Bready or Not: Maple Sugar Cake: A Clockwork Dagger recipe
Maple is one of my favorite flavors. It’s also a flavor that is often mentioned in my Clockwork Dagger books, especially in connection with the northern kingdom of Frengia.
My new Clockwork Dagger novella “Wings of Sorrow and Bone” follows an important minor character from Clockwork Crown: Rivka. Her mother was Frengian and a baker, and teenaged Rivka is also a baker when you meet her in the book.
“Wings of Sorrow and Bone” begins soon after the events in Clockwork Crown. Rivka now lives in Tamarania City with her grandmother. Instead of running a bakery, she is pursuing her dream of becoming a master mechanist… but maple-flavored goods are still a major subject of nostalgia. They make her think of her old home, and her mama.
I looked around online for recipes that I thought would suit the more rustic world of my books. I found a maple sugar cake recipe
at The Kitchy Kitchen and decided to make some adaptions. I wanted something that would work for gift-sized loaf cakes.
Maple sugar is the one extravagant ingredient, but it can now be bought for a decent price on Amazon.com–heck, you can even subscribe and get it cheaper! A little maple sugar goes a long way, too. It’s potent stuff.
The resulting cake is perfect for breakfast or a snack. You can sweeten it up to your preference. Make glaze with the recipe below, or eat it plain. Plus, it freezes and keeps for months! I used it as a handy breakfast loaf to thaw out for company.
This maple loaf cake has a role in the novella, too. Maybe you can go all meta and eat some cake as you read about the cake!
Bready or Not: Maple Sugar Cake: A Clockwork Dagger recipe
Ingredients
For the loaf cake:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter half stick, softened
- 1 1/2 cups maple sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon heaping
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
Glaze for ONE small loaf:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar or powdered xylitol, sifted
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons milk or almond milk or other substitute, more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prepare mini loaf pans (tin, stoneware, paper) by applying nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and gradually add the maple sugar. Beat until creamy; with a mixer, this takes about a minute. Add the beaten eggs and combine.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the salt, baking soda, spices, and flour. Alternately add applesauce and dry ingredients to butter mixture. Once they are blended, fold the nuts into the batter. Distribute the batter among the pans; they should be about half full.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minute, until a tester comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely. If they are in a tin or stoneware pan, remove them from the dish.
- At this point, you can freeze the loaves wrapped in wax paper and plastic wrap or in a gallon bag.
- If you want to eat them now, store at room temperature or in fridge. Serve with glaze (see recipe above) or topped with powdered sugar or even a small amount of maple syrup... or plain! Eat cold or warmed in microwave.
- A loaf keeps for days if wrapped in the fridge. In the freezer, keeps for upward of six months.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Chocolate-Coffee Truffles
Start the day off right with breakfast truffles packed with coffee and cocoa!
Sure, they might not be the most photogenic of items, but they are delicious and they pack a caffeine wallop. These are also gluten-free with no added sugar.
The dates act as the source of sweetness and as the binding agent. Almonds are loaded with all kinds of healthy goodness. Everything about these screams “HEALTHY!”
Trust me. They might not look pretty, but they’re tasty.
Modified from Relish Magazine.
Bready or Not: Chocolate-Coffee Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped Medjool dates about 15 dates
- 1/2 cup almonds raw or roasted
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons ground coffee
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds or wheat germ or flax seeds
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender. It might need to be blended in batches.
- Pulse until the almonds are in very small pieces. If the mixture isn't cohesive, add a teaspoon of water and blend again. Add more water if needed. The mash should hold together when pressed but not be wet.
- Use a spoon or scoop to form the mix into truffles. Makes about 9 tablespoon-sized.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Fig Bars (aka Homemade Fig Newtons)
These are like Fig Newtons, but better. They are thicker. Fresher. The top has the slightest crunch.
This recipe is what happened after I thought I was buying dates to use for my breakfast truffles. It took me a few weeks to notice I really had figs in my cupboard. Whoops?
An awesome kind of whoops!
I doubled the original recipe so I could use as many figs as I could. My immersion blender pulsed the fruit on the stovetop. Everything came together fast and easy. I used the double sided parchment-aluminum foil for easy clean up, too.
These bake up with golden, crispy tops while the rest of the bar is dense and chewy. These things are hearty. They’d make for a good breakfast or snack for kids or adults, and I imagine they would even freeze well.
I’m not sure how well they keep beyond a day, though. My husband took them to work and they kinda vanished. All that remained were crumbs and rave reviews.
Recipe doubled and adapted from Alida’s Kitchen.
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Fig Bars (aka Homemade Fig Newtons)
Ingredients
For fig filling
- 2 cups dried figs about 16 ounces, chopped, stems removed
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
For dough
- 3 cups oats old fashioned or quick oats, or a mix
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, melted
- 2 eggs room temperature
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, bring figs, water, and lemon juice to a boil. Simmer for several minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and let it cool for ten minutes or so.
