I've been making a lot of waffles lately. Mostly because they're relatively quick and easy and don't require any advanced planning. I'd like to get better about doing more nutritious breakfasts, but in the meantime... something is better than nothing. These muffins aren't really any better than more waffles, but they are at least a different form factor, so I figured I'd give them a try.

Blueberry Muffins with Almond Streusel

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Topping

• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 c. flour
• 45g sliced almonds

Muffins

• 140g all-purpose flour
• 140g whole wheat flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease a muffin tin.
2. Work the butter into the sugar and flour until crumbly, then mix in the almonds. Set aside.
3. Combine the flours and sugar.
4. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
5. Add the blueberries and toss to combine.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
8. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with streusel topping.
9. Turn oven down to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 20 minutes.
10. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

I didn't really have a plan for breakfast this morning. And then I slept in. So I woke up and groggily started casting about in my cookbooks looking for inspiration. In the end, it came down to French toast, muffins, or these biscuits. And the biscuits appealed to us more, so biscuits it was!

These are very easy to throw together (assuming that you have the bacon already cooked and ready to hand). And they have a lot of leavener in them, so they come out very light. They're not my favourite biscuits, but they're quite good nonetheless.

I think, if I were doing them again, I might reduce the oven temperature slightly. I baked these ones at 230°C (450°F) like the recipe called for. And they were good. But the bottoms got a bit darker than I would have liked. So I'm thinking that I might try dropping the temperature down to 220°C (425°F) next time.

Bacon and Cheese Drop Biscuits

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. grated cheddar
• 2-4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Cut in butter.
5. Mix in the cheese and bacon.
6. Pour in the buttermilk and stir to combine.
7. Drop generous tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet.
8. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until done (~12 minutes).
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I've made many, many different quick breads over the years. Most of them tend to be batter breads though. Soda breads are a bit different. They're made with a chemically leavened dough that gets shaped into a free-form loaf, rather than relying on a pan for shaping. And while I certainly have made soda breads in the past, they're a much less frequent occurence in my kitchen.

This one isn't out of the oven yet, but it smells divine! The scents of the butter and buttermilk really come though. And, although it didn't call for it, I also added ~250g of sourdough starter. Not because I felt that the bread would derive any great benefit from it, but because I desperately needed to use some starter up! Feel free to leave the starter out if you're making this and use the lesser amount of flour. It should be just fine either way. You will just have a slightly smaller (and even richer) loaf without the starter in.

Royal Hibernian Brown Loaf

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 350g whole wheat flour
• 150-200g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 250g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Grease a baking sheet and dust it with cornmeal.
3. Combine the flours, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Rub in the butter until it is thoroughly combined.
5. Sift in the baking soda and mix.
6. Beat the egg with the buttermilk.
7. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture and the sourdough discard (if using).
8. Mix thoroughly.
9. Turn out onto a floured surface and mix by hand to make sure everything is thoroughly incorporated.
10. Shape into a round ball and place on the prepared baking sheet.
11. Slash a large X in the top ~1cm deep.
12. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 30-40 minutes.

I've made banana pancakes before, but usually they involve mashing the bananas and mixing it into the batter. These ones work a little differently. You make a fairly standard buttermilk pancake batter and then add a few slices of banana to each pancake as it cooks.

I find this approach a little more messy and fiddly than just mixing the bananas into the batter, but it's a nice way to change things up if you want to try something a bit different on occasion. That said, I did have to make some adjustments to the recipe. The original only called for 3/4 c. of all-purpose flour and 1/3 c. of whole wheat flour. And this was cleary not nearly enough flour. I ended up adding an extra 1/2 c. of whole wheat flour and, honestly, I feel like it still could've used a little more. I also ended up needing more bananas than the recipe called for. I guess they expected you to slice the bananas thinner. But I quite liked the thick slices. So I'd just plan on using an extra banana next time.

