Café Latte’s Turtle Cake

Who doesn't love a great piece of chocolate cake? Now, add some fudgy frosting, some buttery caramel sauce, and some crunchy toasted pecans and what do you have? Heaven on a plate Café Latte's Turtle Cake! 

Café Latte is a St. Paul restaurant known for its desserts. Wonderful, wonderful desserts. Luckily for me they shared a couple of their recipes with the public, so I didn't have to attempt a copycat recipe. This, my friends, is the real deal.

Several years ago, I found the recipe in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. That version was made in a 9x13-inch cake pan.... it was super easy to make and very tasty. I never in a million years thought that I would attempt the layered version, since it looked complicated. Layers? Yikes! I'm so glad it's really not all that hard. You should try it.

Café Latte's Turtle Cake (from Café Latte)

Café Latte's Printable Recipe

Cake Ingredients:
• 1 Egg.
• 2/3 cup Vegetable oil.
• 1 cup Buttermilk.
• 2 cups Flour.
• 1 3/4 cups Sugar.
• 1/2 cup Good quality cocoa.
• 1 tsp. Salt.
• 1 tbsp. Baking soda.
• 1 cup Hot coffee
Frosting:
• 1/2 cup Milk.
• 1 cup Sugar.
• 6 tbsp. Butter
• 2 cups Good-quality semisweet chocolate chips.
• 3/4 cup Caramel.
• 1 1/2 cups Toasted pecans.

Prepare oven and pans: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 (9-inch) cake pans.
Cover each bottom with disk of parchment paper.

To make cake: In bowl, combine egg, oil and buttermilk. In large separate bowl, mix
together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Gradually add wet ingredients to dry
until well mixed. Gradually add hot coffee. Scrape batter into prepared pans.

To bake cake: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes
out clean. Let cake rest in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool.

To make frosting: Mix sugar and milk in saucepan. Add butter. Bring to a boil.
Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips to pan. Using wire whisk, mix until smooth. If
frosting is too thick or grainy, add 1 or 2 teaspoons hot coffee.

To assemble cake: Place one cooled cake layer, top-side down, on cake plate. Spread
with one-third of frosting, pushing it out gently from edges to make a petal effect.
Sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans, Drizzle with 1/4 cup caramel. Add next layer, again
top-side down. Repeat frosting and sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans and drizzle with 1/4 cup
caramel. And final layer top-side up, frost with petal effect and finish with remaining
pecans and caramel.

I actually used 8-inch cake pans and they worked well.

I also used dark cocoa for the cake...it was like a midnight chocolate cake.

My layer cake fear is real...I've had far too many lopsided catastrophes for it not to be. For years, I chickened out and made this cake in the 9x13 pan. I won't lie--it's good that way, too. Plus, it's much easier to bring to a picnic. The last time I tried to make the layer version, it cracked right down the middle. So ugly, but so tasty. This time it was to be for a birthday, so it had to work.

The beauty of this recipe is how the frosting drips over the sides of the cake. This hides many flaws, trust me. The only issue came when I transferred the cake to the cake stand...oops....a chunk came out of the side. I ended up cutting the parchment paper off around the cake and leaving a bit of it underneath. Then, I took pictures strategically....

The kid's helped with the candles and the cake was a success!

A little ice cream and we're good to go. Happy Birthday, Josh!

Hot Chocolate Pull Apart Bread

Ok..I made a pretty darn good Cardamom and Orange Pull-Apart Bread the other day. In my usual fashion, I've become obsessed. What other flavors can I pull apart? Peaches and Cream? Bacon and Egg? Let me see...this is a Christmas post...how about a Hot Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread?!! Methinks Santa will approve.

Don't let the fact that this is a yeast bread scare you away...truly, it's not that hard, especially if you use a stand mixer. Come on. Give it a try. Your family will love you....

Hot Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

3-3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup dark cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (2.5 oz) package instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 egg, room temperature, slightly beaten

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and divided

Glaze:

1 cup marshmallow crème

4-6 tablespoons half/half, divided

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat the milk 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool until temperature is about 110 degrees F (like bathwater warm).

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, salt, and cocoa.

