Cinnamon Sticky Bun Cake

Both my grands have gone home and I'm lost without them...especially in the kitchen.  I flew Maddie home yesterday and returned last night with a strange quietness in the house.  Oh, how I miss those laughs and the constant call of "Mimi!"

I'm exhausted and the temperatures actually reached 91F-degrees (33C) here today, but baking helps me to remember good times, especially these last two weeks, and this recipe has been bouncing around in my head begging to be tried.  I thought, "how could I make a cake that resembled one of my favorite breakfast treats--cinnamon sticky buns?" Those warm gooey buns, loaded with pecans appear to be of German origin from the 18th century.  Schnecken is leavened dough that has been rolled, then spread with butter, sprinkled with a cinnamon~brown sugar mixture and topped with pecans onto the surface before rolling them up and cutting into buns.   The cake I made is sponge cake, much like my mother made for jelly-roll cakes, but the buttercream icing is loaded with cinnamon and homemade caramel, not to mention toasted pecans to create this memorable cake.

Cinnamon Sticky Bun Cake
1 cup Queen Guinevere Cake Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. fine Sea Salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup for the egg whites
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
4 large eggs (separated)
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 Tahitian Vanilla beans, split and scraped

Preheat oven to 325F-degrees.  Spray a 12" x 16" baking pan with a baking spray.  Line with parchment paper and spray again.  Dust surface with flour or use a baking spray that contains flour.

Sift the dry ingredients and place in a large bowl.  In a measuring cup, add the eggs, oil and water and stir into the dry ingredients, using a spatula, briskly.

Add the vanilla beans and stir to combine.

In a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs whites until frothy, then, add the cream of tartar and beat until slightly stiff. White the mixer is running, slowly add the remaining 1/4-cup of granulated sugar.  Beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny.

Stir one-third of the stiff egg whites into the batter and then, proceed to gently fold the rest in, about 1/3 at a time--try not to deflate the mixture.

Spread the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven.  Cook 16 to 20 minutes until cake is golden brown and fully cooked.

Let cake cool completely before assembly.

Make Homemade Caramel or use store-bought.

Cinnamon Butter Cream w/Toasted Pecans
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
5 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup caramel

1 1/2 cups toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Toast pecans for 7 to 9 minutes.  Remove from the oven and rough chop them.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter thoroughly.  Add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the cinnamon and the caramel and beat to combine.

Spread the buttercream on the cake and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

Divide the cake into thirds.

Roll up the first section and stand it up on the serving dish. 

Continue with the second, then the third strip to complete the "roll."

Use the buttercream to icing the entire outside of the cake.  Sprinkle with additional pecans.

The cake is light and the icing is so amazing.  It may not be as good as a hot sticky bun from the oven, but it's pretty darn close:-) Enjoy!

 

My DH's Birthday Cupcakes

Today is my dear hubby's (DH) birthday and I've been thinking about a special birthday cupcake that will knock his socks off for over 2 weeks!  He's a baseball nut...I mean fan and what better way to celebrate his love of baseball than coming up with a "Crackerjack" cupcake.  That's exactly what I did.

I married this wonderful guy after only knowing him for two weeks and he's been my rock for almost 43 years.  I even knew of his love for baseball because when a mutual friend was setting up on our first date, he told me he wouldn't be calling me (the night before) until the game was over to set up the time he'd pick me up.  Most women would have felt slighted by this remark, but my intuition told me--this one is worth waiting for.

When I was pregnant with our first daughter, "back then" we didn't know ahead of time the sex of the baby, and we came up with both a boy and girl's name.  Matthew HENRY for a boy and Erin (a homophone of AARON) for a girl--get it...Hank Aaron, my DHs all-time favorite baseball player and home run champion (he refuses to recognize Barry Bonds!)  Even the day before Erin was born, I had started with early signs of labor, but he was so excited about a double header with the Washington Senators he had tickets for (it was their last season in Washington before moving to Texas) so I had him drop me at my mother's.  Erin held off coming into this world until the next day so her dad could have his special day: )!

Our grandson, Ari is also a baseball nut and Chuck has taken him to see the Cincinnati Reds' ballgames each year since he was 3 months old!  Even our granddaughter, Maddie got her first taste of the sport when PopPop took her to a Mets' game this year--big smiles too for America's past time.

Caramel Popcorn & Peanuts (aka Crackerjacks)
22-25 cups popped popcorn (about 1 cup unpopped)
4 cups salted peanuts (I used Virginia peanuts, but you could also use dry-roasted)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
5T Karo light syrup
10T (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 200F-degrees.  Spray 2 large baking pans with a nonstick spray.  Set aside.

