M&M Cookie Bars

Want a tasty, crowd pleasing treat that doesn’t take much time or effort to make? Look no further, you’ve found it here with these M&M Cookie Bars. These wonderfully thick and chewy bars are simply delicious, buttery and chocolatey and every single bite is just bursting with M&M’s. And as I’ve mentioned, they are so easy to make I could almost do it in my sleep. (And perhaps I have…though that is an entirely different story) But really, in 45 minutes these little devils are done and dusted with the dishes washed up and everything!

The great thing about using M&M’s in these bars, besides the fact that folks just plain love them, is that it makes the dessert very versatile. M&M’s come in so many varieties these days. You can find bags of them with colours customized for almost every holiday, they come in white chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter, pretzel filled, etc. etc. By changing which type of M&M you use, you’ll seem to have come up with a brand spanking new dessert every time. Minimal effort, maximum results. Gotta love that. Bake yourself the first of many batches today!

M&M Cookie Bars

recipe from: What Megan’s Making

yield: 16 squares

Ingredients:

• 2 1/8 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 12 Tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 12oz bag M&M’s, divided ( I used mini M&M’s but regular sized will work fine as well)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Grease a 9×9″ pan and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugars until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in 1 cup of M&M’s and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Sprinkle remaining M&M’s on top and press in slightly.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Irish Coffee Scones with Whiskey Butter

Here it is, Day 9 of my St. Patrick’s Day countdown and I think it’s time for another yummy breakfast treat. We haven’t had one since back on Day 1 when I posted about those irresistible Chocolate & Raspberry Buttermilk Doughnuts. Not that I’m opposed to the occasional slice of cold pizza, or even better, cold, left over french fries for breakfast. But I’m talking about a recipe for “official”  or ” classic” breakfast food. How about some lovely Irish Coffee Scones? Yeah, scones are perfect for breakfast. And these are for St. Patrick’s Day, so let’s do this thing up right. It’s a special occasion. Not an everyday thing. These scones have coffee, which is an essential for breakfast. And they have Baileys, I think we have established how I feel about the Baileys Irish Cream. It has been in high rotation in my recent culinary creations. So all that is missing for these to be a well-rounded St. Patrick’s Day breakfast would be a nice shot of Jameson. Oh…I’ve got it! We’ll stick it in the butter! Whiskey Butter….that’s what I’m talking about! How fantastic, Irish Coffee Scones with Whiskey Butter!

These Irish Coffee Scones are very moist, quite tender and definitely have a pronounced coffee-y/Baileys flavour. They are very light, almost more cake-like than biscuit/scone like, perhaps due to the addition of the cake flour. They are pretty easy to make, though I will say the dough is quite sticky, so just make sure your hands and prep surface are well floured. As long as you’ve got that covered, you’ll be fine. As with all scones, make sure your butter is very cold when you cut it into the flour and once you’ve added liquid to your dry ingredients, handle the dough as little and as gingerly as possible, otherwise your scones will be tough. Make sure that you don’t forget to sprinkle sugar-in-the-raw over the top of your scones, as it gives them a really lovely crunchy texture. And oh….when serving these delectable little morsels, the Whiskey Butter is not optional. It is a requirement! Start St. Patrick’s Day off right and bake up a batch!

Irish Coffee Scones with Whiskey Butter

recipe from: Buttercream Blondie

yield: 8 scones

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold & cubed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup strong coffee
• 1/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream

Directions:

Brew coffee & set aside to cool.

Combine dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Cut in cold, cubed butter.

Whisk eggs with cool coffee and Baileys.

Add to dry ingredients and mix till it comes together. This is a wet dough at first & kind of sticky.   It will come together.

Turn dough out onto a well floured surface.

Pat dough out into a circle.  You can use a rolling pin if you want, I use my hands to shape it. ( I divided the dough in half and patted each dough half into a circle, for a more petite scone. This dough is quite sticky, so make sure your surface, as well as your hands are well floured.)

Slice dough into 8 wedges (or if you have divided the dough into two halves, cut it into 4 wedges) & refrigerate until ready to bake.  Make sure the dough is cold when it goes into the oven.

Brush with heavy cream & sprinkle with sugar in the raw.

Bake at 400° F  for 15-20 minutes, rotating once halfway through.

Whiskey Butter

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon Irish whiskey  (I used Jameson)
• pinch of salt

Whip butter with whiskey and salt.

