Daring Bakers Carmel Cake

This is my first challenge as a daring baker and luckily coincided with a birthday party, so while that caramel cake was really lovely.. I didn't have to eat it for days!

This month's recipe comes from Shauna Fish Lyndon and can be found here. Read all about her cake here. Her co-hosts this month( Alex (http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/) and Jenny (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/) have also contributed some caramels, which I chose not to make as I'm not really a huge fan, but do check that out as well!

The cake baked up pretty straightforward.. perhaps if anything taking a little bit longer than expected.

The Carmel sauce was not so easy.. the first time I made it I followed the directions for 'dark amber/smoking'... i was ready for splatters but I think all of the sauce ended up on the tile surround and i was left with a thin water that tasted like burnt sugar.. i didn't want that taint in the cake and frosting so I tried again.. This time remembering the pointers for Dori's carmel pnut brownie cake I took the carmel off earlier and then whisked in the water.. the result as you can see if a very thin maple syrup for pancakes liquid.. but it definately gave things a carmel flavor. The butter cream came out easily and I did add salt to taste.. just enough to highten the flavor.

It was somewhat of a not so pretty cake- no doubt due to my own poor skills as icing (which is something we are not taught in cake decorating class.. apparently in the UK.. all buttercream/torting is considered confectionary!!!) So I ran a toothed icing comb over it and drizzled some of the remaining caramel syrup.

since the cake was going to a b-day party I don't have any pictures of it cut, but it was delicious and got many compliments!.. I stopped it off with a stensil in cocoa powder

TWD Aborio Rice Pudding

Well Well.. This recipe was one I immediately thought I'd skip.. see i hate foods with undecided texture... i'm into my texture and the thought of a dessert that was neither smooth, nor solid puts me off.. but not so my Fiance (sorry I just have to keep trying out the word to remind myself) he was pretty excited about the prospect when I showed him Nov.'s picks... so that and the fact that I didn't have a kugelhofpt pan, and thought I'd be really way too busy with celebrating thanksgiving.. I decided to make it..

Thankfully I did read the comments and upped the rice to a scant half cup.. however i should of paid attention about the scorching! i went to watch some tv and came back to boiled over..

however sacraficing the burnt on bottom, the remainder was fine. and perhaps it loosing a bit of liquid to boiling over helped the final consistency? I made choc and vanilla!

Be sure to check out this recipe's host blog here.. and all of the rest of the TWD blog roll!

Barefoot bakers: Herb- Roasted Onions

I actually had the fiance make this one, as I was trying to get the rest of dinner (some yummy polenta) done.

I actually made these in time for Thursday.. but then completely forgot/got way too busy with thinking about weddings and such to complete the posting but there they are! Check out the host

Kelly from Baking with the Boys to see her onions and recipe.

There is no picture of my finished product, but suffice to say they were excellent and the dressing would be very nice on a whole host of other veggies/salad as well!

Sorry for the Downtime!

I haven't posted anything for awhile here.. but I have a good excuse really...

I got engaged 2 weeks ago and what with my head in the clouds haven't seen any need for eating or baking!... but now that winter is starting to rear up and its cold outside I will get back to it!

/Bake-rella

Rugelach TWD

This was my first time ever eating (let alone making) rugelach. Its nice.. a solid 7/10 excellent coffee time treat!

I read a few comments and decided Iwanted to mix up the filling a bit, so I made one circle per the recipe while the other was coated in nutella, dulce de leche and pecans (it was my favorite)

I had no idea what decorators sugar was, so used some swedish rock sugar.. these were good and pretty easy to put together!

Check out the rest of the blog roll and get the recipe here!

Pies with that- Apple Pie a La Mode!

I struggled for a bit thinking about how to make a fashionable pie... lots of meringue? a fancy top crust design? modern fusion ingredient combinations.. and then it hit me.. some things never go out of fashion.. Apple pie..



and to top it off.. i make it a la mode- literally meaning in the fashion.. So here is my entry for this month.. apple pie a la mode.

oh yeah its even low cal!

crust:

1 cup ap flour

3 T sugar

1/2 t baking powder

1/4t salk

3 T cold butter cut into 6 pieces

1 large egg

1 T cold water

Combine all dry ingredients in food processor (or stand mixer) to mix. Add butter and mix until combined. Add egg and water and and mix until dough forms a ball. Turn out , form disc and let rest wrappen in plastic in fridge for 2 hours -3 days. Roll out on floured surface and press into tart pan.

apple filling:

3 large apples

2 T sugar

1/2t cinamon

peal apples, halve and core them and cut into 1/4inch slices. arrange around outside edge, leaving one apple for center. mix sugar and cinammon together and sprinkle over apples

bake 40-45 minutes at 350 F until crust is baked and apples bubbling

cool in pan on rack.

apricot glaze:

1/2 cup apricot preserves

2T water

above heated and strained if needed until thick. paint glaze over apples. unmold tart and serve with your favorite ice cream!

Be sure to check out the other Pies with That entries and vote for your favorite!