Chocolate – Page 2

Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts, Fruit, Holidays

Cranberry White Chocolate Fudge Cookies

November 22, 2016November 30, 2016by thebusyspatula3 Comments

It seems like Friendsgiving is kind of a big deal this year, which makes me kind of wish I thought of hosting one. I used to have a Thanksgiving potluck with my church members after Thanksgiving and it was always such a great time. And giving thanks for what we have…twice? It makes you appreciate it even more. Even if you aren’t going to a Friendsgiving, holiday potlucks/parties are just around the corner and these cookies fit the bill.
I know these cookies aren’t much in terms of looks. But I’m telling you, every single time I’ve made these cookies (for home or for other people to bring to potlucks) they always get a hit review. Super fudgy with a crisp edge and the sweetness is toned down by the tart dried cranberries, which makes it a perfect holiday cookie. Oh, and you can make it in one bowl for easy clean up.
Can’t believe Thanksgiving is in a few days! Uh… I still haven’t done my shopping yet (except for my two 12 pound turkeys). I’ll probably do the rest today. Wish me luck!

Cranberry White Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Makes about 24 large cookies

Ingredients:
8 oz. (two sticks) butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 egg, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
⅓ c. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
⅓ c. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. white chocolate chips (or chunks)
1 ½ c. dried cranberries

Instructions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until lighter in color and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla on medium speed and mix until glossy.
Add cocoa and mix until homogeneous.
Change the speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined.
Fold in white chocolate and cranberries.
Preheat oven to 350˚F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Dose 1 tablespoon of cookie dough onto parchment paper. Spacing each ball 2 inches from each other.
Bake about 9 minutes, until the edges just set. (Rotating the baking sheet halfway if your oven heats unevenly.)
Let cool and enjoy.

Birthdays, Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Holidays, Vanilla

Paw Patrol Cake (A How-To Guide)

August 22, 2016April 21, 2017by thebusyspatula45 Comments

I rarely ever take cake orders in the summer, not since the cake fiasco of 2015. On a hot summer day, I made a two-tiered cake with an assortment of fondant animals that took hours to create. It was too large to refrigerate so we had it sitting at room temperature until it was ready to be delivered. Right when we were about to move it, there was a strange buckling around the edge of the cake. We kept calm and moved it to the car, which even after having the AC on for 30 minutes was not cool, but warm. During the 30-minute ride to our destination, the buckling worsened and the fondant pieces started to warp with the frosting. By the time we got there, the cake looked like the Michelin Man’s arm. It sucked that all my hours of work went down the drain, but it was even worse that I ruined someone’s event. That’s the thing about cakes; they are usually the centerpieces of celebrations and can make or break a party. Since then, I’ve turned down any requests for a cake in the summer. Not because I didn’t want to do it, but more so because I was worried about ruining someone else’s big day.
When my sister approached me about making a cake, my gut reaction was, “No.” After hearing my reasons, she said that it didn’t matter if the cake was perfect and that her friends were just grateful that I would do it. Knowing that perfection wasn’t what they were after took a load off my back, but that didn’t mean that I would try any less.
There is a very popular Pinterest picture of a dog bone shaped Paw Patrol cake (this was the photo I was asked to recreate), but it has no information on the dimensions and how to put it together. And after scouring the internet for information, I decided to make a guide on how to put a cake like this together. Like many of my projects, it is not very difficult, but it is time consuming. I think the overall effect is worth it and even more worth it to see the smiles on kids’ faces.
Instead of using fondant for all of the Paw Patrol logo, I used Wilton’s sugar sheets. It is much more stable for hot and humid weather and it’s great for crisp edges. It is important to have a fresh Xacto knife blade. You want the edges to be super crisp. Almost like you printed the logo onto the cake. I did make a fondant base for the logo so that the logo would not be flat against the cake like paper. Other than that, it’s making a lot of paw prints, which looks simple but it ends up taking more time than anticipated because for every paw print there are 4 parts to be made. This cake has approximately 50 paw prints.
The most difficult part about the cake part is covering the cake with frosting. There are many circles and lines and it took a while to get the crisp edges. But then again, it might be because I’m a novice at frosting untraditional cake shapes. I’m not complaining, it’s always fun to stretch beyond my comfort zone and try new things.

Paw Patrol Cake

For the Paw Patrol Logo:

You will need:

white fondant
wilton’s sugar sheets in white, red, blue, yellow and silver
silver pearl dust
xacto knife
scissors
water
vodka
small paintbrush (food use only)
paw patrol logo, cut out of paper
paw patrol outer stencil, cut out of paper
paw patrol inner stencil, cut out of paper

