Thursday, October 29, 2015

Apple Pie Cake

I have been waiting a long time to make this cake.  I am seriously obsessed with the Milk Bar layer cakes, I have made many of them now, even made a few of my own layer cakes that I still need to blog, but the reason I had to wait to make this cake was because it required apple cider and we can only get good apple cider in the Autumn.  Well, Central Market now has our favourite apple cider, so no more waiting!

The original recipe is made as a 6 inch cake, however I have been making all the layer cakes as mini cakes with 2.5 inch entremet rings, I just prefer making them this way, and it means that they end up as little individual layer cakes, and I don't have to attempt slicing a large cake!

There are quite a few steps to these layer cakes, I am used to it now, but in the beginning the recipes looked overwhelming, but broken down they are not difficult just time consuming to make the entire cake.  The liquid cheesecake, apple filling and pie crumbs can all be made a few days in advance, which definitely helps make the cake more manageable.



Barely brown butter cake:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp brown butter
1 ¼ cups sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1sp salt

Preheat oven to 350 and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.

combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.
 
Add in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and beat for 5 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white and twice the size of the original butter and sugar mixture.

Add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. mix just until combined.  Pour onto the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

Apple cider soak:
¼ cup apple cider
1 tsp light brown sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon

Whisk together cider, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Liquid cheesecake: 
8 ounces cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp cornstarch
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
1 egg

 Preheat the oven to 300.

Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. add the sugar and mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar has been completely incorporated. scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. whisk in the milk in a slow, steady stream, then whisk in the egg.

Stream in the egg slurry. paddle for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and loose. scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour cheesecake in a 6 x 6-inch baking pan. bake for 20 minutes.  The cheesecake should be firmer and more set toward the outer boundaries of the baking pan but still be jiggly and loose in the dead center.

Pie crumb:
1 ½ cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 stick butter, melted
1 ½ tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and paddle on low speed until well mixed.

Add the butter and water and paddle on low speed until the mixture starts to come together in small clusters.

Spread the clusters on a parchment  lined sheet pan. Bake for 25 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. The crumbs should be golden brown and still slightly moist to the touch.

Apple pie filling:
1 lemon
2 medium granny smith apples
1 tbsp butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon  ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt

Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold water, juice the lemon into it.
 Peel the apples, then halve and quarter them. Put each apple quarter on its side and cut a small slice down the length of the apple to remove the seeds and core. cut each apple quarter lengthwise into thirds and then crosswise into fourths, leaving you with 12 small pieces from every apple quarter. transfer these pieces to the lemon water as you go.

When you’re ready to cook, drain the apples (discard the lemon water) and combine them in a medium pot with the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. slowly bring to a boil over medium heat, using a spoon to gently stir the mixture as it heats up and the apples begin to release liquid. reduce the heat and simmer the apples gently for 3 to 5 minutes. be careful not to cook the apples so much that they turn into applesauce.

Pie crumb frosting:
½ recipe pie crumb
½ cup milk
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp butter
¼ cup icing sugar 

Combine the pie crumbs, milk, and salt in a blender, turn the speed to medium-high, and puree until smooth.

Combine the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy and pale yellow.

Add the contents of the blender, paddle until fluffy and pale yellow.

To assemble the cake, put a piece of parchment on the counter, invert the cake onto it and peel off the parchment  from the bottom of the cake. use the cake ring to stamp out circles from the cake. 

Layer 1:
Use 1 strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring.
Put a cake round inside the ring.
Dunk a pastry brush in the apple cider soak and give the layer of cake a good, healthy bath.
Use the back of a spoon to spread some of the liquid cheesecake in an even layer over the cake.
Sprinkle some of the pie crumbs evenly over the liquid cheesecake. use the back of your hand to anchor them in place.
Use the back of a spoon to spread some of the apple pie filling as evenly as possible over the crumbs.

Layer 2:
With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top ¼ inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5 to 6 inches tall – high enough to support the height of the finished cake. Set a cake round on top of the frosting, and repeat the process for layer 1.

Layer 3:
Nestle a cake round into the apple pie filling, cover the top of the cake with the pie crumb frosting. Garnish the frosting with the remaining pie crumbs.

Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and filling. the cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.


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Monday, October 26, 2015

Menu Plan Monday


 





Monday: Spag bol

Tuesday: Cuban sliders

Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas

Thursday: Pizza burgers

Friday: Eating out
  
See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Friday, October 23, 2015

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Butter Cupcakes

I know I just posted the pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, however in reality I made those back in early September, I have no excuse I'm just a lazy blogger!
The original cinnamon frosting was great, had no complaints with it, until I found Trader Joe's pumpkin cookie butter, the minute I laid eyes on it I knew it had to be frosting.  One of my most popular cupcakes are the Chocolate Biscoff, so how could a pumpkin version for Autumn be anything short of amazing?

