Before you run away thinking I’m a crazy person for putting vegetables in my chocolate I have to tell you that you cannot actually taste the zucchini in this bread. As anyone who has tried zucchini bread before knows, even though there may be a ton of it in the bread all the zucchini does is make the loaf incredibly moist. So take that soft and sweet loaf, add in chocolate chips and cocoa powder, and the chocolate-addict in me is absolutely hooked.

I was a little skeptical of this recipe when I first tried it, but all that went away when I tried my first slice. I found myself eating it for breakfast, snack, dessert – you name it – until the next thing I knew it was completely gone. Based on the ingredients and a note from the original recipe author I know this Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread will freeze well, but I have yet to have a loaf make it to that point. Although you could always make two loaves and freeze one to have on hand, which is an excellent idea.

This recipe calls for instant coffee powder or espresso powder. As with my Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes, you cannot taste the coffee flavor; it just acts purely as an enhancer to the chocolate. You can certainly omit it, but I highly recommend to include it to help bring out that rich chocolate taste of the loaf.

Matt is the only coffee drinker in our house and he drinks espresso every morning. Since I don’t typically have instant coffee powder or espresso powder (which is not really for drinking, it’s a specialty ingredient used in baking) in the house, I found this awesome hack by Bright Eyed Baker to DIY my own espresso powder. Lay used espresso grounds on a baking sheet then bake on your oven’s lowest temperature for about 1 hour, or until they are toasted and crunchy. Then run through your coffee grinder to make a fine powder. Voila! Espresso powder and no wasted grounds!

So espresso powder hacks aside, this Double Chocolate Zucchini bread is perfect for using up all those extra zucchinis everyone tends to have in the summer, but don’t wait until then to try it!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

 

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Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1½ cups shredded zucchini, about 2 zucchinis, lightly patted dry
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon instant coffee powder, or ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 or 8x4 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, instant coffee and ¾ cup of the chocolate chips. Stir to combine and set aside.
3. Whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, yogurt, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Fold in the shredded zucchini. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Top with the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let bread cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack. Once cooled, removed from the pan. Store in an airtight container for 5 days or even longer in the fridge. Bread also freezes well and can be thawed in the fridge.

Notes

You can be flexible about the yogurt in this recipe. If you would prefer full or low-fat yogurt instead of the nonfat feel free to substitute. You could also use regular non-Greek yogurt or vanilla yogurt instead of plain.

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

Don’t worry, I promise this cake isn’t scandalous. Definitely delicious, but certainly not scandalous. It is called a naked cake because the sides aren’t frosted, but I will get to that in a bit. Last month we celebrated Matt’s 30th birthday!

When Matt and I first started dating during our sophomore year of college we celebrated his 20th birthday – that’s a whole decade of birthdays! We had only been dating for a few weeks, but I made him these very literal cupcakes.

I’ve clearly come a long way- ha! I’ve made Matt many birthday desserts over the years, but I wanted this one to be extra special.

I decided to turn one of Matt’s favorite desserts, this Summer Berry Trifle, into a layer cake. The cake layers are angel food cake that have been brushed with a simple lemon syrup to keep them extra moist and bursting with light lemon flavor. The creamy filling and topping is a sturdy whipped cream. Basically, the base of a cream cheese frosting folded in with lots and lots of Cool Whip to make it light and fluffy. Piled in the middle and on top are sweet fresh berries. I used a combination of strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. Altogether, they make a fresh and light cake – perfect for eating a big slice.

When you get a big bite of the syrup-brushed cake with the cream filling and the berries it is completely magical.

Now, to the scandalous aspect of the cake. A naked cake simply means that there is little or no icing on the sides of the cake, letting the layers bare all. The layers of whipped filling in the middle and on the top of the cake are thick enough that you really don’t need the additional filling on the sides of the cake. Leaving the cake naked lets the beautiful berries in the middle of the cake peek out. It also saves you time from having to try to make the sides look perfect and smooth – a win-win!

I think a cake this delicious is great any time of the year, but it is especially fitting for a summer gathering with berry season soon approaching. Enjoy!