Three-Spot Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 3 bananas, sliced

Directions

1. Combine flours, brown sugar, and salt.
2. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
3. Beat the egg with the buttermilk and stir in the melted butter.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
5. Heat up a tawa or skillet and add a little butter as needed.
6. Using ~1/4 c. of batter for each pancake, pour in as many as will comfortably fit in the pan (usually 1-3).
7. Press three slices of banana into the top of each pancake and cook until bubbles form and the edges start to look dry.
8. Flip the pancakes and cook until underside is brown and pancake is cooked through.
9. Transfer to a plate and repeat cooking process with remaining batter and bananas.
10. Serve with maple syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, and/or whipped cream.

I've made cakes that rely on dates for sugar and/or flavour before, but this is the first time I've used prunes for that purpose. It works really well though! Especially with all the spices.

My mom shared this recipe with me. And we both agreed that it didn't need anywhere near the full amount of sugar or oil called for. She also omitted the glaze. It seemed unnecessary given how sweet and rich the cake already was.

The original recipe called for 1 1/2 c. of sugar and 1 c. of oil. My mom cut the sugar back to 1 1/4 c. the first time she made it. And cut the oil all the way back to 1/4 c. (adding 1 c. of applesauce to make up for the missing oil).

I scaled back the sugar even further, to 1 c. I still found the cake plenty sweet enough. You could probably knock the sugar back even further if you were so inclined. And I would be tempted to swap out some or all of the granulated sugar with brown sugar next time. I think that the slight molasses flavour of the brown sugar would go really well with the fruit and spices.

Prune Cake

Slightly adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 c. pitted prunes, chopped
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. allspice berries, ground
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. oil
• 3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Bring the prunes and water to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Combine the flour, sugar, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Sift in the baking soda and stir to combine.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a Bundt pan.
6. Combine the oil, applesauce, buttermilk, and eggs and mix well.
7. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
8. Mix in the prunes along with any residual liquid.
9. Stir in the pecans.
10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
11. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (~45 minutes).
12. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

Cranberry Scones (Big Book of Breakfast)

I tried out a few different scone recipes while I was in NZ. But, as with so many of the things I made while I was over there, I didn't get around to writing it up before I left. I've been doing my best to catch up since then, but it's been slow going. I think I still have about four dozen left in the backlog. So, I'm not sure I'll actually manage to catch up before the end of the year at this point, but as least I've put a dent in it.

Cranberry Scones

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. salted butter
• 3/4 c. dried cranberries
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
3. Cut in the butter.
4. Mix in the cranberries.
5. Beat the egg with the buttermilk.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a fork until a dough forms.
7. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few strokes.
8. Press into a 20cm (8") round.
9. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar.
10. Cut into eight wedges and transfer to a baking sheet.
11. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until just slightly browned (~12 minutes).

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Variations

Apricot Scones

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. salted butter
• 3/4 c. chopped dried apricots
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Date Scones

• 250g flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. salted butter
• 3/4 c. chopped dates
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles (Big Book of Breakfasts)

I've been on a bit of a waffle kick lately. I've already made most of the waffles from the waffle cookbook (except for the dessert ones), but there are still a bunch of as-yet-untried ones in the Big Book of Breakfasts that I haven't made yet, so I decided to give another one of them a go. To be fair, this one is pretty similar to other buttermilk waffle recipes that I've made, but it still lets me check off another recipe, even if it's not a completely new type or flavour.

The original recipe just used all-purpose flour for these crispy and fluffy waffles. After giving it a bit of thought though, I decided to go with a mix of white and whole wheat flour for mine. I used a 50/50 mix, but I think 100% whole wheat also would've been fine. It might even be nice to try to incorporate a bit of sourdough starter next time.

Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles

Slighty adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 130g flour
• 130g whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 100-150g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1 c. frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine flours, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
4. Beat eggs into buttermilk.
5. Mix in the sourdough discard (if using) and stir in the melted butter.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the waffle iron and sprinkle a few blueberries on top. Close waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions.
8. Repeat cooking process wiht remaining batter and blueberries.
9. Serve topped with yogurt, maple syrup, and/or cream.

We had the Kidlet's birthday party this past weekend. She requested cake pops rather than a regular cake, which actually worked out really well. That said, once we'd finished with the cake pops on Saturday, TF and I were both craving some sort of dessert that we could eat. So I quickly threw together this sheet cake as well.