Instructions,

Roll out the fondant to ¼ inch thickness and place the paw patrol outer stencil on top of it. Using the xacto knife, cut out the fondant to the shape of the shield. (As shown in picture #1)
Place the outer stencil on top of a silver sugar sheet and cut out a piece of the sugar sheet large enough for the stencil. Peel off the plastic backing. Cut out the shape of the outer stencil with the xacto knife. (As shown in picture #2)
Using the paintbrush, paint a small amount of water on top of the white fondant and stick the silver sugar sheet cutout on top of it. (As shown in picture #3)
Place the inner stencil on top of a red sugar sheet and cut out a piece of the sugar sheet large enough for the stencil. Peel off the plastic backing, Cut out the shape of the inner stencil with the xacto knife. (As shown in picture #4)
Using the paintbrush, paint a small amount of water on top of the silver sugar sheet and stick the red sugar sheet cutout on top of it. (As shown in picture #5)
Cut out the “PAW” from the paw patrol logo, remembering to keep the yellow border. (As shown in picture #6)
Place the “PAW” letters on top of a yellow sugar sheet and cut out a piece of the sugar sheet large enough for the letters. Peel off the plastic backing. Cut out the “PAW” with the xacto knife. (As shown in picture #7)
Cut out the yellow border of the “PAW” from the paw patrol logo.
Place the “PAW” letters on top of a blue sugar sheet and cut out a piece of the sugar sheet large enough for the letters. Peel off the plastic backing. Cut out the “PAW” with the xacto knife.
Using the paintbrush, paint a small amount of water on the back of the blue “PAW” and stick it onto the yellow “PAW”. (As shown in picture #8)
Cut out the white paw in the middle of the “A” from the paw patrol logo.
Place the paw print on top of a white sugar sheet and cut out a piece of the sugar sheet large enough for the paw print. Peel off the plastic backing. Cut out the paw print with the xacto knife.
Using the paintbrush, paint a small amount of water on the back of the paw print and stick it onto the middle of the “A”. (As shown in picture #8)
Cut out the white bone from the paw patrol logo.
Place the bone on top of a white sugar sheet and cut out a piece of the sugar sheet large enough for the bone. Peel off the plastic backing. Cut out the bone with the xacto knife.
Place the bone on top of a blue sugar sheet and cut out a piece of the sugar sheet large enough for the bone. Peel off the plastic backing. Cut out the “PATROL” letters with the xacto knife.
Using the paintbrush, paint a small amount of water on the back of the blue letters and stick it onto the white bone. (As shown in picture #9)
Center the “PAW” onto the shield and make sure you know where you want to place it before painting a small amount of water on the back of the letters to place it onto the shield. (As shown in picture #10)
Center the white patrol bone under the “PAW” and make sure you know where you want to place it before painting a small amount of water on the back of the bone to place it onto the shield. (As shown in picture #10)
Mix a small amount of vodka with the silver dust to create a thick silver paint. Brush the silver on the silver shield border to give it a metallic look. Let dry. (As shown in picture #11)

For the Bone Shaped Cake

You will need:

2 batches of vanilla buttermilk cake (recipe below)
1 batch of chocolate frosting (recipe below)
1 batch of vanilla swiss meringue frosting (recipe below)
fondant paw prints (optional)

Instructions:

Cut all the 6-inch cake layers in half. Cut one of the halves into quarters.
Cut a 2 inch strip from both of the 9×13 cake layers. You want to cut the width side of the cake (the long side, not the short side). You will be left with two 7×13 cake layers.
Center one 7×13 cake layer on top of a sheet cake sized cake board. (As shown in picture #1)
Use ¾ of each 6-inch cake layer on three corners to form the circular part of the dog bone. Use three ¼ sections left from the 6-inch cake layer to form the fourth corner of the dogbone. (As shown in picture #1)
Spread a generous layer of the chocolate frosting.
Repeat the same method to the second layer of the cake. (As shown in picture #2)
Crumb coat with the remaining chocolate frosting, remembering to fill in any gaps between the 7×13 cake layer and the 6-inch cake layers. (As shown in picture #3)
Let the cake set in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Remove the cake from the freezer and spread one layer of the vanilla frosting. Trying to cover up the chocolate as well as you can.
Let the cake set in freezer for about 10 minutes.
Remove the cake from the freezer and smooth on the second layer of vanilla frosting. Try to make it as smooth as you possibly can. This will be your final layer. (As shown in picture #4)
Place the Paw Patrol logo in the center. If you made fondant paw prints, now is the time to place it on the cake. (As shown in picture #5)

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
(This will make three 6-inch round layers and one 9×13 layer. You will need two batches of this.)

Ingredients:

450 g. cake flour
500 g. sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. kosher salt
5 whole eggs, room temperature
3 egg yolks, room temperature
1 ¼ + ⅓ c. buttermilk, room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ c. (two and a half sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare one 9×13 baking pan and three 6-inch round cake pans for baking by spraying them with nonstick spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and kosher salt on low speed.
Add in the butter and 1 ¼ c. buttermilk into the flour mixture on low speed. Scrape down the side of the bowl.
In a large cup with a spout, mix the eggs, egg yolks, ⅓ buttermilk and vanilla extract with a whisk. Slowly add the egg mixture into the flour mixture.
Scrape down the side of the bowl and mix on low speed again until well combined.
Divide the batter evenly amongst the four pans, making sure that the three 6-in pans are even.
Bake about 15-20 minutes until cake is golden brown or a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The 6-inch cake pans and the 9×13 pan will have different cook times. Make sure you check both to make sure one doesn’t overbake.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
9 oz. good quality dark chocolate, melted and cooled (The darker the better. Emphasis on good quality.)
400 g. confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ c. heavy cream
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place all the ingredients in the food processor and pulse a few times before processing it until the frosting is smooth.
Put the whole bowl in the freezer until the frosting sets. Similar to a ganache, the frosting will become more firm and easier to handle after about 10-15 minutes in the freezer.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients:
400 g. sugar
8 large egg whites
3 ¼ c. (6 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. kosher salt

Instructions:

Bring a small pot filled with about an inch of water to a simmer.
In a bowl of a standing mixer, whisk the egg whites, sugar, and salt together.
Place the bowl on top of the pot and whisk continuously until the mixture becomes slightly foamy and you cannot feel the grittiness of the sugar, about 5-8 minutes. The mixture will be hot. Be careful.
Move the bowl to the standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip the egg mixture until the bowl feels cool to the touch.
Add in the butter, and continue to whip until a smooth buttercream forms.
Add in the vanilla extract and continue to whip until incorporated.

Cake and chocolate frosting adapted from sweetapolita.
Swiss meringue frosting adapted from the smitten kitchen.

