the older i get, the clearer it becomes to me that life just keeps getting crazier. the older i get, the more FULL life seems to become. but all i want to do is sit on my couch and eat delicious food.
my brother albert (the same brother that officiated our wedding) was in town from vancouver over the weekend and it was nearly impossible to get my immediate family all together in one place for even two hours. the only thing we could manage was brunch on saturday morning. after perusing many tasty looking brunch menus of restaurants in la i noticed a common theme. almost every menu featured a dutch baby. ironically, we chose the only restaurant that did not have one. sunday, i woke up feeling remorse over not getting to sample a dutch baby. so after teaching my morning yoga class i whipped up my own version of the breakfast dish. i would call it a cross between a pancake, crepe and popover. it's like nothing i've ever had really, but it is scrumptious. and even better, you can put anything on it to make it your own. 

whole wheat dutch baby
serves: 2-6 (you can serve it for 2 or slice it into wedges and served to many)
prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: .5 cup whole wheat flour. .5 cup whole milk. 2 eggs. 1 tsp orange zest. 2 tbs sugar. 1 tsp vanilla extract. .5 tsp salt. 1 tbs butter. .25 cup powdered sugar. assorted toppings of your choice (i had blackberries, maple syrup, nutella and coconut). 8-9 inch oven safe round pan. 

start by preheating your oven to 425 d F.
in the bowl of a food processor, or large bowl using a hand blender, blend together all of the ingredients except the butter, powdered sugar and toppings. 

blend until smooth. allow the batter to rest for 20-25 minutes. 

when you are ready to bake, place your butter in the pan and melt the butter in the oven.
after the butter has melted (should only take a minute or two), remove the pan, fill it with the batter and pop it back in the oven. bake for 16-20 minutes. 

the dutch baby will have puffed up. when you remove it from the oven the cool air will cause it to fall slightly. allow it to cool slightly. top with powdered sugar, your favorite toppings and serve. 

xo, a

whole wheat dutch baby
serves: 2-6 (you can serve it for 2 or slice it into wedges and served to many)
prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: .5 cup whole wheat flour. .5 cup whole milk. 2 eggs. 1 tsp orange zest. 2 tbs sugar. 1 tsp vanilla extract. .5 tsp salt. 1 tbs butter. .25 cup powdered sugar. assorted toppings of your choice (i had blackberries, maple syrup, nutella and coconut). 8-9 inch oven safe round pan. 
start by preheating your oven to 425 d F. 
in the bowl of a food processor, or large bowl using a hand blender, blend together all of the ingredients except the butter, powdered sugar and toppings. blend until smooth. allow the batter to rest for 20-25 minutes. 
when you are ready to bake, place your butter in the pan and melt the butter in the oven. 
after the butter has melted (should only take a minute or two), remove the pan, fill it with the batter and pop it back in the oven. bake for 16-20 minutes. the dutch baby will have puffed up. when you remove it from the oven the cool air will cause it to fall slightly. allow it to cool slightly. top with powdered sugar, your favorite toppings and serve. 

as previously expressed, i have kumquats coming out of my ears. but, i'm kind of loving it. it has me hyper focused on one ingredient and figuring out all the wonderful things i can do with that ingredient. 

plus, if you haven't noticed, they are really freaking adorable. 

so i'm getting very creative with kumquats. kumquat squares. kumquat jam. kumquat cocktails. 

but my favorite so far has been these lavender + kumquat cupcakes. 

one of the women i work with at one of my yoga studios and her friends bought a whole lavender plant when they made my lemon + lavender cake and were so sweet to give me the plant when they were done. and i've absolutely fallen in love with it. lavender has proven to be an amazing compliment to the tart and sweet kumquats and together they made a scrumptious cupcake.

lavender + kumquat cupcakes
serving size: 18 cupcakes
prep time: 10 min
bake time: 15-20 min
total time with frosting: 1.5hrs
ingredients: 2 cups flour. 2 tsp baking powder. .5 tsp salt. .5 cup shortening. 2 eggs. 1.5 cups sugar. 1 tbs diced kumquat (about 2 kumquats). 1 tsp lavender leaves, minced. 1 tsp lavender flowers, minced. .75 cups buttermilk. .5 cups whole milk .5 tsp vanilla extract. .5tsp almond extract. 

preheat your oven to 350 f. with a mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and shortening.

while the shortening and sugar are being worked, combine the extracts, kumquats and lavender in a small bowl. 

with the mixer on a medium speed, add in the eggs until just combined. then add in the kumquat, lavender, extract mixture. 

still on medium, pour in the milk and buttermilk and mix till smooth. 

with the mixer on a slow speed add in the dry ingredients until just combined. 

spoon the mixture into a large ziplock or piping bag. 

into prepared cupcake pans, add 2-3 tbs batter to each pan. 

bake until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean. about 15 to 20 minutes
allow to cool completely.
frost with cream cheese frosting and serve. 

xo, a

lavender + kumquat cupcakes
serving size: 18 cupcakes
prep time: 10 min
bake time: 15-20 min
total time with frosting: 1.5hrs
ingredients: 2 cups flour. 2 tsp baking powder. .5 tsp salt. .5 cup shortening. 2 eggs. 1.5 cups sugar. 1 tbs diced kumquat (about 2 kumquats). 1 tsp lavender leaves, minced. 1 tsp lavender flowers, minced. 75 cups buttermilk. .5 cups whole milk .5 tsp vanilla extract. .5tsp almond extract.
preheat your oven to 350 f. with a mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and shortening.
while the shortening and sugar are being worked, combine the extracts, kumquats and lavender in a small bowl.
with the mixer on a medium speed, add in the eggs until just combined. then add in the kumquat, lavender, extract mixture.
still on medium, pour in the milk and buttermilk and mix till smooth.
with the mixer on a slow speed add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
spoon the mixture into a large ziplock or piping bag.
into prepared cupcake pans, add 2-3 tbs batter to each pan.
bake until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean. about 15 to 20 minutes
allow to cool completely.
frost with cream cheese frosting and serve.