Brown Butter Maple Blondies

These maple bars were so, so good. They had the perfect chewy texture and flavor, and then that maple glaze just sent them over the top. I'm so glad I found this recipe. I need to make it again, and soon. These were gone way too fast, but I fear that making a double batch would be dangerous. Note: I used salted butter and reduced the salt down to 1/2 tsp in the blondies. I think the glaze tastes better with salted butter- if using unsalted, use two pinches instead of one (taste after one, though!)

Note: I liked these so much I had these for my birthday cake in 2022.  They are so good!! 

Brown Butter Maple Blondies 

adapted from Grandbaby Cakes

For the Blondies

1 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 cup butter melted, browned and cooled (*see note below from original blog post)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt (3/4 if using unsalted butter)
1/4 tsp baking soda

For the Maple Glaze

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup confectioner's sugar sifted
pinch of salt

For the Blondies:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 sized baking pan with parchment paper making sure to allow some of the paper to come up the sides of the pan for easy removal. (I am lazy and skipped this, but feel free to use it. I used cooking spray. We just ate ours right out of the pan- lol!)

2.  In your mixer bowl, add brown sugar, browned butter, syrup, vanilla and eggs and mix on medium speed until well combined. Slow mixer down to low speed and add flour, salt and baking soda and mix just until combined- do not overmix. Add blondie batter to parchment paper or pan and spread out using a spatula. Bake for 23-27 minutes (*my Euro oven only took 16-17 minutes to be perfect*, but US ovens may need more time) or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

For the Glaze:

1.  While blondies bake, add butter to a pan over low heat along with syrup and allow butter to melt together with syrup. Once butter melts, quickly whisk in sifted confectioner’s sugar and salt ensuring there are no lumps and spread on warm blondies. Allow glaze to set then cut blondies in bars and serve. (I had some lumps, because I was lazy and did not sift the powdered sugar. Nobody cared though, because these tasted so good. I also whisked my arm off trying to get the lumps out- ha ha.) 

*To Brown Butter:

Place butter in a small non-stick saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. Once the butter has begun to melt, stir it with a wooden or silicone spoon. A whisk will also work just fine. Allow the butter to keep cooking. First, the butter will begin to bubble and then a foam will form at the top. Next, a nutty scent will start to waft up and there will be tiny brown bits floating to the bottom of the pan. You do not want to let it get too dark. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the butter to a heat-safe bowl and allow it to cool completely before using. 

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

My Mom's Chocolate Ganache Cake

I made this for my son's birthday in May.  I've been wanting to make it for a long time and finally had the opportunity.  It wasn't hard to make; you just need to plan ahead for the cake and then two chocolate ganache mixtures to cool enough.  Make this the day before you need it.  Because of lockdown, I didn't want to go to the store, so I just made do with what I had on hand- semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet baking chocolate.  It turned out great! I'm not sure I'd bother with the baking chocolate next time.  I did need to use my kitchen scale to measure out the ounces, though. 

Chocolate Ganache Cake
from my Mom and TOH

Cake:
3/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
4 (1 oz.) squares semi-sweet chocolate (OR 4 oz. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
8 (1 oz.) squares semi-sweet chocolate (OR 8 oz. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease two 8-inch of 9-inch round cake pans.  Add a circle of waxed paper in the bottom of each pan, grease the paper, and then coat the inside of the pans with flour.  (Trace the bottom of pan on waxed paper and cut out, to get a matched circle to the pan.) 

2.  In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; beat for 2 minutes.  Combine buttermilk and sour cream in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.  In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating after each addition.  Do not overmix.

3.  Pour into the prepared cake pans.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  (My oven bakes super hot, so I always check early, hence the 15 minutes.  Yours might take longer.)  After removing from oven, cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 

4.  In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate with cream over low heat.  Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.  Transfer to a small mixing bowl; chill until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Chill until mixture achieves spreading consistency.  (After chilling, I chose to beat the mixture in my stand mixture so it was light and fluffy- I loved it this way.)

5.  For glaze, in a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and butter.  Gradually add cream; heat until just warmed.  Chill until slightly thickened. 

6.  Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with filling.  Top with remaining cake layer.  Slowly pour glaze over top of cake.  (I refrigerated the glaze until I could spread it like a frosting, but you can also pour it over so it drips down. You can also beat it in a stand mixture to thicken if you want.)  Refrigerate until serving. 

