Not so Espresso Chocolate Cake with Hot Kahlua Syrup

Have you ever noticed that the older you get, the faster time goes? I swear, when I was little time seemed to pass so slooooowly. Now, I'm shocked when I realize that, oh, it's the end of March already!

I had a friend message me recently and tell me that I needed to update my blog because she's been stalking it and needs a new recipe to drool over. Unfortunately, she had a baby on Monday and I don't think she will be able to get on my blog and see this cake any time soon. Either way, I made this cake on Monday so this one is dedicated to baby Jameson who was born healthy and is lucky to have such an incredible mommy!

This cake is the Cake Slice Bakers top voted cake for March. I made the cake a bit late so I was able to read the comments from other bakers in our Facebook group before I made it. The recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons of espresso powder. Some feedback from the group indicated that the espresso was the dominant flavor in the cake and was overwhelming. I decided that instead of espresso, I would just brew half a cup of strong coffee and call it good. I also increased the ONE Tablespoon of cocoa powder to two. Duh! One isn't enough! 

After baking, the hot cake is soaked in a hot kahlua syrup that is sweetened with honey. The syrup was a great flavor addition to the cake and made the crumb more moist. I made a chocolate ganache to go on top but for some reason it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I don't think I heated the cream enough. Oh well. It still tasted good! 

I'm quite happy with the way the cake turned out (besides the look). I took it with me to my internship for our weekly PACT meeting and no one complained so I guess it was pretty good. 

In other news, I'm still plugging away at school. I absolutely love the program I'm in. It feels so...right. Like I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. My internship in the homeless clinic at the VA hospital is so fulfilling. I love working with the Veterans. I have met some characters for sure! My supervisor is so knowledgeable and is teaching me so much. I also found out I get to shadow for a day next week in the Polytrauma Rehab clinic. I'm crazy excited about that since working with that population is my ultimate goal. 

The Hubble is scheduled for an evasive driving course. Needless to say, he will no longer be driving the kids and me anywhere when he gets back. He's giddy about the experience though. He has so much fun with these trainings. It's neat to witness and be a part of his career and journey. I'm glad I have the opportunity to be on my own journey and career path as well. 

My India trip is just 45 days away!!! To say that I'm excited is an understatement. I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've been awarded lately. I look around sometimes and am in awe that this is my life. If you are interested in donating and helping me fund this experience, you can do so at my Go Fund Me site. 

And finally, the Cake Slice Bakers has decided to open the group for new members for a mid-year opportunity. If you are interested in joining us, just let me know and I will link you up with the right person. Until then, make this cake and enjoy every bite!! And don't forget to check out all the other Cake Slice Bakers' cakes at the end of this post!

Not so Espresso Chocolate Cake with Hot Kahlua Syrup

Adapted from Great Cakes by Carole Walters

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
• 2 1/4 cup sifted cake flour
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Hot Kahlua Syrup:

• 2/3 cup Kahlua
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 Tablespoons honey

Chocolate Ganache:

• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Position rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray (or butter and dust with flour, tapping out excess flour).
2. To make the cake: Brew the coffee and set aside to cool.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to fully combine.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium high speed until smooth and light in color, about 6 to 8 minutes.
5. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, at 1-minute intervals, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
6. Blend in the vanilla and sour cream, mixture may look somewhat curdled at this point.
7. Reduce mixer to low speed. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the coffee, dividing the dry ingredients into 3 parts and the coffee in 2 parts, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just incorporated after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 10 seconds longer.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
9. Center the pan on the rack and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry and the cake begins to come away from the sides of the pan.
10. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes while you make the syrup.
11. To make the syrup: In a small saucepan combine the Kahlua, water, and honey. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
12. Pierce cake with a wooden skewer and slowly pour the hot syrup over the top of the hot cake. Let stand in the pan for at least 1 hour to allow the cake to absorb all the syrup, then invert onto a rack and remove the pan.
13. To make the ganache: place the finely chopped chocolate and the butter into a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, bring the cream just to a boil. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate and butter and allow to stand for 60 seconds. Whisk the mixture until smooth and well combined. Pour over the cake allowing the ganache to spill over the edges of the cake. Let stand to cool and set.
14. Slice and enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Maple Pecan Pound Cake

Happy New Year! I know the first month of the new year is almost over but I haven't yet acknowledged that we are in 2014. Shouldn't we all have flying cars by now?? No? Hmmm...

Well, the new semester has started for me. I've been in school for 3 weeks now and I'm having trouble finding my motivation. What better way to procrastinate than to talk about cake?!?!?

