Cinnamon Apple Upside Down Cakes

I saw a recipe this morning for caramel apple muffins on the NYTimes and had to try it out. But with the amount of butter and sugar in this recipe, I don't know how anyone can call it a muffin; this is most definitely a cake. I made a few changes, and have decided that this is almost as delicious as my mom's pineapple upside down cake.

I used Macoun apples from the Columbia farmer's market. At only $1.25 a pound, they are by far the best apples I've ever tasted.


Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cakes 
adapted from the NYTimesmakes 12 biggish cupcakes

for the topping:
2 big apples, peeled and diced 
1/2 cup vegan sugar
 2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional) 


for the batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup vegan sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
big punch salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large egg 
3/4 cup 0% greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a muffin tin. In a saucepan, stir together the topping ingredients (except the walnuts) and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Distribute the apple slices among the muffin cups. Add walnuts, if using, on top of the apples. 

Whisk together the dry ingredient. In a seperate bowl, mix the butter, eggs, yogurt and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together until smooth. The batter will be quite thick. Distribute the batter on top of the apples. Bake until the muffins are slightly puffed, about 20 minutes. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes before inverting onto a dish and devouring.

*This makes 12 rather puffed up cakes, which makes them not stand quite flat when flipped over. If you have extra tins, you could probably make another four cakes and have them all be perfectly sized. Just throw in a bit more apple when you make the topping*

Chocolate Pear Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake has always been one of my mom's go-to cakes. As a kid, I always got the job of arranging the pineapple chunks in a fancy pattern, while sneaking tastes of the butter and brown sugar caramel. We got a huge bag of bag of Bartlett pears in our CSA share this week, and I wanted to try this variation on a much loved recipe. I removed all of the dairy, and next time will try it with an egg substitute.

Chocolate Pear Upside Down Cakeone 9" cake

3 medium pears, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp earth balance
2 Tbsp water
1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup earth balance
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
big pinch sea salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the earth balance, water and sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to caramelize. Pour it into a buttered 9" spring form pan and arrange the pear slices however you please.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.  Melt the earth balance and chocolate chips over a double boiler. Take off the heat, and whisk in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and stir in the vanilla.  Stir in the flour mixture, alternating with the soy milk, starting and ending with the flour.

Pour the batter over the pears and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on a rack for as long as you can wait before flipping the cake over, but this cake is unbelievable when it's still warm. So don't resist temptation for too long.

Winter Squash Pizza with Sage Pesto and Goat Cheese

 Pizza is my go to dish when I'm having guests of for dinner. It's surprisingly easy to make and you can top it with just about anything. Plus, everybody loves pizza. This weeks CSA brought me four beautiful carnival squash (I always forget to take pictures before I cook!) and I had to try them on a pizza with sage and goat cheese.

Winter Squash Pizza with Sage Pesto and Goat Cheese
makes 2 large pizzas

for the squash:
Cut each squash in half, scoop the seeds, and roast at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until a knife cuts through the flesh easily. Let cool for a few minutes, then peel and cut into 1/2" cubes. I used about 2 squash for the pizza, and saved the rest to eat later.

for the sage pesto: 
This is one of those recipes that doesn't really have a recipe. Blend together a big handful of sage leaves, a few cloves of garlic, some walnuts or pine nuts, a generous splash of olive oil and parmesan cheese to taste. 

my favorite pizza dough: 
1 packet yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat or rye flour
1 Tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the water and whisk together. Let sit for 5ish minutes to proof; the mixture should bubble. In a big bowl (I use my stand mixer with the dough hook) add the olive oil, and gradually beat in the flour to form a soft dough. Knead or beat it for about 10 minutes. It shouldn't be too sticky. Let the dough rise for about an hour in a well-oiled bowl. I always make this the night before, so at this point you can stick it in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to roll out the dough, let it come to room temperature, divide it into 2 parts, and knead each part into a round ball. You're then ready to roll it out however thick you like on a well floured surface.

To assemble and bake:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Spread a thin layer of sage pesto on the crust, layer with paper-thin rounds of onion, top with a generous layer of squash, sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese, pine nuts or walnuts.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until the crust is just beginning to brown.
Top with lots of freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan.

I threw some dried cranberries on a few pieces and thought it was delicious! Try it out

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake

A simple pumpkin-spice coffee cake topped with brown sugar and walnuts. Perfect for celebrating the first day of October.

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake
adapted from Veganomicon
for a 9x9 pan

3/4 cup pumpkin (home-made is the best!)
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup vegan sugar
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
big pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch cloves

for the streusel topping:
2 Tbsp cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts 

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 baking pan.

Mix together the dry ingredients and whisk together the wet ingredients (including the sugar) in a separate bowl. Gradually add the flour and mix until combined, being careful not to over-beat. Pour into the prepared pan and cover with the streusel. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. When cool, cut into squares and devour with a hot cup of tea.