Use Extra Fruit and Veggies In Baked Goods
If your neighbor is too generous with zucchini or your
trees are overloaded with apples, take heart. Fruit and vegetable-based breads,
muffins and cakes help to use up any extras that the garden offers. Moreover,
fruit and vegetable-based baked goods are easy to make, store well, and can
serve as a breakfast nosh, dinner side or
Vegetable based
baked goods go beyond zucchini bread or pumpkin bread; unsweetened applesauce,
steamed and mashed sweet potatoes, yellow crookneck squash, apricot pulp, and
even beets can be incorporated into bread or cake with delicious results.
Fruit and
vegetables should be fully ripe but still firm; overripe produce will add an
off flavor to the baked goods, and underripe produce won't
contain the same moisture levels as fully ripened produce. Prepare the fruit or vegetables according to
recipe requirements. In general, vegetables should be peeled, and any bruised
or bad spots should be cut out. Apples
need to have the cores removed as well.
Use a blender or food processor for final preparation. Recipes call
either for ground or pureed produce.
Large amounts of fruit or vegetable pulp can be packed in freezer bags
or containers for later use.
This applesauce
cake is incredibly moist and spicy. It marries well with a basic cream cheese
or vanilla butter cream frosting.
Applesauce Raisin Cake
2 c, unsifted all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking
soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp.
allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 c. light
brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. dark brown sugar,
packed
1/2 c. butter,
melted
2 c.
unsweetened applesauce
1 c. raisins
3/4 c. chopped
walnuts
Preheat oven to
350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
Whisk together
flour, baking soda, salt and spices in large bowl; set aside. In large bowl, dissolve sugars in melted
butter. Stir in one cup applesauce. Using a mixer,
beat in one egg.
Add half of the
dry ingredients and beat with mixer for two minutes on medium speed. Add the second egg, the second cup of
applesauce and the remainder of the dry ingredients, mix thoroughly and beat on
high speed for an additional minute.
Fold in raisins and walnuts.
Pour batter
into prepared pan. Bake 50 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan. Frost with buttercream or cream cheese
frosting when completely cool.
Zucchini
muffins have a delicate flavor and taste great warm from the oven. Try these
for a Sunday brunch treat.
Zucchini Streusel Muffins
1/4 c. butter,
softened
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c packed
brown sugar
2/3 c. grated
zucchini or summer squash
1/2 c.
buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly
beaten
2 tbsp molasses
(use one of the lighter flavored kinds - blackstrap makes the batter bitter.)
1 tsp grated
orange peel
2 c. all
purpose flour
1 tsp baking
soda
1 tsp vanilla
extract
1//2 tsp baking
powder
1/2 to 1 tsp
pumpkin pie spice, or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
1/3 c flour
3 tbsp. brown
sugar
2 tbsp cold
butter
In large bowl,
cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add zucchini, buttermilk, eggs,
molasses and orange peel; mix well.
Combine all dry
ingredients and gradually add to sugar mixture, mixing until just blended. Fill greased and floured muffin cups 2/3
full.
For topping,
cut flour and sugar into cold butter until mixture forms moist crumbs. Top each
muffin with the streusel mixture. Bake
at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.
Sweet potatoes
and ginger are a natural combination, so Sweet Potato Gingerbread is a
guaranteed hit.
Sweet Potato Gingerbread
2 c. all
purpose flour
1 tsp baking
soda
1/4 tsp baking
powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground
ginger
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable
oil
2/3 c sugar
1 1/3 c. mashed
cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c pecans or
walnuts
Grease and
flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs, add oil, sugar and sweet potato pulp, beating after
each addition. Add dry ingredients, stirring well. Fold in raisins and nuts,
and pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake at
350 for 50 - 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve warm bread with whipped cream, ice
cream or applesauce.