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk mixture with yeast, egg, and 2 cups of the flour mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (Alternately, just use the dough hook on your mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for about five minutes)

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean damp towel. Allow dough to rise until double, about 1 hour. In the mean time, process the brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, and chocolate chips in a food processor until the mixture is well blended , the nuts are ground, and the chocolate is coarsely chopped; set aside.

Use a pastry brush to butter two 8-inch loaf pans; preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out one of the dough halves into a large (about 12X9 inch) rectangle.  Brush the dough with half of the melted butter. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch edge.  Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut the dough vertically into 4 strips, then horizontally into 6 strips.  Carefully, stack the strips 4 high. Place each stack of strips, cut side up, in a loaf pan. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with stray filling. Repeat with the other half of dough.

Cover the loaf pans loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes, and then bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned. Cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from pan. Glaze while warm.

For the glaze, warm 3-4 tablespoons of half/half and whisk into 1 cup marshmallow crème.  Drizzle over the warm loaves. If desired, whisk 1-2 tablespoons warm half/half into ½ cup chocolate chips and blend until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the marshmallow glaze.

I used foil pans...after glazing the bread, you can place it back in the pan to transport.

Don't have marshmallow creme? Go ahead and melt some mini-marshmallows with the half/half over low heat, whisking until smooth.

I can't stop thinking about more pull-apart flavors...what sounds good to you? Eggnog? Sweet Potato? Bratwurst with Sauerkraut?

Visit all the other Christmas Week Peeps for more Holiday Baking Goodness:

■     Mini Sugar Cookie Houses aka Hot Chocolate Mug Perches by Cravings of a Lunatic

■     Eggnog Cookie Truffles by The Weekend Gourmet

■     Spiked Candy Cane Hot Chocolate by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks:

■     Gingerbread Texas Sheet Cake with Lemon Frosting by Chocolate Moosey

■     Swirl Cookies by Noshing With The Nolands

■     Caramel Apples by My Catholic Kitchen

■     Homemade Caramels by Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

■     Puff Pastry Ravioli Mince Pies by Food Lust People Love

■     Mounds Brownie Cupcakes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

■     Hot Chocolate Pull Apart Bread by The Dutch Baker’s Daughter

■     Sugared Grape and Phyllo Tart by See Aimee Cook

■     Taffy Tan Fudge by Mom’s Test Kitchen

■     Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies by Cooking In Stilettos

■     Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread by Liv Life

■     White Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen

■     Devil’s Food Cake Cookies by Try Anything Once Culinary

■     Cinnamon Whiskey Balls by Home Cooking Memories

■     Pumpkin Chiffon Pie by Jen’s Favorite Cookies

■     Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Truffles by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

■     Candy Cane Blossoms by Like Mother Like Daughter

Today's #ChristmasWeek giveaway comes courtesy of Swissmar. Le Cordon Bleu has been a worldwide leader in gastronomy and hospitality for over 100 years and are widely considered the guardian of French culinary technique. Swissmar now combines this culinary expertise with their own knowledge and brand recognition to introduce this fantastic new line.

The Le Cordon Bleu ceramic ovenware from Swissmar are all freezer safe, oven safe, dishwasher and microwave safe. The French-inspired Charmant Collection 5 qt. Rectangular Roaster has scalloped edges and is beautiful enough to go straight from oven to table! To enter to win a Swissmar Roaster, read the details and use the Rafflecopter below!

***This giveaway is for one Swissmar Charmant Collection 5 qt. Rectangular Roaster (winner's choice of color: blue, yellow, red, or white)! This giveaway is open to Continental US residents only . When the contest concludes, the winner will be chosen by random draw. The winner will be notified through e-mail and they will have 3 days to respond or another winner will be chosen.***

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***Disclaimer: This giveaway is being provided by Swissmar. #ChristmasWeek bloggers have not received product or been compensated as a part of this giveaway.***

Baby Elephant Ears...#ImprovChallenge

Welcome to another edition of Monthly Improv. Hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, the Monthly Improv challenges bloggers to come up with fabulous recipes incorporating two ingredients. This month our ingredients are Cinnamon and Sugar!

