The flavor of Chinese five-spice is cozy, comforting, and tastes just like fall! While it’s commonly associated with savory dishes, it can also add an interesting twist to sweet and fruity flavors. The warm and aromatic notes of cinnamon, cloves, and star anise work well with the delicate flavor of pears complementing their natural sweetness.
Chinese Five Spice Powder has been used in Chinese cooking for centuries. Although its origins are somewhat mysterious, it seems to have roots in traditional Chinese medicine. The belief was that this mixture would foster internal harmony by uniting the five main flavors traditionally employed in Chinese cuisine: sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, and salty. By achieving this balance of flavors, aligned with the five main elements (earth, fire, water, metal, and wood), tradition held that one could achieve balance in mind and body.
This flavorful blend of spices typically includes star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, and fennel seeds and while five spice powder won’t magically cure ailments, it can certainly elevate lackluster dishes.
Chinese five spice as been a favorite of mine for many years. I like it in both sweet and savory dishes but today I thought it would make these ordinary little fall muffins into something special – and it does!
Print Recipe
Chinese 5 Spice Pear & Applesauce Muffins
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin cups with 8 jumbo papers or 12 regular size papers.
Using an electric mixer, cream together butter & sugar then add applesauce, eggs & vanilla & mix until smooth.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt & 5-spice powder.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture, folding in only until barely combined then add diced pear & gently fold into mixture.
Scoop the batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Divide topping between muffins & gently spread over top using a fork. Bake 25-30 minutes & a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.
This fruited bread is unlike any other oatmeal bread. It has the sweet tartness of kumquats, healthy oatmeal and flax, dried fruit, nuts, honey and applesauce all in one loaf.
Oatmeal bread is very nostalgic for me. Although it wasn’t one of the breads in my mother’s weekly rotation, when she did make it, it was heavenly. I’m not sure if her recipe was one she had developed or if it came from another source.
Often when it comes to choosing a recipe, we find inspiration on the packaging of our basic pantry staples. One of the most iconic brands to feature recipes like this was Quaker Oats. Their first recipe for oatmeal bread appeared in 1886. It made two loaves of sandwich bread. Somewhere along the way, they kicked it up a notch, featuring a ‘fruited oatmeal bread’ recipe.
This kumquat oatmeal bread uses baking powder as opposed to yeast for anyone with a yeast intolerance. I think you will agree, it has an amazing flavor if you get a chance to make some.
Print Recipe
Kumquat Oatmeal Bread
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 X 5-inch loaf pan & set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, flax meal & oats. Add kumquat puree, honey, applesauce, eggs, vanilla, nuts & fruit. Pour into greased loaf pan.
Bake for 40 - 45 minutes; don't over bake. Cool in pan for 5 minutes on cooling rack. Loosen around edges; remove from pan & cool a bit more.
-
Gingerbread (cake) is the perfect sweet/spicy dessert for fall and winter, flavored by a ‘strange lumpy little root’. I recall my mother baking gingerbread cake for our supper dessert. She would serve it warm with farm fresh whipped cream. For lack of a better expression, ‘it was to die for’. Strangely enough, I was never fond of molasses but certainly enjoyed that warm gingerbread cake!?
Gingerbread has been baked in Europe for centuries. In some places it was soft, delicately spiced cake, in others, a crisp, flat cookie. Then in other places, warm, thick, dark squares of bread served with lemon sauce or whipped cream.
At first, gingerbread was made with breadcrumbs and sweetened with honey, but as it made its way throughout the world it has been adapted to meet the taste of different cultures. In North America, along with the ground ginger we usually like to add cinnamon, and cloves. Molasses is usually labeled as ‘sulphured’ or ‘unsulphured’ depending on whether sulphur was used in the processing. The unsulphured molasses is lighter in color and tends to have a nicer flavor.
Brion does not remember ever eating gingerbread cake?? I’m going to try to bring back the taste of a memory with this classic little cake and see what he thinks.
Print Recipe
Classic Gingerbread Cake
Applesauce is such a great addition in that it adds to the cake moistness.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
-
In a medium bowl, cream together sugar & butter until lightened in color & fluffy. Beat in egg, molasses, applesauce & hot water until fully combined.
-
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger & cloves. Whisk into wet ingredients, mixing ONLY until blended.
-
Bake for 30-35 minutes until cake springs back when touched or a knife inserted comes our clean.
