Meanwhile in my oven…

While I was preparing lunch for my 1-year-old and doing the dishes (dishwasher broke right in the middle of my prep for Thanksgiving and 30 min before guests arrived) at the same time, I had these goodies in the oven… as my little one says: “Yummm” .  By the way, if you are wondering why my cake is missing a piece, it’s because my little one wanted to have one before I had a chance to take some pictures. 😀 Recipes are below the photo gallery.

Cake with Cranberry sauce (leftover from Thanksgiving)

1 1/2 cup sugar
12 tbsp vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour (could be less or more depending on the consistency – batter should be as thick as cake batter – not too runny, but not too dense either)
1 1/2 cups cranberry sauce (leftover from Thanksgiving; no worries if it’s less or more; I had about that quantity left so I put it all in the cake)

Mix the sugar, oil and eggs.  In a separate bowl sift flour and baking soda.  It isn’t mandatory that you sift the flour but I like to add some air to it.  Add the flour mix to the sugar mix and combine well.  Add the cranberry sauce and make sure it’s evenly distributed.  Oil a cake form (or any baking pan that you make cakes/breads in) and dust lightly with flour.  Pour the batter and bake at 350-370F until a toothpick comes out clean.

Take it out and place on a cake serving plate.  Wait for it to cool down before cutting and serving.  And optional step: I made some icing, added yellow food colouring and drizzled it on top: 3 tbsp confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp milk, 2 drops yellow food colouring.  Mix well together and sprinkle on top.

Madeleine cupcakes with shredded coconut topping

2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, melted & cooled

Preheat oven to 375F.  Place cupcake liners in a cupcake baking pan.

In a bowl beat eggs, vanilla and lemon zest.  You can use an electric mixer, but I usually just beat by hand.  Add the confectioners sugar and beat until well combined.  Sift together the flour and baking powder.  Add and gently fold into the egg mixture.  Add the cooled melted butter and mix well.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with the mixture.  At this point I sprinkled some unsweetened shredded coconut on top.  Bake at 375F for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden.  When ready, take them out of the oven and cool for a minute.  Place them on a serving plate and sift some confectioners sugar or decorate as desired.