Summer should be here by now, right? It’s July on Thursday, and Summer still hasn’t officially showed up. Not only is it July on Thursday, but it’s also Canada day here in…well, Canada of course. I’m lucky enough to be able to get a few days off from both jobs and head on up to Whistler to celebrate! Maybe summer is up there. Here’s hoping!

I wanted to make something for Canada Day, and what’s more Canadian than Maple Syrup? It’s deeeeeelicous. I couldn’t live without it. How would we eat our pancakes, waffles or French toast, which I love to smother it on. When you see a stack of pancakes with a pat of butter on it, with the maple syrup running down the sides, your mouth automatically starts to water. So what are the facts on maple syrup?

Native Americans in northeastern North America taught the European colonists how to tap certain maple trees and boil the sap into syrup. Now Canada makes 80% of the world’s maple syrup, with the vast majority coming from Quebec. The maple leaf is also on the Canadian flag.

Maple syrup is made by boring holes in sugar maple tree trunks into which tubes are inserted, allowing the sap to flow into buckets. Or plastic tubing with a partial vacuum is used and the sap is pumped into holding tanks, then taken to a sugarhouse where it is boiled in evaporators until it has the correct density of 66% sugar. If the density is too low it will spoil. If it is too high the syrup will crystallize in the bottles. It takes about 10 gallons of sap to make one quart of maple syrup.

A maple tree lasts at least 30 years and is 12 inches in diameter before it is tapped. A maximum of four is allowed on one tree. This also does not do any harm to the tree, in case you were wondering. 30-50 gallons of sap are evaporated to make one gallon of syrup.

Hope everyone has a good Canada Day! This cake would be delicious with a cup of tea or coffee, or a quick breakfast loaf or muffin. The maple flavor is subtle but sweet. What are you making for this Canada Day?

Maple Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

• ½ cup salted butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup milk
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon allspice or cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 10′ pie plate, this can also be made using a loaf pan or into muffins.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, syrup, vanilla and milk. Mix well. Batter may look slightly lumpy but not to worry.

4. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and allspice in a large bowl. Mix well.

5. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring to prevent lumps. Add the walnut pieces and mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients.

6. Pour the batter into the desired greased baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. This is delicious on it’s own, but you can spread a little butter onto a warm piece, or sprinkle some icing sugar on top. You could also make a maple icing by adding maple syrup, milk and icing sugar together and pour over the cake or loaf.

Happy Canada Day!

I have seen these little cupcake creations all over the web. They are undeniably cute. I was going to a barbeque on Friday night and knew I had to make these!

It’s a vanilla cupcake, cut in half filled with a chocolate cupcake and iced to resemble burger toppings! I made some “chedder cheese” out of fondant to put between the layers as well. Everyone loved them! They looked like real mini cheeseburger sliders!

If you’re going to a BBQ this summer, bring along these cute burger cupcakes for dessert!

Ingredients:

6 Chocolate Cupcakes Cut in half

12 Vanilla Cupcakes Cut in half

Icing – tinted green and red, even yellow if you like

Fondant – Tinted orange and cut into squares

Directions:

Bake cupcakes according to recipe. I used a smaller, shallower cupcake tray to make the chocolate ones, so I actually didn’t need to cut them, they were like mini cupcake tops without the base. But you can definitely just make a regular chocolate cupcake and cut it in half to use it. Or even bake it in a 8×8′ pan and use a circular cookie cutter to cut little “burger” patties.

Use the bottom part of a vanilla cupcake, pipe on some red/yellow icing for the condiments, pile on top a “burger patty” and then add the fondant cheese, and pipe on some green icing to look like lettuce. Top with the other part of the vanilla cupcake, and sprinkle top with sesame seeds.

Voila! Mini Cupcake Sliders!

Make this cake today. Trust me. I had been wanting to bake something else with rhubarb ever since the last cake I made. It was an alright cake, but I wasn’t impressed with it like I thought I might be. I was looking for something more, something better. Something like This! I had this great idea to make a cake slightly based on a zucchini cake, but instead using Rhubarb. However the actual idea worked more than when I tried it. The Rhubarb doesn’t shred so easily, so I had to do it all by hand. But it was totally worth it. I said I wouldn’t, but I definitely ate the piece I photographed this morning, after an already large piece last night. It had to be done.

The cake could easily be turned into a sheet cake, or a loaf cake depending on what you’d like to make. It’s really easy and Rhubarb is now in season so it should be readily available. Although, I had gone to safeway to get dinner and cake ingredients, and had to go to Thrifty’s instead because they had no Rhubarb. And I wasn’t going home without it!

This would be perfect after dinner, or for breakfast. I topped it with cream cheese icing, but you could just as easily dust it with icing sugar. And it can all be made in one bowl – so easy clean up!

Make it…now!

Shredded Rhubarb Cake

Recipe by Bakeaholic

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3-4 tsp ground cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• about 4 stalks rhubarb
• 1/2 cup non-fat natural plain yogurt

Directions:

1. Shred/tear rhubarb and set aside. You can try using a grator for this, but I found it just mushed it up. So I cut it into quarters and peeled it by hand.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, and sugar by hand using a whisk.
3. Slowly add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla.  Thoroughly combine.
4. Add Rhubarb and Yogurt, stirring until well blended.
5. Pour into greased and flowered bundt pan, and bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Start with 45 minuts, and check to see if it needs longer.
6. Cool for 10 minutes in pans on wire rack.  Remove from pan and cool completely.

You can top it with icing sugar, or make a cream cheese icing by combining a package of cream cheese with a tiny bit of milk, and a few cups of icing sugar.

The cake will keep covered or a 2-3 days. If it lasts that long!

If you make this cake please credit and link back to me – I’d love to see it =)

What’s in a name? Lemon Curd may not sound very delicious, but let me tell you. It is. It is it is it is! I made this curd in preparation for this weekends baking adventure! And It is lick-the-bowl good.

I have put off baking all this week because of my big project tomorrow and Saturday. And also because of my trip to Vegas coming up. One delicious million calorie treat a week will do. And, because it just happens to be my Birthday on Saturday! And of course, like any other baker I will be making my own cake, with the help of a friend. When you’re the one who likes to bake you usually find yourself baking for, well yourself, most of the time. And I think I consider myself a pretty picky baker. I like to do things just so, and my own way. I work tomorrow and half a day Saturday so I had to begin the baking adventure tonight. The cake will be a surprise, but this is just a sneak peek!

Lemon Curd is delicious in a sponge roll cake, angel foodcake or added to a cheesecake.

Lemon Curd

Recipe from Joy Of Cooking 75 Anniversary Edition

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 1 (one) lemon
• 1/2 cup fresh strained lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces (3/4 stick)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Whisk together eggs, sugar and lemon zest in medium saucepan until light in colour.
2. Add lemon juice and butter
3. Cook, whisking over medium heat until the butter is melted. Then whisk constantly until the mixture is thickened and simmers gently for a few seconds.
4. Place a medium mesh-sieve over a bowl and scrape the filling using a spatula into it. Strain the filling into the bowl.
5. Stir in vanilla. Let cool, cover and refrigerate to thicken.

This keeps refrigerated for about 1 week.