This cake is the January pick for the Cake Slice Bakers. I ended up making this cake twice. The original recipe is for an old fashioned pound cake and the author, Carole Walter, suggests different options for changing the cake up. The first time I made the cake I went with the "nutty pound cake" option which calls for nuts and a hot liquor-based syrup to be poured over the warm cake. Sounds good right?? Unfortunately, I found the texture to be all wrong. The syrup didn't seep all the way to the bottom of the cake making some parts soggy and others dry. I was really disappointed.

But I refused to give up! I was talking with a friend and she sent me pictures of her husband and his family making pure cane syrup. That gave me an idea! Instead of the milk the original recipe called for, I decided to substitute maple syrup and add some pecans (because maple and pecan just goes together, duh!). Boy am I glad that I tried this cake again! It was fluffy, flavorful, and delicious! 

I'm used to pound cakes being super dense but this one wasn't. It was crumbly and soft. Sadly, my pictures aren't great. I ended up taking the cake to a friend's house for a party and had to snatch up a piece and take some quick pictures before the cake was devoured. 

All in all, I am very happy with how my second rendition of this cake turned out. I suggest making it! I wish I still had some. I would heat up a slice and slab a little butter on that bad boy. Mmmmmm....

Okay. Back to work! And don't forget to jump to the bottom of this post to see how the other Cake Slice Bakers fared with this cake!

Maple Pecan Pound Cake

recipe adapted from Great Cakes via Baking and Creating with Avril

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray loaf pan (9x5) with baking spray and set aside.

2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside flour mixture.

3. Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 6-8 minutes.

4. Add the eggs, 1 at a time at 1-minute intervals.  Add in vanilla and blend well. At this point the batter may appear curdled.  Not to worry as the addition of the dry ingredients will remedy this.

5. On low speed add in 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 the maple syrup.  Then again another 1/3 of the flour and the remaining maple syrup, ending with the last of the flour. Mix only until incorporated after each addition.  Scrap the sides of bowl to make sure all ingredients have been included.

6. Gently fold in chopped pecans until blended.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Bake in middle of the oven centered on the rack for 60-70 minutes.  If cake appears to be getting dark too fast cover lightly with tin foil. Cake will be done with toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

8. Cool cake in pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a platter to serve. Enjoy!!

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. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte

My good friend Emily and I have Wednesday morning coffee dates. We ship our older kids off to school then get together, pre-showers and makeup, to let the younger kids play while we sip on coffee.

The last few weeks Emily has gone to Starbucks and grabbed us my beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte for our dates. But I'm sure that is getting a bit pricey for her.

This week Emily had a doctor's appointment today so I took it upon myself (since I desperately missed my Wednesday latte) to find a cheaper alternative that was just as tasty as the expensive original. 

I began with this recipe, but found it entirely too milky. I love the strong coffee taste that I get in that paper cup I cherish. As a comparison, I turned to one of my favorite blogs of all time because I knew Monica had a pumpkin spice latte recipe as well. 

When I read Monica's recipe I was immediately thrilled with the use of turbinado sugar instead of granulated. I considered switching the sugars in the first recipe I made but left it as stated. I also loved the use of a full cup of coffee with a splash of milk. However, Monica calls for half and half in her latte but I enjoy fat free milk in mine so I made the change and whipped up the latte. It was amazing! 

I loved the strong espresso flavor in this latte. I did feel as though a more pronounced pumpkin flavor wouldn't hurt so I made yet another cuppa with more pumpkin. That, to me, was perfection! When making yours, start with the lesser amount of pumpkin, taste, and add more if needed. You can always add but you can never take away. 

This recipe was so incredibly simple that I didn't take any pictures of the process. You pour your milk, coffee, sugar, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice into a small saucepan and heat it until almost boiling over medium high heat. Remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into a blender (or use a whisk) and beat until frothy. 

A word of warning! Apparently when you pour a steaming hot mixture into a blender, the pressure from the steam forces the lid off the blender. Maybe leave the mixture in the blender to cool a bit before capping and turning it on?? Oops.

Pour into a mug, serve, and enjoy!! 

PS. If you are enjoying this tasty beverage with a friend, make sure you double the recipe below, it only makes on mug full. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Adapted from Lick the Bowl Good

Makes 1 serving 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup double strength brewed coffee
• 1/3 cup milk or half and half (I used fat free milk)
• 2-3 Tablespoons pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice plus more for garnish
• 1/4 teaspooon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat coffee, milk, pumpkin, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a small saucepan over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until simmering, almost to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
3. Place mixture into a blender and blend until frothy (or whisk until frothy).
4. Pour into a mug, top with extra pumpkin pie spice if desired.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Caramel Mascarpone Whipped Cream

"Everything has to come to an end, sometime." ~ L. Frank Baum

Lately I have been feeling the pressure of so many endings approaching. Time feels so short.