Triple Berry Angel Food Cake Trifle

 

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 box angel food cake mix, batter prepared according to directions on box
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon lemon or almond extract
• 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 16 ounces reduced fat Cool Whip
• 8 ounces strawberries, washed
• 1 cup blackberries, washed
• 1 cup raspberries, washed
• More berries for topping, if needed

Directions

1. To make two round cakes, I lined two 9” round pans with parchment paper. I divided the batter between the two prepared pans, making sure not to fill them more than ¾ full. You will most likely have some excess batter. I weighed them with my kitchen scale to make sure they would be even layers. Bake at the temperature specified by the box for 20-30 minutes. The cake is done when the top is dark golden brown and the top cracks are dry not sticky. When it’s done baking, tilt the pan on its side. I leaned mine up, cake facing down, against a raised cooling rack. Once it’s completely cool, run a knife around the edges of the pan then carefully remove.
2. Over medium-high heat in a small saucepan heat ¼ cup of the sugar and ¼ cup of the lemon juice. Stir frequently while heating until the sugar dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the lemon extract. Set aside.
3. Beat the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the cream cheese on medium speed with a mixer until fluffy. Fold in the Cool Whip until smooth. Stir in the tablespoon of lemon juice. Take one of the cooled angel food cake rounds and brush the top with the lemon syrup. Spoon a bunch of the whipped filling onto the cake and smooth with a spatula. Put half of the berries in a single layer on top of the filling. I left the blackberries and raspberries whole, but I halved and quartered the strawberries depending on how big they were. Dollop some more of the whipped filling on top of the berries then carefully smooth it out over the berries with a spatula. Top with the second angel food cake layer. Brush the top with the lemon syrup. Spread a thick layer of the whipped filling on top and smooth with a spatula. Top with the remaining berries. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

It is hard to believe that I am writing this post and it is even harder to write it. One month has passed since my family and I lost my grandma, Babu. For those of you who don’t know me personally or haven’t read my Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Mother’s Day post, Babu and I were incredibly close. These past few weeks without my best friend have felt surreal. As most people who have dealt with loss have experienced, the ache does not get smaller, you just get better at handling it.

Babu loved hearing about my cooking and the food blog. She would always ask me what I was making for dinner and would listen to me read her my latest posts over the phone. Several times I had prints made of the food photos I knew Babu would like and mailed them to her. Babu would share them with her friends in her building and report back to me with which ones everyone wanted to try the most. Not only did Babu encourage me to follow my food passions, but she also helped foster those passions by baking with me and of course our many, many lunch dates.

In my family it is hard to mention coffee cake and not think about Babu. When she lived with us she always made sure there were slices in the freezer. She would make a coffee cake, always waiting to let me help glaze it, then cut it into big slices, wrap them in plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer. I would come home from school, microwave a slice for 30 seconds and it would taste like it just came out of the oven. There would be one slice left and the next day the freezer would be stocked back up with a fresh cake.

After Babu moved back down to Delaware I came to look forward to having some every time I went to visit, especially when we would do our annual beach trip. Since I always knew I would have some on these trips, I never made this cake on my own. When I was thinking of what I could make that would help celebrate Babu on Lemon & Mocha, once beach week started approaching I knew it had to be her coffee cake.

It was difficult knowing I couldn’t ask Babu any questions before I started baking or knowing that this would be my first beach trip without her, but I know she was there with me the whole time- cheering with me when the cake came out of the Bundt pan perfectly and laughing with me when I totally left too much batter for the final layer. I hope that this simple cake can bring you as much joy as it has brought me over the years and that you can share it with someone special, too.

Babu's Coffee Cake

 

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Yield: 10-12 servings

Ingredients

for the cake

• 1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding (3.4 ounce size)
• 4 large eggs
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

for the glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

for the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a Bundt pan and set aside.
2. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil, water and vanilla extract with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and ground cinnamon.
4. Evenly pour ⅓ of the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Use a spatula to even the layer. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the batter. Repeat with ⅓ of the batter and the remaining cinnamon sugar. Top with the last ⅓ of batter.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Apply the glaze while still warm, but not hot.

for the glaze

1. Combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Spoon or pastry brush the glaze over the warm cake.

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Lauren Uncategorized 1 Comment

The lemon cheesecake that serves as the base of this recipe is the first cheesecake I ever baked from scratch. Matt had gotten me my stand mixer for my birthday (lucky girl!) and I wanted to christen my new kitchen toy with an epic recipe. After days of sifting through cookbooks and blog posts to pick the perfect recipe we decided on a lemon cheesecake with lemon curd.