I confess to having been largely absent from the blogging scene lately as I have been consumed with another cooking related obsession---entering recipe contests. In actuality, it's really just one contest I've been obsessing about-- the mother of all cooking contests-- the Pillsbury Bake-Off®.
.
This year, the Bake-Off® is all about easy. Recipes are limited to only 7 ingredients and 30 minutes or less of prep time. Funny how "easy" becomes an oxymoron when you are trying to come up with the recipe....yikes! Keeping it seven ingredients was hard!

I'll admit it...I don't always make my own pie crust...these are always in my fridge.

Even harder than coming up with 7-ingredient recipes is keeping all of my entries private. I really want to share and get feedback! So, while I have to keep the lid on my actual entries, I can certainly share a few "easy" ideas that came to me while I was using up some ingredients.

Just 5 ingredients for these very easy cookies....

Have you ever had an Elephant Ear? You know, those huge pastries that are flaky and full of pecans, cinnamon and sugar? My dad made the best Elephant Ears! Around here, I see something similar called a Pecan Crispie (good, but not quite there) or I see big deep fried dough versions that aren't the same at all. My inspiration for this month's Improv comes from the Elephant Ears from my youth and from the "easy" recipe concoctions I've been immersed in. Let me present Baby Elephant Ears!

Baby Elephant Ears

1 refrigerated pie crust, softened per package directions

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Unroll the pie crust onto the parchment paper. Brush with the melted butter. Combine the sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the crust. Top with the pecans. Roll the crust back up. Cut into 12 slices (if you like a thinner cookie, cut into 18 slices). Use a drinking glass to press each slice into a 2" circle (the end pieces will be smaller). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the sugar is caramelized and the cookies start to brown.

I may have cut them too thick...next time I'll try a thinner cookie. 

I initially used too much sugar, but it was all good since I threw the remainder over the tops.

Who knew easy could be so tasty? They went very quickly when I brought them to work, no matter that I thought I could have made some changes. Wouldn't these be fun to make with kids? You could leave out the nuts, make them smaller (or bigger!) and they will still taste good. Plus, there's no wasting of dough...it all bakes up. Another successful Improv!

Now, take a look at what everyone else is making with Cinnamon and Sugar.

Sweet Potato Sticky Buns

This will be a fairly short post. Why? Because Sweet Potato Sticky Buns don't really need a lot of conversation. Maybe I'm not the first to think of them, but dang these are good. There's even a hint of orange in there. I like these. Bunches. A good finale to my 2012 sweet potato series, no?

Sweet Potato Sticky Buns
Printable Recipe

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)
4-4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 teaspoon sweet dough flavoring or vanilla
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Topping:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

In a small saucepan, combine the milk, butter, sugar, and grated orange peel. Heat until the temperature is just 110-115 degrees F. (bathwater warm). If the temperature is too warm, let it cool for a few minutes.

Put the warm milk mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and stir. Let it rest for about five minutes or until it becomes foamy. Add two cups of the flour, the eggs, sweet potato, sweet dough flavoring or vanilla, and salt. Fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat for about 4 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough (alternately, use the dough hook on the mixer and knead for 5 minutes). Continue to knead for about 6 to 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and place into a buttered bowl, turning once to grease the dough's surface. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about an hour or until doubled in size.

When the dough has doubled in size, gently deflate and let it rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the filling by mixing the brown sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Keep the melted butter in a separate bowl.

In a medium saucepan, combine the all of the topping ingredients except the pecans. Heat over medium heat until just melted. Spread into a 9X13 baking pan and top with the pecans. Set aside.

Roll out the dough into a 9X12 inch rectangle. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture evenly over the top. Starting from the long end, roll up the dough like a jelly roll, pinching the seams to seal. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 rolls. Place the rolls over the topping mixture in the pan, cover loosely, and let rise for 20-25 minutes (if desired, refrigerate the dough overnight after placing the rolls in the pan). Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.; bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. A few minutes before taking the rolls out of the oven, line a sheet pan with non-stick foil. Remove the rolls from the oven and immediately, but carefully, invert them over the prepared sheet pan. Serve warm.

Can you blame me for having this for dinner?

