Operation Clean Out the Cabinet has begun. You know how these things go, everything that you think is silly to take with you on the big move, has to be used. Extra flour, frozen egg whites, extracts and canned whatevers... the fun stuff.
I actually have been slowing down my spending on baking and cooking things, so I'd run out of the staples just as I need to. This is kind of why I've been a little pedestrian on the baking adventures on my end... well, and the packing/planning is taking a little bit of the time toll too :)
So when times like these arise, I go to simple, old favorites. Things that don't require a recipe book for consulting, or using multiple bowls (I love using one bowl). This coffee cake comes together in about 5 minutes, once you get your fruit peeled and ready. My personal favorite is to use Apples, but we've made this with blueberries, strawberries, plums... whatever the baker or their family enjoys. Strap on your fruit imagination, it's all up to you.
Everyday 5 Minute Crumb Cake
Dr. Adam
-2 cups flour
-1 cup sugar
-1 stick butter, cold and cut into small pieces
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-3 eggs
-1/2 cup milk (or milk alternative)
-1/2 tsp almond extract
-3-4 peeled, sliced apples (or other fruit)
Preheat your oven to 350*. Take a 13x9 pan out and grease it.
In a medium bowl, add the flour and sugar together. Mix well, and add the butter into the dry goods. Using your hands, stir this together so that fine crumbs start to form, kind of like making a pie crust dough. Don't worry too much about getting it perfect, remember this takes 5 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of this crumb mix and set aside.
Now to the bowl, add the remaining ingredients except apples. Don't worry about the order or anything, just add them all, and stir well with a wooden spoon. The batter should thin up a bit, and be smooth, even, and be easily pourable.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and layer with apples or fruit of your choice. Don't overcrowd, but go with a single layer. Press the fruit down a little firmly, but don't submerge it into the batter. Top the fruit with the reserved crumb mix evenly, and you're all set.
Bake for 30-40*, or until a toothpick comes out clean. This can be served warm, but I like it room temperature, because it firms up a bit more.
I want to thank everyone for their warm wishes about my new home situation. I am very excited and anxious as you can imagine, and have quite a few things swimming around in my head. This coming weekend starts some of the moving, which will probably commence for about another week or so after that. Then, it's time for some home shopping.
Speaking of which, does anyone have any appliance advice? I'm going to need to go fridge and oven shopping. Any tips on what to really look for? Things to avoid? Let me know, thanks :)
I actually have been slowing down my spending on baking and cooking things, so I'd run out of the staples just as I need to. This is kind of why I've been a little pedestrian on the baking adventures on my end... well, and the packing/planning is taking a little bit of the time toll too :)
So when times like these arise, I go to simple, old favorites. Things that don't require a recipe book for consulting, or using multiple bowls (I love using one bowl). This coffee cake comes together in about 5 minutes, once you get your fruit peeled and ready. My personal favorite is to use Apples, but we've made this with blueberries, strawberries, plums... whatever the baker or their family enjoys. Strap on your fruit imagination, it's all up to you.
Everyday 5 Minute Crumb Cake
Dr. Adam
-2 cups flour
-1 cup sugar
-1 stick butter, cold and cut into small pieces
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-3 eggs
-1/2 cup milk (or milk alternative)
-1/2 tsp almond extract
-3-4 peeled, sliced apples (or other fruit)
Preheat your oven to 350*. Take a 13x9 pan out and grease it.
In a medium bowl, add the flour and sugar together. Mix well, and add the butter into the dry goods. Using your hands, stir this together so that fine crumbs start to form, kind of like making a pie crust dough. Don't worry too much about getting it perfect, remember this takes 5 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of this crumb mix and set aside.
Now to the bowl, add the remaining ingredients except apples. Don't worry about the order or anything, just add them all, and stir well with a wooden spoon. The batter should thin up a bit, and be smooth, even, and be easily pourable.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and layer with apples or fruit of your choice. Don't overcrowd, but go with a single layer. Press the fruit down a little firmly, but don't submerge it into the batter. Top the fruit with the reserved crumb mix evenly, and you're all set.
Bake for 30-40*, or until a toothpick comes out clean. This can be served warm, but I like it room temperature, because it firms up a bit more.
I want to thank everyone for their warm wishes about my new home situation. I am very excited and anxious as you can imagine, and have quite a few things swimming around in my head. This coming weekend starts some of the moving, which will probably commence for about another week or so after that. Then, it's time for some home shopping.
Speaking of which, does anyone have any appliance advice? I'm going to need to go fridge and oven shopping. Any tips on what to really look for? Things to avoid? Let me know, thanks :)
Comments
Hang in there with packing/moving and keep on baking!!
fyi: my workouts are killer, meaning I'm such a gym-junkie and I have slowed down a bit and noticed more of a diff in the after-recovery time. :-)
I'd say to look into a decent toaster oven. There are convection toaster ovens, though the regular one I have works fine. Haven't really tried baking in it and don't know why I would, but for things like cheese toast, heating up cinnamon rolls, and stuff like that it really comes in handy and I like the way it heats things better than the microwave. Especially pizza, since it gets crispy again instead of soggy.
Good luck on the move. Too bad you don't live closer. My dad sells used appliances and has a nice selection in our garage! Lol ;)
good luck with everything down there :)
I love apples in cake! This one looks like a winner with the apples and almond extract!
Good luck with the moving.
a 5-minute crumb-cake. impossible, i say! but i'm going to whip out a time and see if this is too good to be true.
good luck with appliances - i've had all black, and all stainless. both of have their drawbacks - lots of crumbs and dust on black,and lots of fingerprints/stains on stainless. chose your poison wisely.
Your cake is amazing!!! I'm SO impressed that you're able to find time to bake glorious things such as this beautiful coffee cake amidst packing and moving! Dr. Adam, you're superman!
Hooray for fridge and oven shopping!! The most useful fridge advice I received was to look for the interior dimensions posted on the fridge tag - i.e. the actual amount of room inside the fridge. Some fridges looked deceptively roomy to me, and the I would notice on the tag that they actually didn't have as much interior space as I'd thought...
Have fun!! I can't wait to hear more about the new house and the appliance shopping!
I don't envy you moving. There's almost nothing worse. Get it over with quickly!
Good luck with the appliances. Get them all in the same finish. Sounds obvious, but once I didn't and I regretted it for a decade.
GE profile appliances seem good and I have never had any problems with Kenmore. Do you have a Sears around you?
If it's not urgent, one thing you can try is to decide what you want and then call a place that supplies contractors to see if they carry them -- usually for a small fee they will get an independent contractor to pick up the appliances, deliver, and "install" them for you. You can save significantly that way. That's how I got the dreaded Dacor, plus the Subzero fridge at great prices.