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!