Caramel Apple Mini Coffee Cakes

Call this what you will: muffins, mini coffee cakes or cupcakes - whatever they are, they sure are tasty! Perfect for anytime - breakfast, lunch or a special snack -  these little bundles of goodness are simple to prepare. I originally used a Trader Joe's whole-wheat biscuit mix and other ingredients, but found a pretty good recipe online that mimics it. I made large and mini muffins.

Caramel Apple Mini Coffee Cakes

Caramel Apple Mini Coffee Cakes

Ingredients

• 2 c all-purpose or whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 c 2 percent or low-fat milk
• 1/4 c butter, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 + cups peeled, diced tart apples

Topping

• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• dash of cinnamon
• a good, thick caramel ice cream topping

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk egg, milk, butter and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into flour mixture, stirring until just moistened. Stir in walnuts/pecans and diced apples.
2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-quarters full. Combine topping ingredients EXCEPT CARAMEL TOPPING to form a streusel topping. Evenly sprinkle over batter. 
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until a knife inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan to wire rack and carefully pour over threads of the caramel topping. Serve warm or freeze and reheat. Yield: 12 to 14 muffins.

Fresh Peach Crumb Coffee Cake

I found this recipe online and thought....wow! I love peaches and am a crumb coffee cake aficionado, so it seemed ideal. The problem is, with 13 pounds lost, I am not willing to gain weight over a piece of cake (even though it is as easy as a piece of cake to gain weight, if you get my drift). So I made the recipe "my own," cutting calories where I could by using reduced fat or no fat ingredients. This is the result, and let me tell you, delicious doesn't even begin to describe this delightful bit of decadence!

Fresh Peach Crumb Coffee Cake with No Sugar Added Ice Cream

Fresh Peach Crumb Coffee Cake 

INGREDIENTS
Topping

• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c firmly packed golden brown sugar
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c (1 stick) reduced calorie margarine (instead of butter), melted

Cake

• 1/2 c (1 stick) reduced calorie margarine (instead of butter), softened
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 c golden brown sugar (loosely packed)
• 1/2 c reduced fat sour cream
• 1 large egg + 1/4 c egg substitute (2 large eggs if you don't have the alternative)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 lb (3-4 medium) ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10 inch casserole or deep round cake pan LIBERALLY with cooking spray.
2. Place topping ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well to make a very dense, smooth dough (they're not kidding!); set aside.
3. To make cake batter: cream the margarine and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer (I just used elbow grease instead of the mixer) until smooth. Add the sour cream, eggs and vanilla and beat well. Measure the flour, baking powder and soda on top of this mixture, stirring well to combine. It will be a medium thick batter.
4. Smooth the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange peach slices on top, more-or-less in a single layer to give even baking. Grab topping mixture in big chunks and place n top of the peaches. 
5. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out with crumbs clinging to it, but no streaks of raw batter. The peaches make the cake very moist, but you want to make sure it's baked through. This can take from 45 minutes to an hour (I kept mine in for an hour to be sure it was baked). Cool slightly before cutting into 8 wedges.

Yummy deliciousness

                                                       

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I found this recipe on one of my favorite websites, justapinch.com. Being a blueberry fanatic and a coffee cake aficionado, it seemed the perfect recipe to post on a lazy Sunday morning.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

From justapinch.com

Ingredients

Streusel

·         ¼ c brown sugar

·         ¼ c white sugar

·         ¼ c flour

·         2 Tbsp butter, room temperature

·         1 tsp cinnamon

Cake

·         1 ½ c all-purpose flour, sifted

·         2½ tsp baking powder

·         ½ tsp salt

·         1 egg, beaten

·         ¾ c white sugar

·         1/3 c butter, melted

·         ½ c either milk, buttermilk or soy milk

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         1 ½ c blueberries, frozen

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease and flour a loaf or cake pan.

2.     For topping: In small mixing bowl, combine streusel ingredients. Blend with fork until crumbly. Set aside.

3.     In a small saucepan, heat half the blueberries and 1 tsp of sugar over medium heat, while occasionally mashing the berries. Heat until berries turn into a slightly thick syrup. Remove from heat and set aside.

4.     In a small bowl, sift flour with baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, mix together beaten egg and ¾ c sugar and 1/3 c melted butter. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture and mix well.

5.     Pour ½ the batter into a greased and floured pan. Sprinkle with remaining blueberries and half the streusel topping. Top with remaining batter. Using a spoon, drizzle the blueberry syrup over the top, and gently swirl with a toothpick or knife to slightly mix it in. Top with remaining streusel.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until cake tests done. Partially cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut and serve.