Cakes, Chocolate, Coffee, Cookies, Desserts, Ice Cream, Macarons, Vanilla

Giant Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016by thebusyspatula2 Comments

You guys, I’m obsessed with the tv show, ”Girls”. That is the reason why this post is so late. All of my free time has been going to binge watching this show. If you’ve never watched it, I would describe it as “Friends” and “Sex and the City” put together except it doesn’t have the laugh track and is somehow more real and dark and relatable and freaking awesome. Before the show, I always wondered why they casted Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. But after watching this show, I realized that the man can act. I love his character, Adam, in “Girls” because he’s SO weird and so honest. I always find weird people fascinating, and this is probably why he is so intriguing to me.
I originally wanted to post this before Memorial Day because to me, Memorial Day is the green light of the year to start eating ice cream again. I know, I know… True die-hard fans of ice cream always say that you can have ice cream any day of the year, but when I’m freezing and my fingertips feel like ice, ingesting something that is as just cold is unpleasant to me. But Memorial Day has now passed and this needs to be shared with the internet community as soon as possible.
Macaron ice cream sandwiches are just like regular ice cream sandwiches but instead of cookies, you use macaron shells. Since my sister’s birthday was coming up, and she loves ice cream, coffee and only the shells of macarons (not so much the filling, which I never understood) I figured that this was the perfect cake for her. Filled with layers of homemade crunchies, Ben and Jerry’s coffee coffee buzz buzz buzz (my sister’s favorite ice cream), and layered with two giant macaron shells, it’s chocolaty, cold, and smooth with crunchy and chewy textural differences from the macaron shells and the crunchies.
I did make a pattern for the top macaron shell by drawing streaks of gel food coloring on the inside of my piping bag, but it’s not necessary for the cake. Basically, if you made macaron shells before, it’s pretty much the same thing except that you are making two giant shells. You will have leftover batter which you can use to make regular sized macaron shells. You should also take caution and remember that the batter will spread a bit. I didn’t think of this possibility, which made my macaron shells a little larger than I wanted, but in hindsight, it gave me enough room to cover the outside with cool whip, which helped give it a super smooth outside and keep the ice cream from leaking and hold its shape.
Giant Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich Cake It is so worth the time. If you like macarons and ice cream, this is the cake for you. The best part? You can totally customize this by coloring the macaron shell and changing up the ice cream flavors.
Not really feeling this ice cream cake? Here are some of my previous ice cream cake recipes:

The Ultimate Oreo Ice Cream Cake with Homemade Crunchies
Tiramisu Crunch Ice Cream Cake

Giant Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

You will need:

Two 8-inch macaron shells (recipe below)
4 pints of Ben and Jerry’s coffee coffee buzz buzz buzz, softened
1 batch of homemade crunchies (recipe below)
cool whip

Instructions

Try to prep the ice cream cake a day before you want to serve it. You want the ice cream layer to be as firm as possible.
In an 8-inch cake pan with high sides (at least 3-inches), use plastic wrap to line the bottom and the sides, letting it overhang over the pan.
Spread a third of the homemade crunchies on the bottom, then layer 2 pints of the ice cream on top.
Layer another third of the crunchies on top of the ice cream, and then layer the other 2 pints of ice cream, finally topping the top with the last third of the crunchies.
Wrap the cling film over the top of the ice cream cake and place in the freezer. Freeze until firm, preferably overnight.
When you are ready to assemble your ice cream cake, place one macaron shell, flat-side facing up on a cake stand.
Remove the cake pan from the freezer and slide the ice cream layer out and place it on top of the macaron shell.
Place the other macaron shell, domed side facing up on top of the ice cream layer.
Use the cool whip around the ice cream layer to smooth the cake trying not to get it on the macaron shell. You want it to have smooth sides and look like an even ice cream sandwich.
Place back in the freezer for at least two hours, or until cool whip is firm to the touch.
The colder the ice cream cake is, the cleaner the cuts you will make.

Giant Macaron Shells

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
brown food color

Instructions:

On a parchment paper that is the size of a baking sheet, draw an 8 inch circle with a pencil. Repeat with another parchment paper.
Line two baking sheets with the parchment paper, pencil side down.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
Add the brown food coloring to the almond paste to get the color you desire.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
In a pastry bag fitted with the largest plain piping tip that you have, paint about 8 vertical lines along the inside of the piping bag using a clean food-use-only paintbrush and the brown food gel color.
Fill the piping bag with the macaron batter.
Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper in a tight spiral pattern until you get to the edge of the 8-inch circle that you drew. You should have a concentric circle pattern of brown circles. Take a toothpick and draw lines into the center through the brown circles to create a pattern. This will be the top macaron shell.
Fill the piping bag with more batter and pipe another large circle. There may or may not be a pattern here because you already piped out the first circle. If there isn’t, there is no need to stress because this will be the bottom shell.
If there is leftover batter, feel free to pipe out some normal sized macarons for later use.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two. Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter are dry to the touch, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Once you place the macarons in the oven, reduce the heat to 275˚F. Bake 15-18 minutes for the large shells, 10-13 for the small shells, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth.
Once you remove the macarons, reheat the oven to 350˚F for ten minutes before baking another pan of macarons at 275˚F.
Let cool and fill.

Homemade Crunchies

Ingredients:
30 Oreo cookies
1 – 7.25 oz. bottle of Magic Shell ice cream topping

Instructions:

Using a food processor, Crush Oreos into even crumbs.
In a medium bowl, mix cookie crumbs and ice cream topping until each crumb is well coated.
Reserve for later use.

*Homemade crunchies recipe from Our Best Bites.