 **This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Peanut Butter Layer Cake

 I made this for my son's birthday cake back in September.  It was AMAZING!!  The cake itself was delish and so was the frosting.  A lot of times, a layer cake turns out dry and only the frosting is enjoyable.  Not this time! The cake alone was moist (lol) and tasty and the frosting was great too.  The author says using oil instead of butter makes a cake more moist, and she must be right, because this cake uses coconut oil and it's wonderful.  (I think you can use any oil).  The recipe uses natural PB, but I didn't have enough, so I used part natural and part.... un-natural. Lol! I have to say the frosting is really, really hard to spread, but so tasty.  The author recommends putting this recipe into a 9x13 and reducing the frosting. It would be way easier to spread that way.  I was going to try it that way before posting, but I never had time because fall is here and there's too many baked goods now anyways.  If I do try it that way I'll update here.

Btw: we ate this cake up so fast that I never even remembered to take a pic of a slice!!!  Lol!!

Peanut Butter Layer Cake
adapted from The Daring Gourmet

For the Cake:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup coconut oil (at room temperature) or oil of choice
⅓ cup smooth, natural, unsweetened peanut butter**
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:
1 cup smooth, natural, unsweetened peanut butter (I used part natural and part regular)**
½ cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
up to ½ cup heavy cream or whole milk 

White or Regular Reese's mini PB cups, chopped, optional, for topping

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 2, 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.  For better removal, grease, then line with waxed paper, grease again, then flour.  This ensures your cake will come out perfectly.  

2.  In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, add the peanut butter, oil, and brown sugar. Beat until combined and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat just until combined.

4.  Alternately add the flour and buttermilk to the wet mixture, beating just until combined. Be careful not to over-beat or the cake will be dense and dry. A few small lumps of flour is fine.  Pour the batter into the pan.

5.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out moist, with a few crumbs.  (Not wet with batter but moist. If the toothpick is dry, the cake is over-baked and will be dry).

6.  Let the cakes sit in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7.  In the meantime, to make the frosting, place the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, continuing to beat. Add the heavy cream until you reach a spreadable consistency. (Note: This is a fairly stiff frosting and hard to spread, but it's so good!)

8.   Frost the bottom half of the cake and down the sides. Place the top layer of the cake, upside down, on top of the bottom layer. Frost the top layer and down the sides.  Optional: top frosted cake with chopped Reese's peanut butter cups (I used white chocolate ones.)

*For a little less work, you can bake the cake in a 9X13 cake pan as a sheet cake and make half the amount of frosting to go on top.  I haven't tried this yet, but will update when I do.*

--Update- I recently made this recipe and put it into a 9x13 pan and halved the frosting.  It was good but not as good as the layer cake!!  Still a good way to try this recipe, though. --

**I made this again using only regular peanut butter- Jif Natural, which really isn't natural because it contains added sugars and oils.  Anyway- the frosting was WAY easier to spread and it tasted just as good.  I'll probably use regular pb next time, at least in the frosting.**

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Smiling Poo Emoji (Dulce de Leche Fudge)

I saw these on Facebook a while ago.  I thought they were so cute; I saved the recipe.  Then my son wanted these on his birthday cake (he just turned 13).  They're perfect for a 13 year old boy.  Lol.  His friends all loved the cake, and the little poos on top.  They actually taste good!  Lol!  To make them, just melt together chocolate with a can of dulce de leche.  (There's a video plus more info on the original blog page.) These were popular with all of my kids, too.  

Smiling Poo Emoji (Dulce de Leche Fudge)

adapted from Hungry Happenings

16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (13.4 ounce or 380g) can of Dulce de Leche
20 (1/2 inch) candy eyes
5-10 white Candy Melt Wafers

1.  Line a pan with parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone mat.

2.  Combine the chocolate chips and Dulce de Leche in a medium (heavy) saucepan, or a double boiler.  Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until just small pieces of solid chocolate remain. Remove from heat and let sit for 3-4 minutes, then stir until melted and smooth.

3. Pour into a disposable pastry bag.  Cut off the tip and pipe out 10 big swirls of the fudge. (I got more than that.)  Immediately press two candy eyes onto each swirl.  Then cut the white candy wafers into smiles (I just cut in half) and press onto the fudge just below the eyes.

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Rainbow Birthday Cake

My little boy just turned 5 years old (yesterday) and really wanted a rainbow cake for his birthday.  I found a great design and some helpful tips from Bakerlady.  For the inside, I just used a homemade yellow cake (instead of making colorful layers from boxes mix like she did.)  I actually used my new favorite recipe for yellow cake, and it comes from Joy the Baker. It's super easy and uses buttermilk. This is the third time I've made it in about six months. I made a 9x13 with it back in February.

