Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Vermont Breakfast Cake

My inspiration for this recipe today was from a dear blog friend, A Haven for Vee, whose "Mosaic Monday Post" showed a photo of her neighbor's maple pails hanging from the trunks. It brought back memories of our trip to Vermont, before moving to the west coast in 2001 and going to a maple syrup manufacturing farm to learn the process.

Some very interesting facts I would like to share about Vermont maple syrup:
  1. Vermont ranks #1 in the United States for maple syrup production.
  2. On an average, 1,000,000 gallons are produced each year.
  3. It takes 40 years for the maple tree to mature before it can produce sap.
  4. A healthy maple tree can produce sap for 150 years!
  5. There are 5 weeks in the year that a maple produces sap; it flows in the early spring due to warm days and cold nights.
  6. There are 4 grades--Vermont Fancy, Grade A~Medium Amber, Grade A~Dark Amber, and Grade B.
  7. Vermont Law requires that state-produced maple syrup to be free of preservatives, coloring, or additives.
  8. Fresh trapped syrup is crystal clear with a sugar percentage of 1.5-3%.  After the boiling process, the water evaporates and the concentration of sugar in the syrup caramelizes to an amber color with a sugar content of at least 66.9%!
This Breakfast Cake is just that...cake for breakfast, which our moms would have never allowed:-D  However, with the combination of oatmeal, buttermilk, and maple syrup, it tastes just like a baked oatmeal pancake and who could resist that!

Vermont Breakfast Cake
2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
2 cups buttermilk
Stir the oats into the buttermilk in a medium bowl and let sit for at least 1 hour.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray a 9-inch baking pan with a baking spray.
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together thoroughly.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  Add the vanilla and mix again.

Whisk together the dry ingredients and add to the wet, mixing on low just until combined.  Finally, add the oatmeal/buttermilk mixture and stir to combine.

Spoon batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake in the preheated oven 35 to 45 minutes.  Cake should be golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out cleanly. Allow to cool in the pan at least 15 minutes.  I used my springform pan; the sides come off and it's easy to cut later.
Meanwhile, make the Maple Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 to 2/3 cup Grade A amber or Grade B maple syrup
I used a Canadian Maple Syrup, Grade A Amber (Hey, I live in the Pacific Northwest!!)
Whisk together the confectioners' sugar and syrup, adding more syrup as needed to make a drizzling glaze.
Cut the cake in the desired size sections.  I transferred the pieces to a parchment-lined rack and slightly separated them so the glaze could drizzle down the sides.

Glaze as much as you like, but remember this cake isn't very sweet without glaze!
As promised, I am sharing with you what I have been sewing.  I found this fabric a few years ago at Pacific Fabrics; it's where I buy a lot of the fabrics I use for the aprons I make.
It was a cute print that reminded me of a Beatrix Potter story!  This year, I decided to make coiled fabric bowls for my grands using the directions from a great book It's a Wrap.  Using cotton clothes line, fabric that is cut in 1/2" or 3/4" wide strips, and some fabric glue.  Unwind the clothes line and start wrapping as directed; you will use a dab of fabric glue every 5 to 6 inches.  Sew a straight line down the center of the wrapped line about 5".

Next, make a coil about 1 1/4" wide and sew an "X" to hold in place.
Changing to a zig-zag stitch as directed, catch the fabric-wrap clothes line and create a base about 4 1/2 inches wide.  From there, you will "tilt" your fabric up as you continue to zig-zag so the bowl will form.
Before you know it...

Voila! 
One down, one more to go! I love the colors that were created with the wrapped fabric; hints of orange, browns, purple, and the many shades of green!  Happy Spring to all. Enjoy!



 

22 comments:

  1. What a neat idea. I have lots of scrap fabric to give this a go.
    I have been crocheting bowls recently.I think I have enough of them for now.
    Have a great week.
    BTW Your cake looks deeeelicious.

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  2. That cake recipe looks wonderful! I will have to try it for sure.

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    1. I just phoned my sister to tell her, this one is really, really good, XOXO

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  3. Oh man alive, Susan. That cake is lip-smacking. All your recipes the past few days have been awesome. Wow wow wow HOW can you make all these fabulous confections and not eat them all the minute they come out of the oven? How? Susan

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    1. I admit, I taste everything...to make sure it's good, then, I usually have plenty of friends that will take it off my hands! Too bad you don't live closer--you could be my taster, XOXO

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  4. You know I LOVE maple syrup! My blog is the Maple Syrup Mob, my cats' blog is The REAL Maple Syrup Mob!
    Jane x

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  5. Oh my goodness, Susan, the bowl is GORGEOUS. I love it!!! We're both working with Beatrix Potter. Made tags today.
    The cake looks yummy and I've seen lots of those pails collecting syrups when we've traveled to Vermont. We love it there, especially in autumn.
    XOXO's

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  6. Your wrapped baskets are wonderful! I love oatmeal so this breakfast cake would be perfect for me!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  7. The Oatmeal Cake looks so delicious! I will make it this weekend. The wrapped basket is really beautiful and quite unique---I love the one you made for me and I know Ari and Maddie will love theirs. Hugs, Barb

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    1. I should have put up a photo of the one I made you...maybe I will add it:-D You'll love, love the cake, XOXO

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  8. I should have a large piece of that oatmeal cake right now, I would rather not even wait until breakfast...wow it looks so good and then bowl you made, that is the coolest thing I have ever seen...

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  9. I like this cake...just might have to try to bake it myself. i do like oatmeal cookies so why not an oatmeal cake with maple on top! the bowl is great. I'm sure your grandkids will love them.
    stamping sue
    http://stampingsueinconnecticut.blogspot.com/

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    1. Sue, if you like oatmeal, you'll love this and it's easy to make!

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  10. Those wrapped bowls look very interesting. Was it fun to make? It sort of does look fun. Perhaps the better question for me would be is it EASY to make? Ha! The cake looks marvelous. We're on a search for the ever elusive Grade B maple syrup, which is so much more flavorful and very difficult to find even here. Wonder if a trip to Vermont is in order...just four hours west. ☺

    Thanks for the link love!

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    1. Vee, the bowls are really easy to make and if you have scraps, super inexpensive! The time consuming part is wrapping the fabric around the cord, but it's not hard.
      Our son-in-law brought us some Grade B from Vermont and it was delicious...wish I was just hours away from Vermont:-D

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  11. The wrapped bowl looks so cool, Susan.
    Love your breakfast cake...can't resist anything with oatmeal.

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  12. Susan our daughter lives in New Hampshire. Just over the Ct river is Vermont--so when we visit her we always stock up on that wonderful maple syrup. I make a oatmeal loaf cake simular to yours. It uses maple syrup instead of sugar and also has whole wheat flour and flax meal in it. I love, love, love the bowl you made! Is there anything you can't do? xoxo ♥
    Martha Ellen

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  13. The cake looks amazing but the bowl! THE BOWL!!! What a fantabulous project! I don't think I've ever seen anything like that, at least, not home made. It came out beautifully, my friend. Can't wait to see the next one. xoxox

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  14. The cake looks delicious! I learned facts I didn't know too about maple syrup.
    The bowls are beautiful! I made something similar to this years ago. Wonderful way to use scraps!
    Hugs,
    Donna

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  15. The bowl looks great, and what's not to like about cake for breakfast? :)

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  16. The breakfast cake looks wonderful, and I love the coiled fabric bowl you made!

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  17. That cake sounds so yummy and I love oatmeal in any form. hahaha

    The bowl is georgous!

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