Chocolate, Desserts, Disney, Doughnuts, Geek/Nerd Culture, Holidays

Star Wars Mini Doughnuts – Part II: Leia, Yoda & Chewbacca

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016by thebusyspatula16 Comments

The other day I was watching my favorite movie of all time, “When Harry Met Sally” but something was off about it. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that was bothering me until I realized it was Billy Crystal’s voice. Billy Crystal who is a main character in the movie, also voices Mike Wazowski from “Monsters Inc.”. Every time he spoke, all I could see was the short, green one-eyed monster in my head. It’s still my favorite movie; it just isn’t the same as before.
It’s taken forever to edit and finish the second part of the SW doughnut series. You would think editing a few photos and putting it together would be a cinch. But editing each step took a lot longer than I thought. So far, It’s been a busy weekend with baking this and that. I can’t wait to share the next cake with you! I hope to have it on here before the end of the week. ❤
Star Wars Mini Doughnuts – Part II: Leia, Yoda & Chewbacca

For the Leia Doughnuts:

You will need:

mini doughnuts (recipe below)
white candy melts
dark brown candy melts
orange candy melts
yellow candy melts
gray candy melts
junior mints
black edible pearls
pink confetti sprinkles

Instructions:

Melt white candy melts in a small cup, or a bowl.
Dip one half of doughnut into the melted white candy melt. (as shown in picture #1)
Melt one orange, one yellow and some white candy melts to make a flesh toned candy melt.
Dip the second half of the doughnut into the melted flesh toned candy melt. (as shown in picture #1)
Melt dark brown candy melt into a small cup or bowl.
Dip a quarter of the flesh toned side of the doughnut on each half of the dhoughnut. (as shown in picture #2)
Before the dark brown candy melt sets, attach a junior mint on either side of the dark brown candy melt. (as shown in picture #3)
Attach two black pearls of the flesh toned part of the doughnut (as shown in picture #4)
Draw a gray thin horizontal line where the white and flesh toned color meets with gray candy melt. (as shown in picture #5)
Attach two pink confetti sprinkles, below the black pearls and slightly to the outer corners for the cheeks. (as shown in picture #6)

For the Yoda Doughnuts:

You will need:

mini doughnuts (recipe below)
light green candy melts
light brown candy melts
heart shaped sprinkles
black edible pearls

Instructions:

Melt light green candy melts in a small cup/bowl and dip the doughnut into the candy melt (as shown in picture #1)
With melted light brown candy melt, draw two horizontal squiggly lines, one longer than the other (as shown in picture #2)
Draw two short vertical lines to connect the horizontal lines. (as shown in picture #3)
Place two black edible pearls while the light brown candy melt sets. (as shown in picture #3)
Dip a heart shaped sprinkle into the melted light green candy melt and attach it to the side of the head, repeat on the other side. (as shown in picture #4)
Pipe a small round of light brown candy melt in the center of the top of the doughnut. (as shown in picture #4)

For the Chewbacca Doughnuts:

You will need:

mini doughnuts (recipe below)
dark rown Candy melts
brown candy melts
gray candy melts
black edible pearls

Instructions:

Melt dark brown candy melts in a small cup/bowl and dip the doughnut into the candy melt, and flip the doughnut onto parchment paper and lift up to give it texture. (as shown in picture #1)
With melted brown candy melt, dip just the top surface on top of the dark brown candy melt and flip the doughnut onto parcment paper and lift up to give it extra texture and mimic hair. (as shown in picture #2)
Place two black edible pearls on the top half of the doughnut for the eyes. (as shown in picture #3)
Place one small dot of dark brown candy melt in between the black pearls for a nose. (as sown in picture #4)
Draw a diagonal line in thee middle of the doughnut with the dark brown candy melt for the belt. (as shown in picture #4)
Draw a series of short dashes along the diagonal line with the gray candy melts. (as shown in picture #5)

Classic Baked Doughnut Recipe
makes about 3 dozen mini doughnuts

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
¼ c. granulated sugar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 large egg
¾ tsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 ⅓ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. whole milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350˚F. Spray non-stick cooking spray on your mini doughnut pan.
In a medium bowl, whip butter, vegetable oil, and both sugars with a hand-held mixer until smooth.
Mix in egg and milk until completely combined.
Stir in baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.
Stir in flour until smooth, do not over mix.
In a piping bag, fitted with a medium round tip, fill each doughnut cavity about ½ full.
Bake 5-7 minutes until the doughnuts spring back when you touch it. Do not wait until the doughnut is golden brown, you will over bake it.
Let cool in pan about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
Repeat steps 6-8 until all of the batter is used.

Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Doughnuts, Holidays, Star Wars

Star Wars Mini Doughnuts – Part I: Stormtroopers & Ewoks

May 4, 2016May 4, 2017by thebusyspatula10 Comments

Well it’s here, Star Wars Day! Every year I try to make some sort of Star Wars themed food to celebrate Star Wars Day. In case you didn’t know, it’s on May 4^th because it plays on the phrase, “May the force be with you”. Get it? Like “May the Fourth be with you?” What I love the most about Star Wars is how it is intergenerational and timeless. Plus, there are so many characters and worlds that it’s hard to become bored with the series.
After talking about hybrid food that involves doughnuts in my last post, I could not get them out of my head. But of course I couldn’t just make regular doughnuts; I had to try my hand at decorating doughnuts. To make them even cuter, I went down a size to mini doughnuts. It was tough to figure out which characters to do because there are so many to choose from, but I decided to go with the classics: Yoda, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Stormtroopers and Ewoks.
I think if the doughnuts were bigger, it would’ve been easier to do the details but since they were tiny, it was pretty time consuming to do everything. I was working with teeny tiny holes in my piping bag that kept clogging up with chocolate that hardened too quickly and tiny black pearl eyes that wouldn’t stay on the faces. And because they have more detail than I originally expected, I’m breaking up the post into two parts: a how to of Stormtroopers and Ewoks on this one, and Princess Leia, Yoda and Chewbacca on the next one.
The doughnut recipe I used tastes like a classic old fashioned doughnut thanks to the ground nutmeg. Fresh ground nutmeg is key here. As someone who is guilty of buying a whole jar of spice for one recipe and then never touching it again for years, I highly recommend you buy the nutmeg whole since it will last you pretty much forever (as long as you keep it in a cool, dry place). The recipe I used will make a small batch, so small that you can use a simple hand held mixer for it. Oh, and remember not to overfill your pan or your doughnut will not look like a doughnut. It will look more like a tiny bunt cake. Once they’re covered in chocolate, they taste like the highly addictive Pop’ems. They’re addictive and so easy to eat, it’s a little dangerous.
Disposable piping bags and plastic cups are your best friends for this project, especially if you plan on tackling more than two characters in one time. Melted chocolate is so annoying to clean off, it’s just not worth the pain if you have to wash off more than 6 colors worth of bowls. The part of me that cares about the environment did cry a little, but in the end laziness and convenience won out. 🙂