Several years ago, I bought a Cuisinart Popcorn Maker and it's been one of the most used items in my kitchen.  I make this Caramel Popcorn with Macadamia Nuts at Christmas to give as gifts and having this small appliance has made it so easy to have fresh popcorn that only uses 1 T of oil for approximately 12 + cups of popcorn!

In a 3-quart sauce pan, combine the sugar, Karo syrup and butter.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then lower temperature and let simmer for 4 minutes or until it has become light in color. 

Add the salt, then, the baking soda.  The mixture will foam and turn a lighter color.  Immediately pour over the popcorn/peanut mixture.

Divide mixture between two large baking pans and place in the preheated oven.  Every 20 minutes, stir the mixture and rotate the pans.

 After about 1 hour 10 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool completely.

While the Popcorn/peanut mixture is cooling, start the cupcakes.
Browned-butter Vanilla Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Line a muffin pan with cupcake papers.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned
After the butter has browned, place in a glass dish and cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Butternut flavoring
1/2 tsp. Caramel flavoring
1/2 cup sour cream
2 3/4 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
3/4 cup whole milk
Place browned butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment.  Beat on med/high speed until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, until combined.  Add extract and flavorings and sour cream.  Beat for 3-4 minutes until light.
Measure dry ingredients and add alternatively with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  

Scoop into a paper-lined muffin pan and bake 18-20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when touched lightly.

Make Homemade Caramel (or used store-bought, but homemade is easy and sooooooo much better!)

Use an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcake so it can receive the caramel.

Make the Swiss Buttercream: 
Replace part of the "plug" to cover the caramel hole.  Then pipe a large dollop of buttercream on top.

The finale...add a cluster of Caramel Popcorn/Peanuts on top.  I found the cupcake papers with the baseball decorations at Williams-Sonoma. 

There maybe a lot of components to these cupcakes, but you can easily do the caramel popcorn and caramel the day before.  For my DH's special day it was fun creating the cupcakes I've been thinking about.  I just wish the grands were here to help eat them!  Enjoy! 

 
  

Bananas Foster Cupcakes with Salted Vanilla Caramel Buttercream and the March Give-Away

In 1951, Paul Blange' at Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans, prepared a dessert he named after Richard Foster, a friend of Owen Brennan, who was then Crime Commission Chairman of New Orleans.  The dessert consisted of sliced bananas heated in a buttery brown sugar and banana liquer mixture.  The bananas were served with cold vanilla ice cream and rum was added to sauce left in the pan, lit, then poured over the bananas. 

In 1988, while I was away taking our oldest daughter, Erin to college, Kelly invited her best friend Kandyce to stay at the apartment we were living in at the time while our home was being built.  Kelly and Kandyce had the bright idea to make fried bananas (a take on Bananas Foster) one evening--why, I'm not sure.  All I remember is talking to my husband that evening, assuring me everything was okay, even though the smoke alarm had gone off during their endeavor!  It was an experience Kelly chose not to talk about.

However, since Bananas Foster is such an icon of New Orleans and today being Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), I thought this would make a wonderful flavor for a cupcake and bring back happy memories.  When we went to New Orleans during the summer of 1989, we had Bananas Foster at one of the restaurants we went to and enjoyed every bite.  If you go by the tradition that Mardi Gras is the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, then this is a dessert you'll love.  My Mother, on the other hand, stuck by the tradition of making pancakes on this night, just as delicious with warm maple syrup dripping over them.

Bananas Foster Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

Bananas Foster:
2 T unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1 T. Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
1/2 tsp. Banana flavoring
2 ripened bananas, sliced lenthwise in half

1/4 cup dark rum

In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, melt the butter, then, add the brown sugar and stir.  Add the spices, Grand Marnier (if using) and Banana flavoring and stir to combine.  Add the bananas slices to the mixture and lower heat.

Cook about 5 minutes.  Add the dark rum and light the mixture with a match or if you have a gas stove top, tip the pan to ignite.  Stand back and let the mixture burn until the flame goes out.  The alcohol will have burned off.

Mash the bananas with a fork and set aside while you make up the batter.

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees and line muffin pan(s) with cupcake papers.

Batter:
14 T unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Bananas Foster mixture
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sour cream

In the KitchenAid mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to combine.  Add the vanilla and the Bananas Foster mixture.  Set mixture on low to combine.  (It may look a little curdled).  Sift the dry ingredients and add to the bananas mixture alternatively with the sour cream.  Beat just until everything is combined.

