Zucchini is one my favourite plants to grow in the garden. It doesn’t require the best of soil and can take in the heat of the Texas summer . One of my zucchini plants grew about 4 feet wide this spring and was producing some great and sweet fruit. We only grow organic at home so the fruits are a little sweeter and have a creamier texture than store bought. With all this delicious zucchini we have been looking for a way to incorporate it into more daily meals. We added Smitten Kitchen’s lemon zucchini pasta to our menu and also started grilling zucchini with olive oil and salt more often.

Since zucchini can be both sweet and savory, we had been looking for way to use it beyond zucchini bread in a dessert. I recently came across a recipe tucked in the back of Cooks Country magazine for chocolate zucchini cake. We adapted a little to make muffins. We prefer all our desserts less sweet so that they can be served with tea, coffee, and to a 3 year old. Thanks for Tamara Anderson of Road Island for the inspiration:

This recipe makes 8 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour.
1/4 cup non-sweet dark cocoa powder.
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
4 tbsp. softened unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter milk or (1/4 cup whole milk + 1 tbsp while vinegar)
1 medium zucchini shredded.
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Add cupcake paper to the muffin tins – no need to grease. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl. In a stainless steel bowl using a wooden spoon or using an electric mixer combine the butter, oil, and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, and butter milk and mix until blended. Stir in dry ingredients, stir in shredded zucchini. Pour mixture into prepared tins.

Top batter with chocolate chips and walnuts if desired. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Use a toothpick as your indicator (poke and see if the toothpick comes out clean).

Technorati Tags: chocolate cupcakes, Dessert, Recipes, Zucchini

These cheddar and tarragon biscuits have a anglo-french flavour. I prefer to use 2 year aged sharp cheddar as it combines well with tarragon’s flowery sweetness.

2 ounces non-salted butter
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
3 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. dried chopped tarragon
1/2 tsp. salt

Pre-heat an oven to 350°F
Soften the butter, then stir until creamy. Add the shredded cheese and combine
Add the flour, salt, and tarragon and stir for 1 minute
Remove the mixture and place unto a flat surface and roll into a log. Move to a refrigerator 1 hour.

Line a cookie pan with parchment paper.

Cut the log into 1/4″ or 1/8″ slices and layout onto pan.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, then allow to cool.

Ideas: top with prosciutto and cantaloupe for a delicious appetizer.

Technorati Tags: Recipes, Snacks

Holiday Fruitcake

Fruitcake has to be one of the best fruit and nut cakes. It has an undeserved reputation of being hard and too sweet; this comes from certain commercial fruitcakes which use super sugared pieces are fruits. This recipe is guaranteed to inaugurate you as a new fruitcake fan!

1 Week Before Baking Day

Candied Fruits
Add 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier, Brandy or Calvados to
1/4 cup raisins
zest of 1 small orange
4 snipped mejdool dates, pitted
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Baking Day

Dry
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground cloves
1/2 tsp. freshly ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg (preferably freshly ground)
1/2 cup walnuts

Wet
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup no salt butter
2 tbsp. molasses
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy or Calvados)

2 days prior to baking the cake create the candied fruit mixture and keep in the refrigerator

Pre-heat oven to 300 F. Butter an 8X4X2-inch bread pan

Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, ground cloves, ground allspice, and walnuts, then mix well.

Wet Ingredients
In a medium bowl, add beaten eggs, brown sugar, apple juice, orange juice, butter, and molasses and mix. Add candied fruit mixture and mix.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until combined. Do not over-mix. Pour mixture into baking pans. Bake on 300F for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Cut some cheesecloth to a size big enough to wrap cake in. Wet the cheesecloth with a liqueur of your choice and wrap around fruitcake.

Tip: Add liqueur to a small spray bottle and spray cheesecloth daily for 2 week, then cut fruitcake and eat.

Technorati Tags: Dessert, Recipes