Daring Bakers: Caramel Cake

Sorry I'm posting this late in the day but we got back from Thanksgiving in the Tennessee mountains late last night and Helen Mae is really struggling to get back into a good nap schedule. Good thing I had foresight to make this delicious and very rich cake last week before I left for our trip!

November's Daring Bakers challenge was Caramel Cake with Browned Butter Caramel Frosting. The difficult part of the cake was making the caramel syrup which was used in the cake batter as well as the frosting. Like any caramel, you have to let sugar and water boil together until it turns a dark amber color- what made this a little different from other things I've done with caramel is that once the amber color is attained you pour one cup of water into the caramel to stop the cooking. I read a lot of comments about how much it would sputter and pop when the water was added so I used oven mitts and a long sleeved shirt and I didn't have any problems. Right after the water was added it seemed like the sugar became a little solid but I kept whisking it over medium heat and eventually it turned into a really nice syrup.


Honestly, the flavor of the syrup itself was so good that I could have eaten it by the spoonful- but it really added a delicious taste to the cake. Many of the Daring Bakers complained about the extreme sweetness of the cake and the frosting so I used regular salted butter instead of unsalted and mine turned out with a really great flavor.


I have not had much success with browning butter in the past because I'm always so worried that it's going to burn that I take it off the stove before it actually browns. But I was determined this time to get it right- this little tutorial on All Recipes helped me quite a bit. I strained the butter through a sieve like the directions indicated and I think I ended up straining out most of the salt that was in the butter- so that it was too salty or too sweet.


Caramel Cake Recipe Courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon

Recipe published from Bay Area Bites

Hosts/Co-Hosts for this month's challenge:

Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity

Alex of Blondie and Brownie

Jenny of Foray into Food

Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)

2 eggs, at room temperature

splash vanilla extract

2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F

Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients.

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted

4-6 tablespoons heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup

Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown.

Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool. Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month. To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light

(recipes above courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon)

TWD: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

Vibi from La Casserole Carree chose Thanksgiving Twofer Pie for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. I would have loved to have brought this to Thanksgiving dinner in Tennessee but I didn't have access to a kitchen for a long period of time and the pie would not have lasted from Saturday until Thursday- so alas, I had to make the Thursday before Thanksgiving. I thought of it as a sort of warm up for the big day. This pie is such a great idea that it's kind of crazy that it hasn't become a more popular Thanksgiving dessert. It is a mix of pumpkin pie on the bottom and pecan pie on the top- a perfect pairing!

Now this was also my first time using Dorie's pie crust recipe- and I have to say that I'm a bit undecided as to wether or not I like it yet! The crust came together very easily in the food processor. It uses a mix of (mostly) butter and (a bit of) shortening- so you get the buttery taste with a little more forgiving dough. If you had asked me what I though of the crust at this stage:


I would have undoubtedly said "I love it! I won't go back to my old standard!" but after I pre-baked the crust it had some little rips on the sides which was somewhat disapointing.


Then the even stranger thing was that the recipe called for pre-baking the crust for about 28 minutes and then baking the pie for something like 45 minutes- so that poor crust was in the oven for over an hour! I ended up putting a crust shield on top of it for the last 20 or so minutes but I still found it to be very dark brown. I can't say that it tasted like I'd burned it exactly, it was just very close to edge...


The fillings were fantastic though! I loved the consistency and taste of the creamy pumpkin filling and the delicious crunch and flavor of the pecan topping! I honestly love that combo! I think I'll try prebaking for a shorter period of time when I make this pie again- and I will be baking this again- I don't think I can go back to regular pumpkin pie ever again!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is going to be a short post because we're heading out to Sewanee, TN in the morning to spend Thanksgiving week with the in-laws! I can't wait for them to see how much our little Helen Mae has grown up. I have been seeing a lot of posts about pumpkin cookies on the blogs lately- and I had never tried them before- so since I'm such a big pumpkin fan I decided to make the most popular recipe listed on All Recipes for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.


These cookies are made with oil instead of butter and the consisentency is much more cake-like than cookie-like. The flavor is very good- the spices and chocolate go well together- but I've never been a huge fan of cakey cookies. So, the veredict: I doubt I'd make these again, but I can't pretend that they weren't all eaten up! So have a happy Thanksgiving everyone- I'm going to have a few posts go up while I'm gone but I won't have any internet access in good ole' rocky top so I'll have to catch up with everyone when I return!