Powdered buttermilk and frozen lemons meant that it was easy to make with ingredients on hand, without needing to do a special shop for supplies. And I also appreciated that the glaze can be added while the cake is still warm. (In theory, you're still supposed to wait for it to cool completely before you actually cut it, but at least the glaze can go on right away. And you can always cheat the timing on cutting it a bit in a way that you can't do with icing.)

I cut back the sugar a little bit for this one, but I was nervous about scaling it back too far because there's so little else in the cake to begin with. I omitted ~50g of sugar from the cake itself and maybe 40g from the glaze. I might've been able to reduce it a bit further, but I'd be wary of changing it too much more. This might just be one of those recipes that I enjoy sparingly and infrequently and just let it be an extra-rich treat when I do have it.

Lemon-Buttermilk Sheet Cake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Text Kitchen

Ingredients

Cake

• 280g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 300g sugar
• 3 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk

Glaze

• 300g icing sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. powdered buttermilk (or 1-2 Tbsp. regular buttermilk)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 23x33cm (9x13") cake tin.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Mix in the salt and set aside.
4. Combine the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla in a measuring cup and set aside.
5. Beat the sugar with the lemon zest until well-mixed and fragrant.
6. Separate out ~1/4 c. of the sugar and set aside.
7. Cream the butter into the remaining lemon sugar.
8. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the egg yolk.
9. Mix in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the wet ingredients in two additions.
10. Give a final stir by hand and then pour the batter into the prepared tin.
11. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 25-35 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
13. Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing the icing sugar, lemon juice, and buttermilk powder (or buttermilk) together until it reaches a smooth, pourable consistency.
14. Pour the glaze over the cake, making sure it covers the entire surface.
15. Sprinkle with reserved lemon sugar and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

It's been a tough couple of days. I woke up late this morning and was craving comfort food for breakfast. And, while I may not be able to solve anything else right now, I could at least solve that. So I made these very basic oatmeal-buttermilk waffles.

The book called for topping them with a fresh blueberry sauce, but I didn't have any blueberries. What I did have though, was serviceberries! And they were a lovely treat here.

The waffles came out very light and crisp and were great with the serviceberry sauce (which comes together in ~5 minutes). The Kidlet had hers with a dollop of whipped cream, just to make it extra special. I had mine with just the sauce and didn't feel that I was missing out.

I think the only change that I'd make next time is to add just a touch of vanilla to the waffle batter. I nearly did so this time. I thought it seemed like it would be a nice addition. But, in the end, I decided to stick to strictly what was in the recipe. And, to be fair, the waffles did come out very well. I just think a hint of vanilla would've made them even better! And, if you're making the sauce to go with them (which calls for lemon juice, you can always zest the lemon first and toss a bit of the peel into your batter as well. Don't overdo it, of course, but I think that a 1/4-1/2 tsp. would go quite nicely.

Oatmeal-Buttermilk Waffles with Serviceberry Sauce

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

Waffles

• 140g whole wheat flour
• 100g quick oats
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Sauce

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 c. fresh or frozen serviceberries (or blueberries)

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, oats, and sugar.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and melted butter.
5. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest, if using.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just mixed.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat with remaining batter.
8. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, water, and berries over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
9. Cook, stirring often, until liquid portion of sauce is smooth and glossy and thickens slightly (2-3 minutes).
10. Serve waffles topped with sauce (and any other toppings you'd like).

Reiver needed to take a plate to the office the other day. So, of course, I viewed this as an idea opportunity to try out yet another feijoa recipe.

These were lovely little socnes. And because the jam was just a "quick jam" thickened with chia seeds, it didn't require the normal amount of sugar and came out not-too-sweet and deliciously fruity! The low-sugar nature of it means that the jam won't keep the way a traditional jam will. But as long as you eat it relatively quickly, it makes for a delicious (and relatively healthy) way to use up a few feijoas.

Photo goes here.