This deployment is rapidly coming to a close. Which is awesome! However, that also means that my time here in Central Texas as also coming to a close.

My family doesn't really want to talk about it. I can definitely understand that. But it's what I think about, almost constantly. Soon I won't be just around the corner from them. There won't be any Walking Dead Sundays. No tee ball games and practices with my nephew. No tennis lessons with my sister. No coffee hangouts with my niece. No nail painting with my Baby Sis. No Friday lunches with my mom. No pedicures with the girls.

Not only will my time with my family be ending, but also my time with my friends. No more book group with Kristen and Linda. No more baking with Monica. No more coffee Wednesdays with Emily.

Also ending, is our time baking from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. This is our last month baking out of this book. It's so hard to believe that a year has gone by already. How does the time fly by so quickly??

As always with The Cake Slice Bakers, we are able to choose our last cake out of whatever book we are baking from that year. I had hopes to make the Apple Cheesecake Brulee for my final cake. However, time, finances, and laziness won over and I went for a simpler option. After all, I already had everything for the Pumpkin Walnut Cake in my toolbox. And I do love pumpkin. ;-)

This cake was a spicy pumpkin cake studded with rich walnuts. I thought the cake was exceptional. It had great flavor. It was moist without being heavy. The cake flour gave it that added lift.

For a touch of decadence on this unassuming snack cake, Tish paired it with a Caramel Cream. Homemade caramel whipped into a soft mascarpone cream. Sounds great right? Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of the topping. I'm not sure if it was the mascarpone that gave it an odd flavor? Or maybe it's the fact that I don't like whipped cream, or caramel really. Or it could be that the caramel and pumpkin don't settle well on my taste buds. I prefer maple with my pumpkin.

The topping may not have suited my fancy, but the cake was worthy of concluding  my year with The Cake Book. Although, I pull it out more often than once a month. It's a wonderful book and would be an asset to any cookbook collection.

Make sure to jump over and peruse the final cakes for the other Cake Slice Bakers!

Let's bake!

Start with the caramel. Put some sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook and stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Kick the heat up to high and let it cook, without stirring, until it turns a golden amber color. Though the recipes states about 4 minutes it took mine about 7.

Remove the mixture from the heat and carefully add some cream. This bubbles and splatters all over the place so seriously...be careful! Stir it up until it's nice and smooth.

Pour the caramel into a heatproof glass bowl. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.

Now we can get the cake going. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and some warm spices. Set this aside.

Now in your mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and both sugars until pale, about 2 minutes.

Add in the milk, oil, pumpkin, and vanilla. Whisk until fully combined.

In three additions, add the flour mixture to the batter, mixing until just blended.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the walnuts.

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and evenly smooth out the top. Bake it for 20 to 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let it cool for about 15 minutes then invert it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once the cake is nice and cool and you are almost ready to serve it, go ahead and make your whipped cream. Pull out your mixer bowl, clean now right??, and pour in some heavy cream, vanilla, and mascarpone cheese. Whisk it until it's well combined.

Now pour in your chilled caramel and whisk the whole mixture until soft peaks form.

To serve this cake, you can spread the whipped cream over the top then slice into squares and serve. OR you can slice the cake into squares and dollop the whipped cream on each square and serve.

Either way you get that cream on there is good with me.

Enjoy!!


Pumpkin Walnut Cake
Adapted from The Cake Book

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup safflower oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 recipe caramel mascarpone whipped cream**

Directions:

1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 inch square baking pan with baking spray. 
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, on medium speed, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until pale, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the oil, pumpkin, milk, and vanilla. Beat until well blended.
5. At low speed, add the flour to the batter in 3 additions. Mix until just blended.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the walnuts.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula until even.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes then invert onto the wire rack to cool completely.
10. Either spread the whipped cream onto the top of the cake or cut the cake into squares and serve with a dollop of whipped cream atop the cake.
11. Serve and enjoy!!

**Caramel Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Adapted from The Cake Book

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
• 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a small heavy saucepan, over medium heat, cook the sugar, water, and lemon juice, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves.
2. Increase the heat to high and cook without stirring until the mixture caramelizes and becomes a golden amber color, about 4 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat and carefully add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream (be careful, mixture will bubble and possibly splatter). Stir until smooth.
4. Pour the hot caramel into a heatproof glass bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
5. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
6. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, on medium speed, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup cream with the mascarpone cheese and vanilla until well blended.
7. Add the chilled caramel and increase mixer to high speed and beat until soft peaks form.
8. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
9. Serve and enjoy!!