To make this, you frost the cake white (you can do a crumb layer first- pic above is frosted with crumb layer).  Use skittles for all the colors, except for blue- use M&M's.  Take a few minutes to separate everything into little bowls. Print out this rainbow coloring page and outline it with white icing (in a plastic baggie with the corner cut off). Turn it upside down onto your cake so the icing sticks onto your blank cake, and you can use the candy to form an even rainbow this way.  Use white frosting to stick on mini marshmallows for clouds.

Buttermilk Yellow Cake

adapted from Joy the Baker

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1.  To make the cake, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2, 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.* Set aside. (Place a round of wax paper inside the pans before flouring.  You can also grease the wax paper.)

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use a large bowl and electric hand beaters) cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Stop the mixer and and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

3.  In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the butter and egg mixture and beat on low until just combined. Add the buttermilk and beat on low for 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds more.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for about 25 minutes or until cooked through and the top springs back lightly when touch. Test the cake by inserted a skewer into the center of the cake. Cake is done when just a few crumbs are left on the skewer.

4.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 30 minutes.  Remove the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Let cool completely before frosting.

*You can also make this cake in a greased 9x13 pan.

White Frosting

1 cup butter, softened (use salted)
1.5 pounds powdered sugar (may need more)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk, a few tablespoons

1.  In a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream butter.  Add sugar, vanilla extract, and milk, whipping until smooth.  Beat for a few minutes.  You can add more powdered sugar if needed.  I actually used 2 lbs so I'd have enough frosting, but it was really sweet.

Rainbow Cake
adapted from Baker Lady

1 layer cake (above)
white frosting (above)
blue sugar (or blue frosting if desired, or that blue frosting spray paint)
1 bag Skittles
1 bag regular M&M's
mini marshmallows

1.  Frost cake white, with frosting in between layers.  Sprinkle blue sugar on the top.  (Or frost it blue, or use that spray paint frosting stuff.)  Separate Skittles into bowls by color, and separate out all the blue M&M's.  Using this coloring page, outline (with white icing or gel) the rainbow.  Turn it upside down onto the smooth surface on top of your cake.  Use this as a guide to form your rainbow.  Starting with red, then orange, then yellow, then green, then blue, then purple. Then, pile up mini marshmallows on the bottom of it for clouds.  Use white frosting to help them stick.  With the leftover candies, make a border around the top and bottom of the cake.  You can do the same color pattern- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Buttermilk "Birthday" Cake

When I saw this recipe on Joy the Baker's Blog, I wanted to make it soon because it just looked so simple and old-fashioned and good!  I made it a few weeks after finding it when a friend was moving. It was very well-received.  I didn't have any heavy cream, so I didn't add that part to the frosting, and it was fine without it.  Check out the original link up there if you want to to see the frosting the original way.  Don't wait for a birthday to make this cake!  Take it to your next potluck or just make it for fun anytime.  PS; Since I didn't use the cream I think I should have reduced the butter to only 1 stick (1/2 cup); not 1.5 sticks and will reflect that below.)

Buttermilk "Birthday" Cake
adapted from Joy the Baker

For the Cake:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For the Chocolate Buttercream
(double the frosting recipe for a layer cake of generously frosted cupcakes)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more if needed)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whole milk (more if needed)

1.  To make the cake, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch cake pan or 2 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use a large bowl and electric hand beaters) cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Stop the mixer and and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

3.  In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the butter and egg mixture and beat on low until just combined. Add the buttermilk and beat on low for 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2-3 minutes more.  Pour batter into prepared pan or pans. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until cooked through and the top springs back lightly when touch. Test the cake by inserted a skewer into the center of the cake. Cake is done when just a few crumbs are left on the skewer.

4.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan completely before frosting. If making a layered round cake, remove the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Let cool completely before frosting.

5.  To make the frosting, cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add powdered sugar. Turn mixer on low and mix in powdered sugar while adding milk and vanilla extract. As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.  Slather cake generously with frosting and top with sprinkles if desired.  

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Strawberry Tallcake

My son's 9th birthday was yesterday, and, inspired by the strawberry shortcake from this summer, he jokingly asked me if there was such thing as "Strawberry Tall Cake".  I googled it, and found this recipe.  :)  It looked easy and delicious, and he was very excited about it, so I made this for his birthday.  It was indeed delicious, and felt a little lighter than a birthday cake covered in a butter frosting (although I love those too!)