Feijoa-Ginger Scones with Quick Feijoa-Strawberry Jam

Slightly adapted from NZ Woman's Weekly

Ingredients

Scones

• 375g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ginger
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 50g butter
• 3-4 feijoas
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 0-2 Tbsp. milk

Jam

• 250g feijoa pulp
• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Scones

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and ginger.
3. Add sugar and stir to mix.
4. Cut in the butter.
5. Scoop and chop the feijoas.
6. Stir in the feijoas and the buttermilk.
7. Mix to form a shaggy dough. If the dough won't quite come together, add a little milk until it does.
8. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a disc ~2-3cm thick.
9. Fold the dough into quarters and press flat again.
10. Use a biscuit cutter of your preferred size to cut out your scones and place them on a baking sheet.
11. Combine the scraps, press flat, and cut out a few more scones. Repeat until you can't make any more scones.
12. Bake at 200°C (400°F) until cooked through and just starting to colour on the outside (~15 minutes).

Jam

1. Combine the feijoas, strawberries, and maple syrup and cook over medium heat until very soft.
2. Remove from heat, purée, and stir in the chia seeds and vanilla.
3. Pour into a jar and allow to cool.

Assembly

1. Split scones and serve topped with whipped cream and jam.

These were slightly unusual, but very tasty pancakes! The base is a pretty standard buttermilk pancake batter. But the twist is that you stir in a cup of granola right at the end. It's not something that I would have thought of doing, but it works quite well. We used the last of Orthia's home-made granola and it was lovely!

Granola Pancakes

From The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 150g flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 c. granola

Directions

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt and sift in the baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
2. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and mix in the melted butter.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
4. Stir in the granola.
5. If the batter seems too thick, add a splash of mix (or buttermilk).
6. Heat a large pan, griddle, or tawa over medium heat. Add a little butter if necessary.
7. Use ~1/4 c. of batter per pancake and cook until bubbles form and top is just beginning to look dry.
8. Flip and cook until both sides are golden-brown and pancakes are cooked through.
9. Serve with jam, syrup, butter, bacon, and/or fruit compote.

I've been dragging my feet on making these muffins. It's not that they don't sound tasty. It's just that, based on the recipe, they a) don't look very filling or nutritionally complete and b) look very rich and sweet. More of a dessert than a breakfast. And I already have ample dessert recipes! But, I was running low on breakfast inspiration this morning and needed something, so I finally decided to give them a try. And they do taste very nice. But, as predicted, are not very substantial.

I do think you could improve the nutrition a bit by swapping out the white flour for whole wheat and replacing some of the butter with applesauce. They still wouldn't be healthy, but they would at least be marginally less unhealthy. I've written the recipe up to reflect those changes. Possibly something to try for next time...

Raspberry-Lemon Muffins

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 250g whole wheat flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 125g fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp. turbinado sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease your muffin tin (preferably a 12-well pan with 2" diameter wells).
2. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and stir to combine.
4. Carefully mix in the raspberries.
5. Beat the beggs with the buttermilk and mix in the butter, applesauce, lemon zest, and vanilla.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
8. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a bit of the turbinado sugar (~1/4 tsp. per muffin for 2" muffins).
9. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20-25 minutes.
10. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

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Variants

Blueberry Muffins with Almond Streusel

Ingredients

Muffins

• 250g whole wheat flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 185g fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Almond Streusel

• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 45g sliced almonds

Directions

1. Preheat the oven (to 200°C) and grease the pan as directed above.
2. Prepare the batter as directed (with the modified ingredient list provided here).
3. For the topping: Combine the flour and sugar, then work the butter in with your fingers. Add the almonds and mix them in as well.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle with the streusel topping.
5. Bake as directed above.

I needed to take a quick break from the poached fruit frenzy to use up some expired buttermilk. It was already just over a month past its best before, but... it's buttermilk. I figure as long as it still looks, smells, and tastes okay, it's probably fine. Especially if I'm going to be baking with it.

This also gave me the chance to use up the leftover pastry in the fridge as well. I'd used up half of it for a quiche about a week ago. But the remainder has been sitting in the fridge waiting for a purpose ever since. I had been planning on making this pie last weekend. But that's when the quince and pears arrived. So that became a priority override and the pie got pushed aside until we'd dealt with the fruit and cleared out a few other ingredients.

