Apple Spice Cupcake

The cupcake recipe is from a friend, and the frosting is the cream cheese frosting. The cupcake is very moist with chunks of apple with every bite. 

Ingredients

Unsalted butter - 1 cup, at room temperature

Apple - about 2 lbs, peeled, coed, and cut into 1 inch chunks

Granulated sugar - 4 TBSP + 1 and 1/2 cup 

All purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Ground cinnamon - 1 tsp

Ground allspice - 1/2 tsp

Ground nutmeg - 1/4 tsp

Egg - 4 large, at room temperature ( I used egg replacer)

Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Sour cream - 1/2 cup

Cream cheese frosting 

Yield 24 cupcakes

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. 
2. In a sauce pan over medium high heat, melt 4 TBSP butter. Add the apple chunks and 4 TBSP of sugar. Cooke until the apple is translucent and soft, about 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Set aside. 

4. In the stand mixing bowl, add remaining butter and sugar, beat at medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg (or egg replacer mixture), vanilla extract and beat until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Add sour cream and apple mixture, beat until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

5. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. 

6. Let the cupcake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes and then transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely.

7. Frost the cupcake with frosting and serve. 

Steak Sandwich

This was one of daughter's school projects. You can replace the dressing with any spread you like or skip it. 

Ingredients

Rib-eye steaks - 1 pound
Kosher salt

Lemon pepper seasoning

Olive oil - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 large, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds

Sliced white cheddar cheese or other preferred kind - 6 oz

Lettuce - 1, leaves separated

Tomato - 1, sliced

Artisan roll, bun or bread

Optional mushroom to grill too

Optional Chips or Fries for serving

[Dressing] 

Sour cream - 1/4 cup

Vegan Mayonnaise - 1/4 cup

Prepared horseradish - 1.5 TBSP

Worcestershire sauce - 1/2 tsp

Black pepper - 1/4 tsp

Steps

1. Preheat grill pan over medium high heat.

2. Season both sides of the steaks with salt and the lemon pepper seasoning.

3. Oil the grill pan with olive oil, then lay the steaks and onions on the pan.

4. Grill the onion to your preferred tenderness. Grill the steak about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, or 3 minutes per side for rare. Remove them and let rest under foil. 

5. In a bowl, whish the sour cream, mayonnaise, horseradish, Worcestershire and black pepper until smooth. Set aside.

6. Slice the steak into strips and assemble your own sandwich.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

This is a cake perfect for fall season with a cup of black coffee. I compared two pumpkin cake recipe from Sally's and Mom's timeout and decided to follow Sally's because it is egg-free.

Ingredients

CRUMB-TOPPING

All-purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Light or dark brown sugar - 1/2 cup, packed
Ground cinnamon - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 1/4 cup, cold 

PUMPKIN COFFEE CAKE

All-purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Pumpkin pie spice power - 2 and 1/2 tsp
Pumpkin puree - 1 cup
Light or dark brown sugar - 1/2 cup, packed 
canola or vegetable oil - 1/2 cup

Pure maple syrup - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Make the crumb topping first: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender or a fork. Mix to create clumps and crumbs. Set aside.
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin piespice together in a large bowl until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Avoid over-mixing the batter. Batter will be very thick. 

4. Spoon/pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread to make an even surface. Pour the crumb topping evenly on top and gently press them down into the batter.

5. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Note: 

Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The cake may be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.