This is just a simple yellow cake.  You bake 2, 8-inch layers and let them cool completely.  Then split each in half.  Whip some cream, cut some strawberries and let them macerate in sugar for a few minutes, and then slap it all together with some strawberry jam.  The messy-ness and rustic look is part of the charm here.

Strawberry Tallcake

adapted from MyRecipes (Sunset Magazine)

Yellow Cake: 

2 1/4 cups cake flour*
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until creamy. Crack eggs into a small dish (do not beat) and add vanilla. Add eggs to the butter mixture 1 at a time, scraping down the inside of the bowl as needed. Beat in flour mixture and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next.

2. Grease and flour 2 round 8-in. cake pans. Line bottoms with circles of wax paper, and grease and flour the wax paper.  Divide batter evenly between pans.

3. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Cool cakes 5 minutes. Invert onto a rack, remove pans, and let cool to room temperature, at least 40 minutes.

Make ahead: Up to 2 days, wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled.

*For a cake flour sub, remove 2 TBS flour from each cup of all-purpose flour.  Replace with 2 TBS cornstarch.

Filling:
4 cups quartered strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream
6 ounces good-quality strawberry jam (9 tbsp.) (use homemade freezer jam!)

Yellow Cake, recipe above

1. Make filling: In a large bowl, combine strawberries, 2 tbsp. sugar, and juice. Let sit 10 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream until it holds a stiff peak. (Add a few TBS. of sugar; optional.  I added no sugar to the whipped cream.)

3. Assemble cake: Using a serrated knife, slice both cake layers in half horizontally. Set rounded tops aside to use as middle layers.  Place 1 of remaining layers on stand, cut side up. Spread with about 3 tbsp. jam. Sprinkle with about one-quarter of the sweetened strawberries, along with some juice. Then dollop one-quarter of the cream over strawberries. Repeat with second and third cake layers, using the reserved rounded tops.

4. Place the remaining layer on the top of the cake, cut side down. Mound the remaining whipped cream in the center and spread to about 1 in. from the edge, then sprinkle with remaining strawberries.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/**

Turtle Birthday Cake!

My son picked this out for his fourth birthday (yesterday).  We spent the day in Asiago, at a gnome park, then got pizza, and then came home and had his family party with this cake.

This cake is pretty easy to make; you just need two round cakes, frosting, a bigger cupcake or muffin, and some miscellaneous stuff. This method comes from Parenting.  For the cake, I made a cream cheese pound cake.  It was too much for just the cake pans, so I put the rest into a small loaf pan and we ate it Sunday with nectarines and whipped cream.

Turtle Birthday Cake
from Parenting

2 cups (about) vanilla frosting
Green food coloring
2 (8 or 9-inch) round cakes
4 Little Debbie Nutty Bars (or something similarly shaped)
1 jumbo cupcake or muffin
½ cup chocolate frosting (or Nutella- may not need all of it)
2 green or blue M&M's
1 tube black decorating icing
1 small bag Tootsie Rolls
12 green Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews (or Laffy Taffy)

What you'll need:
1 resealable snack or sandwich-size plastic bag
A serving platter
A bread knife
A rolling pin or a heavy bottle

For the white and green frosting:
Spoon 2 Tbsp of the vanilla frosting into a resealable plastic bag.  Add food coloring to the remaining vanilla frosting to tint it green

Trimming the cake:
Place one 8 or 9-inch cake on a serving platter. Using a bread knife, trim the top to make it level. Spread some of the green frosting on top. Place the second 8 or 9-inch cake on top to make a 2-layer cake.  Bevel the edges of the top cake to make the turtle shell's dome shape.  Spread the top and sides of cake with the remaining green frosting; make smooth.

Assembling the cake:
Trim 1 inch from one end of each Nutty Bar. Press Nutty Bars, cut side in, against the turtle-shell cake for the turtle's legs.  Trim the jumbo cupcake or muffin and place in the front for the turtle's head. Spread chocolate frosting or Nutella over the cupcake and make smooth.

For the icing decoration:
Snip a small corner from the bag of untinted vanilla frosting.  For the turtle's eyes, pipe white dots onto the cupcake head and attach the green or green M&M's. Pipe white dots on the M&M's.  Pipe white dots on the tips of the snack cakes for the turtle's claws.  Using the black decorating icing, pipe black eye brows and nostrils.

