Streusel Squares

I was supposed to post this cake 8 days ago. What's funny is that I made this cake a month ago but I'm barely posting it today. I had fully intended to get this posted on time. Obviously that didn't happen. Best laid plans and all that. 

I don't have much of an excuse for the delay. I could say it was because I was finishing up my first semester of grad school. But that finished on the 6th of this month. I'm happy to say my first semester was a great success! I received 3 A+, 2 A's, and 1 A-. I think not too shabby for someone who hasn't been in a traditional classroom setting for 11 years, had an 8 hour internship, 10 hours of Graduate Assistantship work, 2 small kids, and no husband or family in town. I'm happy with my results! However, that means I've been lazy since school got out for winter break.

I did read a book though! For fun! Donna Tartt's Golfinch was a healthy undertaking at 771 pages but I finished it yesterday and the beauty of the novel did not disappoint. Unfortunately, I need to get back to the reality of Grad school around the 1st so I can start prepping for the new semester. Spring will consist of 4 courses, 20 hours of internship, and 10 hours of Graduate Assistantship work. But this time The Hubble will be home to help. 

But that's enough about me and my school shenanigans. Now for the cake! I made this cake for The Cake Slice Bakers group. This streusel cake is MY first cake from our new book. I skipped November. The group voted and chose the book Great Cakes by Carole Walters. I wasn't thrilled with the selection for November nor did I have any time whatsoever to go get the ingredients so I skipped the first cake. However, I'm glad I jumped in for December's cake. This streusel cake was delicious! It was light and flaky with a topping to kill for! I took the cake to class (since I made it so long ago) and it was devoured within an hour. The next time I make the cake, I would add nuts (probably pecans) to the topping; I love texture. But other than that I thought the cake was perfect! 

Since I'm WAY late posting this cake, the linky tool thing to the other Cake Slice Bakers is closed but you should still try to pop over to the blogroll and see what everyone else thought of the cake. And don't forget to make the cake yourself so you can form your own opinion too! Enjoy!

Streusel Squares

Recipe from Great Cakes by Carole Waltervia Lick the Bowl Good

Ingredients:

Streusel Topping:

• ⅓ cup (⅔ stick) unsalted butter

• 1¼ cups unsifted all-purpose flour

• ⅔ cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cake:

• 2¼ cups unsifted all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter

• 1 cup superfine sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup milk 

• 1 large egg white

Directions:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350⁰F. Butter a 9 x 13 x 2” pan.
To Make The Streusel Topping: Melt the butter, then cool slightly.

Add the flour, sugar and cinnamon all at once and stir with a fork until the mixture forms small crumbs. Take a handful of the crumbs and make a fist to press the mixture into a large clump, and then separate into smaller clusters, at least two or three times the size of the original crumbs.

Repeat until all of the crumbs have been reshaped, then set aside.

To Make The Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to soften on low speed. Increase speed to medium-high and cream until smooth and light in color, about 1½ to 2 minutes.

Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, taking about 6 to 8 minutes to blend it in well, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the eggs and additional yolk, 1 at a time at 1-minute intervals, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.Blend in the vanilla.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, dividing the flour mixture into three parts and the milk into two parts, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until incorporated after each addition, scraping the sides of the bowl and mix for 10 seconds longer.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with the back of a tablespoon.

Beat the egg white lightly with a fork, and using a pastry brush, spread about half of the beaten egg white over the top of the cake batter. Discard the remainder - the egg white helps the streusel adhere to the top of the cake.

Sprinkle the entire surface of the batter generously with the streusel, gently patting the crumbs into the batter with the palm of your hand; do not press hard.

Center the pan on the rack and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top, begins to come away from the sides of the pan, and the streusel is crisp. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out dry.

Remove the cake from the oven and set on a cake rack to cool. When ready to serve, dust the top with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

Can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

Yesterday, I was sitting in my Policy class thinking about how much I would have loved to have a glass of wine or a beer in my hand. The topic of discussion yesterday was substance abuse. We talked a lot about different forms of substance abuse, but since we had taken a midterm the day before and had several large projects due this week all we could think about was Happy Hour. 

I had already made this Kentucky Bourbon cake and taken it in a couple weeks ago. But it sure would have gone with the topic of discussion quite well.

I made this cake for the Cake Slice Bakers group. Every October is bakers' choice since October marks the end of the baking year for that year's book.

As I was looking through the book and wondering if I should make one of the cakes that I've missed or try a new one, I ran across the Kentucky Bourbon cake and immediately closed the book. I had found my cake

I am so glad I chose this cake! It was simple to make and amazingly delicious! The glaze poured onto the bottom of the hot cake seeps into the crumb making it moist and flavorful. Then pouring the remaining glaze over the top of the cake creates a glaze doughnut type texture. This cake was definitely a winner! And I didn't hear any complaints from my fellow students or professors.