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread

I know, I know. We’re getting close to the Christmas season and this Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread does have more of a Fall vibe to it, what with the apples and all. At least that is what you might think until you taste it. Then you will come to the realization that I did. This bread is so addictively delicious that it is appropriate, no…perhaps even required, any season of the year! Pull just one of the gooey, cinnamony, caramely, appley slices off  while it’s still warm from the oven and take a bite. You’ll see. It’s like one of those decadent cinnamon rolls, ‘cept better! And believe me, you won’t be able to stop with just one of the slices. No sir-ee. Before you know it, you’ll look down and find the loaf half gone and notice your britches seem to have suddenly shrunk as the top button pops off and shoots across the room. (I hear that fabric does tend to shrink when it gets colder.)

It looks as though this recipe might be hard to make, what with all the steps, but it really comes together very easily. You don’t even have to worry about how you throw the cut dough pieces into the pan either. The bread is supposed to have that jumbled, rustic appearance. Not to mention, the basic Pull-Apart Bread of this recipe can be customized as well. Theresa at Craving Chronicles made a Peach Cinnamon & Brown Butter version. While Tracey at Tracey’s Culinary Adventures baked up a Cinnamon Sugar loaf. Get creative and come up with your own version. But you’ve gotta make this bread. And soon! You won’t be sorry!

Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread

recipe from: Alaska from Scratch

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1/4 cup or more, if needed)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

For the Apple Filling:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large tart apple, peeled, cored and diced

For the Caramel Glaze:

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Directions:

To the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine warm water and yeast. Let sit for 5-8 minutes until foamy.

In a microwave-safe dish, heat milk and butter together until butter is just melted. Add vanilla to the mixture and set aside.

Add flour, sugar and salt on top of the yeast mixture in mixing bowl. Turn mixer on low and add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Slowly stream the milk/butter/vanilla mixture into the bowl until a soft dough forms. Add extra flour by the tablespoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. Turn mixer up to medium and knead the dough for 3 minutes. Remove dough from mixer bowl and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let dough rise in a warm place for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. Peel, core and dice the apple. Melt butter just before the dough has completed its rise. Grease a standard 9×5″ loaf pan.

Once risen, punch down dough, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll dough out into a large rectangle (roughly 12×24 inches). Dough will be fairly thin. Brush melted butter over top of dough. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 6 equal strips. Sprinkle about 1/6 of diced apples over one strip of dough, then stack another strip of dough on top. Repeat adding the apple mixture and stacking dough strips with remaining dough. Cut stacked strips into 6 equal stacks of squares. Stuff stacked squares vertically into prepared 9×5 loaf pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 30-45 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat over to 350ºF. Bake about 35-45 minutes, or until no longer doughy in the center (bread should register 190ºF on an instant thermometer in the center when done). If bread starts to get too brown before it’s ready, cover loosely with foil and continue baking.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by adding the butter, brown sugar and milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.

Turn loaf out onto a rack with parchment paper under it. Drizzle load with the warm caramel glaze.

Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

So Hello again! I know it has been awhile since I’ve posted anything and you may have been wondering what ever had happened to me. At least I hope someone has noticed my absence and I haven’t just been yammering away into some sort of online oblivion. I’m actually just back from a truly fantastic holiday in Ireland.

I will definitely be telling ya’ll a bit more about that as soon as I can get myself back into some sort of routine. You know how it is post holiday…However, I wrote this blog on Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes right before I was ready to leave for my trip. You see, I told myself I would have all of these posts done before I left and then I would just post remotely. Welllll…..that didn’t work. Seems I was sort of busy with everything else before leaving and did not manage to have several blog posts ready to go. I did manage to get this one written and have shaken off enough of my jet lag to add in the appropriate pictures, along with this disclaimer. But I’m certain I will get it together soon and be back to my old blogging habits. Until then, please take a peek at these lovely Fall Cupcakes.

Happy, happy, happy!!! Fall has arrived! Of course, here in Virginia the weather can’t seem to let go of those Summer temps. We’ll have one nice crisp day followed by a sticky, humid mess of a day. But I know Summer is on its way out, so I’m in a good mood. And Apples are in season! Apples are my favourite fruit, so I’ve got some great apple dishes in store for ya’ll! I thought I’d start it all off with these Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes.