For the shell pattern:
Press 3 Tootsie Rolls together (may microwave for a few seconds first). Using your rolling pin or a heavy bottle, roll the Tootsie Rolls out on a piece of wax paper. Use a sharp paring knife or sharp edge of a metal brownie server to cut the flattened Tootsie Rolls into hexagons of varying size. Repeat with the remaining Tootsie Rolls to make 7 brown hexagons (or just make as few or many as you want.)

Press 2 of the green Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews/Laffy Taffy together and roll out on a sheet of wax paper. Cut out a smaller hexagonal shape from the flattened green Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews. Repeat with remaining green Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews until you have 6 (give or take) green hexagons.
Arrange the chocolate and green hexagons on top of the cake.  

Press some of the Tootsie Roll scraps together and shape into a 2-inch cone. Bend slightly and attach as the turtle's tail.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com**

Chocolate Cupcakes

My daughter wanted chocolate cupcakes for her birthday party, back in April, for her friends to decorate at her party.   (Her friends LOVED it- BTW; they are 12.  My son had the same activity for his party (turning 10) a month later, and all of his friends absolutely LOVED it as well, lol!)  Anyway, I was already starting to clean out my pantry at that point, so I needed a recipe with ingredients I had on hand, and this fit the bill.  It's a simple recipe, and easy to put together.  

Chocolate Cupcakes

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Makes 24-30 cupcakes, depending on how full you make them

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, Dutch-process or regular unsweetened
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon (17 tablespoons total) butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard cupcake pans with paper liners. In a glass liquid measuring cup, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer (or to a stand-alone bowl, using a handheld electric mixer) and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated. 

3.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling no more than 2/3 full. If you live at a high altitude or have had overflowing cupcakes in the past, err on the side of filling the liner of one cupcake 1/2 full and baking it alone first to judge how the cupcake will rise in the oven. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12-18 minutes. Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Caramel Cake

I made this for my husband's birthday this year.  I had been looking for an excuse to make this for a long time.  It's an America's Test Kitchen recipe.  The frosting is caramel-y and tastes exactly like penuche fudge- it is so good!  This cake also reminds me of these cupcakes I made a long time ago.  

I was saving this cake to make for a special occasion because it had a ton of sugar and almost a pound of butter in it (I'm including frosting here).  It was so worth it though!!!  My husband and I both loved this, as well as my oldest child.  I think it was too sweet for the younger ones.  The recipe calls for dark brown sugar, but I didn't realize that until now (oops, ha ha) and used light brown with great results.  That's probably why my frosting was lighter colored than some others I've seen online.  The recipe also calls for 9-inch pans, but I used 8-inch, so they'd both fit in my tiny oven at the same time.  I think there isn't enough cake to fill 9-inch pans, anyway.  My layers were pretty thin using 8-inch.

I've wanted to make a Caramel Cake ever since reading the book "The Help", so I'm glad I finally took the time to!  I have seen other recipes, but this one looked the best, and not too complicated.

Caramel Cake

from America's Test Kitchen

Cake:

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups (11/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c ups (10 1/2) ounces granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

16 TB ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened

Frosting:
12 TB (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
2 cups packed (14 ounces) dark or light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) confectioners sugar

1.  For The Cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position ans heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8- inch round cake pans and line with circles of wax paper.  Grease the paper, and then flour all. Whisk the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla in a large measuring cup. In a large bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Beat in the butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-size pieces remain. Pour in half of the buttermilk mixture and beat at medium -high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Slowly add the remaining buttermilk, mixture to the bowl and beat until incorporated, about 15 seconds.

2.  Scrape equal amounts of batter into the prepared pans and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. cool the cake in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks.  Let cool completely, at least 1 hour.

3.  For The Frosting: Heat 8 TB of the butter, brown sugar, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the perimeter of the pan, 4 to 8 minutes. whisk in the cream and cook until a ring of bubbles reappears, about 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the vanilla.

4.  Transfer the hot frosting mixture to a bowl and, with an electric or stand mixer on low speed, gradually mix in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is pale brown and just warm, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 4 TB butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5.  To Assemble: Place 1 cake round on a platter.  Spread 3/4 cup of the frosting over the cake, then top with the second cake round. spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Serve. (Frosting this cake was a tiny bit challenging, but not too hard.  The issue is that the frosting starts to "set" as you frost it.  You also can't start frosting while it is too hot, or it will melt off.  I just did my best.  As usual, I didn't get enough in the middle layer. You can see my frosting woes in the pic below.)

Note: In step 5, the cooled frosting stays soft and spreadable longer than most recipes, but will harden over time.  If frosting begins to stiffen, microwave it for about 10 seconds ( or until it returns to a spreadable consistency).

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