Sweet Cinnamon Scones

A while ago, I found a really yummy sounding recipe for Sweet Cinnamon Scones. I was so eager to try it, but had a really hard time finding cinnamon baking chips in my grocery store. Thankfully, just before Christmas, they were in stock!

So thrilled and excited to make these, I got up on Christmas morning and made them for my family. Unfortunately, they were a total dud. :( All that waiting for nothing!! But, the idea still sounded really tastey to me and I decided not to give up. I went back to an old standby that's never let me down...America's Test Kitchen.

The recipe below is an adaptation of ATK's glazed, slightly-sweet cake scones with the cinnamon chips, some vanilla, and a touch of ground cinnamon mixed in. Keep in mind, these are cakey scones and less like traditional scones that have a similar texture to biscuits...but that's what I prefer. Plus, the addition of an egg makes them cakey but also allows them to stay fresher longer. :)

The results of adapting the recipe were exactly what I'd be hoping for! These scones are light, cakey, slightly sweet and have just the right amount of cinnamon. Do yourself a favor and give these a try. They freeze really well (pre-baked) and can be stored in the freezer until you are ready to pop them into the oven for a quick breakfast (or even a lighter dessert!!)

Sweet Cinnamon Scones

2 C. all purpose flour
1 T. baking poweder
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 T. very cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 C. cinnamon baking chips
3/4 C. heavy cream, plus more for brushing – about 1 Tb.
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

For the cinnamon-sugar topping:
1 Tb. cream
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. Process with six 1-second pulses, until combined.

Pour the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the cinnamon chips to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

Transfer the dough and any remaining dry flour bits to a countertop that has been lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough by hand just until it comes together – do not over knead!

Lightly dust an 8-inch cake pan. Press the dough evenly into the cake pan. Turn the dough out on to the countertop. (You should have a nice, flat, and even disk to work with!) Cut into 8 equal wedges. (At this point you can flash freeze the wedges in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then put them in a ziplock bag and freeze until needed).

Place wedges on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the 1 T. of heavy cream. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until the tops are light brown. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes (ATK recommends truly letting the scones sit for the 10 minutes. It firms them up and improves their overall texture).

Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy with coffee or tea!

Tuxedo Cake

This cake is perfect for a fancy party, or pretend fancy party...so get baking!

If you make all three layers (as the recipe below suggests), you will end up with a very tall cake. For a dramatic effect, it's perfect. The slices look a bit funny because they are so tall, but trust me, no one complains! I don’t think that has stopped anyone from enjoying this. You can make the same amount of batter in two 10-inch round pans for a shorter cake. I like the tall cake as it's more visually impressive.

A friend and co-worker asked for a recipe that would be perfect for a shower she was hosting. She's also an avid baker and had adjusted and increased the amounts to create a stunning cake (pictured below). The original recipe is for a tall 3 layer cake and that is the recipe below.




Tuxedo Cake
yield: 1 tall 3-layer cake

For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups water
1 cup canola oil
4 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:
1 lb. fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced - plus more whole berries for garnish
1/4 C. sugar
1 Tb. vodka (optional)

For the frosting:
4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

For the chocolate topping:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
To make the cake layers, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line three 9-inch round cake pans (or two 10-inch round cake pans) with parchment paper. Butter and flour the inside edges of the pan, shaking out the excess flour.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, water and canola oil; heat until the butter is melted. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and flour; whisk to blend. Pour the melted butter mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk. Add the baking soda, salt and vanilla to the bowl and whisk just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each cake layer and invert onto a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake layers to cool completely before frosting, at least 2 hours.

While the cake cools, make the strawberry filling. To make the filling, mix the strawberries, sugar, and vodka in a bowl. Let the berries macerate at least 30 minutes.

To make the frosting, add the heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until thoroughly combined and stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-beat!

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake platter and top with some strawberries. (The berries go first...they are juicy and all of that juicy goodness will ooze into your cake and not out of the frosting.) Spread a layer of the whipped cream frosting over the top of the berries. Top with a second cake layer, more strawberries, more frosting (and the third cake layer, if using). Frost the top and sides of the assembled cake. Refrigerate until the frosting has stabilized, at least 1 hour.

To make the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit 1-2 minutes. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the corn syrup and vanilla. Pour the glaze into a pitcher or measuring cup and let cool for 10 minutes. (Do not let the glaze cool longer or it may become difficult to pour over the cake.) Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, ensuring that the top is covered and the glaze drips over the sides.

Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set and the whipped cream frosting is firm, at least 1 hour. Garnish with extra strawberries. Slice with a long, sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between slices.

*Photo courtesy of H. Fitch. She truly did an amazing job! WOW!

Red Velvet Cake Pops

This recipe is so easy and so tasty that I had to post it as fast as I could blog about it! My great friend, Kathy, came over for a cooking visit and we had a great time making these cute little bites of deliciousness.

This was Kathy and my second attempt at making cake pops. You may have heard of them....yummy bites of cake and frosting covered in chocolate and on a lollipop? AMAZING! Please, PLEASE go visit Bakerella (www.bakerella.com) to see some truly amazing treats!

The only problems is we've never actually made them on the sticks...so they become more like bonbons, and that's ok!

You can make them using a homemade mix or a box mix (like we did). I am excited to try these using homemade recipes, but for the purpose of this post, I'll give you the quick low-down and you can experiment all you want!

Kathy's husband even renamed these treats "Devil Pops" because they're so good...consider yourself warned.

Red Velvet Cake Pops (or balls or bonbons, whatever!)

1 box of red velvet cake mix (or whatever flavor cake you'd like)
1 container of cream cheese cake frosting
1 package of chocolate candy melts
1 package of white chocolate candy melts
Sprinkles for decorating

Make the cake mix according to the box directions for a 13X9 cake pan. Allow the cake to cool completely. Over a large bowl, break the cake up into fine crumbs (Bakerella's tip is to rub pieces of cake together and it works like a charm!). To the crumbled cake, use about 3/4 (adding a little bit at at time) of the frosting and mix well. (You will NOT be using the rest of the frosting...feel free to use it for something else or discard it). The mixture should be moist enough to form into balls but not so moist that it is squishy.

*Be sure not to use too much frosting...if the cake is too moist, it will not set and it will be too squishy to coat with the candy melts. I also suspect this was our problem with getting them to stay on the sticks...I think we had the cake a bit too moist - so use a light hand with the frosting!!
Roll the mixture into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze the balls 15 - 20 minutes until very firm but not frozen through.

While the cake balls are setting up in the freezer, melt the candy melts in batches in microwave safe bowls. We used both white and dark chocolate candy melts for our cake balls. In a microwave safe bowl, melt at 50% power in 30 second increments.

Once the cake balls are set, plop one ball into the candy coating of your choice. With a spoon, make sure the ball is completely coated. Using the spoon, scoop out the cake ball and tap lightly to let any excess drip back into the bowl and get a nice, smooth finish on your cake ball.

Allow the cake ball to slide off the spoon back onto the parchment paper. Decorate immediately with the sprinkles of your choice (candy melts harden really quickly, so make sure if you're using sprinkles, to do it now!). Repeat with the remaining cake balls.

Try to resist, I dare you!