Blondies....the "un" Brownie

It was sometime last year that my friend Shane (Culinary Alchemy), over at BakeSpace, posted a recipe for his delectable blondies. It kinda went viral..... at least it did with the folks we chat with at BakeSpace. I was a little unsure about them, however, since I'm a brownie lover..... I wasn't so sure I would like something so un-chocolate. Michele (My Italian Grandmother)  added some chocolate chips and called them "Blondies with Low Lights" and raved over them. Finally, I broke down and made a batch....and another....and another. Guess what? I like them better than brownies. Who'd a thunk it? Check out Shane's original blog post: Blondies- The UN-Chocolate "Brownie"  I almost followed his recipe:

Blondies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dark brown Sugar
2 Large eggs
1 large Egg Yolk
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/4 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
(optional) 1/4 cup Heath Toffee Chips

Directions:

Line a 13x9 pan with parchment.

The parchment paper is critical. Let it hang over the edge of the pan, so you can lift them out, cut them, and put them back in to store. I don't know about you, but I always have a problem with the parchment paper curling up, so I spray the bottom of the pan with some cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauce pan, melt butter.

Stir in the brown sugars, stirring until "melted' and the mixture just begins to bubble (This is similar to making a Pecan pie)---heed the "just begins to bubble" part. If it cooks too long, your blondies will be as hard as a rock.

Oops...I only had light brown sugar so I added a tablespoon of molasses. It's OK if you use all of one kind of brown sugar....I've made them both ways---both yummy.

Whisk eggs and yolks together with Vanilla.

Pour in the eggs in a steady stream, while whisking constantly to prevent scrambling.

OK...I did have a few scrambled eggs in there. It was all good in the end.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.

Fold Flour into the egg mixture.

Fold in Pecans and toffee chips (if using)

Here's where I differed just a bit from the recipe. I used about a cup and a half of pecans and I used about a cup chocolate covered toffee bits. Subtle "low lights" , if you will.

Spread into the pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes (5 minutes less for dark pans)

Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Lift via parchment and cut when cooled.

If I'm bringing these to work, I put them back into my pan and cover with the lid. Easy...plus no one puts knife marks in your pan if they are already cut. :)

I guarantee you'll be making these again.

Pecan Cookie Waffles with Honey-Cinnamon Butter

My love affair with the Pillsbury Doughboy began many years ago when I was still a child. As you may have deduced from the title of my blog, my father was a baker. For a time, he was the proud owner of the Seymour Bakery, right dab in the middle of Main Street in the small town of Seymour, Wisconsin (nowadays, Seymour is known as “the home of the hamburger”, but that’s the topic for a whole other blog). In those days, Pillsbury had a wholesale division dedicated to supplying bakeries with flour and other everyday necessities and my father was one of their happy customers. It was because of his association with Pillsbury, that he somehow got his hands on a rather large, mechanical Doughboy, which sat for a time in a prominent spot in the bakery’s display window. Daddy hired someone out of Green Bay to change the displays seasonally. There was always some sort of mechanical doll swaying to and fro, making music and promoting whatever holiday was forthcoming. The Doughboy, though, was special. There he was, with that huge grin on his face and, about every minute or so, he would poke himself in the belly and let loose with the famous giggle—Hoo!Hoo! I loved him….

Throughout the years, I was in touch with the Doughboy off and on. In college, my roommate’s mother would bring us wonderful treats that happened to be Pillsbury Bake-Off® specialties. It took me several years to finally figure out that the Banana Crunch Cake that she made (and I adored) was actually a $25,000 winner from the 24th Bake-Off® in 1973. When I was finally on my own and had to make my own treats, the Doughboy was there for me again with those convenient crescent rolls, pie crusts, cinnamon rolls and, as always, the easy recipes that came out of the Bake-Off®.

Flash forward to 2010 and the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off® is almost upon us. This year, I have been honored to have my recipe--Pecan Cookie Waffles with Honey-Cinnamon Butter-- chosen to compete with 99 others in Orlando, Florida on April 12. I have had the opportunity (thanks to the wonder that is the Internet) to befriend many of the other contestants---such a great group of people! The competition will be fierce, but I’m happy with my creation. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking it’s the year of the Million Dollar Waffle…..