So this past week was midterm week. I can't believe that I'm already halfway through my first semester of Grad school. It's so crazy! Unfortunately, I had a mid-term breakdown on Thursday evening. I've heard that a number of us had the same kind of breakdown. Fortunately, I have a couple Godiva truffle flights so I ate my feelings that night. That's what a good foodie does right? But, I made it through that and now it's time to pick myself back up and keep going. Yes, it's stressful. Yes, it's hard. But the best things in life don't come easy.

My internship is also going really well. I'm sad that I'm only on the unit for 8 hours a week. I wish I was there every day. But I guess getting the education is kind of important. So I'll keep going to class and appreciate the time I have at my internship while I'm there. And make the most of it. 

How are things going in your life? Do you have anything new happening? Are you planning on making this cake? Because you absolutely should. You won't regret it! I really wish I had a piece of it right now. Yum! If you are feeling brave, take a few minutes to check out the other Cake Slice Bakers October cakes. You can find the links to their blogs at the bottom of this post! 

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

Adapted from Vintage Cakes

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperatures
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Glaze:

• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup bourbon

Directions:

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk until well blended.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
4. Blend in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
5. In a small bowl, combine bourbon and buttermilk.
6. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. After each addition, mix until just barely blended and stop to scrape down sides of bowl. Stop mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated and blend it in by hand with a rubber spatula.
7. Spread the batter evenly into a prepared bundt or fluted metal tube pan.
8. Place pan in oven and bake until golden and the cake springs back when lightly touched, about 40 to 45 minutes.
9. To make the glaze: In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine the butter, sugar, and bourbon and heat just until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, whisking to combine.
10. Remove cake from oven and, while leaving it in the pan, immediately poke holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer or toothpick. Pour 3/4 of the glaze slowly over the cake, set aside remaining glaze.
11. Allow cake to cool in pan for 30 minutes then flip it out onto a serving plate so glazed side is on the bottom.
12. Brush or drizzle the remaining glaze over the top of the cake (if glaze has thickened, rewarm it over low heat.
13. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Butterscotch Cream Roll-Up Cake

Hi there! I've been trying to figure out for several days now how I was going to start this post....since it's been about a year since I've been active on this blog. Sorry about that. It's been a long, hard year but I'm ready to get back to baking and sharing recipes!

Here is my year in review: The Hubble came home from Afghanistan. We moved to Florida. We took Little Butt to Disney World for her 6th birthday. Little Butt graduated Kindergarten and began First grade (which we found out is an advanced level of First grade). Baby N turned 2 and started daycare. The Hubble was promoted. And me...I started Graduate school. So yeah...not busy at all right?? 

Since we are so busy and I'm going to be somehow squeezing baking time into all of this, the blog is going to change. I'll no longer be sharing step-by-step pictures. And I may only post once a month. We'll see how much I can do. Just bear with me and together we'll get through these next 2 years while I'm in school. Ha!

Now let's talk about cake! I made this cake for the Cake Slice Bakers group. Now let me preface this by saying I was LESS than thrilled that this was the cake that was chosen for the month of September. I hate roll cakes. Monica from Lick the Bowl Good and I talked about how unhappy we were with the vote. Maybe you remember the last roll cake I did? Ugh! This one wasn't too bad though....at least not the rolling part. 

Do you ever start to get down on yourself? It's important to remember your wonderful attributes at times like that. As I was making this cake, I felt like I had never baked. I made so many "rookie" mistakes it was incredible. The recipe has you separate eggs. You are to whisk the egg whites and add ingredients to the yolks. As I was trying to make dinner, help Little Butt with her homework, AND get the cake in the oven, I ended up adding the ingredients to the egg WHITES wasting SIX eggs. 

The recipe also includes a butterscotch sauce that is whipped into heavy cream to make the filling. I made the butterscotch sauce the night before and put it in the fridge overnight. When I pulled it out of the fridge the next day it was as hard as a rock! Paloma from Cake Slice Bakers suggested I put the bowl of sauce into a bowl of warm water to try to get it to soften. When I thought it was soft enough I threw it into the bowl of heavy cream and started whisking. Well...introducing that stuff to cold cream was a BAD idea! It quickly became as hard as rock candy and ended up breaking my whisk attachment. 

I was so annoyed with all the wasted eggs by then that I strained the chunks of butterscotch hard candy out of the cream and started over with the sauce. I paid more attention the second time around and the sauce came out beautifully. And it was delicious!

