Carrot Cake Muffin Bars {for April's SRC}

Do you ever enter into someone's home and feel like you never want to leave?  You know that kind of home that is just so beautiful and welcoming that you just want to wrap all the comfort it gives out around you.  I always feel like this when I go to my mom and dad's house.   This month when I opened up my assigned food blog to Eat, Live, Run from the Secret Recipe Club I immediately felt like I never wanted to leave! Just like I feel when I enter into the happiness, warmth and beauty of my parent's home.  Everything about Jenna's blog is just full of lovliness and delicious-ness.  Her recipes are completely beautiful along with the way she presents and describes them.  And then of course the reality that last Fall Jenna released a novel called, White Jacket Required - which by the way has been on my wish list over at amazon.com - I felt even more compelled to just tuck myself into one of the corners of her kitchen just so that I could soak up ALL the amaziness, knowledge and love of food that she has.   I don't think she would mind, do you?

 

 

 Instead of stealing away into Jenna's kitchen I settled for making one of her recipes.  I made her Carrot Cake Muffin Bars.  Deelish!  A bar that has many of the ingredients that are in a carrot cake is a dream come true for me.  Shredded carrots, raisins (my addition), walnuts and then of course oats all come together to make one fantabulous little treat.  You could enjoy this bar at breakfast, lunch, tea or dessert.  Personally I enjoyed nibbles and bites of these bars ALL. DAY. LONG.  Hey, sometimes that is just what you've got to do.  You can't waste a good thing!  But, you can SHARE a good thing right!? Thus I share with you the recipe to Jenna's Carrot Cake Muffin Bars .

 

 

 

Carrot Cake Muffin Bars
              (recipe from Eat, Live, Run )

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats - old fashioned or quick
1 cup grated carrot (2 medium or 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins (my addition)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 square pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients of flour, salt, baking powder and oats. Set bowl aside.

3. Cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in egg and beat well until smooth.  Add in milk slowly while mixer is on low speed.  Then add in dry ingredients. Mix all together to combine.

4. Add in grated carrots, walnuts and raisins (if you wish).  Mix until just combined. 

5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Edges of the bars will be come away from the sides of the pan and the center will not jiggle if gently touched when done.

Cool to desired temp, cut, serve and enjoy!

Happy Carrot Cake Muffin Bar Baking!

FRESH Strawberry Crumble Cake

 



 

Strawberries have always been one of my all time favorite fruit.  They are beautiful.  They are RED.  And they are delicious....most of the time.  Lately the fresh strawberries in the market are definitely a beautiful red but their flavor is lacking in sweetness and are often quite tart.  In an effort to not waste the beautiful strawberries I had I decided to bake them into a cake.  I did a little search and research on the web and came up with a lovely recipe that fit my needs fully.  A simple cake that called for FRESH strawberries and tasted wonderful.  What more could I ask for! 

 

 

 

 

I was completely delighted with how easy this cake was to whip together.  Simple ingredients along with just a pie plate was all that is required to accomplish this recipe.  In the end you will have a beautiful cake that can be served anytime of the day.   My family enjoyed a slice for breakfast, as an afternoon snack for my girls, it paired lovely with a hot cup of afternoon tea for me and then of course served along side a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream was also just perfect!

 

 

FRESH Strawberry Crumble Cake

(recipe discovered on Feathered Nest Studio which was then linked to Southern Food about.com)

 

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

 

Crumble ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup COLD butter, cut into small cubes

1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional...I did not use nuts)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease well a glass or ceramic pie plate (an 8x8 square baking pan would be fine too) and set aside.

 

2. In a large bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Whisk well all together.

 

3. Add in egg, milk and melted 2 Tbsp of butter to flour mixture.  Beat all together for 2 minutes and then pour and spread evenly into prepared pie plate.

 

4. Arrange sliced strawberries on top of cake batter.

 

5. Make crumble topping by adding together in a medium size bowl flour and sugar.  Add in COLD cubed butter. Cut into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or with your fingers until mixture becomes small coarse crumbs.  If using chopped nuts add in now.  Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over sliced strawberries.

 

6.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges of cake are a nice golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean if inserted into center of cake. Cool cake to desired temperature and serve.

 

YUM!

 

 

Happy FRESH Strawberry Crumble Cake Baking!

 

 

Here are a few other recipes that call for STRAWBERRIES on my blog...

*Decadent Vanilla Layered Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

*Strawberry Swirl Blondies

*Strawberry Shortcake Cake

*Strawberry Shortcake Scones

*EASY Strawberry Cake

*Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

*Strawberry Coffee Cake

 

 This recipe has been linked up to What's Cookin' Wednesday @ Buns In My Oven