Here are some other Star Wars posts that I’ve done:
BB-8 Cake Pops
Star Wars Rebel Party
Star Wars Day 2014

Star Wars Mini Doughnuts – Part I: Stormtroopers & Ewoks

For the Stormtrooper Doughnuts:

You will need:

mini doughnuts (recipe below)
white candy melts
black candy melts
silver dragées

Instructions:

Melt white candy melts in a small cup, or a bowl.
Dip one side of doughnut into the melted candy melt. (as shown in picture #1)
Place two small dots of black candy melt on the bottom half of the doughnut. (as shown in picture #2)
Before the black candy melt sets, put two small silver dragees on it. (as shown in picture #3)
Draw a thin horizontal line in the middle of the doughnut with the black candy melt. (as shown in picture #4)
Draw a black thin horizontal line on the top of the doughnut, about an eight of the way down. (as shown in picture #5)
Draw two black semi circles below the black top line. (as shown in picture #6)
Draw a small black triangle in between the two semi circles. (as shown in picture #7)
Mix a little of the black candy melt into the white candy melt to make a gray candy melt.
Place two stripes on either side of the doughnut. (as shown in picture #8)
Place two small dots on either side of the small triangle. (as shown in picture #9)

For the Ewok Doughnuts:

You will need:

mini doughnuts (recipe below)
light brown candy melts
orange candy melts
brown candy melts
black pearls
gray candy melts

Instructions:

Dip the top half of the doughnut into a cup/bowl of melted light brown candy melt. (as shown in picture #1)
Once the light brown candy melt sets, dip the bottom half of the doughnut into a cup/bowl of melted orange candy melt. (as shown in picture #1)
Once the orange candy melt sets, dip the outer top half of the doughnut into melted orange candy melt. (as shown in picture #2)
Pipe a small round of brown candy melt in the center of the top of the doughnut. (as shown in picture #2)
While the candy melt sets, pipe small round dots of brown candy melt on parchment paper.
Attach the small brown dots to the top of the doughnut. (as shown in picture #3)
Place two small dots of brown candy melts and place two black pearls (as shown in picture #4)
Pipe one long curve and three short lines along the curve with gray candy melt. (as shown in picture #5)

Classic Baked Doughnut Recipe
makes about 3 dozen mini doughnuts

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350˚F. Spray non-stick cooking spray on your mini doughnut pan.
In a medium bowl, whip butter, vegetable oil, and both sugars with a hand-held mixer until smooth.
Mix in egg and milk until completely combined.
Stir in baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.
Stir in flour until smooth, do not over mix.
In a piping bag, fitted with a medium round tip, fill each doughnut cavity about ½ full.
Bake 5-7 minutes until the doughnuts spring back when you touch it. Do not wait until the doughnut is golden brown, you will over bake it.
Let cool in pan about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
Repeat steps 6-8 until all of the batter is used.

Doughnut recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.

Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Easter, Fruit, Holidays, Lemon, Uncategorized, Vanilla

Giant Peeps Doughnut Cake (Meyer Lemon Marshmallow Doughnut Cake)

March 25, 2016by thebusyspatula2 Comments

This Lent season I gave up online shopping. I used to think that online shopping was for people who were too lazy to go to the mall and try on clothing, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve seen the light. With a click of a button, you can see what is available to you in your size instead of rifling through all the different sizes in the stores. What I really like is that the clothes come looking pristine and new (even though I’m pretty sure someone else has tried it on before me). You know what I mean though right? You go through piles of clothing in a store trying to find that perfect dress on sale and when you find it, it has a lipstick or deodorant mark on it and sometimes, a strange stain that may or may not come out in the wash. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the mall and I believe that retail therapy is sometimes best done in stores. It’s just that now I’m in love with two forms of shopping.
What I’ve learned is that online shopping is really hard to avoid. It follows you through email, social media, and even through paper catalogs. I’ve become so used to the thrill of finding a “good” deal that many times I perused through websites just to see what was available without the intention of buying anything. And then when I found something really great, it was very hard for me to not purchase it. Like an alcoholic that goes into a liquor store just to see what is available, I was just torturing myself for no reason.
Why even go through it if it was so difficult? Because it gave me time to reflect on my lifestyle, and on my faith. At the times where I caught myself window shopping (online), I would close the window and spend some time in prayer and meditation. I’ve come to appreciate the things I already have in my life and realize the abundance of needs that are already met despite the lack of the perfect lace up suede flats. I am so thankful and am writing this with an overwhelmingly grateful heart.
When Easter rolls around, seasonal bunny, egg and chick themed candy appear and I think Peeps is the most iconic Easter candy of them all. I know they come in different shapes and colors, (they even have peeps flavored milk these days) but I think the OG is the yellow chick peep. Super bright in color with a squishy marshmallow interior, it makes me feel like it should be lemon flavored. This is where I got my inspiration from. As for the doughnut shape, well anything doughnut is superior to plain cake. No?
I happened to have a giant doughnut cake pan set from Williams Sonoma, which they don’t sell anymore but this cake can be made with two 8” cake pans if desired. Or, you can carve a hole in the middle and make yourself a makeshift doughnut cake too.
Meyer lemons are popping up everywhere this season, so this cake is filled with all things lemon. It’s a lemon cake, filled with lemon curd and topped with a lemon glaze. As for the marshmallow component, it’s filled with my favorite marshmallow frosting and also topped with a toasted marshmallow frosting that when you put the chicks in, the browned top kind of looks like a nest. I decorated mine with a few Cadbury min eggs (the best chocolate egg candy IMHO) to give that nest feel a little more oomph. Seasonal in flavor and themed, it’s the perfect baking project for this weekend. 🙂
Here are other Easter themed blog posts from the past:

Easy Peanut Butter Eggs
Easter Bunny Surprise Cake
White Chocolate Tiramisu Eggs
Bunny Cake Pops

Giant Peeps Doughnut Cake (Meyer Lemon Marshmallow Doughnut Cake)

You will need:

1 batch of meyer lemon cake (recipe below)
1 batch meyer lemon curd (recipe below)
1 batch meyer lemon glaze (recipe below)
1 batch marshmallow frosting (recipe below)
Cadbury mini eggs
yellow marshmallow chick Peeps

Instructions:

Carve a small ditch around each half of the doughnut cake, making a tunnel for the filling.
On the bottom half of the doughnut, fill the cavity with the lemon curd.
On the top half of the doughnut, fill the cavity with marshmallow frosting.
Sandwich the bottom and half together and set the cake on top of a wire cooling rack and pour the lemon glaze over the top, letting it dribble down the sides.
Fill a piping bag with a large open star frosting tip (the one with a lot of teeth, not the one with 5 teeth) with the rest of the frosting.
Make a swirl pattern all over the top of the cake.
Use a kitchen torch to toast the tops of the marshmallow frosting.
Place a marshmallow Peep all around the cake.
Decorate the empty spaces with the mini eggs.

Meyer Lemon Doughnut Cake

Ingredients:

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 ¾ c. granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
¼ c. grated meyer lemon zest (3-4 meyer lemons)
3 c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ c. meyer lemon juice, freshly squeezed
¾ c. buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

Grease and flour the two doughnut pans. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. (The cake pan I used is discontinued but this product is similar.)
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time until blended and then the zest.
Add the flour and buttermilk mixture alternatively to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, smoothing the tops.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Meyer Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

2 tsp. meyer lemon zest
½ c. meyer lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ c. sugar
2 large eggs
pinch of salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Instructions:

Simmer about an inch of water in a small pot.
In a medium metal mixing bowl, whisk together the zest, juice, sugar, eggs and salt.
Add the butter to the mixing bowl and set the bowl over the pot of simmering water and whisk mixture continuously until mixture thickens and reaches 160˚F, about 5 minutes.
Strain the curd through a fine meshed sieve and refrigerate to thicken completely.

Meyer Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

2 c. confectioners’ sugar
¼ c. meyer lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Instructions:

Whisk together sugar and meyer lemon juice until smooth.

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites
¾ c. sugar
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Simmer about an inch of water in a small pot.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar.
Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved, 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the bowl to the standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until white glossy, stiff peaks form.
Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Meyer lemon cake and glaze recipe adapted from Ina Garten.
Meyer lemon curd adapted from Epicurious.
Marshmallow frosting adapted from Martha Stewart.

Cakes, Chocolate, Coffee, Desserts, Disney, Flowers, Fruit, Macarons, Strawberry, valentines day, Vanilla

Weekday Update

February 25, 2016February 24, 2016by thebusyspatula5 Comments

It’s been a quiet few weeks on the busy spatula. Mostly, I’ve been busy filling cake orders and baking here and there. Not enough photos to write an actual blog about, but just enough for a glimpse of what’s been going on. (If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw some of these already.)

Pink and Gold Swirl Cake – It’s such a whimsical cake, I couldn’t help taking close up photos of this one. Swirled with pastel pink and white frosting then filled to the brim with pearls, gold stars, and dragees. It was four layers of chocolate cake filled with toffee coffee frosting.

Baymax Macarons – I wanted to post these for Valentine’s Day, but I never had the time. Place a few red heart sprinkles on each macaron and draw in two circles and connect with a line with a black edible color marker. I filled the inside with some leftover strawberry frosting. So simple and very cute.

Pink Ombre Ranunculus Cake – The inside of this cake was layered with layers of pink ombre cake. Filled with fresh strawberry frosting and topped with fresh ranunclus, it was so pretty. I originally wanted peonies, but the florist didn’t have any that were in bloom. Did you know that you had to order peonies in advance? I never knew.

Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Flowers, Holidays, Meringue, valentines day

Red Velvet Rose Pavlova

January 29, 2016January 29, 2016by thebusyspatula12 Comments

As much as I love flowers, I’ve learned over the years that I have a black thumb. No matter how hard I try or how “low-maintenance” the plant is, I manage to kill it. I’ve even killed a cactus. Don’t ask me how I did it. But one day it started to shrivel up and before I knew it, it was dead. These days, I run away from plants like the plague. The cute DIY terrariums that everyone talks about? Nope. Growing my own herbs? No way. So instead of growing my own plants, I prefer already cut plants because (not to sound morbid) they’re already dying. It gives me a little less stress.
In the food world, I think Valentine’s Day can be renamed as Red Velvet Everything Day. Is it just me or when February rolls around, everything is red velvet flavored? They come in forms of cake, brownies, whoopie pies, cupcakes and cookies. It is not their fault. There aren’t that many red cakes out there and that deep red hue is kind of perfect for the season.
Instead of doing the usual red velvet cake, I decided to make a red velvet pavlova. I dyed the layers of pavolva red (or as red as I could get them) and flavored them with a hint of cocoa. Then I made a cream cheese whipped cream (because how would you have anything red velvet without cream cheese) and flavored it with some rose water for a floral note. I finally decorated it with some tiny rose meringues and actual tiny roses. If you are using fresh flowers, make sure they’re pesticide-free and if you want to eat them, make sure they’re edible.
Red Velvet Rose Pavlova This may be the most romantic cake I’ve made. (Followed closely by this one.)