My husband just recently celebrated a birthday and he requested these cupcakes in lieu of a big birthday cake. He tends to prefer the fruit desserts over any sort of chocolate concoction, so these cinnamon cupcakes, stuffed with apple pie filling, topped with salted caramel swiss buttercream frosting and drizzled with salted caramel sauce, seemed just perfect. I was excited to make them as well, since I myself love apples and have an obsession with cupcakes. However, my glee soon came to a screeching halt. I thought making up a batch of cupcakes would be a cinch. But it turned out to be anything but. Things started to go bad with the making of the salted caramel. First attempt = failure. A big, burnt, lumpy, sticky, smoky failure. Hmmm…I hadn’t ever had trouble making caramel before. I decided to give it another go. And…another failure! What was going on? Are my stars misaligned today? Trying to stay calm, I chose a different caramel recipe and told myself “third times the charm”. Not in this house! Another mess!! But I’m nothing if not stubborn, so I kept at it! You know…to the bitter end. Well to cut this long pitiful story short, after eventually getting the caramel right only to suffer an icing melt down, I was finally able to produce these Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes.

I finished them at 11:58 p.m., so technically it was still my husband’s birthday. I promptly woke him up to have a bite of these little devils so that he would actually be able to say honestly that he had cupcakes on his birthday. Phew! But don’t worry, the recipe I have listed below, though cobbled together from a couple of sources is fool-proof. (and genuinely tested by a fool so I can tell you true!) You won’t end up like me, I promise. And these cupcakes are truly delicious. Just the thing to get you in the Fall mood.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

recipe from: Craving Chronicles and Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Apple Pie Filling: (From Craving Chronicles)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1.5 pounds (approx.) Honey Crisp apples (about 4 medium), peeled, cored, and finely diced
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add apples, sugars, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook until apples are tender and release their juices – about 10 minutes. In a small bowl or glass, combine cornstarch and water. Add to apples and stir, cooking until thickened. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. (Cover and refrigerate overnight if making ahead.)

For the Salted Caramel Sauce: (from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures)

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fleur de sel
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

Add the sugar, corn syrup and water to a medium saucepan and stir gently to combine. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture registers 350 F on a candy thermometer (if you don’t have a thermometer cook until the mixture is amber in color). Turn off the heat under the pan and slowly add the cream (the caramel will bubble up quite a bit so be mindful) then the fleur de sel. Stir in the sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool before using – you could even refrigerate for a bit so it’s not quite as thin when you go to fill the cupcakes.

For the Cinnamon Cupcakes: (From Craving Chronicles who adapted it from Annie’s Eats)

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick ribbons form, about 5 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until incorporated. Add milk mixture and vanilla, and beat until blended.

Divide evenly among baking tins. Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream: (From Tracey’s Culinary Adventures)

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6-8 tablespoon salted caramel sauce

Directions:

Add the butter to a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter on medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and sugar. Whisk to combine. Place the mixer bowl over a pot of simmering water, and, whisking constantly, heat until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved. You can test by rubbing a bit between your fingers – it shouldn’t feel gritty at all.

Put the bowl on the mixer, and starting on low and gradually increasing the speed to medium-high, beat the egg white mixture until stiff, glossy peaks form – this will take about 8-10 minutes, and the bowl should feel cool to the touch when you’ve finished. Reduce the mixer to medium-low speed, and gradually add the butter, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.

With the mixer still on medium-low, gradually add 6 tablespoons of the salted caramel sauce, and continue beating until it is completely incorporated. Taste the frosting, and if you want a stronger caramel flavor, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce.

Cupcake Assembly Instructions:

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, hollow out a bit of the center of each cake. You can do this with a small paring knife, an apple corer or a special cupcake corer tool. Fill each hole with cooled Apple Pie Filling. Pipe Salted Caramel Buttercream onto each cupcake. Drizzle with cooled Salted Caramel Sauce.

Enjoy!

Campfire Delight Cake

I said I was going to make it and make it I did! Remember back a few months ago I made Campfire Delight Cupcakes? They were fantastic and I noticed that they were a spin-off from a Campfire Delight Cake, which I couldn’t resist taking a peek at. And WOW!  That cake was a monster! We’re talking SIX layers of alternating rich chocolate cake, silky chocolate malted frosting and creamy toasted marshmallow frosting. Good Lord help us! What can I say? I knew I just had to make it.

I recently got the opportunity and gave it a try. Now making this cake isn’t for the weak of heart, or endurance. I completed it over two days, baking the cakes on the first and then refrigerating them overnight so that the layers would be easier to cut in half. The second day I made the frostings and assembled.

Phew! It is a big ole cake. When I sliced it, I found it wouldn’t even fit properly on a dessert plate. Nope, not this big boy. It needed the full on dinner plate. It looked truly stunning and tasted pretty phenomenal as well. If you’ve got a special occasion coming up, make this cake. Folks will be delighted.