All I can say is that these cakes definitely made the bake sale list and I may have gone back to Trader Joe's and stocked up on jars of pumpkin cookie butter for fear they would run out!


Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Pumpkin Cookie Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup pumpkin cookie butter spread
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar
3 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350, line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, spices, salt, baking powder and soda, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars, beat until smooth.   Mix in the eggs, followed by the milk and pumpkin puree, finally mix in the flour until just combined.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20-22 minutes.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cookie butter until smooth.  Add the vanilla and icing sugar and mix until combined, add the milk and beat.

Frost the cupcakes with the frosting, melt a few tablespoons of the cookie butter in the microwave and drizzle on the cupcakes, top with crushed biscoff (the original cookie butter brand) cookies.

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Thursday, October 22, 2015

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

It is that time of year again when I am testing out recipes for the United Way bake sale that is held at my husbands office every Autumn.  This year time has just flown by though because the bake sale is being held on November 2nd, and I really don't feel prepared.  I make around 15 different recipes and have my own table to fill, so I usually spend a few months testing recipes, planning and list making, and while I have tested a few recipes, here I am just over a week away and I don't even have my completed list of what I am making, haven't even started making my huge shopping list for ingredients (the amount of eggs I buy alone is crazy!) but anyway, I started out with these pumpkin spice cupcakes the minute September arrived, it may not feel like Autumn in Houston but at least I can pretend!


2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 8oz. package cream cheese
Seeds from 1 plumped vanilla bean (vanilla beans plumped in rum for at least 2 weeks)
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350, line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, spices, salt, baking powder and soda, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars, beat until smooth.   Mix in the eggs, followed by the milk and pumpkin puree, finally mix in the flour until just combined.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20-22 minutes.

To make the cream cheese frosting in the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla, cinnamon and icing sugar and beat for 3 minutes, until thick and fluffy.

Pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the cupcakes and top with cinnamon.

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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Pull Apart Pizza

I have seen different variations on this bundt pan pizza, and I had been wanting to make this for a while but I was waiting until I next went to Trader Joe's to get a couple of their ready made pizza dough.

I knew that if I wanted Randal to eat this I had to include some bell peppers and onions, so I roasted the veggies ahead of time.

This was a fun dinner to try and we both enjoyed it.


2 1lb packs of prepared pizza dough (I used one plain and one herb)
1 cup grated mozzarella
1 cup grated provolone
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz pepperoni
roasted bell pepper and red onion

Roll pizza dough into small balls, place in a large bowl.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the melted butter, Italian seasoning and garlic.

Pour the butter mixture over the pizza dough balls and mix to coat.  Quarter the pepperoni and add it to the dough mixture, alone with the cheeses and mix together.  Grease the bundt pan and place the pizza dough into the pan.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through.  Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

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Menu Plan Monday

 





Monday: Stuffed peppers

Tuesday: Beef stew with suet dumplings

Wednesday: Pizza

Thursday: Chicken and dumplings casserole

Friday: Eating out
  
See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Monday, October 12, 2015

Menu Plan Monday

 





Monday: Spag bol and salad

Tuesday: Herb roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans

Wednesday: Cottage pie

Thursday: Mango chicken stir fry

Friday: Eating out
  
See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Sunday, October 11, 2015

SRC - Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal I love getting my blog assignment each month and this month I was assigned the blog Cookaholic Wife.   Nichole's blog is just so cute and I love her blog colours! She lives in Maryland with her husband and 2 cats and has been blogging since 2009.

I always love looking through all the recipes on my assigned blogs and for the first time I almost had my husband make my SRC recipe as he makes an outstanding shrimp fried rice and I saw that Nichole had a couple of different shrimp fried rice  recipes, but at the last minute I went with the Pink Lemonade Cupcakes  because I was making cupcakes for my daycare twins' 4th birthday party anyway and I already had purchased pink lemons at Central Market not really having an exact idea of what to do with them, so it just seemed like the perfect choice!

I decided against colouring the cupcakes pink, only because I wanted to colour the frosting pink so I wouldn't have to colour the fondant to make the little number fours, colouring fondant is just a sticky nightmare in my opinion!

I also went with my favourite cream cheese frosting and topped them with the Variegated Pink Lemons.


Cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix
1 tsp pink lemonade drink powder
3 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
zest from 1/2 a lemon

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 8oz. package cream cheese
Seeds from 1 plumped vanilla bean (vanilla beans plumped in rum for at least 2 weeks)
2 cups icing sugar
Pink food colouring

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cupcake baking pan with liners.

Mix together the water and lemonade mix.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lemon zest and water mixture.  Beat for 2-3 minutes, fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes.

To make the cream cheese frosting in the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and icing sugar and beat for 3 minutes, until thick and fluffy, add in a few drops of pink food colouring and mix well.


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