- Use a food processor or an immersion blender to process the fruit unless smooth. Be very careful--hot fruit splatter is not fun! Set it aside to cool as you ready everything else.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 casserole pan with parchment paper and apply nonstick spray. Melt the butter and let it cool a few minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and eggs and stir until just combined.
- Press half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking dish. [Handy tip: use a sheet of wax paper and a heavy glass to compress the layer.] Evenly spread the fig mixture to the edges.
- Use your hands to compress the remaining dough into small discs and pieces, and set this on top as evenly as you can. Gently compress it again.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned at edges. Completely cool on wire rack.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Let’s follow up CAKE MONTH with a healthier breakfast treat: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins!
These dense muffins actually taste just like chocolate chip oatmeal, though in a much more convenient form. They’re handy to take on the go, they keep well for days in a sealed container, and they can be frozen for months and taken out when desired.
If you want to make these even healthier, you can mix in some whole wheat flour, or omit some chocolate chips and add nuts or dried fruit instead.
After all, you need to eat a healthy breakfast to offset all that cake in June.
Modified from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
Bready or Not: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashionedrolled oats
- 1 cup milk or almond milk, divided
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or do half whole wheat
- 1/4 cup ground flax seeds or wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon heaping
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- turbinado sugar for tops, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan with liners and apply nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, combine the 1 cup of oats with 1/2 cup milk. Let the oats soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a big bowl, blend the egg, brown sugar, applesauce, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly mix in the flour, soaked oats, flax seeds, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the last 1/2 cup milk. Fold in chocolate chips; take care not to over mix.
- Fill the muffin cups with batter. Sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top, if desired. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test. Best served warm.
- Store them in a sealed container. Heat in microwave (maybe add a pat of butter, to make them slightly less healthy) to warm.
- Muffins can be frozen; remove the liners first, and store in a sealed container or bag.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Lemon Loaf Cake
Let’s finish up CAKE MONTH with something that’s bright, fresh, and perfect for summer!
I modified this King Arthur Flour lemon cake and made it in two gift-size pans, as one was indeed given as a gift to dear family friends who came for a visit. My husband pretty well inhaled the loaf that we kept.
Like last week’s chocolate cream cheese cake, this is the kind of cake that isn’t heavy duty on sweet. It’s really perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Eat it by itself or pair a slice with fruit, ice cream, or whatever else sounds good.
I made this using sour cream, though the original recipe suggested yogurt or buttermilk. I bet this would be amazing with lemon yogurt. MORE LEMONY GOODNESS!
Modified from King Arthur Flour’s Lemon Bread.
Bready or Not: Lemon Loaf Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 lemons zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sour cream or yogurt or buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Glaze
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup white sugar
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar till thoroughly combined, followed by the eggs.
- In a small bowl, mix the sour cream, yogurt or buttermilk with the lemon juice, lemon extract, and zest, and set aside.
- In a third bowl, prepare the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly add the second and third bowls into the butter mixture until everything is together.
- Prepare your pan(s) by applying nonstick spray. Spoon the batter inside. If using a standard bread pan, bake for about 50 minutes; if using two 7x2 paper pans, bake for 30-35 minutes. If using in smaller bread pans, adjust time accordingly. Use the toothpick test to check for doneness.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and deeply poke it all over with a chop stick or fork.
- For the glaze: Right before the cake is done, whisk together the glaze ingredients and stir until the sugar is dissolved. While the cake is hot, slowly drizzle the glaze over it, stopping often to let it to soak in.
- If you're using regular bread pan(s), let the cake cool in the pan another 15 minutes and then remove the loaf to let it cool completely.
- Let cake cool completely before slicing. Wrap it with plastic wrap and store in the fridge or at room temperature. Will keep for at least 3 days.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake
CAKE MONTH continues as I celebrate the release of The Clockwork Crown!
Today’s offering is Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake. It’s everything you would expect a typical loaf pound cake to be: soft, tender, and delicious.
It manages to be rich and chocolatey without being tooth-achingly sweet (like, ahem, the Tunnel of Fudge cake recently posted).
This is the kind of cake that would be lovely for breakfast or brunch with fruit, or dessertified with a few scoops of ice cream and a drizzle of caramel.
When I baked this, I followed the original directions too closely and overbaked the cake slightly. The top (which is the bottom once it’s flipped over) became kinda crunchy, though still delicious. Therefore, I recommend that you start checking this at the hour point. If it starts developing deep cracks and is firm to the touch, it’s likely done.
The cake keeps fantastically for many days if it’s wrapped and kept in the fridge. I imagine it would also work well sliced and frozen, too.
Modified from Bake or Break.
Bready or Not: Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese 1 box, softened
- 3 cups white sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Grease or spray a 10-inch Bundt pan.
- Beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, followed by vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and cocoa. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients with the butter mixture and beat well for about 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and test with a toothpick; the top will start to crack and will quickly get crispy when it's done.
- Cake keeps upward of a week if kept wrapped in the fridge.
- OM NOM NOM!
