Snickerdoodle Cake

You know what is the best? Snickerdoodles. The warm sweet vanilla and cinnamon, and comforting and over the moon goodness? Yep. Those. You know what else is good? Cake. The two together? Heaven.

I brought this cake to a friends house and it went over better than expected. The entire thing got DEMOLISHED.  This cake will win people over.

Adapted from Foodie With Family

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 cups sifted four
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup room temperature butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk at room temperature

Buttercream:

• 2 1/4 cups butter at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 8-9 cups icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of half and half, plus more if needed

Directions:

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and butter and flour your cake pans.
2. Cream together your butter and sugar till fluffy, and in a separate bowl whisk together your remaining dry ingredients.
3. Beat the eggs into the butter and sugar one at a time and also add vanilla.
4. Alternate adding the milk and flour until both are fully incorporated.
5. Divide the batter evenly between your pans and bake for 35 minutes, rotating half way through, or until toothpicks inserted in the center come out clean.

Buttercream:

1. Cream together your butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
2. Add six cups of icing sugar and vanilla, starting on low and gradually moving up to high until it’s evenly mixed together.
3. Scrape down the bowl and add the half and half, beat until evenly mixed.
4. Add the last two cups of icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy (more or less sugar or half and half can be added depending on your desired consistency).

Notes:

• Let cake cool in the pans for five minutes before removing it to the rack.
• Only frost cake once it is completely cooled.
• I opted to trim my layers to make the cake more flat and uniform.
• Leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge!

Vanilla Amaretto Sugar Cookies

When I was growing up I wasn’t a big fan of sugar cookies. I liked the whole aspect of making them once a year before Christmas, putting too many sprinkles and way too much icing on them, but that was it. I always found that they were just lacking a little bit. Without icing on them I found that the sometimes the taste reminded me of egg. So weird, but it was all I could think of. In the fall I started playing around with Sugar Cookie recipes because I bought a set of Halloween Cookie cutters. I’m really glad that I did.

Where some have multiple eggs this recipe only has one. Additional moisture (and flavour!) is provided through a full tablespoon of Vanilla and of Amaretto. The combination of the two mixed in with a rather simple dough is perfection. With just subtle hints of the latter it definitely makes a delicious cookie that stands out.

Also, I don’t understand buying sugar cookie mix. Sugar cookies are flour and sugar and butter and egg. That’s all. You still have to mix ingredients and roll and cut when you buy mix and it just doesn’t taste the same. I guess I fail to see where the convenience is.

I’ve talked for long enough.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of salted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon amaretto

Directions:

1. Cream together butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg, vanilla and the amaretto to the butter and sugar mixture and thoroughly incorporate.
3. Slowly add in flour a cup at a time.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Form dough into three even bricks and roll out between two pieces of wax paper. Refrigerate rolled dough for 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Cut out your cookie shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 14 minutes or until the edges of cookies begin to turn golden.
8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with dough scraps.
9. When cookies are fully cooled they’re ready for decorating!

Notes:

• When you refrigerate the dough and use the cookie cutters on it it makes it considerably easier to pick up and move the cut dough without it ripping or warping.

Vanilla Bean Surprise Cupcakes with hidden Dark Chocolate Ganache and Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Cupcakes Adapted from Joy The Baker

Sometimes I really like to cook. A lot. Other times I can go for a week or two without cooking anything noteworthy. That, coupled with my new job explains my lack of posts lately. Also, it’s really hard to cook giant delicious baked things for only myself and my mom. Luckily I have friends. Sometimes we all hang out and I like to bring them things. I like to bring them cupcakes. Mostly because they’re the perfect serving size almost everyone likes cupcakes.

These are nice cause you look at them and go, Oh, what a lovely Vanilla cupcake! Then you take a bite and the hidden dark chocolate ganache touches your taste buds and all the flavours melt together and yo go. “Ohhh.”

Also, have you ever had a Swiss Meringue Buttercream? They are lovely. It’s not overly sweet, there’s no icing sugar. It’s not like frosting. It is light and delicious. I have won over people who HATE icing by topping cakes with this. This is my go-to, and you should try it and you’ll never go back to canned frosting.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature.
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line two cupcake pans with paper cups.
2. In a small bowl mix together milk, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. Let sit.
3. In a medium sized bowl whisk together all dry ingredients excluding sugar.
4. In a mixer cream together your butter and sugar till it is light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides in order to incorporate everything evenly.
5. Slowly add eggs one at a time into the butter and sugar.
6. On a low speed, starting and ending with the flour mix in the flour mixture and the milk mixture. Make sure all dry ingredients are well combined.
7. Divide cupcake batter in among the paper cups. Generally I put in just under a 1/3 cup of batter in each liner.
8. Bake for 25 minutes till golden, or till a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let cool for ten minutes in pan before transferring to a wire rack, and let cool completely before frosting.

Notes:

• Makes 24 cupcakes
• If you don’t let your cupcakes cool all the way, when you do go to ice/frost them your topping will melt and slide off of them.

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

Ingredients:

• 5, 1 ounce squares of dark baking chocolate
• 1 tablespoon of corn syrup ( if you use semi sweet chocolate omit this step )
• 2 tablespoons of heavy cream

Directions:

1. Place ingredients into a microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave for 30 seconds.
3. Stir.
4. Microwave again and stir till smooth.
5. Place a generous spoonful on the center of a fully cooled cupcake.

Notes:

• Chocolate can be melted and retain it’s form. It’s important not to over microwave it or it will burn, which is why you heat it in 30 seconds increments.
• This isn’t a lot, just a nice amount. If you decide to double this recipe you can whisk the ingredients over a double broiler.

Swiss Meringue Vanilla Buttercream:

Ingredients:

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 cup and two tablespoons of granulated sugar
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups of butter
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place egg white, sugar, and salt in a double broiler ( or heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water ) and whisk until the sugar has melted and the temperature has reached 160 degrees.
2. Transfer the egg and sugar mixture to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat till cool and stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes on medium-high setting.
3. On medium speed add butter a tablespoon at a time waiting till each one is incorporated.
4. When all the butter is added, mix in your vanilla.

Notes:

• You really have to whisk your egg whites when they’re heating and mixing with your sugar or else you will have chunks of cooked egg. Not what anyone wants.
• This buttercream will keep for about a month in the freezer or in the fridge for 3 days.
• If your buttercream curdles keep whisking it back on medium-high for 3-5 minutes.
• This makes about 5 cups.