Can you believe it is almost Thanksgiving time???
I can't!
I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by.
I remember when I was younger that time seemed to go by soooo sloooooowwwwwlllllllyyyyy.
When we were in school, it seemed summer break would never deliver us from the mundane days of classrooms, lectures and homework.
However, when summer rolled around and we had exhausted ourselves it seemed as though the new school year would never arrive. We were anxious to get back into the classroom. See our friends again. Even be assigned homework!
Now that I'm older, I sing a different tune!
The days fly by so rapidly that my head is often left spinning.
How on earth are we already in late November???
Today I am heading to Alabama to visit my father for Thanksgiving celebrations. My little family is taking a tour through Texas for the Christmas and New Year holidays and thought Thanksgiving with my father would be a nice relaxing time before the madness of Christmas hit.
Little did I know when I planned this trip that my stepbrother would be graduating basic training in Kentucky the day before Thanksgiving.
So not only are we hitting Alabama on this trip, but also Kentucky. But that's cool. I've never been there before. And it's for a good cause.
We won't be celebrating Thanksgiving (or at least not cooking a meal) until Friday. But that's okay too.
One good thing about already being well into November is that I get to share my second Cake Slice Bakers cake with you all.
I have been reading many mixed reviews on this cake. Several people have said it came out dry, the caramel topping was too thick, the cake wouldn't come out of the pan, etc. But I had no problems with this cake.
Maybe because I have worked with sticky cakes before? I don't know. But amidst the cake bashing I have found a new cake recipe to add to my arsenal.
I made this cake in anticipation of some friends coming over for dinner. The Hubble and I entertain quite a bit and I'm always searching for new dessert recipes to share (someone has to eat all these sweets!). We invited some friends over at the last minute and I knew this recipe would be quick.
I threw it together, popped it in the oven and sent The Hubble to the store for some wine to go with our baked penne that evening.
The cake finished baking shortly after he left. I turned it out of the pan and watched as the caramel slid down the sides of the cake. The sweet and spicy smell of cinnamon wafted from the gooey mess sitting on my serving platter.
At that moment, I had no choice.
I grabbed a fork...I took a small bite from the side of the cake thinking no one would notice. The moment I tasted that cake I was transported...to heaven I think. Or at least, that's what my heaven would taste like.
I couldn't stop! I took another bite...and another.
I knew in that instance I needed help.
I called my older sister hoping for a cake intervention...she didn't answer!
I didn't know what to do! I turned to twitter. I was hoping that someone would help me off the ledge. Surely someone would help me to not eat the entire cake before the guests arrived (yes, I totally could have done it!).
Luckily, that was the wake up call I needed. I covered the cake and stepped away.
It's unfortunate that my fellow Cake Slice Bakers were met with challenges with this cake. I wish they all could have experienced the taste bud explosion that I did. The addition of the walnuts also gave the cake a nice crunch to it as well. So there is a mixture of chewy, crunchy, gooey and sticky with the light texture of the cake.
Oh man. I think I'm going to need to make this again!
And here's how you can make it:
Grab your ingredients: unbleached all purpose flour, whole milk, salt, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, cinnamon chips and chopped walnuts.
Spray a 9 inch baking pan generously with baking spray, I used this stuff.
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water, butter and salt. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter melts. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Mixing between each addition add: 1/3 of the flour mixture, 1/2 the milk and all of the vanilla, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the rest of the milk, then the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides then mix on medium speed about 30 seconds more.
Stir in the cinnamon chips and walnuts by hand.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth with a rubber spatula.
Gently pour the caramel topping (that was surprisingly more like a simple syrup than a caramel topping) over the batter in the pan. During the baking process the caramel sinks to the bottom of the pan, becoming the top once the cake is turned out of the pan.
Carefully place the pan in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. When the time was up I thought for sure the cake wasn't baked enough. But I tried the tester anyway and it was clean. If you bake this cake too long it becomes dry.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes then immediately turn the cake out of the pan onto a serving platter. You must do this while the pan is still hot. The caramel solidifies as it cools and will prevent the cake from turning out of the pan if left to cool too long.
Let the cake cool about 15-20 minutes more (I didn't do that and took a gooey hot bite right away and was transported to heaven). Then serve...
And enjoy!!!
Cinnamon Walnut Pudding Cake
Adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes
Printer Friendly Version
Ingredients:
Caramel Topping:
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cake:
- 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cinnamon chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Generously spray a 9 inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray with flour (baking spray).
- Make caramel topping: Combine brown sugar, water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally. Allow to boil about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add a third of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, add half the milk and all of the vanilla. Mix to combine. Then add another third of the flour, followed by the remainder of the milk, then the last third of the flour. Mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for about 30 seconds on medium speed.
- Stir in the cinnamon chips and walnuts by hand.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
- Gently pour the caramel topping onto the batter in the pan.
- Carefully place the pan into the preheated oven and bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (the cake may look like it is not done so make sure you test it even if you think it's not fully baked).
- When cake is done, allow to cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes then turn out of the pan onto a plate (the caramel sinks to the bottom of the cake during the baking process, if left in the pan too long it will solidify and become impossible to remove from the pan. You must turn out the cake while the pan is still hot).
- Allow to cool about 15-20 minutes more, serve and enjoy!!