Crema Coffee and Bakery

An Earthquake Cookie paired with an Iced Honey Vanilla Latte was the perfect accompaniment for a sunny afternoon of reading at Crema Coffee + Bakery!

Marionberry Orange Pie

A couple weekends ago, I took a day trip to Hood River with Adam and a couple of friends. It was such a great time- fed alpacas (they were adorable!), drank good wine, had amazing pizza, and stopped by one of the awesome fruit/bakery markets along the Hood River Fruit Loop. 

The market that we went to was Packer Orchards and Bakery. Unfortunately because of the time of year, there wasn't any fruit being sold but they had so many other goodies! From butters to pie fillings to cookies, this place had a unique assortment of homemade jarred/canned fruits and baked goods. I've been wanting to make a pie for some time, so I decided to pick up a jar of the Marionberry pie filling. Boy, was I glad that I did!

Yesterday, I was finally able to put my Pie oh My skills to the test and put that filling to use! I made the pie dough from scratch and decided to 'dress up' the marionberry filling by adding some orange juice and orange zest. 

If you'd like to try this recipe, you can most certainly order yourself the marionberry pie filling from Packer Orchards and Bakery here.

What you need

- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 10 1/2 ounces cold butter

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 7 ounces ice cold water (this is approximate)

- 32 ounces marionberry pie filling

- 1 tablespoon orange zest

- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (this is also approximate)

What you do

1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl

2. Rub/cut/grate the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is about the size of peas. **Use a cheese grater to cut up butter. It makes life so much easier! Dip your hands in flour to help the butter from melting**

3. Add vanilla extract and slowly add water into the flour mixture. **Add a little at a time and mix with hands just until everything is absorbed**

4. Press dough together in a disc shape. Wrap and chill between 30 minutes-24 hours before rolling out.

5. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spoon out the marionberry pie filling into a medium-small bowl. Add in orange zest and orange juice and mix until well incorporated. 

6. Take dough out of the refrigerator. Flour a flat surface and cut about 1/3 of the dough off. Roll remaining 2/3 dough out until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Place dough in a 9 inch pie pan, and trip the excess dough to the rim. 

7. Place the filling on top of the dough in the pie pan.

8. Roll out the remaining 1/3 dough and cut 1/2 inch strips. Evenly space 3 strips out across the pie. Fold the middle strip up about half way and add a strip going perpendicular to the 3. Unfold the middle strip, and fold the outer 2 strips about half way. Add another strip down and unfold the outer strips. Repeat on the other half of the pie, and alas! You have latticed your pie!

9. Trim the edges of the strips until they meet with the dough underlying the pie dish. Fold the pie crust in along the edges (or crimp) to secure. Brush pie with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

10. Place pie in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is a nice golden brown. Let cool completely and be sure to serve with ice cream when you're ready to eat!

Classic Coffee Cake

While browsing Pinterest the other day, I came across one of those quickie 'Coffee Cake in a Mug' pins. Looked good, but normally those 'cake-in-a-mug' desserts always seem to be missing something, so I moved on.

The next day I found myself really thinking about Coffee Cake and how delicious it is. I haven't eaten it in years, so I figured it would be something great to make this week!

Warning: The cake will make your kitchen smell like heaven and the best part may just be the crumb topping! 

What You Need

Crumb Topping

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup (aka 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (aka 1 stick) softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X13 baking pan, set aside.

Crumb Topping

1. Whisk together flour (2 1/2cups), sugar (1cup), brown sugar (1/4cup), salt (1/2tsp), and cinnamon (1 1/2 tsp). Make a well in the center and set aside.

2. Melt the butter (1cup) in a microwave until just melted and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the butter mixture into the well of the flour mixture. With a fork, pull the flour mixture into the butter. Continue to do this until all the butter is absorbed and you have a crumb mixture. Set aside (and try not to eat it)!

Cake

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour (2cups), baking soda (1/2tsp), salt (1/2 tsp), and baking powder (1tsp). Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter (1/2cup) and sugar (1cup) until mixed.

3. Add the eggs (one at a time), beating after each addition.

4. Beat in the vanilla (1tsp) and sour cream (1cup) until well incorporated.

5. Add the flour mixture into the wet batter, and beat on low until just combined. 

6. Pour the batter into your greased pan, and spread evenly. Then sprinkle the crumb mixture over the batter with your fingers. Make sure to cover the batter completely, evenly, and GENEROUSLY!

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife/toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Let cool and then enjoy!

Original recipe from Living Eventfully

Pix Patisserie

When looking for a totally awesome dessert restaurant in Portland, Pix Patisserie pops up on every list you come across. After visiting this bakery/bar last night, I could see why! The decor has a warm, French-chic feel to it with red damask walls, small and closely-placed tables, and two large pastry counters filled with French pastries and confections for customers to gawk at and order from.