Red Velvet Rose Pavlova
Makes one 4-layered mini cake

Ingredients
300 g. superfine sugar
150 g. egg whites, room temperature
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
red gel food color
1 batch of cream cheese rose whipped cream (recipe below)
mini red roses, organic pesticide-free (for decoration)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread sugar in an even layer over parchment.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and the cream of tartar.
Place sugar into the oven and bake until the edges of the sugar begins to melt but not brown, about 5 minutes.
Once the sugar begins to melt, turn the mixer onto high.
Remove baking sheet from the oven and the eggs whites should be foamy.
Turn the mixer to medium high and slowly pour the hot sugar from the parchment paper into egg whites.
Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer onto high and mix until stiff, shiny peaks form.
Reserve ¼ c. of white meringue batter in a different bowl.
Add cocoa powder and red gel food color to the rest of the batter and mix until desired color is reached.
Reserve ¼ c. of red meringue batter in a separate bowl.
Reduce oven to lowest setting 140˚F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
On one baking sheet, spoon 4 five-inch circles of the red meringue.
Fit a medium closed star piping tip into a piping bag and add ¼ c. each of reserved white and red meringue batter.
On the second baking sheet, form small roses by making small circles with the piping tip.
Bake the baking sheet with the five-inch circles for 1- 2 hours until they are crisp and hollow.
Bake the baking sheet with the mini roses for 30 minutes to 1 hour until they are crisp and hollow.
Turn off oven and let it dry out for about 30 minutes to an hour.
When meringues are completely cool and dry, alternate a layer of the meringue with the layer of the whipped cream.
Decorate the top with the mini meringue roses and mini roses.

Cream Cheese Rose Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream, cold
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ c. powdered sugar
½ – 1 tsp. rose water (be careful with the rose water, too much of it will make the frosting taste like soap)

Instructions:

In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Set aside the whipped cream mixture into a different bowl.
In the same bowl, add the cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix until light, fluffy and fully incorporated.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Add ½ tsp. rose water and taste. If you feel like it needs more, add ¼ tsp. at a time until desired flavor is reached.

Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Nuts

Peanut Brittle Coffee Fudge Cake

January 8, 2016by thebusyspatula6 Comments

I have a brother whose birthday is on the fourth of January. Every year, after all the New Year hoopla, we gather around for the first birthday celebration of the year. I tend to pay a little more attention to his cake than the ones that follow because my soul feels a slight breeze of refreshment when the new year rolls around. Plus, this year was his big 3-0 so I had to think of something more unique.
If there is one thing I know about my brother, it is that his two favorite flavors of all time are peanut butter (or peanuts in general) and coffee. In fact coffee, peanuts and my brother are synced so closely together in my brain that every time I go out of town, I usually bring back something that has to do with those two things. Things like Virginia peanuts from the south or a giant espresso peanut butter cup made by the local craft chocolate shop are no brainers when it comes to souvenir gifts for him.
So I made a cake that combines both flavors. It features alternating layers of fudgy chocolate and coffee scented cake which are sandwiched by a light and fluffy peanut butter frosting. The whole thing is then covered by a vanilla – peanut butter Swiss meringue buttercream and topped with homemade honey roasted peanut brittle. When looking at the recipe, you might wonder why I made two different types of frosting. After years of baking, I realized that as much as I love the texture and flavor of boiled frosting, it does not ice as smoothly as Swiss meringue buttercream. So, these days I make two types of frosting for one cake. Is it a pain in the butt? Yes, but the flavor and the presentation are so worth it.

Peanut Brittle Coffee Fudge Cake
Makes one very tall 8” cake

You will need:

2 – 8” buttermilk coffee cake layers, leveled (recipe below)
2 – 8” chocolate cake layers, leveled (recipe below)
1 batch coffee frosting (recipe below)
1 batch coffee and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream (recipe below)
1 batch honey roasted peanut brittle (recipe below)

Instructions:

On a cake board, place a chocolate cake layer and frost the top with coffee frosting.
Top the chocolate cake layer with a coffee cake layer and frost the top with coffee frosting.
Add another chocolate cake layer and frost the top with coffee frosting.
Top the chocolate cake layer with the coffee cake layer.
Use the remaining coffee frosting to crumb coat the cake.
Place in freezer for 5-10 minutes to set.
Fill an icing bag fitted with a very large round tip with the white swiss meringue buttercream.
Remove the cake from the freezer.
Ice the cake from the top with the white swiss meringue buttercream, moving slowly down.
Once the white frosting runs out, add the light brown swiss meringue buttercream to the same bag and continue moving downwards.
Once the light brown frosting runs out, add the deep brown swiss meringue buttercream to the same bag and continue frost down the cake until you get to the bottom of the cake. (The cake will look bulky and messy. This is normal.)
Using a flat spatula, start going around the cake and smoothing out the sides.
As you move around the cake and start removing frosting, an ombre pattern will appear.
Frost the entire cake smooth and then top with shards of honey roasted peanut brittle.