I finally had the time and the ingredients tonight though. And I couldn't do the next batch of poached fruit yet anyway. I haven't had a chance to get to the store to get either pears or apricots yet. So I figured I might as well get this done while I had the chance. (And before the buttermilk and pastry actually do go off.)

I was a bit skeptical of the idea of a buttermilk pie. I like buttermilk biscuits and pancakes, but I'm not necessarily a huge fan of straigh-up buttermilk. And I was worried that this would manage to be both too bland and too buttermilk-y at the same time. But I'm pleased to say that I was wrong! The buttermilk definitely comes through, but it's not overwhelming. And the vanilla, lemon, and brown sugar balance it out. You end up with a delicious, slightly tangy, baked custard in a flaky pie shell. So, all-in-all, no complaints from me! Especially not with the wonderful, slightly caramelized top. It really is quite lovely.

Buttermilk Pie

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe sourdough pastry (or similar)
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1/16 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Roll out pastry and use it to line a 23cm (9") pie plate. Chill for ~30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and place an empty baking sheet in the oven.
3. Line pastry shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
4. Remove paper and pie weights and cook for aonther 5.
5. Meanwhile, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar until light.
6. Mix in the eggs, flour, salt, buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon zest.
7. Once pie shell is baked, reduce heat to 180°C (350°F) and pour filling into shell.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45 minutes.
9. Allow to cool before slicing.
10. Slice and serve topped with a fruit compote, icing sugar, or maple syrup.

I have very fond memories of my mom's chicken stew with dumplings, but it's been a long time since I've had it. I don't really tend to make chicken stew. If I'm making stew, it's usually beef. And for chicken, I'm much more likely to do soup than stew these days.

This isn't my mom's recipe. But it still filled me with nostalgia. And I do really enjoy a good stew with dumplings.

Chicken Stew with Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Stew

• 1 chicken (~1kg), skinned and broken down into parts
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 peppercorns
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 2 leeks, halved and chopped (white parts only)
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 ribs celery, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 russet (or other floury) potato, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 Tbsp. heavy (35%) cream

Dumplings

• 200g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Put chicken pieces in a pot with bay leaf, peppercorns, and 1/4 tsp. of salt and add enough water to cover by a couple of cm.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Simmer until chicken is cooked through (~20 minutes).
4. Remove chicken, shred meat. Reserve 2 c. of poaching liquid. Set aside.
5. Melt butter over medium-high heat.
6. Add leeks, carrots, and celery and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the flour and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add the chicken stock and reserved poaching liquid and bring to a boil.
9. Add potato, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the potato begins to soften (~10 minutes).
10. Add the chicken and cream and cook until broth thickens and potatoes are tender (~5 minutes).
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
12. Meanwhile, sift together the flour and baking soda.
13. Add the salt, chives, and cayenne and cut in the butter.
14. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine.
15. Shape the dough into small dumplings and drop them into the soup.
16. Cover and steam for 20 minutes.

This recipe comes courtesy of the King Arthur Flour website. I used it to make sourdough pancakes. But the authors note that it works equally well for waffles. I cannot vouch for the outcome when waffling. But it did make tasty pancakes!

The recipe as written calls for entirely white flour. But, because my starter is based on whole wheat, I opted to use a mix of white and whole wheat flour. I figure the extra fibre is a nice bonus and having at least some whole wheat flour in the sponge is probably helpful for the starter as well.

The sponge rose nicely overnight and bubbled up dramatically when the baking soda was added in the morning. Despite this, the pancakes were not quite as fluffy as I was expecting. They were still very good. Just not as soft and light as I'm used to getting from some of my other buttermilk pancake recipes. But, they're easy and use a generous quantity of sourdough discard, so I really can't complain!

This recipe makes a fairly big batch of pancakes. I didn't count, but I'd say I got well in excess of two dozen (using ~1/4 c. of batter per pancake). I think, between us, we ate about a dozen for breakfast and it looked like there were still maybe a dozen and a half to two dozen going in the fridge afterward. So, this is a fairly generous recipe.