My, oh my, was it outrageous. I have since made the lemon curd many times over for all sorts of recipes and occasions, but had yet to revisit the fluffy and tart lemon cheesecake. Four years later I decided it was finally time to make it again. I told you it takes me a long time to remake recipes! I thought the lemon would pair perfectly with cranberry for the holiday season because of the flavors and beautiful color.

This cranberry raspberry compote is simply made with cranberries, raspberries, orange juice and sugar. It is sweet, tart, fruity and a great cheesecake topping.

If you have never made a cheesecake before I urge you to give it a shot. You will feel so impressed with yourself when you’re done and your tastebuds will thank you. Although it may seem intimidating, homemade cheesecake is rather simple.

The key to an extra light and fluffy texture is to keep beating the cream cheese past when you normally think you should stop. If the cream cheese is extra airy before you pour it into the crust you will have an unbelievable texture once it is baked.

Lemon Cheesecake with Cranberry Raspberry Compote

 

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Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

for the crust

• 16 graham cracker squares
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

for the filling

• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon

for the compote

• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ cup sugar
• 6 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Directions

for the crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9" springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor to create crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until the graham cracker crumbs are coated. Evenly press into the bottom and ½" up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

for the filling

1. Beat the cream cheese until very fluffy. It should almost have a satiny quality to it. Add the sugar then beat until smooth. Add 1 egg then beat for 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
2. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is set, except for the center which should look almost just set and glossy. Let cool to room temperature on a cooling rack then cover the pan and chill in the fridge overnight.

for the compote

1. Combine the orange juice and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes, add the cranberries and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
2. Once the mixture comes to a boil and most of the cranberries have started to burst, add the raspberries then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Let cool in the fridge. Pour over the top of the cheesecake.

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Lauren Uncategorized 1 Comment

I don’t have very many Fourth of July food traditions, but there was one dessert my grandma and I used to make every year: the quintessential flag cake.

I’m sure most of you know the cake I am talking about as I’m sure it has appeared on almost every Fourth of July spread at some point in time. Vanilla sheet cake, vanilla frosting, cut strawberries, or raspberries, laid across to create the stripes in the American flag, 50 blueberries placed in the upper left corner to mimic the flag’s stars.

It is a delightful classic, but I decided this classic needed a major makeover. As much as I love the original, oftentimes the red from the strawberries bleeds into the vanilla frosting if decorated ahead of time and who wants to be laying out lines of strawberries in the kitchen while everyone else is outside enjoying the barbecue.

Also, I am all about multi purposing and the flag cake is not really an enjoy-it-all-summer-long kind of treat. When I was looking through an old issue of the Food Network magazine I came across the perfect solution: this patriotic berry trifle.

Cubes of moist angel food cake are layered with fluffy homemade whipped cream and fresh sweet berries to create a delicious, fuss-free, make-ahead, presentation-worthy dessert. Now that’s a quadruple win right there!

I must admit that I had a serious addiction to this dessert and may have eaten three servings in one sitting… I’ll never tell!

Perfect for your Fourth of July party, Labor Day potluck and just-because-it’s-a-nice-day-out barbecue.

Summer Berry Trifle

 

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• ¾ cup sugar, divided
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 pre-made angel food cake, cut into 1" slices
• 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 16 ounces fat free Cool Whip
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 2 pints blueberries, washed and stems removed
• 2 pints strawberries, washed, hulled and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Over medium-high heat in a small saucepan heat ¼ cup of the sugar and ¼ cup of the lemon juice. Stir frequently while heating until the sugar dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the almond extract.
2. Lay the angel food cake slices face down and brush with the syrup. Flip over and brush the other side of the cake slices. Cut into 1" cubes.
3. Beat the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the cream cheese on medium speed with a mixer until fluffy. Add the Cool Whip and very lightly beat until smooth. Stir in the tablespoon of lemon juice, to taste.
4. Using a 13 cup trifle bowl place half the cake cubes in an even layer on the bottom. Add a layer of ⅓ of the blueberries, followed by half the cream mixture. Layer with half of the sliced strawberries, followed by the remaining cake. Then layer ⅓ of the blueberries, followed by the remaining cream mixture.
5. Top with a layer of strawberries overlapping around the edge of the bowl. Place the remaining ⅓ of blueberries on the top in the center. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Notes

For easiest preparation, cut angel food cake with a serrated knife in a slow sawing motion.

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Lauren Uncategorized 6 Comments