Famous Cake Balls

Ok, I know everyone and their mother has blogged about these cake balls, cake truffles, cake pops, or whatever you want to call them. Well, there's a reason. They are darn good! I initially saw them a few years ago on someone's blog while I was planning my wedding- I can't remember the woman's name or the blog- but she was going to make these little cake truffles as wedding favors for her wedding. I was intrigued, but with the craziness of wedding planning- I of course forgot about them completely. Then, months after my wedding, I saw them again on Bakerella's Blog. And let me tell you, Bakerella is the absolute queen of the cake balls! Her's are like teeny tiny peices of artwork! Anyway... in August I decided to make the cake balls for my grandfather's birthday party. They came out yummy- but not nearly as beautiful as I had hoped- but all and all I was happy with the results.


But there was one person in my family who loved the cake balls quite intensely. So much so, in fact, that she asked me a few weeks after the party if I'd be making them again soon. This was my cousin, Valerie. Now, Valerie and I have a special relationship because I am the oldest cousin on my mom's side of the family, and Valerie is the youngest. When I was four years old I was the flower girl in Valerie's parents' wedding AND when I got married, everything came full cycle, and Valerie was my flower girl.

Last week was Valerie's 6th birthday. She had a party at the stables in City Park and all of the children got to ride the horses (sadly, Helen Mae, is still a bit too petite for horse rides but she did enjoy being a spectator). Well, I decided that I simply could not arrive at the party sans cake balls- so I whipped some up- this time I had more realistic expectations about how pretty they'd turn out (I am certain that mine will never be smooth and perfect like dear Bakerella's) but I knew they'd be tasty! I made chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and this time I dipped them in melted semi-sweet chocolate instead of the candy melts or chocolate bark that Bakerella recommends- I figured that mine would look imperfect anyway- so I might as well go for the best tasting quality instead!
Wow, the real chocolate makes a huge difference- so if you are like me and can't make a pretty cake ball to save your life, please try these out with real melted chocolate! The coating is a bit thicker than what you get with the candy melts- but who cares? I mean it's a thicker layer of chocolate! So Happy Belated Birthday Valerie, my biggest cake ball fan!

TWD: Black and White Arborio Rice Pudding

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Isabelle of Les Gourmandises d'Isa. I have never been a huge pudding fan- but my dad loves it- so I was excited to make rice pudding for him. I have never made pudding of any sort, so I had no idea what to expect. I sort of think something might have been flawed in this recipe because mine turned out disasterously. It wasn' t like it was just a mediocre recipe- it absolutely didn't work- like the measurements were off or something. I blame myself because I have never worked with rice pudding so it was really difficult for me to notice if it was coming together or not.


Dorie Greenspan actually posted on the question and answer section of this week's recipe on the TWD site to say that the cooking time was wrong in the book and that it should be extended from 30 minutes to 55 minutes. Well, first of all, I was pretty star-struck that she posted that for us! Secondly, I read it before I made the pudding, and it still did not turn out at all! Mine sat overnight in the refridgerator and it was like rice soup in the morning. I even tried straining it, but it clearly lacked the creaminess of rice pudding.


I made half vanilla and half chocolate and the flavor was really delicious- if the consistency had been right this would have been a great dessert. Anway- this is my first disapointment with Dorie's book- her recipes always work great for me- so I'm hoping it was just a fluke and a result of my extreme inexperience with rice pudding! Check out the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers because some of them had great success with this recipe!

Holla! for Pumpkin Challah

Ok sorry for the cheesy title but every time my sister said "challah" she would say "challah!" as in "challah at ya' boy!". Ok, on to bigger and better things. This was my first time making challah- and although this is not a very traditional recipe (because of the pumpkin and spices added to it) I know that I definitely want to make it again! This wonderful recipe comes from the very talented and very creative, Alejandra, of Alway Order Dessert. Her blog is such a pleasure to read! When she mentioned eating pumpkin challah french toast in a post about making the perfect bacon all I could think about was that pumpkin challah- forget bacon! Well, to my delight, she posted about the challah only days later!