From macarons to St. Honoré cake, there were so many delicious and beautiful-looking French desserts. Oh, and they have a HUGE drinks menu to accompany your treat! They even have decks of cards for people to play with, which Adam and I took full advantage of. Needless to say, I beat Adam 3 out of 5 games of Crazy 8's. ;)

Adam and I split a warm Queen of Sheba Truffle Cake (chocolate almond cake with molten chocolate in the center) with Tahitian Vanilla Bean ice cream. They definitely didn't skimp out on the almond/chocolate flavor and the ganache was a nice surprise in the middle. And you can never go wrong with warm cake and ice cream!

This place is a gem, and I can't wait to go back and try more of their desserts!

Lemon Blueberry Scone Cookies

Yesterday was one of those rare occasions where I was able to make something unique without having to run to the grocery store for an ingredient or two. Hooray!

The weather in Portland has been phenomenal: 70s-80s for the past week! So to accompany these bright sunny days, I wanted to make something light and refreshing. I remember pinning Hot Polka Dot's Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies a long time ago, and figured that this would be a perfect spring snack!

I was also feeling a little adventurous the other night, so I omitted the cream cheese and an additional stick of butter. The cookies still came out fabulously, and they actually reminded me of scones. Hence they are now called 'Lemon Blueberry Scone Cookies'! Others would argue that it tastes like a muffin top, so maybe you can be the judge when you make them. Either way, they're yummy!

What You Need
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (1 large lemon)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup blueberries

What You Do

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream together your butter (1/2cup) and sugar (1cup) until creamy. Then mix in the lemon zest, juice (3tbsp), and eggs (2) until blended together.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda (1/2tsp), baking powder (1/2tsp), salt (1tsp), and flower (3cups). Next, mix them in with your wet ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries (1cup) until they're well incorporated. Lastly, refrigerate dough for 15-30 minutes.

4. Take dough out of refrigerator and drop 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of dough onto your baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-14 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. Take out, cool, and then enjoy!

A few extras:
-You can use frozen blueberries if you so choose
-The dough will be more 'cakey'
-These cookies are amazing. And you should make them.

Pie Oh My! Class at Portland's Culinary Workshop

My birthday gift from Adam this year was a set of 3 different cooking-related classes at Portland's Culinary Workshop. Among those 3 was a pie-making class called "Pie Oh My!" In this class, we made two different pies from scratch - Chocolate Cream and Strawberry Rhubarb - all while learning different tips and tricks on making tasty pies!

Oh...and we got to take these pies home to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. =)

My work station

Chocolate Cream Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I left this class feeling absolutely inspired and more confident in my pie making skills! Stay tuned for my very own pie in the near future. ;)

Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread

The past 5 days have been spent visiting family and friends down in the Bay Area. It's been wonderful seeing my loved ones and getting to catch up with everyone!

Last night I made Blueberry Cream Cheese bread for my family. It's definitely a nice treat to have for the spring time, especially because the orange zest adds the citrus kick it needs!

What you need 

Filling
- 8oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon orange zest

Glaze
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon water

Bread
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cups sugar

What you do

**Before doing anything: preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease & flour a loaf pan!!**

Filling

1. Mix the cream cheese (8oz), sugar (1/2cup), flour (1tbsp), egg, and orange zest (1tbsp) until smooth. Set aside.

Glaze

1. Stir together the sugar (2tbsp), vanilla (1/2tsp), and water (1tsp). Set aside.

Bread and Assembling

1. In a small bowl, combine flour (1 1/2 cups) and baking powder (1tsp) Set aside.

2. In another bowl, cream butter (1/2 cup) and sugar (1/2 cup) until mixed. Add salt (1/4tsp) and vanilla (1tsp). Add egg yolks (2) and mix until combined.

3. Add half of the flour mixture into the wet batter and mix until slightly combined. Mix in the milk (1/3cup), and then mix in the rest of the flour mixture.

4. Coat berries with flour (1tbsp) and add them into the mixture.

5. In another separate bowl, beat egg whites (2) on high speed until soft peaks form. Then add in sugar (1/4cup) one tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form.

6. Using a spatula, fold in the egg whites mixture into the bread batter.

7. Pour half the bread batter into loaf pan, then the cream cheese mixture, and then the remaining bread batter. Pour the glaze over the unbaked bread and bake for 55-60 minutes (or until an inserted knife comes out clean).

8. When bread is done, take out of the oven and let it cool completely. 

To be honest, making this is slightly more challenging than other recipes I've done in the past. But it was well worth it, and I am very happy that my family is enjoying this tasty treat!

Extra tips:

- Feel free to use lemon zest instead of orange zest. Lemon and blueberries pair very well together.

- If you want to make the glaze a little more runny, add a tad bit more water and stir. 

-If using frozen berries, make sure you thaw them and then pat dry before adding in.

**Original recipe found at The Keenan Cookbook**