Coconut Lime Pull-Apart Bread

Maybe I should consider changing the title of this blog to something with coconut in it. I think nearly everything I've been baking recently has coconut. Or lime. This bread is no exception. It is similar to a cinnamon bun except instead of cinnamon it uses coconut oil, toasted coconut, and lime zest to ensure a sweet and tangy taste. It's moist and chewy, and perfect for dessert, but better for breakfast!

Ingredients

(Adapted from A Beautiful Mess)

1/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons melted, coconut oil
1/3 cup light cream
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lime zest
1/3 cup toasted coconut

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/2 cup toasted coconut

In a small bowl combine warm water, pinch of salt and yeast. Allow to rest for at least 8 minutes, until foamy. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture, melted coconut oil and cream. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Stir until combined and form into a ball of dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and rise for at least one hour, until it has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. After the dough has risen, roll it into a large rectangle (1/4 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Brush with melted coconut oil and sprinkle with sugar, zest and toasted coconut. Cut the dough into small rectangles, stack, and place in a lightly greased loaf pan. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. When ready, bake for 35 minutes. Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. After allowing the bread to cool for 10 minutes, pour the the glaze over top and sprinkle with more toasted coconut. Now dig in while it's still warm and gooey!

Key Lime Pie with Coconut Crust

Last week I had an interview for an exciting internship opportunity over the summer in California! I'll talk more about this later but to ease my nerves that morning I woke up and baked a pie. It seems rather ambitious to bake a pie before an interview rather than other sorts of preparations, but baking calms my nerves! So a pie it was. Mom and I have been going crazy over a local food truck here called the Itty Bitty Pie Company that make the best miniature key lime pies in the universe, and ever since we found them I've been itching to replicate. After searching through several recipes, I finally found one that was simple enough to whip up in a couple hours. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
(Adapted from Hummingbird High)

Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (appx. 14 crackers)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil

Filling
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 tablespoon lime zest

Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a food processor, combine graham crackers and shredded coconut until crumbly. In a bowl mix together the crumb mixture, coconut oil and sugar until moist. Using your fingers press the mixture into a 9 inch pie dish, until evenly spread. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.

Lower the oven to 325 F. In a bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice and zest until just mixed. Pour into your cooled crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until solid but still slightly jiggles. Allow to cool before serving. Top with whipped cream and lime zest.

Note: I know this is technically supposed to be key lime but we had lots of regular limes so I used those and it was still fantastic. Lime Pie just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Earl Grey Cake with Honey Buttercream

Remember that time I said I was going to lessen the food and just up the overall happy? Well food makes me happy and lately I've been baking up a storm so here's another recipe! Believe it or not I've actually been baking more than both the blog and Instagram might suggest - which really means I've been going baking crazy because there has been no shortage of food posts on either. 

The Pastry Affair is probably the best food blog out there. All the recipes I've tried are easy and delicious. She always has cute quotes to accompany the gorgeous food pictures and the ingredients are usually already in my cupboard - A++! That being said whenever I need some baking inspiration the Pastry Affair is where I go. Within a couple clicks I'm guaranteed to feel the creative juices flowing. Last week I really wanted to make cake but wanted it to be a bit "jazzier" than regular ol' chocolate or vanilla. Enter tea cake. A simple cake recipe with a deliciously light tea flavour, and honey buttercream frosting on top combine to give you one of the best ideas ever - tea you can eat!

Here's the recipe (adapted from the Pastry Affair): 

Ingredients

1 cup 2% milk

2 tablespoons Earl Grey Tea
(I used David's Tea 'The Earl's Garden')

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

In a small saucepan, warm the milk until simmering and stir in the Earl Grey tea. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, until well incorporated. Add in the vegetable oil and vanilla until fully combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually mix into the butter mixture until combined. Finally, stir in the tea and milk until the batter is is smooth (you can choose to leave the tea leaves in or out - I put in about half). Evenly spread the batter into the two cake pans and bake for 20-24 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before icing or serving. 

For the honey buttercream, I completely followed the recipe on the Pastry Affair, with the addition of about 2 tablespoons of milk. 

I love the look of a naked cake, with the icing only in the middle and on top. There's something so rustic and cozy about the simplicity of it. If you're feeling fancy pipe a few designs on the top to make it extra pretty - I attempted some buttercream roses but they're more like swirlies. I just loved this cake, finally I can drink my tea, and eat it too! 

Pumpkin Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

As soon as October hits it seems like pumpkin flavoured everything comes pushing to the scene, however I have yet to find a pumpkin baked good that are quite as good as these. Rewind to last thanksgiving and I was looking for pumpkin-y things to make that weren't pie. I was too afraid of pie, and Mom doesn't like pumpkin pie so I figured something mild in flavour was my best option. Browsing through Pinterest, as I do, I came across this fantastic cookie recipe. Though skeptical at first I gave 'em a whirl and lo and behold a new Thanksgiving tradition was born! These cookies are the perfect middle-ground between cake and cookie, the right amount of sweetness from white chocolate, and the bestest (that's a word right?) addition of tangy with the dried cranberries. They have been forever deemed our Thanksgiving cookie and already have me counting down till next year! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 

1 egg

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, powder and salt until combined. In a separate bowl beat together the pumpkin, sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, cinnamon and vanilla. Combine the pumpkin and flour mixtures together, and mix in the cranberries and white chocolate chips. Drop small spoonfuls onto the baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes, until the bottoms are slightly golden.


These are the ultimate fall cookie, they have every flavour you could want from fall all in a little bite sized treat - I was even eating them for breakfast, they're soft enough that I think they could pass for a scone if you need the reason! Enjoy!