Given that I was making such a big batch, I decided to try adding some mix-ins to some of the batter. I made the first 10 or so plain and then, for the remaining batter, I added a combination of pecans, toasted sesame seeds, and white poppy seeds. (A slightly tweaked version of a suggested set of mix-ins from The Breakfast Bible. Mostly because a) I wanted a higher proportion of pecans and more mix-ins overall than the original recipe called for and b) because I couldn't find my regular poppy seeds, so I ended up using some white poppy seeds instead.)

Given that I did these pancakes two different ways, I debated whether or not to write this up as one recipe or two. I think normally I would simply do the batter write-up and then add a separate section at the bottom of the post with a variant that includes the mix-ins. But I also added toppings (peanut butter, maple syrup, and bacon) to the pancakes with the mix-ins. And, at that point, it feels like it begins to approach the point of being a new dish/recipe. So, with that in mind, I decided to make a separate post for the gussied up version and only include the plain batter here.

Sourdough Pancakes (or Waffles)

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

Sponge

• 225g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration
• 120g all-purpose flour
• 120g whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 c. buttermilk

Batter

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Directions

1. Combine the discard, flours, sugar, and buttermilk in a large bowl and mix well.
2. Cover and let stand at room temperature for ~12 hours.
3. The next morning, stir down the sponge and mix in the eggs, salt, and butter.
4. Sift in the baking soda and mix very well.
5. Let the batter stand while you preheat a griddle or tawa over medium heat. For waffles, preheat your waffle iron.
6. Lightly grease the tawa as needed and make your pancakes, using ~1/4 c. of batter for each and cooking until golden-brown on both sides. For waffles, pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions.
7. Repeat until all batter has been used.
8. Serve with your favourite toppings.

I've been continuing to work my way through the different suggested mix-ins and combinations of toppings in the pancake section of the Breakfast Bible. I thought that the spiced pancakes would go particularly well with the apples and sugar-and-spice compound butter. And they did! (That butter, by the way, is also excellent on waffles and/or banana-oat pancakes.)

Spiced Pancakes with Apples and Compound Butter

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Batter

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. mixed spice
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 tsp. grated orange zest
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Toppings

• sugar-and-spice butter
• apple(s), diced
• pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)
• maple syrup

Directions

1. Combine flours, oats, sugar, mixed spice, and salt.
2. Sift in baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
3. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and orange zest.
4. Drizzle the butter into the wet ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Heat a skillet, griddle, or tawa over medium heat. Add a little butter or oil if necessary.
7. Using ~1/4 c. of batter per pancake, portion 3-4 into the pan and cook until underside is browned and bubbles form on surface.
8. Flip and continue cooking until both sides are browned and pacakes are cooked through.
9. Repeat until all batter has been used.
10. Serve pancakes topped with a little of the compound butter, some diced apple, toasted pecans (if using), and a drizzle of maple syrup.

This is an interesting cake. It is basically a very rich, moist chocolate cake that is "iced" with chocolate pudding rather than a buttercream or ganache or some more traditional cake coating. It is baked as two 20cm (8") round layers, each of which are then split. Three of the resulting thin layers are used to assemble the cake and the fourth is crumbled and used to coat the outside.

I didn't get my batter divided quite evenly and one of my layers baked up a little thinner than the other. I was a bit nervous about trying to split the thinner one, so I just left it whole and split the thicker one only. I then stacked two of the resulting layers and crumbled the third. This, of course, resulted in a reduced overall surface area, so the filling and "icing" are somewhat more generous than they're really meant to be. (Same overall proportions, of course, just thicker layers since there are fewer of them.)

This worked fine, but did mean that the cake was a little more... wobbly than it would have been had I made it with the "correct" number of layers.

Honestly, if I had two 18cm (7") round pans, then I'd be tempted to bake my cake in those next time. The 8" layers baked up fine. But I would've felt more confident about splitting them had they been slightly thicker. I think 6" layers would probably be too thick/tall. But 7" might be just about right. Sadly, I only have one 7" pan at the moment. Which still might be worth trying next time. It just makes it slightly more difficult to get the batter divided evenly and, obviously, ends up requiring double the cooking time since you have to bake the layers one after the other rather than in tandem. So, possibly something to consider, but definitely not ideal.

