Mad About Maida

Cranberry Pumpkin Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 125 . Maida Heatter has several recipes that are good for the holidays and I have made several of them already. I plan to post a list of all of the holiday desserts I have made and will do that soon. Here is another good one that is so easy. This is a dark and dense cake that is very moist (don't overbake it). Confession - I get so paranoid about overbaking cakes that I always start checking before the allowed time and sometimes take them out a little early. The cake will always continue to bake especially when left in the pan for a while. Of course, this depends on the type of cake but after you have done a lot of baking, your instinct will kick in.  I used bagged cranberries that had not been frozen. The cranberries are tart and provide a kick when paired with the delicate and spicy flavors of the cake. The nuts and the berries do not sin...

Chocolate Cupcakes Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 284. I wanted a quick recipe for a meeting I was attending and I wanted to try out a new muffin pan. This cupcake recipe is from Maida Heatter's chocolate book. She notes that this is the recipe she usually uses when asked to bring something to a bake sale. You can make these with cupcake liners like I did (the fastest method!) or you can grease the pans. The recipe makes 24 cupcakes although I came up short. I probably added too much batter to each cup. The instructions say to fill them 2/3 full. The cupcakes are dipped in a glossy icing which makes it easy. I do think that they might be more attractive if the icing was piped on. I suppose it depends on how much time you have! 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 5 1/3 oz. (10 2/3 TBS) sweet butter 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 ...

Delicious Bran Loaf  (S ource:  Maida Heatter's Cakes  (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed. , pg. 265). Another "healthy" recipe, this one is on the next page following Health Food Raisin Bread . I think I like this one better but they are both good. I like the addition of dates to this recipe and it makes the cake (or bread) more moist. This isn't sweet and it makes a good bread for breakfast or a coffee break.  I used Kellogg's All-Bran cereal for the recipe (and Maida Heatter said that she did too) and I did not include the sunflower or pumpkin seeds, which are optional. 1 cup 100% bran cereal 2/3 cup raisins 1/2 cup dark or light molasses 2 TBS unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 3/4 cup boiling water 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 cup walnuts or pecans in large pieces 1/2 cup dates, cut into pieces Optional: 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower or pumpkin seeds 1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose whole wheat flour 1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose white fl...