Campfire Delight Cake

recipe from: Sweetapolita

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Cake:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups strong black coffee
• 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour three 9″ cake pans.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine all dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and with the paddle attachment, mix for two minutes on medium speed. Batter will be quite thin.

Pour equal amounts of batter into prepared pans. I use my kitchen scale to try to get it as close as possible.

Bake for 20 minutes and then rotate pans. Cakes are done when toothpick comes out clean. About 35 – 40 minutes.

Cool cakes in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Gently turn cakes out to wire rack to cool completely.

For the Toasted-Marshmallow Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 16 large white marshmallows
• 1 cup powdered or confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 lb. (2 sticks, 1 cup) butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 8 oz. of Marshmallow Fluff

Directions:

Place marshmallows on baking sheet which has been lined with parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Place tray under broiler and broil marshmallow until they are light brown on top. Watch them closely as they will burn very quickly. Once tops are toasted, remove tray from oven and gently flip marshmallows over and broil other side. Remove from oven and sit aside.

In a stand mixer, cream butter and icing sugar on low until blended. Add vanilla and mix on high for about 3 minutes. Add marshmallow cream and toasted marshmallows, and mix on lowest setting for about 1 minute.

Set aside.

For the Malted Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of butter at room temperature
• 4 cups of confectioners’ or powdered sugar
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Ovaltine or malted milk powder
• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the powdered sugar and butter. Beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and malt powder and beat on low until combined. Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the whipping cream and beat on medium high speed for another minute.

Assembly Instructions:

Split each of the 9″ layer cakes in half. This will be easier to do if the cake is cold. Refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes. I use a Wilton Cake leveler to divide the layers. However, this can be done with a good quality serrated knife. First trim any doming off the top of each layer. Then measure each layer and create a score line at the halfway mark all the way around the outside of the cake. Working from eye-level to the cake gently cut towards the center of the cake, then turn 1/4 turn and repeat until you have cut through the entire layer.

Place first layer in the center of a cake board. Slide a bit of wax paper just under the edge until all of the cake board is covered. These bits of wax paper will protect the cake board from stray bits of icing which may fall while you are decorating it. Cover the first layer with 1/3 of the Toasted Marshmallow Frosting. Top with second layer and cover top of that layer with the Malted Chocolate Frosting. Continue to alternate frostings covering the top most layer with Malted Chocolate frosting. Frost the sides of the cake with the remaining Malted Chocolate Frosting. Remove the wax paper cake board protectors. Decorate the top with small marshmallows, chocolate chips, jimmies or Whopper or Malteser candies as you desire.

Enjoy!

Lemon Cranberry White Chocolate Scones

I love scones! Especially the home-made ones, which put those things that a certain ever-present coffee shop sells to shame!  Scones are very easy to make, so I don’t know why I even bother with the store-bought ones. Yet every once it a while, I’m tempted while getting my morning caffeine fix and I buy one. In a moment of doubt as I’m reaching for my cash, I even think back to the last baked good I purchased there and how it really wasn’t worth the calories, much less the money. But then I convince myself that it was probably just a fluke last time and that the one that’s in the display case today look fresh. It will be different this time. But it’s not. Sad to say, the scones are always sort of stale and sickeningly sweet. What a disappointment. I should have waited til I got home, or bundled up one of my good home-made scones to take along with me for the road. I guess hope springs eternal.

I promise you these Lemon Cranberry White Chocolate Scones will not disappoint. They are just chock-full of favourites of mine, namely cranberries and white chocolate. The lemon zest gives them a wonderful fresh zing as well. Slathered in butter, clotted cream and topped with strawberries…pure heaven!

One taste of these lovelies and you’ll be ruined for the coffee shop scones. They’ll still have you for their coffee elixirs, so you shouldn’t feel but so bad for them. And one day maybe I’ll learn.

Lemon Cranberry White Chocolate Scones

recipe adapted from: The Sweet Chick

yield: 8 scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• heavy cream to brush over tops of scones
• Demerara sugar to sprinkle over scones

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place flour, sugar, and baking powder in bowl of food processor. Whirr a few times to combine. Add butter to flour mixture and process until mixture resembles coarse sand. Place flour/butter mixture in large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl mix egg and milk until blended.  Add to the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cranberries and white chocolate chips. Mix gently. The batter will be a dough like consistency.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal sized portions. Roll dough out into circles which area about an inch thick. With a knife or pizza cutter, cut each of the dough circles into four equal sized  triangles.