Other than my lack of confidence in splitting the layers though, this recipe worked out great! The cake was delicious and moist with deep chocolate flavour. (Which the coffee and brown sugar help to accentuate.) And the pudding was also pleasingly rich and thick. A winner all 'round!

Chocolate Blackout Cake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Pudding

• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 c. milk
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 170g unsweetened chocolate
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Cake

• 110g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. Dutched (alkalized) cocoa powder
• 1 c. brewed coffee
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch, and sea salt over medium heat.
2. Break chocolate into pieces and add to milk mixture.
3. Cook, whisking frequently, until chocolate has completely melted and mixture is smooth and homogenous.
4. Continue cooking until bubbles begin to form and pudding thickens.
5. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and set aside to cool.
6. Chill for at least 3-4 hours.
7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and grease and flour¹ two 20cm (8") round baking tins.
8. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
9. Mix in the salt.
10. Melt the butter over medium heat.
11. Mix in the cocoa and cook for 1 minute.
12. Remove from heat and stir in the coffee and buttermilk.
13. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar.
14. Mix in the eggs, one at a time.
15. Mix in the vanilla.
16. Divide the batter as evenly as possible between the prepared tins.
17. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 30-35 minutes.
18. Transfer cake layers (still in their tins) to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
19. Invert tins onto cooling racks and carefully remove the cakes from their tins. Allow to cool completely (1-2 hours).
20. Once cake layers are completely cool, divide each one horizontally.²
21. Place one layer on a serving platter.
22. Spoon ~1 c. of pudding on top and spread all the way to the edges of the layer.
23. Top with a second layer and repeat the process: spreading 1 c. of putting on top.
24. Place a third layer on top and spoon the rest of the pudding over it, completely covering the entire cake -- top and sides.
25. Crumble the fourth layer and sprinkle the chocolate crumbs on top of your assembled cake, covering the top and sides. You will have to press slightly to get the crumbs to adhere to the pudding. Especially on the sides of the cake.
26. Serve immediate or refridgerate for up to 2 days.

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¹ You may wish to line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the paper before flouring. This adds an extra step, but will help ensure that the cake relases from the pans cleanly. ^Back
2 The folks at America's test kitchen recommend doing this with a serrated knife. The outline a procedure of scoring the perimeter of the cake layers and then cutting through along the scored lines to get a level split. Personally, I have always preferred my mother's method of using a piece of thread. You simply take a long piece of thread and wrap it around the cake (doing your best to make sure it's roughly level/even all the way around), then grab both ends and pull tightly. The thread should slice neatly through the cake! I've found it a ver quick and reliable method and prefer it to faffing about with knives or cake levelling contraptions. ^Back

Buttermilk Bread (Bernard Clayton)

I love the Laurel's Kitchen buttermilk bread recipe. Not quite as much as I love featherpuff bread, but it's pretty close!

Clayton includes a different take on buttermilk bread in his book. He makes it as a white bread, brushed with an egg glaze and sprinkled with seeds. I liked it well enough, but I think I prefer the Laurel's Kitchen approach. That said, it's nice to have both in your back pocket: a bread for every palate and occasion!

Buttermilk Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 500-600g hard white flour (or all-purpose flour), divided
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast)
• 1 c. water
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1/3 c. unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• sesame and/or poppy seeds

