Autumn Brittle

So, I kept seeing this picture of a beautiful, overflowing plate of autumn brittle on Pinterest. All those fall colors and tastes were working together to create a shiny, tempting piece of candy. But it was a million degrees outside and ridiculously humid and I just wasn’t feeling the boiled sugar vibe.

Then my copy of Gesine Bullock-Prado’s Sugar Baby arrived this week and the weather cooled down and all of a sudden I was ready to cook something sweet.  I’ll definitely be pouring over and testing recipes from Sugar Baby this fall and winter (and remembering her advice not to poke hot caramel – thank you, Gesine), but first, the autumn brittle.

Cooking sugar is that interesting combination of relaxing yet somewhat scary and exciting.

Making brittle isn’t something you can do in a hurry. The sugar needs to reach the hard crack stage - 300°F.  So for an hour or more, you stir a little, check the thermometer, wait a little bit, and catch up on some daydreaming before you stir again and recheck the thermometer. . . you get the idea. Peaceful.

As the mixture keeps getting hotter and hotter, though, all the warnings I read in cookbooks and heard on Food Network about sugar burns ran through my mind. There’s also the fact that I’m less than graceful. Kinda worrisome.

Nevertheless, I carefully persevered and ended up with this (and not one single scalding). Thrilling.

 

I’m going to direct you right to the Adventures in Cooking site.  The photos are gorgeous and the recipe is very easy to follow. For my version of the brittle, I used pecans instead of cashews (pecans just seemed more fall-like) and added a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the sugar mixture (‘cause you can’t go wrong with pumpkin pie spice).

Enjoy.

Bacon Truffles

I have something a bit different today – dog treats.

truffle dough

Yes, I bake for my dog. I cook for her, too. She’s fighting cancer and absolutely deserves to be spoiled.  Unlike most beagles, my girl is a very picky eater – probably a result of the chemo.  When I do find something she likes, I make it frequently.

final touch before heading to the oven

Bacon truffles are one of her favorites.  I found the recipe a few years ago in Everyday with Rachael Ray.  Don’t you just love Rachael? The recipe makes an enormous amount of treats (about two pounds), so I always share with the Pet Rescue dogs or my friends’ dogs.

bacon truffles - yes, I made the jar myself

If I don’t have beef broth, I’ll substitute chicken or even vegetable broth.  So far, I’ve had no complaints.  Aside from that, I stick to the original recipe (here’s the link).

about 5 seconds before I ask if she wants a truffle

 

She sees the treat and races to me with ears flying. 

CakeCation

By now, everyone is familiar with the term staycation.  Heck, the word can even be found on Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary.  

Always one to be just a little different, instead of a staycation, I recently took my second cakecation of the year (my first one was for my cousin’s wedding in Nashville).  Just so we’re clear, a cakecation is a vacation taken in order to create a cake.

While a cakecation probably isn’t as relaxing as your typical staycation, I was thrilled to have this opportunity.  You see, this past week I was able to make my grandfather’s wedding cake.  How many people get to do that?  For a mostly fun, occasionally nerve-wracking week, I was able to hang up my editor’s cap and don my baker’s apron – bliss. 

The bride wanted to serve BIG pieces of cake to her 150 guests (“none of those tiny servings”), so we decided on four tiers of German chocolate pound cake (I used this recipe) with coconut-pecan filling.  Aside from a cake committing hari kari (I swear it just flung itself out of the pan and onto the floor) and some burned chocolate (yes, I took a moment to mourn the senseless loss), the first day of baking went well.  

Luckily, the second day was less eventful.  After the third batch of coconut-pecan filling, I even felt like I was getting the hang of that tricky boiled frosting.  By the third day, I had a fridge full of filled, frosted, and fondanted cake. 

The perfect shade of periwinkle eluded me Wednesday night (I tend to become a bit obsessive-compulsive when mixing colors), but by Thursday morning, the buttercream gods had smiled on me. Now it was time to decorate.

