Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake ~ Taste and Create

This is my first time joining in the fun of Taste & Create where we are paired off with another blog and we make something from each other's blog and post about it! My partner in Taste & Create this month was Bizzy B Bakes, when I checked out her blog she has many different and wonderful things going on there. I wanted to bake something and as you all know about my baking skills, but I wanted to try it. Besides Bizzy B started this blog to increase her baking...I thought it only right. I let my daughter help me choose since she was the one that was going to eat most of it! :D

She wanted to make the lemon poppy seed muffins...okay good choice, but since Bizzy B mostly makes gluten free recipes which this was, which is great, but I didn't have the gluten free flour it called for...so we went for something chocolate! Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake ...

Got all my stuff and ingredients ready to go...

Here is Bizzy B Bakes version of the recipe...

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (adapted from All Recipes)
Ingredients :
1 cup canola oil minus one tablespoon
1 (8 ounce) package Tofutti cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Rice milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method:


In a mixing bowl, cream the oil, cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups of sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9-in. spring form pan. Combine cinnamon, 1 cup chocolate chips and remaining sugar; sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting

I like how this recipe didn't have any dairy in it, but I didn't have any rice milk so I use coconut milk that I had. I also used some coconut oil and a little less sugar than it called for and I couldn't fit all the chocolate chips on it...so I had about a quarter cup left.

My daughter chose the color sugar to sprinkle on top...and here I used raw organic sugar in the cake. :) Oops where is the cinnamon...I sprinkled it all over the top before it went in the oven.

The other difference was I didn't have a spring form pan so I made it in an 11 inch stoneware baker that I did have. I was worried about it...

...but it turned out great! I did have to cut back on the baking time, and the toothpick did come out clean.

It was moist and delicious and I loved the texture...I was so surprised! Yay! Still a little sweet for me, but my family loved it. There is still a piece left... anyone?

I bet you can't wait to see what else I might bake up!

Microwave Chocolate Cake in a Cup

I know this recipe has been going around for awhile and I've always been meaning to try it. So this is another recipe we tried over spring break. Maranda made the whole thing, I put her to work. I figure if we are going to eat cake it might as well be one that I know all the ingredients that are in it. I used unbleached flour, organic sugar, organic eggs, and organic chocolate chips and my homemade vanilla extract. So we can splurge once in awhile...

Microwave Chocolate Cake in a Cup
Ingredients :
coffee mug
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons whisked egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (you can replace some of the oil with mashed banana)
3 tablespoons chocolate chips
a splash vanilla
a dash of cinnamon or instant coffee)

Method:
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well .
Add egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix again.
Stir in chocolate, vanilla.
Microwave for 2½ to 3 minutes for a 1,000 watt oven.

Remove from microwave.
Allow cake to cool a little, then tip out onto a plate.

Of course you can add toppings, like whipped cream, chocolate syrup(for those chocoholics) or powdered sugar. I couldn't find my powdered sugar so we just at it as is, and it was plenty for two..

I cut the sugar in half from what the original recipe called for, but it was plenty sweet with the chocolate chips. It was a little dense, maybe 2½ minutes would be fine. It was very good, but reminded me more of a chocolate muffin, than cake.

Cake and a Tree

Now I want to say straight off that I am not a baker. I do like to cook and enjoy eating good foods, but a baker...let's just say I need a little more practice. I don't bake much for our family because we never finish anything. So if I make a dessert or cookies, we only eat a few and there are always some left that I have to throw out or give away. I hate wasting food so I usually just end up making it to bring to work or to a family dinner.

For my co-workers birthday I made her a cake. Last year she wanted a vegetable platter, so I made a really good dip, sliced up some fresh veggies, etc... well...let's just say it didn't go over to well with all the others in the office. So this year I was bringing a cake no matter what she wanted.

My friend Kristy has a wonderful blog My Little Space , now if you want to see some great baking make sure you check it out! She is so creative with new flavors and beautiful designs you really have to see it for yourself. So I thought I would be ambitious and try one of her recipes Chocolate Matcha Bundt Cake. I had some matcha powder and was all set to make it, but then since it was for my boss and co-workers, I thought I would just go with the chocolate part.


I used some dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate to drizzle over the top of it. Pretty huh? Okay be honest. I haven't use my pastry bag in so long the seems gave out and chocolate went all over...at least it was chocolate and people are pretty forgiving when it comes to chocolate!

Everyone at work was happy and the birthday girl took the rest of it home and her husband liked it too. That's what counts!

Now for our Christmas tree. Last year we didn't put one up because we went up to Michigan to visit family for the holidays. This year we did get one pretty early... but it was too tall because we put it on a box so the dog won't bother it and he can still sleep behind it...after all we did set it up in his "room".

The top touched the ceiling, but we were able to trim it to put the star on top...

Perfect, it still worked with the star...

All lit up...

oops..


This is a new ornament for this year. Now isn't this just the cutest fluffy owl you have ever seen?

Just one of my blown glass flamingos..

and fish... if you know me, you've seen my hand crafted shell angles and sea urchin snowmen. I haven't found them in storage yet, but we have a small tree this year. I'll be sure to post them when I do.

More to come...