Separate the triangles and place on prepared cookie sheet. Brush the tops of each scone with cream and then sprinkle with Demerara sugar.

Bake at 425° F for 15 minutes or until tops are golden.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Dark Chocolate and Salted Caramel…What a wonderful combination! Without a doubt a couple of my favourites. I am definitely way into the whole salty/sweet thing. So I was very happy to make this Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel layer cake for my friend Erin’s Birthday get-together.

I’m happy to say that this cake turned out great! Let me just describe it for you. There are three layers of moist, tender dark chocolate cake. Nestled between each cake layer you will find a rich, silky layer of salted caramel Swiss Buttercream frosting. ( Have I mentioned that I LOVE Swiss Buttercream Frosting!) The cake is then encased within a decadent dark chocolate frosting. A bit of fleur de sel is sprinkled over the top. I then decorated it with a ring of mini chocolate chips and a malted milk ball. Be still my heart! This cake looked great and was delicious to boot!

The cake and frostings were easy to make, though a bit time-consuming. If you have never made caramel or Swiss Buttercream Frosting previously (OMG! you MUST make some soon…it is fabulous!) it may be a bit more of a challenge, but certainly do able. The directions listed below are very clear and easy to follow. That being said, I consider it time well spent. It was decidedly worth it to have a tasty homemade cake for Erin’s birthday celebration. Next time one of your chocolate, salted caramel loving friends have a birthday, look no further. This is the birthday cake they need!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

recipe from: Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2¼ cups sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• 1½ tsp. salt
• 6 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. brewed coffee
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 1 cup sugar, divided
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• Generous pinch of sea salt, such as fleur de sel
• 4 large egg whites
• 1½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the frosting:

• 12 oz. good quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• ¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• ¼ cup very hot water
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. (18 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
• Pinch of salt

Fleur de sel, for finishing

Directions:

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Grease and flour the edges of 3 8-inch baking pans, shaking out the excess.  Line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Mix on low speed to blend.  Add the vegetable oil, buttermilk, coffee, eggs, and vanilla to the bowl and mix on low speed until well blended and completely incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the cakes cool in the pans about 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.  Remove the parchment paper.

To make the caramel buttercream filling, place ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a medium saucepan.  Mix in the water.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.  Stop stirring and let the caramel cook, gently swirling from time to time, until it is a deep amber color (test a drop on a white plate or bowl if necessary), watching it carefully to avoid burning.  Remove the mixture from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream and then the salt.  Set aside and let cool.

Combine the egg whites and the remaining ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.  (The bowl should be cool to the touch.)

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (or longer - don’t worry, it will come together!)  Blend in the cooled caramel until smooth and completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

To make the frosting, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.  In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and water and stir until smooth.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed, gradually blend in the melted and cooled chocolate until well incorporated.  Blend in the cocoa powder-water mixture until smooth.

To assemble the cake, level the cake layers if necessary.  Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter.  Top with half of the caramel buttercream and smooth in a thick, even layer.  Place a second cake layer on top and smooth the remaining caramel buttercream over that.  Place the final cake layer on top.  Cover the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate frosting and smooth with an offset spatula.  If desired, use additional frosting to pipe decorative accents on the cake.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Before serving, sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Enjoy!

Dueling Muffins! White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Muffin vs. Blueberry Blackberry Streusel Muffin

So how would you like to have a freshly baked muffin every morning for breakfast? And not just any muffin, but one with your favourite add-ins. And wait, it gets better. What would you say if I said that your significant other can also have their favourite muffin, freshly baked, even if it isn’t the same flavour as yours. No, I’m not going to tell you to hire a personal chef. It’s much easier and less costly than that. The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion has shown me how this is actually possible. They have a great recipe listed for All-Star Muffins. It is a basic muffin recipe, that you are able to customize with your favourite ingredients, like apple cinnamon, peanut butter chocolate chip, carrot raisin….you get the picture. But the brilliant thing about this recipe is that once the batter is mixed, it will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator! This is a great recipe to keep handy so that you can mix up a batch of muffins the night before a big breakfast or brunch. With all of that prep work done, you can just heat up your oven and get right to baking in the morning.

But how does everyone get their favourite muffin? Here’s what I did. I mixed up a batch of the batter, then divided it in half. To the first half (my favourites) I added Rum soaked dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Right before I popped these muffins in to bake, I sprinkled some crushed pistachios over the top.