So I went out and bought all of the ingredients so that I'd have them on hand when the urge to spend the day watching dough proof hit me. And hit me it did- I don't know how I sensed it- but my little helper, Helen Mae, was in a particularly helpful mood last Tuesday. She took two (2) real (more than 20 minute) naps on Tuesday (I'm not lying)- leaving me with plenty of time to get these glamorous loaves ready to pop out of the oven by 4:00! Just in time for Helen Mae's dinner: She loves pumpkin challah! I mean she really loves it!

Anyway, the bread came out beautifully in texture (my loaves pale in comparison to Alejandra's beautifully braided ones!). Oh, and don't be nervous about the amount of spice in the recipe- it seems like a lot of cinnamon and ginger- but it tastes like the perfect amount. This is not a sweet as in sugary challah- so if that is what you are expecting you can adjust the amount of sugar. I thought it was best the morning after I made it but it was also wonderful the morning after that, toasted with butter.

I took the liberty of detailing (at least part of the) process with pictures, in the case that you, like me, have not made challah before, and were wondering what the stages might look like (a bit of hubris on my part- because for all I know this is exactly how the stages should not look! but, my the bread was delicious- so let's go on that!)

Yeast mixture after it sat for 15 minutes:


After the second rise:


The "sea creature" getting ready to be braided-oh and you should really try this six stranded braid- it isn't any more difficult than a three stranded braid:


braids getting ready to proof:


braids getting ready to be put in the oven:


final product:

So make this challah and "challah at ya' girl" if you do!

TWD: Kugelhopf

Like most members of Tuesdays with Dorie I took one look at this week's recipe for Kugelhopf, selected by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl, and wished I had a Kugelhopf pan. I even thought about going out and buying one- but I wanted to be sure that I liked the recipe first- I mean if it was awful then what would I do with the pan? Well, problem solved, I made the Kugelhopf in a bundt pan and it turned out very very ugly and very very delicious! So now I have to buy a Kugelhopf pan because this pastry is too good to be ugly! So if anyone wants to buy me an early Christmas present click here. Nah, actually, I still feel kind of guilty owning a cake pan meant for baking one specific type of item!


A kugelhopf is a cake that comes from the Alsace region of France- it tastes remarkably similar to brioche (probably why I loved it). Now, I think I loved the cake because I was expecting it to taste like brioche (like Dorie mentioned) not a sweet cake with a fine crumb- it is really more like a very buttery tasting bread. It is definitely best straight out of the oven brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar. But if you want to serve it for breakfast, like I did, you'll have to get up at 3:30 am, like I did, to take the dough out of the refridgerator and let it rise in the cake pan for two to three hours. It was easy for me to get up that early, because a special little friend of mine, Miss Helen Mae, is having a smidge of trouble staying asleep during the night these days- so, happily, I was up at 3:30 am.


This morning (even though I had wrapped the leftover half of the cake in tin foil) it was quite dry. But this my friends was no sad discovery. Not at all! It meant Kugelhopf french toast for breakfast!

Peanut Butter Criss-Cross Cookies

These are such a perfect lunchbox cookie- or a good cookie for an after school snack- something about them just begs to be served to children. The funny thing is that I don't remember my mom ever really making peanut butter cookies when I was little. Don't get me wrong, my mom is a fantastic baker and she always taught us that baking from scratch was the way to go- I never encountered slice and bake cookies until I had them at a friend's house in high school! She just didn't really make peanut butter cookies. I don't know why. She likes them. I like them.


Anyway, I digress. I ate peanut butter pretty much every single solitary day of my pregnancy. Fo' real. I ate it on bagels, on crackers, on apples, straight out of the jar sprinkled with a few chocolate chips (yeah it got that bad). This may have had something to do with a ten-pound-in-one-month-weight-gain that I had in my second trimester. I'm not kidding- ten pounds- one month- not even the last part of the pregnancy: I cried as I waited with Derrick for my OB to arrive after the nurse scolded me. I convinced myself that it was going to be straight up health food and prenatal workout dvds for the next 19 or so weeks- and I really stuck to it- except for the peanut butter. But I convinced myself that peanut butter was just a fattening health food, after all it's packed with protien right? A pregnant woman can convince herself that any craving is related to something the baby needs.


