Browned Butter Rum Cake with Rum Icing and Pecans

Adapted from http://tutti-dolci.com/2012/02/browned-butter-bundt-cake-with-kahlua-glaze/

Batter
½ cup unsalted butter
3 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼  teaspoon salt
1  teaspoon cinnamon
1  cup sugar
¼ cup rum
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
¾ cup low-fat buttermilk
½ cup sour cream

Rum Glaze
Powdered sugar
Rum
Milk

Toasted pecans

Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour browned butter into a glass measuring cup and chill in the freezer until slightly solid.

Preheat oven to 350°F and coat a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick spray and flour. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Beat solidified brown butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until well blended; beat in rum and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Combine buttermilk and sour cream in a small bowl. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat just until combined. Add buttermilk mixture, then finish with remaining flour mixture.

Pour batter in prepared pan and smooth top. Bake 33 to 35 minutes, until cake begins to pull away from edges of pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; carefully invert onto rack and cool completely.

To make glaze, sift powdered sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in rum  and milk (1-2 tablespoons, depending on preferred consistency) until smooth. Set rack with cake over a piece of wax paper and drizzle with glaze. Let glaze set before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Marble Bundt Cake

Marble Pinwheel Cake

http://www.hummingbirdhigh.com/2012/10/marble-pinwheel-cake.html

For the Cake: 
(makes one 10-inch cake)

3 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided into 1/2 cup and 2 cup portions

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons water, at room temperature

1 ½ cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

5 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup whole milk

powdered sugar, for dusting

For the Marble Pinwheel Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 (F).

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups cake flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, combine ½ cup sugar, ½ cup cocoa powder, and 6 tablespoons water. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Set aside.

Place 1 ½ cups melted butter and 2 cups sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until the mixture is blended, about 1 minute. Add in 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract and continue beating until combined. Add 5 eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg has just been incorporated. Once all the eggs are added, beat mixture until it becomes light and fluffy -- it will resemble pancake batter, but slightly thinner.

Turn mixer down to its lowest speed and add the flour mixture (from the first step) in three additions, alternating with ½ cup whole milk in two additions and mixing just until blended.

Add 2 cups of batter (from the fourth step) to the cocoa mixture and stir until blended.

Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, pour two scoops of vanilla batter into the pan. Now alternate and pour one scoop of chocolate batter on top of the vanilla mixture. Continue to alternate between vanilla and chocolate layers until the bundt pan is filled.

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, before turning out to cool completely.

Coffee Sponge Cake

Coffee Sponge Cake

Adapted from http://www.atkokken.com/2012/09/16/coffee-sponge-cupcake/

3 egg whites

¼ cup sugar

3 egg yolks

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coffee extract

2.3 ounces flour (65 grams?)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 ½ tablespoons milk

Whip the egg whites until foamy then add sugar in 3 additions and whip until egg white forms soft peaks form.

Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing well before adding more egg yolks.

Add in vanilla and coffee extract and mix until combined.

Add in plain flour and fold to mix well with a spatula.

Add oil and mix well with spatula. Repeat the same with milk – taking care not to over deflate the foam.

Spoon batter into a lined muffin mold. (filled to 3/4 of the cupcake mold)

In an oven preheated to 170C, bake the cupcakes for 25mins.

Set aside to cool completely.

Modern Honeycakes with Lavender Icing

Modern Honeycakes

From http://www.innatthecrossroads.com/2012/05/31/honeycakes/

2 ½ cups cake flour

½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 cup honey

1 cup buttermilk

Sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg and beat thoroughly, followed by the honey. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in alternating turns, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour into paper-lined cupcake tins, or a greased muffin pan, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until cakes are golden brown.

Lavender Icing

From http://www.marthastewart.com/340910/lavender-icing

1/3 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon dried lavender

3 cups confectioners' sugar

Bring milk and lavender just to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and let steep 10 minutes. Strain, and discard lavender. Whisk in sugar until smooth. Strain again.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (2)

Mexican Mocha Crinkle Cookies (2)

Recipe adapted from http://www.chow.com/recipes/29089-chocolate-crinkle-cookies

Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins, plus 2 hrs chilling time | Makes: About 40 cookies

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (no less than 60% cacao)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 cup powdered sugar

Place the chocolate and oil in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder into a medium bowl; set aside.

Place the sugar and the chocolate-oil mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until combined (the texture will be sandy), about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula. Return the mixer to medium speed and add the vanilla and the eggs 1 at a time, letting each completely incorporate before adding the next, about 2 1/2 minutes total. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle, about 1 minute total. (The dough will be runny like batter.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Place the powdered sugar on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon each), drop them into the sugar, and roll until completely coated. Place 15 of the balls 2 inches apart on each of the prepared baking sheets. (Chill the remaining dough.)

Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the sheets front to back and top to bottom and continue baking until the edges of the cookies are set but the tops are still a little soft, about 5 minutes more for soft, chewy cookies or 7 minutes more for crisp cookies. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool completely before repeating with the remaining dough (you can reuse the parchment). The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Mexican Mocha Crinkle Cookies (1)

 Adapted from http://aspicyperspective.com/2012/12/crinkle-cookies.html

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat the cocoa powder, sugar, oil, instant coffee granules, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt together until well combined.

Beat in the vanilla and eggs, then scrape the bowl. Slowly add in the flour. The dough will look like brownie batter.

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm enough to roll by hand.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, then place each ball in a bowl of powdered sugar and coat thoroughly, before placing on a baking sheet. Space the ball at least 3 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on the baking sheets before moving.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

FAIL: Spiced Apple Bundt Cake

Spiced Apple Bundt Cake

Adapted from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Bundt-Cake-102692, Bon Appétit  | December 1999

by Amanda Denton, Barre, VT

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup almond meal

3 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch each of nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup butter, melted

¼ cup milk

2 ½ cups sugar (maybe I only added 2 cups…)

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

4 medium apples, peeled and cut into 1/3” pieces

5 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Brown sugar

Butter

Apple slices

Sea salt honey caramel sauce or powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. Whisk together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. Combine the eggs, sugar, melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add the dry mixture to the liquid mixture and stir to combine.

Toss the apples pieces with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Fold the apples into the cake batter.

Mix some brown sugar with cold butter and sprinkle mixture onto the bottom of the Bundt pan. Arrange the apples slices on the bottom of the pan so that they overlap each other slightly. Pour cake batter into the pan and bake for roughly 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen cake and turn out onto rack. Cool for at least 45 minutes. Drizzle salted caramel sauce over the cake or dust the cake with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.