Then I took the other half of that muffin batter and mixed in my husband’s favourites, blueberries and blackberries (I’ve mentioned he is all about fruit in baked goods…) and topped them with a delicious streusel before they went in to bake.

I only baked two muffins on that first day, one for me and one for him. I took the rest of the dough, scooped out muffin sized servings and stored them in 1 cup Tupperware containers so that each morning for the rest of that week, we could just wake up, turn on the oven, make our morning coffee and tea, put two of the pre-scooped muffins (one for him one for me) in muffin tins, pop them in to bake and 20 minutes later we would have freshly baked treats! Of course you could just leave the batter in the bowls in which you mixed it and just scoop a serving out from there each morning, but room is at a premium in my fridge, so the little Tupperware containers worked out much better for us. The muffins were fantastic, moist and delicious. Though we each tried a bite of each other’s, we both insisted that our muffin was the best! Try a batch of these with your favourite mix-ins today and you can rise and shine to a freshly baked treat every morning for a week!

All-Star Muffins

recipe from: King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

yield: 16 muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose or cake flour (14 ounces)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter
• 1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease 16 muffin cups or use paper liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low-speed just until the batter is smooth. Do not over beat the muffins here if you want to keep them tender. Mix just enough to moisten the flour. Don’t worry about any small lumps you might see.

At this point decide if you wish to bake all of the muffins or whether you will be keeping the batter in the fridge to bake freshly all week. Use a muffin/cupcake scoop to fill the desired number of muffin tins and bake for 18 to 24 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven, cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to finish cooling on a rack. Muffins left in the pan to cool the entire time risk becoming tough from steaming.

Customized Directions:

White Chocolate, Cranberry, Pistachio Muffins: Soak 1 cup of cranberries in 1/3 cup orange juice, water, rum or bourbon. ( I used Rum!). Fold them into the muffin batter. Fold in one cup of white chocolate chips. Garnish the top of the muffins with crushed pistachios. ***As a variation you can use 2 cups of any dried fruit like apricots, cherries, dates or raisins if you prefer and also top with any type of nut you like.

Blueberry/Blackberry Streusel: Fold 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries and 1 1/2 cup fresh blackberries into the batter. Sprinkle the tops with streusel (recipe below) before baking.

Streusel

• 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 6 Tablespoons (3 ounces) brown sugar, firmly packed
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) soft butter

Mix together the flour, brown sugar, salt cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl, until the mixture is crumbly.

**If you are splitting the basic muffin batter to make two different types of muffins, remember to half the above add in measurements.

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

So it has been one heck of a week! I know I haven’t published in a bit, but goood Lordy we’ve had some problems around here! It all started last Friday evening with a huge, and rather unexpected storm. It has been very hot and humid around here recently, we’re talking around 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). But that is par for the course in Virginia, in the summer time, much to my dismay. With those sultry temperatures, we will often get thunderstorms springing up in the evening hours. Usually our good weather folks give us a heads up that one may be brewing. Well last Friday night, Mother Nature had quite a surprize in store for us. An incredibly powerful and stealthy storm snuck right up on us and….KAPOW! I’m talking 80 mile per hour winds and a wall of water which just descended instantly on us unsuspecting folks who were simply minding our own business around 11 pm in the evening. Well, Falls Church was devastated, trees down everywhere, trees which took the power wires down along with them. It was bad timing, as if there were ever a good time for mass power outages, but this power outage happened in the midst of a heat wave when the mercury was expected to stay hovering around that 100 degree mark for oh, a week or so. Our power was out from Friday evening through Monday. And we are the lucky ones, as many of my less fortunate neighbours still don’t have power today. Whenever you step outside, which isn’t often if you can help it – remember, 100 degrees of scorching heat envelopes you the moment you cross the door frame – instead of  hearing the peaceful chirping hum of the crickets, you are greeted by the rattling buzz of hundreds of generators, like some sort of  swarm of angry hornets is about to descend. (Hey, after that storm, anything could happen…)

Tree (and wires) down!