For the Buttermilk Coffee Cake:

Ingredients:
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 c. black coffee, divided
4 tbsp. powdered buttermilk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. coffee emulsion
270 g. cake flour
300 g. sugar
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350˚ and grease and line the bottom of two 8” cake pans with parchment paper.
In the mixing bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
Mix powdered buttermilk to the cup of black coffee and whisk until combined.
Add the butter and ¾ c. of the coffee mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low until combined.
Scrape the bowl to mix everything evenly.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, the remaining ¼ c. coffee mixture, and vanilla extract.
With the mixer on low, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture slowly until combined.
Divide batter evenly amongst the two cake pans and bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the cake pans halfway.
Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out of cake pan and move onto wire cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients:
1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
¼ c. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
½ c. Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1. tsp. kosher salt
½ c. vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. strong, hot coffee

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350˚ and grease and line the bottom of two 8” cake pans with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, both cocoa powders, baking soda, baking powder and salt until fully combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
With the mixer speed on low, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until combined.
Turn off the mixer. With a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl to fully incorporate the two mixtures.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the hot coffee to the batter. Once added, raise the speed to medium until completely homogenous.
Divide batter evenly amongst the two cake pans and bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the cake pans halfway.
Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out of cake pan and move onto wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Coffee Frosting (for the filling)

Ingredients:
1 ½ c. whole milk
⅓ c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
12 oz. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ c. sugar
1 – 1½ tbsp. coffee emulsion

Instructions:

In a small pot over medium heat, whisk milk, salt and flour until combined.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture (to prevent skin from forming) and put bowl into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add 1 tbsp. coffee emulsion and mix until combined.
Taste and if you want a stronger flavor, add another ½ tbsp. coffee emulsion.

Coffee and Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream (for the outside)

Ingredients:

1 ¼ c. sugar
5 large egg whites
3 ½ sticks unsalted butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. coffee emulsion
brown food gel color

Instructions:

Simmer an inch of water in a medium pot.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk egg whites and sugar together.
Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water and whisk the egg white and sugar mixture continuously until the mixture becomes lighter and no longer grainy.
Remove the bowl from the pot and transfer the bowl into the mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
Mix on high until mixture becomes white and fluffy, and cool (check for this by seeing if the outside of the bowl is cool to the touch).
Add in vanilla extract and butter one stick at a time until a silky smooth frosting forms.
Remove a third of the vanilla frosting into a separate bowl.
In the original mixing bowl, add 2 tsp. of the coffee emulsion and whip until light brown and homogenous.
Remove half of the light brown frosting into a separate bowl.
Add a few drops of brown food gel color and whip until the mixture becomes a deep brown.

Honey Roasted Peanut Brittle

¾ c. honey roasted peanuts
1 c. sugar
½ c. water

Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
In a small pot, boil sugar and water together until the mixture turns amber.
Once the mixture turns amber, stir in peanuts and quickly transfer mixture onto the silicone mat using a silicone spatula.
Spread the brittle with the spatula so that the peanuts are all one layer.
Let cool and break into shards.

Bread, Chocolate, cinnamon, Coffee, Desserts, Holidays

Tiramisu Cinnamon Rolls

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015by thebusyspatula3 Comments

If I bottled the scent that came out of the oven while this baked, I would be a millionaire. It smells as if your house was smack dab in the middle of a Starbucks and a Cinnabon store. Er.. kind of like a mall. (I suppose living in the mall would be a nightmare for some people.) Everyone knows the best part about going to the mall is passing by a Cinnabon or a Weltzel’s Pretzels store. I’m always battling my inner fat kid every time I walk by.
Filled with a cinnamon-coffee sugar, topped with a whipped mascarpone frosting and dusted with a generous dose of cocoa powder, it highlights the best parts of both worlds. I would suggest taking the buns out of the pan about 5-10 minutes after it comes out of the oven. The coffee cinnamon sugar creates a caramel when it bakes, and if you let it cool completely in the pan, it will become a type of glue which makes it nearly impossible to get clean cuts out of the pan. Also, don’t be like me and roll the dough out too thinly, I originally wanted just 8 cinnamon rolls, but I had to slice the dough more because it was too tall for the pan. Boo.

Tiramisu Cinnamon Rolls Cinnamon rolls are definitely not an on-the-whim kind of treat. But if you do decide to make it, I can imagine it being part of an awesome Christmas morning breakfast.

Tiramisu Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

For the Cinnamon Rolls:
1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ c. water, warm (110-120°F)
¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
2 tbsp buttermilk
1 large egg
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt

For the Filling:
¼ c. unsalted butter, softened
¾ c. light brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 ½ tbsp. coffee emulsion
For the Frosting:
8 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temp
2 tbsp. butter, room temp
⅓ c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. heavy cream
cocoa powder, for dusting on top

Instructions:

In a microwave safe cup, warm ½ c. water until 110°F-120°F or lukewarm. Stir in 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar until dissolved. Stir in dry yeast and let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).
While the yeast is proofing, mix flour, buttermilk, 3 tbsp. sugar, egg, salt, and the melted butter into a bowl of a stand mixer.
Add the water mixture into the flour mixture and stir until a loose dough forms.
Let stand for 8 minutes to hydrate flour.
With the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on speed 2 for about 8 minutes until dough is pliable and stretchy.
Move dough to an oiled bowl and cover the bowl and let the dough rise until double its size, about 1 to 2 hours.
In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, corn starch, butter, and coffee emulsion until combined. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 9” x 12” rectangle. Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly, except 1” along the bottom of the dough.
Roll the dough tightly, using the uncovered border to seal the roll.
Cut the roll into 8 even rolls.
Grease a 9×13 inch pan, and evenly space out the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 – 1 ½ hours until rolls have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Bake for about 20 minutes until rolls are golden brown.
Let cool for about 5-10 minutes before turning out the rolls onto parchment paper or a nonstick surface.
While the rolls cool. Make the mascarpone frosting.
Using a handheld mixer, whip butter and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
Add mascarpone cheese and heavy cream and mix until light and fluffy. Do not overwhip.
Spread frosting over cooled rolls and dust the top generously with cocoa powder using a fine meshed sieve.