Directions

1. Combine ~250g of the flour with the sugar, salt, baking soda, and yeast.
2. Warm the water, buttermilk, and butter over low heat until softened and gently warmed through.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat for 2 minutes.
4. Add another 100-150g of flour and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
5. Switch to dough hook or kneading by hand from here on out and continue adding flour until a soft dough is formed.
6. Knead until smooth and elastic (5-8 minutes by machine or ~20 minutes by hand).
7. Round the dough and place it in a covered bowl to rise at room temperature for ~90 minutes. (May need somewhat more or less time depending on temperature of room.)
8. Once fully risen, knock back and divide into two equal pieces.
9. Round each piece of dough, cover, and rest for 5-10 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, grease two 21x11cm (8.5x4.5") loaf pans.
11. Shape each ball into a loaf by your preferred method and place seam-side-down in the prepared pans.
12. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature for ~45 minutes.
13. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
14. Beat the egg and brush the tops of the loaves with it. Be careful not to let any egg drip down the sides of the pan or your loaves will not come out of the pan cleanly!
15. Sprinkle tops with sesame and/or poppy seeds as desired.
16. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30-40 minutes.
17. Allow to cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling.
18. Cool completely before slicing.

This is another mix-and-match pancake creation courtesy of The Breakfast Bible. I just used the standard whole wheat pancake recipe and added a bit of coconut and pinapple to the batter, then topped them with even more pinapple and coconut. McMillan suggests a combination of pineapple, coconut, macadamia nuts, and maple syrup for the topping. I didn't have any macadamia nuts, so I tried it with a few slivered almonds instead. That was good, but, in retrospect, I think that a few toasted pumpkin seeds would have been even better. I also ended up adding a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to mine. I felt that this made them a little more substantial and brought everything together. That said, if you really wanted to double down on the coconut flavour, then I think some whipped coconut cream would go a treat on these!

Piña Colada Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Batter

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. rolled oats (pref. quick oats)
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 c. unsweetened dried coconut
• 1/2 c. finely diced fresh pineapple

Toppings

• plain Greek yogurt and/or whipped coconut cream
• chopped fresh pinapple
• toasted coconut chips
• macadamia nuts and/or toasted pumpkin seeds
• maple syrup

Directions

1. Combine the flours, oats, and salt and sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
2. In a separate bowl (or large measuring cup), beat the eggs with the buttermilk.
3. Mix the butter into the wet ingredients
4. Pour the wet into the dry and stir until just combined.
5. Mix in the coconut and pineapple.
6. Preheat a pan, griddle, or tawa over medium heat.
7. Lightly grease the pan if necessary.
8. Use ~1/4 c. of batter per pancake. Cook 1-4 at a time, depending on the size of your pan.
9. Cook each pancake until it is browned underneath and bubbles form on surface.
10. Flip and cook until the other side is browned and pancake is cooked all the way through.
11. Serve topped with yogurt (or coconut cream), pinapple, coconut chips, nuts/seeds, and maple syrup.

In the Breakfast Bible, there is a section dedicated to pancakes, waffles, and crêpes. McMillan gives three basic recipes for each (usually plain, whole wheat, and gluten-free) and then provides suggested combinations of mix-ins with a separate list of suggested combinations of toppings. This allows you to mix-and-match your breakfast concoctions.

I debated whether I wanted to write those recipes up the same way. Providing the lists of mix-ins at the bottom or variants as separate recipes included in the same post. In the end though, I decided that I liked the idea of picking a set of mix-ins, pairing it with a set of toppings, selecting a base, and then writing each of those up as their own post.

For these chocolate-strawberry pancakes, I used the whole wheat pancake batter as my foundation and then added in some chopped strawberries and dark chocolate. We then topped them with a combination of more strawberries, maple syrup, whipped cream, and shaved dark chocolate.

Chocolate-Strawberry Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 120g dark chocolate, 90g chopped, 30g shaved
• 450g strawberries, 120g chopped, 330g quartered
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• maple syrup, to taste

Directions

1. Combine the flours, oats, sugar, and salt.
2. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
3. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk.
4. Drizzle the butter into the buttermilk mixture, whisking to blend.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Mix in the chopped chocolate and chopped strawberries.
7. Preheat a griddle or large pan over medium heat and grease as necessary.
8. Pour some batter into the pan. (Use ~1/4 c. for smallish pancakes or 1/2 c. for large ones.)
9. Cook until sides start to look dry, then flip and cook until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
10. Meanwhile, beat the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla extract until stiff.
11. When the pancakes are done, dish them up and top with the quartered strawberries, maple syrup, whipped cream, and shaved chocolate.