The rolling of the cake was much easier than I thought it would be. My fear was definitely not needed.

As I was dealing with all of that and telling myself how stupid all these mistakes were, I stopped and told myself that my perseverance is one of my strengths. I'm not one to give up easily. I rise to a challenge and refuse to back down when things get tough.

I took this cake to class with me and everyone seemed to like it. The cake was light and airy. The butterscotch cream was sweet and velvety. The sliced almonds provided a nice crunch and texture. I do love texture. :-D 

This cake was much easier to make than anticipated and it yielded a lovely looking cake. Rustic, different, but fairly impressive. So if you like stuff like this, go ahead and make it and impress your friends! Monica has a great set of pictures that shows how easy the rolling process actually is. And don't forget to run over and check out the other Cake Slice Bakers and how they did with this cake.

I'll be back!

Butterscotch Roll-Up Cake

From Vintage Cakes via Lick the Bowl Good

Butterscotch Sauce:

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon whisky

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Cake:

1 cup sifted cake flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ cup canola oil

4 egg yolks, at room temperature

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 egg whites, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Filling:

1 ½ cups cold heavy cream

½ cup natural sliced almonds, toasted plus more for this outside of the cake, if desired

To make the butterscotch sauce: Melt the butter over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Dump in the brown sugar all at once and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to simmer and changes from a wet sand consistency to a liquid that fives off a lovely molasses smell and looks like taffy, approximately 3 minutes from the time it comes to a simmer. Drizzle ¼ cup of the cream into the mixture and vigorously blend the cram into the sugar and whisk in the remaining cream. Turn the heat up to medium-high and allow the sauce to boil, whisking occasionally, until it has darkened, about 8 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the sauce to cool for a few minutes before adding the whisky, vanilla, and salt. Refrigerate until cold.

To make the cake: Spray a 12 x 16 inch jelly roll pan with nonstick baking spray (with flour), line it with parchment paper, and then spray the parchment paper with more nonstick baking spray. Center a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 325⁰F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ¾ cup of the sugar in a large bowl, then whisk the ingredients by hand. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, yolks, water and vanilla. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and briskly stir with a rubber spatula until just smooth.

In the clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and gradually increase the speed to high, whipping until the whites just form a soft peak. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar in a slow stream. Return the mixer to high and continue whipping until the whites just begin to hold firm, shiny peaks.

With a rubber spatula, fold a third of the whites into he batter, using as few strokes as possible. Add the remaining whites, folding until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Place the pan in the oven. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly touched and is barely golden in color, 16 to 20 minutes. Cool the cake on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature.

To make the filling: Begin by placing the bowl of a stand mixer and its whisk attachment in the freezer for 5 minutes. Fit the cold bowl and whisk to the mixer and whip the 1 ½ cups of cold heavy cream and 1 cup of the cold butterscotch sauce together on low speed until the ingredients are blended. Gradually turn the mixer up to high speed and whip just until the cream holds soft peaks but is not yet stiff.

To assemble the cake:  Keep the cake in its pan and orient the pan so the longer side is closed to you. Cut the cake with a serrated knife into four equal pieces measure 4 by 12 inches. Cut through the underlying parchment paper with a pair of scissors in the same places that you cut the cake so you have four quarters of cake [with parchment paper attached] that can each move independently.

Leaving the cake in the pan, spread a bit more than half of the butterscotch cream evenly over the cake and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Refrigerate the remainder of the cream while you roll up the cake.

With the pan still oriented with the longer side closest to you, lift up the nearest edge — both cake and paper — of one of your 4 strips. Using the parchment paper as the cake’s support, begin to tuck the cake into a roll and continue tucking [and peeling away the parchment paper] while gently rolling the cake away from you into a roll. Place the rolled cake upright on a serving plate, so the spiral of cake and filling is visible at the top. [Don’t worry, it gets easier from here.]Lift the next cake strip, using the parchment paper to support it, and wrap the strip around the roll on the serving plate, beginning where the outside edge of the first cake left off, in order to create a bigger roll. Continue with the next two strips, beginning the wrap where the last left off, to make one enormous rolled up cake.Finish by frosting the sides with the reminder of the cream [you might need to give the cream a few turns with a hand whisk to stiffen it up], leaving he top free to show of the spiral of cake and cream. If you desire, you can pat more almonds into the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour and up to one day, lightly wrapped in plastic. Just before serving, warm the remaining butterscotch sauce and drizzle it over the individual servings.

Well wrapped and refrigerated, this cake keeps up to 3 days.