Use a 1/4-cup scoop to place batter into the paper cups, filling almost to the top of the paper.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.  Set aside in the pan(s) to cool.

Salted Vanilla Caramel Buttercream: (from King Arthur Flour recipes)
24 pieces (about 3/4 cup) caramel candies
3 T heavy cream
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 lbs. confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup meringue powder (optional)
1 T vanilla extract
1/3 to 1/2 cup heavy cream

In a small saucepan, place caramel candies, sea salt and 3 Tablespoons of heavy cream and heat on low, stirring frequently until melted.  Set aside.

In the KitchenAid mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter, meringue powder and half of the sugar.  Add the vanilla and 1/3 cup heavy cream and mix to combine.  Beat in the salted caramel mixture and add the rest of the confectioners' sugar.  Beat on low to combine, then on high for 5 minutes to whip, adding additional cream if needed.

(KAF recommends drizzling additional melted caramel over the buttercream, but I held back.)

Whipped Cream Filling:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 T whipped cream stabilizer
1 to 2 T confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix stabilizer with the sugar and pour slowly into the heavy cream as you beat it, using a whisk attachment.  Beat until the mixture is fluffy.  (I thought, adding the whipped cream in the center replaced the vanilla ice cream!)

Assembly:
Use an apple corer to remove a "plug" of cake from the center.

Fill a pastry bag with a #12 tip and the stabilized whipped cream then, pipe into the center cavity.

Fill a second pastry bag and #808 tip with the buttercream and using a swirl technique, pipe the buttercream on top.  If you like, heat addition caramels and drizzle over the top of the buttercream.

Lastly, I have finally finished the March Give-Away apron.  I chose a fun fabric, bright and colorful like the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras to set the mood of the season. 

If you're noticing the ladybugs in the fabric...that's a symbolism we have associated with Kelly.  A story for another day!

As they say in New Orleans..."Laissez les bons temps rouler"--Let the Good Times Roll!  Wishing everyone a beautiful start of the Lenten season and hoping Spring is around the corner. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

When I was first married, I loved having family and friends over for Halloween.  I always made homemade doughnuts and caramel apples, in addition to the numerous hors d'oeuvres and hot mulled apple cider.  Not to get off track, but one year my mother lent me my grandmother's cut-glass punch bowl but failed to mention to place a silver spoon in the bowl before I poured the hot cider into it.  My heart sank as I heard that distinctive sound of cracking glass!  I dreaded calling and telling Mom I had cracked my grandmother's punch bowl.  However, typical of my Mom, she took the blame for forgetting to tell me that trick.  Aren't moms wonderful:)

So today, I wanted to replicate the memory of those first Halloweens of married life, with wonderful caramel apples, in a cookie.  Oatmeal just came to mind to hold up to the addition of grated apples, giving a "pie-like" texture with the soft cookie.  The caramel is from scratch, but certainly no one will know any different if you use a bag of Kraft caramels; just add 2 tablespoons of water to thin the mixture.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Homemade Caramel:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup Light Karo Syrup
4 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

In a heavy saucepan, measure the sugar, Karo syrup, and salt and stir together.  Place the mixture on a low heat and cover the pan.  (Until you add the cream, butter and vanilla do not stir or swirl the pan!) 
Cook over low heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove the lid and raise the heat to medium.  Continue to cook the mixture until the color changes to a golden brown.

This will take approximately 7 minutes.  Carefully, using a mitt on your stirring hand, add the butter, then, the heavy cream because the steam released can burn you.  Stir the mixture to incorporate the cream and butter.  Remove from the heat and add the vanilla.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature before drizzling it over the cookies.  Stir occasionally to enhance the cooling.

The mixture will thicken as it cools.

Preheat oven 350F-degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment or use a Silpat.

Apple Oatmeal Cookies: 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup grated apple (peel apple first) approximately 2 medium apples
1/2 tsp. Apple flavoring
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups Old-Fashioned Oatmeal


In the KitchenAid, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together completely.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well.  Add the grated apple, flavoring and Vanilla extract and mix well.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix to combine.  Stir in the oatmeal.


Use a 1/4 cup scoop to measure out the cookie dough onto the prepare baking sheets.

  Press down tops slightly.  Bake in the preheated oven 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on a rack completely.  When all the cookies are finished baking, pour the caramel into a plastic squirt bottle or you can drizzle using a spoon.  Drizzle the caramel over the cookies.  Let set.

Now, heat some apple cider and have a treat before all the little tricksters come to your door.  Enjoy!