it over onto a cake plate or cooling rack.

9.     Using a pastry brush, coat the cake in butter.

10.   Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon and then sprinkle onto the top and sides of the cake. To coat the sides, it's best to fill your hand with the mixture and pat it on the cake.

Lemongrass Coconut Rice

 

LEMONGRASS COCONUT RICE

 

Yield: 4-6  

Total Time: 30 minutes +/-

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed well
1 ½ cups coconut milk
1 ½ cups water
1 tbsp lemongrass paste
1 tsp sesame oil
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the Jasmine rice into a large saucepan then fill with some cold water. Swirl the water around the rice using your hand to rinse the rice, the water will be cloudy. Carefully, drain the water from the saucepan making sure the rice stays in the pan. Refill the pan with water and swirl then drain and repeat one more time. Drain very well.

Add the coconut milk, water, lemongrass paste, sesame oil, and salt to the rice in the sauce pan. Place on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil, while making sure to mix the lemongrass paste into the rice very well. Once it’s boiling, place a lid on top of the sauce pan, turn the heat to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT LIFT THE LID!!! Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the rice sit for 5 minutes. DO NOT REMOVE OR LIFT THE LID!!! After five minutes, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Pour into a serving bowl. Enjoy.

 

CILANTRO LIME RICE

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS AS A SIDE DISH

 

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES

 

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME: 25 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  1 tablespoons butter
•  1 1/4 cups rice (long grain white rice or jasmine rice works best)
•  2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•  3/4 teaspoon salt
•  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•  Juice and zest of 1 large lime
•  2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
•  1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a skillet or medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the rice. Stir, letting the rice and butter cook for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15-16 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.

Pumpkin Chicken Curry

 2 Tbsp canola oil, divided

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes

3/4 cup chopped yellow onion

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp yellow curry powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup canned pure pumpkin (or your own pumpkin puree)

1/2 cup coconut milk

Additional vegetables (not included in the original recipe, but definitely should be):  carrots, frozen or fresh green beans, white or sweet potatoes . . . whatever you have and want to try.  You could also add garbanzo beans or replace the chicken with garbanzo beans if you want it vegetarian.

Heat 1 Tbsp canola oil in a medium nonstick saute pan over medium heat.  Add chicken; brown the meat on all sides.  Remove the chicken to a plate; set aside.

Heat remaining canola oil in the pan over medium heat.  Saute onion, ginger and garlic until onion is translucent, approximately 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the curry powder, spices and salt.  Cook mixture 1 minute.

Stir in the pumpkin and coconut milk, then add the browned chicken (and vegetables).  Bring sauce to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low; cook an additional 8-10 minutes until the chicken (and vegetables) are cooked through and sauce is fragrant and homogeneous.  Serve with rice or another grain.  Makes 6 servings.

This was in the Costco Connection magazine October 2020.

Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies: I made these for conference weekend and they are great!

 

Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cook Time: 8 mins

Yield: 24

 Description

These are like chocolate chip cookies, taken up a notch with the nutty aroma and chewy texture of shredded coconut flakes. Be sure to chill the dough prior to baking. 

Ingredients

·         1 cup all purpose flour*

·         1 tsp cornstarch

·         1 tsp baking soda

·         1/2 tsp baking powder

·         1/4 tsp table salt

·         1/4 cup butter, just softened to room temp (not at all melty)

·         1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

·         1/3 cup granulated sugar

·         1 large egg

·         2 tsp pure vanilla extract

·         1 1/2 cups finely shredded/flaked coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

·         1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Instructions

1.        In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2.        In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together the butter and both sugars until fluffy and light, scraping down sides and continuing to mix, for about 4 minutes – do not skimp on this step, as it’s super important for achieving correct texture. You can use an electric hand whisk if you don’t own a stand mixer.

3.        Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until incorporated and smooth; scrape down sides as needed.

4.        On low speed, gently mix in the dry flour mixture just until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed; do not over-mix here. Add coconut and chocolate chips and slowly mix just until combined; again, do not over-mix.

5.        Use rubber spatula to scrape down sides of bowl and form a large dough ball. Transfer entire dough ball onto a sheet of cling wrap and wrap it up airtight; chill for a couple of hours in fridge.*

6.        When ready to bake, heat oven to 350F, with rack on lower middle position. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mat. Let chilled dough sit at room temp 5-10 min. while oven preheats. Use cookie scoop to form 1 TB rounded dough balls, 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Bake about 8 minutes or just until edges are golden; cookies will seem slightly under-baked, but will set upon cooling.

Notes

When measuring flour, use the scoop & scrape method to ensure accurate measurement. You’ll want a dry-ingredient measurement scoop that does not have extra top margin and no lip. A metal, 1-cup scoop is perfect for scooping up the flour; use flat end of a butter knife to gently scrape across the top to remove excess flour.

Dough can be chilled overnight or up to several days. It’s important for cookie dough to be adequately chilled in order for it to bake up chewy and thick (not flat.) Chilling cookie dough allows the butter fat to firm up throughout, which helps retain thickness while baking. Chilling also gives flour time to fully hydrate, which helps with a great chewy texture. 

Leftover cookies should be kept in airtight container at moderate room temp several days. Baked cookies can be wrapped airtight and frozen for several weeks.