Now I had cooked up some delicious, mouth-watering food last friday that I couldn’t wait to share with ya’ll. Specifically  I made crunchy on the outside but moist on the inside Buttermilk Brined Southern Fried Chicken, flaky and fluffy Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits and oh so decadent home-made Bourbon ice cream. It was really yummy. Little did we know at the time, but it turned out to be a last meal of sorts before the onslaught. I was going to get pictures of everything the next day as the light wasn’t so good when I actually finished cooking the meal. Well, you know what they say about those best laid plans of mice and men…The next day, this little mouse found herself sweltering in an electricity, cell phone, internet free zone watching all that lovely bourbon ice cream melt and pool in the bottom of her ever warming “freezer”. I saved my hard-earned southern fried chicken though, icing it down in coolers which I hid away in our basement. You see, the basement temperature was much cooler. It only got up to about 86 degrees F down there… (I have mentioned that thing about how I hate to live in Virginia in the summer…right?) Now mind you getting the ice for the cooler was no easy tasks. Every store, gas station, etc. had not had electricity all night. What with our lovely Virginia temperatures which don’t really dip significantly in the overnight hours, that ice was looong gone. So we drove about 30 miles to our friend’s neighbourhood which did not lose their power because they have under ground power lines. Nothing for the trees to pull along with them on their descent. However, all the other folks without power had this same bright idea. We managed to nab the last six bags of ice at one grocery store and thought we were going to have to fight our way out of the parking lot when the other hot, tired and angry ice seeking folks realized the last ice had left the building.

Whew! I hope you can see I’ve had my hands full! I just didn’t have the energy to fry up another mess of chicken again after this ordeal, but it was so yummy I promise I will do so again soon and share with everyone. I did manage to recreate the Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits post power outage and got some pics as well. These are truly phenomenal biscuits and were so easy to make. I have made buttermilk biscuits before, but they were always the kind you rolled out and cut. These are drop biscuits. Much simpler. And they rose up like champs! Mile High is a good description. Light, fluffy, buttery goodness! They were definitely a comfort to us during our recent tribulations. Give them a try today, while you have power. If there is one thing I have learned, you should always be prepared. You never know when Mother Nature will throw her next hissy!

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

recipe from: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

yield: 12 biscuits

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups cold low-fat buttermilk

For Finishing:

• 1 cup (5 oz) all-purpose flour, distributed on a rimmed baking sheet
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500° F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Also, spray the inside and outside of a 1/4-cup measure with nonstick cooking spray. * I used an ice cream scoop*

To make the dough: Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter evenly over the dry ingredients then pulse 8-10 times, or until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Dump the contents of the food processor into a large bowl and add the buttermilk. Stir with a rubber spatula just until everything is incorporated (the dough will be quite wet and sticky and somewhat lumpy).

To form the biscuits: Using the 1/4 cup measure you sprayed earlier and working quickly, scoop level 1/4 cup mounds of dough and drop them into the flour on the baking sheet. Continue until you’ve scooped all of the dough – you should have 12 mounds of dough. Use some of the flour from the baking sheet to dust the top of each mound. Flour your hands, then, one at a time, pick up each piece of dough (coating with extra flour if necessary so you can work with it) and gently shape it into a rough ball. Shake off the excess flour and place in the prepared cake pan. Repeat with the remaining mounds of dough, fitting 9 biscuits around the outer edge of the pan and 3 in the middle.

Gently brush the top of each biscuit with some of the melted butter (don’t press down and flatten them). Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 450° F and continue baking for another 13-15 minutes, or until the biscuits are deep golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and let the biscuits cool for 2 minutes, then invert them onto a clean kitchen towel. Flip the biscuits over and break them apart. Allow to cool 5 minutes longer before serving.

(Note: Store leftovers in a resealable plastic bag and reheat at 475° F for 5-7 minutes.)

Enjoy!

Heavenly Pepperoni Rolls

Pepperoni Rolls – The State Food of West Virginia. Who knew, aside from all those folks who live in the good old Mountain State?!! Let me tell you, they’ve been harbouring an unbelievably delicious secret that I’d like to let ya’ll in on. They have Pepperoni Rolls there and once you cross the state line, you’ll find them everywhere, bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, you name it! What is a Pepperoni Roll you may ask. It is a soft white yeast roll which is stuffed with pepperoni, cheese and possibly some peppers.

It is similar to a Stromboli, yet the bread is different. Softer and sweeter. And lest you commit this blasphemy, I have been informed it is a grievous faux pax to refer to them as “Pizza Rolls”. They are not. They are Pepperoni Rolls.

I myself was unaware of this delicacy, until quite recently. It seems that West Virginia saw a large influx of Italian immigrants, who arrived to work int he coal mines in the early 20th Century. They often took Pepperoni Rolls into the mines with them for lunch, much as the miners in Cornwall would take pasties.(another favourite of mine) Pepperoni Rolls were great for this since they were quite portable and required no refrigeration.