You can find a printable version of the recipe right here: Pecan Cookie Waffles with Honey-Cinnamon Butter

We start by mixing up some butter, honey and cinnamon. This will top off your finished waffles with just the right amount of sweetness. I'm certain that if you would rather top your waffles with some sliced bananas and some whipped cream, that would be OK, too. Or maybe some butter pecan ice cream? Oh, the possibilities.....

Next we'll just break some Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough (cookie dough! Isn't that the coolest thing ever?) up into a nice large bowl, add a couple of eggs and beat it until it's smooth. Then we'll add a little vanilla and some light cream and mix until we have a thin batter. Earlier, I had toasted some pecans---we'll toss some of those in the mix, too. 

Just for the occasion, I splurged and bought an obscenely expensive waffle maker. If ever there was a time for an expensive waffle maker in my life, it is now. This baby weighs a ton and blew a fuse in the kitchen last night, but it sure does put out a nice waffle. The funny thing is, this recipe turns out good in my $9.99 machine, too....

And there you have it! Topped with the sweet honey-cinnamon butter and some toasted pecans....I may have to go whip up another batch right now....

BakeSpace International Taste Tour.....Caramelized Maple Cinnamon Apple Crepes

WooHoo—time for another BakeSpace International Taste Tour. This month I am excited to be making crepes!


I first fell in love with crepes when I was in high school. I was a member of the French club and we had the opportunity to take a trip to Montreal and Quebec with my French teacher (Monsieur Hoeft, who was awesome!). Of course, one of our restaurant meals was at a crepe restaurant (a creperie, if you will) and it was fabulous! Later, when I was in college, I was able to spend a semester in France and got to experience the wonder of crepe stands, set up like hot dog vendors, right on the streets of Paris! Nutella, banana, butter and sugar….oh, and the savory, cheesy crepes….I had stains on my trench coat that never came out. When I came back to the states, the crepe mania must have followed me, because suddenly there was a restaurant in Milwaukee, called The Magic Pan. Ooh La La! My favorite was the Chantilly Crepe with apricot jam and bananas and whipped cream. Oh—and the spinach crepe filled with, I believe, Stouffer’s spinach soufflé. I was quite upset when they were all closed down….but, now…I can make my own crepes!

I do like savory crepes, but the sweet ones are my favorite, so I chose an apple crepe this time around. I used a basic Martha Stewart recipe for the crepes, only changing it a bit since I can’t leave anything alone.

Basic Crepes

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons sugar (I added this, since it was a sweet crepe and the sugar helps the crepe to brown)
2 cups whole milk, room temperature, plus more if needed
3 large eggs, room temperature
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for skillet

Put the flour, salt and sugar in a blender and mix until blended (have I mentioned how much I love the KitchenAid blender I won from BakeSpace.com a few months ago?).

Add the milk, eggs, and melted butter and blend until smooth. Mixture should have the consistency of heavy cream; add more milk if needed.

Heat an 8 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, and brush with butter. Ladle or pour 3 tablespoons of batter into pan, turning and tilting skillet to coat bottom evenly with batter. Cook until top of crepe appears set, bottom is firm and golden brown in spots, and center is lifted by pockets of air, about 1 minute.

Run a spatula around edge of crepe to loosen. Slip spatula under crepe, and gently flip in one swift gesture. (If it doesn’t land quite right, that’s okay; use spatula to unfold or rearrange it.) Cook until bottom is firm and golden brown in spots, about 45 seconds.

 Transfer to a plate, and cover. (The first one will not be your finest…mine looked anemic.) Repeat with remaining batter, brushing pan lightly with butter as needed (every 2 or 3 crepes).

For the filling, I did what I do best, I winged it.


Caramelized Maple Cinnamon Apples

2 tart baking apples (I used Zestar), peeled, cored and sliced
¼ cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup (use the real stuff)
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Over medium heat, melt butter in 10” skillet. Add the apples, brown sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Stir until the butter and sugar is melted and smooth and begins to bubble. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until thickened.

To serve crepes, spoon some of the apple mixture in the middle of a crepe. Fold over the ends, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted pecans if desired.



Alternately, fold over a crepe, and then fold again into a triangle and add to the warm apple mixture in the pan. Turn over to completely cover in sauce, place on a plate and spoon some apples over the top.

Enjoy!