I began with the easiest tier.  I tinted fondant to match the blue buttercream, sketched and cut out the birds and leaves, and applied them to the cake.  Then I made templates for the piped frosting designs.

A mere 12 hours and 50 bazillion dots later, I had a dining table covered with decorated wedding cake (including a vanilla bean sheet cake).  

  

The next afternoon, despite rainy weather and bumpy roads, I made it to the site of the reception with all cakes intact. My uncle helped me unload the cakes and my aunt helped me commandeer a spot to assemble the tiers.  And before long – voila! 

Congratulations, Poppa and Mary!

 

Pineapple Inside Out Cake

So, I was talking to a work friend about very important matters and our discussion eventually turned to some of our favorite blogs – baking for me and design for her. (You know, ‘cause you need to take a break while solving the world’s problems so you don’t get burned out.)

That led to me mentioning an interest in taking the new Wilton cake decorating classes. I took the series years ago and was interested in seeing what changes were made to the courses and learning about their new products.

Long story short, the two of us started classes a couple weeks ago.

It’s been fun playing with frosting and I’ve picked up some useful tips, too.  For instance, those Bake Even strips really work.  You dampen the strip and wrap it around the pan.  The edges of the pan stay cooler so the cake doesn’t puff up in the middle. Every cake I’ve made with them has come out level.

Of course, a cake that doesn’t need to be leveled means no cake scraps for the baker.  I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Our instructor encouraged us to experiment with recipes, so I decided to play around with a pineapple upside down cake, which typically doesn’t lend itself to buttercream frosting and decorations.

I started with a brown sugar cake from a recipe on SwEEts byE. Let’s face it, aside from the pineapple, brown sugar is the best part of a pineapple upside down cake.

Then, I adapted a pineapple filling recipe (again, with brown sugar) for the inside of the cake.

In class I transferred and decorated an image of a pineapple on the frosted cake, and voila – pineapple inside out cake.

Pineapple Filling (adapted from Cooks.com) 

1 ½ c crushed pineapple, drained

½ c brown sugar

1 T butter

1 T cornstarch

¼ t salt

¼ t freshly grated nutmeg

Mix ingredients together in a medium pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Once mixture is cool, spread between cake layers.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

I LOVE Fall!  The rich colors of the foliage, the smell of a wood fire, the rustling sound as you walk through a big pile of leaves – it’s all good.  And then there’s the food – apple dumplings, pumpkin pie, gingerbread, and caramel apples.  I hardly know which fall-inspired recipe to try first.

Should I usher in the season (yes, I’m jumping the gun a bit; humor me) with my favorite apple pie with cheddar crust or try something new, like the tempting autumn brittle I keep seeing on Pinterest?

There’s also the teeny, tiny evil part of me that rejoices to see my large, extended family of teachers head back to the classroom.  I know, I know.  They work ridiculously hard during the school year.  They also gloat (you know who you are) during summer, Christmas, and spring breaks.

Anyway. . . I was in the mood for a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.  I’ve never had one, but they sound tasty, don’t they? So far, the recipes I’ve found are for cakey cookies and I’m craving something chewy.  Until I find/create what I’m searching for, these dense pumpkin chocolate chip bars will certainly tide me over.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars (adapted from Cookie Madness)  

¾ c butter

1 1/3 c brown sugar, firmly packed

1 t vanilla

¾ t baking powder

½ t salt

1 t cinnamon

1 t pumpkin pie spice

½ t orange peel

1 egg

1 c canned pumpkin

1 c flour

½ c whole wheat flour

1 c dark chocolate chips

2 T sugar

1/8 t cinnamon

3 ½ T finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter.  Mix in sugar and microwave approximately 30 seconds, or until mixture starts to bubble.  Let mixture cool until tepid.

Add baking powder, salt, 1 t cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, orange peel, and egg.  Mix well.

Add pumpkin and mix well.  Then, mix in flours and chocolate chips.

The batter just needed a little something extra.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

In a small bowl, stir together sugar, 1/8 t cinnamon, and pecans.  Sprinkle over batter.

That looks better.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.