My husband, pup and I have been going to West Virginia – Fayetteville, in particular – for several years. Fayetteville (population 2, 754) is a great town. In fact, in 2006 Budget Travel Magazine named it one of the Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America. You’ll find it nestled right there on the New River Gorge. The scenery is just stunning.

The folks are very friendly and there is lots of outdoorsy things to do, white water rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking and hiking. Although it is a small town, it boasts several wonderful restaurants. Our favourites are DiOGi”s (awesome Latin Cuisine), Pies and Pints (wouldn’t miss their handcrafted pizza) and the Cathedral Cafe (whole wheat pancakes to die for!). When we visit, which isn’t nearly as often as I’d like, we rent a little cabin tucked away in the woods (with a hot tub, of course…) (Opossum Creek Retreat) and spend our time, when we’re not soaking in that tub, hiking around the trails along the New River Gorge. (we need to do something to burn off all that yummy food) As a matter of fact, the banner picture at the top of this blog was taken in Fayetteville on one of our hikes. Here are a few more from our recent jaunt:

We were just there last month and I was excited to find that there was a relatively new bakery in town, Wild Flour Bakery, which is known for its Pepperoni Rolls. So we stopped by and grabbed a couple to take along on our hike. They were delicious. So when I came home, I started looking around for a recipe so that we could have them even when we weren’t visiting West Virginia. Well, I found a winning recipe on Martha J. Miller’s blog. Martha, who is originally from West Virginia, shared this phenomenal recipe for her Pepperoni Rolls. And they are exactly as described in their name…utterly heavenly! I think it’s the bread that puts these rolls over the top. Often Pepperoni Roll bread can be rather heavy. You eat one roll and feel like it is sitting in your stomach for days. This bread is slightly sweet, buttery and very light. Dangerous in a way because it allows you to reach for that second, no third…anyone having a fourth?….Pepperoni Roll. Be aware that this is a yeast bread creation, so you need to plan ahead when you bake these little devils, what with all the rising times and all. I love them so much, I just might be planning my “Pepperoni Roll” making days out for a year in advance. Time well spent in my opinion. As I’ve said so many times…good things come to those who wait! And these rolls are that goooooooood!!!

Heavenly Pepperoni Rolls

Recipe From: Martha J. Miller

Yields: 20 rolls

Ingredients:

For the bread:

• 2 cups milk
• 2/3 cup oil (canola or vegetable)
• 4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 packages instant yeast
• 1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 9-10 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

For the Filling:

• 3 packages sliced pepperoni (about 12 sliced per roll)
• 2 cups shredded Provolone
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• Banana Pepper Rings (optional)
• 4 Tablespoons butter, melted for brushing

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat the milk over low heat until just before it comes to a boil. Do not let the milk boil. In a small bowl, combine the warm milk, oil, salt and 3/4 cup sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves and let the mixture cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of stand mixer combine the two packages of yeast, sugar and warm cup of water. Stir gently with a fork to break up any clumps and let stand 5 minutes or until mixture becomes bubbly. Pour the lukewarm milk mixture into the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to combine.

On low-speed, begin to slowly add the flour, one cup at a time until a loose dough forms. There is no precise measurement for the flour as it will vary depending on your individual environment’s humidity, elevation, etc. but it will be somewhere between 9 to 10 cups. The finished dough will be slightly sticky and slack, but still hold together well.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead, incorporating more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and the counter top. Knead by hand for 6 to 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. To test if the dough is ready, gently poke your finger into the dough and if the indentation remains but slowly comes back, you have kneaded long enough. Place dough in a large lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Place in a warm draft-free place and let rise until dough doubles, about 2 hours.

Line 4-5 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Punch down the proofed dough gently to deflate and place on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 oz pieces using a kitchen scale or just eyeball it. This should yield about 18 – 20 pieces. With a rolling pin, gently roll each piece into a rectangle, about 3 inches x 2 inches. Place sliced pepperoni in rows 4 by 3 across on dough and sprinkle with a handful of cheese and banana peppers if you like.

Shape the rolls by folding in one long edge followed by the 2 short sides, and then rolling up like a burrito. Seal the edge firmly by pressing the seam into the counter with your palm or pitching shut with your fingers. Continue with remaining dough and place rolls on prepared sheet pans, about 2 inches apart. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise till doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 3 slits in the top of each roll to allow steam to escape. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through to make sure they brown evenly. Remove from the oven and brush immediately with a generous amount of melted butter. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Rolls will keep well for about 2 days in an airtight container or freeze in bags for up to 2 months. To thaw, remove from freezer and let sit at room temperature until thawed. Reheat in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!