So, after Helen Mae was "from my womb untimely ripped", I decided it was buh-bye to peanut butter for some time- at least until I could squeeze back into my non-elastic maternity waistband jeans. Well, I'm sad to report that that day has not yet come exactly- I mean they fit, errr... button, but they sure look different now. And guess what?! I bought peanut butter anyway! And I made these phenomenal peanut butter criss-cross cookies from Cookie Madness! They were great- and I feel newly liberated about my muffin top! Ok, the last part is not true- but whatever- the cookies were perfect- and who wants to look like a thin young beauty once she reaches the ripe old age of twenty-three anyway?!


In closing, this makes me laugh out loud everytime I hear the phrase muffin top.

Unemployed Shepherd's Pie

Haha, I wish I could say that I came up with the name of this delicious vegetarian alternative to the classic dish Shepherd's Pie- but I'll have to admit that I got it from Vegetarian Times- you can find the full recipe here. This picture caught my eye right away while I was flipping through the October issue- I mean come on- eggplant cooked in onions, garlic, and tomatoes combined with Parmesan cheese and then topped with a nest of homemade mashed potatoes harboring finely chopped zucchini and bell pepper? How could I not look at the recipe?


And baby baby did it live up to the pretty picture. This is such a good Fall meal!! One change that I made (and pretty much always make) is that I used fresh garlic instead of garlic flakes- I put in about 4 cloves (ok maybe 5...) because I really think that eggplant needs garlic- they are just so perfect together.
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I love vegetarian dishes that don't seem like their missing meat- this tasted like such a complete meal and was adequately filling too. The only thing that makes it a bit difficult is all of the peeling and chopping and the fact that the three components of the dish have to be cooked seperately and then baked together.


For me, now that Helen Mae will not play quietly on the kitchen floor anymore without pulling up to standing on...well...anything and nearly inevitably take a tumble, this is a lot of prep for a regular weeknight meal.

But gosh, it was so good and it appealed so much to both me and my slightly carnivorous husband that I probably will make the time to prepare this again pretty soon! I'm just a sucker for pretty magazine pictures!

TWD: Rugelach

Ok so let me tell you about something I really really hate: cream cheese. I hate cream cheese- I really really hate it- and I almost never use the word hate. I reserve it for things like cream cheese. I hate cheesecake, I hate cream cheese based dips, I hate cream cheese frosting on carrot cake (I love the cake part), and I really hate it on bagels (why ruin a perfectly good breakfast?). So this, my friends, is why I have never ever tasted rugelach before last night. I was so prejudiced against these beautiful cookies simply because the dough is made up of flour, butter, and you guessed it: cream cheese. But, I have great news! These cookies do not taste like cream cheese- even the cream cheese lovers in my life couldn't detect it's presence! Imagine all the years I've been missing out on these sweet little babies! The horror, the horror!


This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Piggy of Piggy's Cooking Journal. Thank you piggy! You have allowed me to become a more accepting and loving individual! I can no longer say that I hate cream cheese (well at least not with the same passion that I used to). Dorie's recipe is very easy- it is a bit time consuming because you have to refrigerate the dough after you make it and then again after you form the cookies- but the effort is well worth results.


I went ahead and used almost the exact filling that Dorie recommends: bittersweet chocolate (I used dark chocolate), apricot jam, pecans, cinnamon sugar, and currants (I used golden raisins). I was a little unsure about combining the tartness of the apricot jam and currants with the sweetness of the cinnamon sugar and the chocolatiness of the chocolate- it seemed like a whole lot of flavors for one cookie- but my worries were unfounded. They turned out delicious! I think that I will expirement with the fillings the next time I make these, only because the chocolate overwhelmed the fruit a bit and completely covered up the cinnamon- so I might make some fruit, some cinnamon and pecan, and some chocolate and ground almond next time- just to be able to taste the flavors on their own. And now let me do a little shout out to my new best baking bud- SILICONE BAKING MAT!! How did I live without you for all of these years? You make baked on sugar and crystallized jam slide off a cookie sheet with a gentle nudge! Go out and buy one right now if you don't already have one!


And I leave you with this: All hail Queen Helen Mae! Baby who now awakens at 4:45 am each morning (thanks to Daylight Savings Time) and wishes to go down for a nap at approximately 6:00am!