Devil's Food Cake and Halloween

It was my son's first halloween trick or treating. Last year he was too young, but this year at 2.5 yrs old, he had a blast!!! OMG it brought back such memories for me... the excitement of waiting for it to get dark out so you can go door to door, the bustle of kids outside, all hyped up on sugar and adrenaline. I love seeing all the decorations, watching fireworks on the street then finally retiring back home to count and sort the candy and have some hot chocolate. I was so happy that I was able to share this experience with my son and watch it through a child's eyes all over again.



He dressed as a little mouse and charmed absolutely everybody by going around saying, "I'm dressed as a mouse! Squeak squeak!" He caught onto the concept of trick or treating really quickly and kept on saying, "next house" to go and get more candy. Surprisingly, his favorite candy are Rockets! Those are my least fave.

Above are the 3 pumpkins we carved. I'm not a very good pumpkin carver... hence why the spider has only 6 legs! I also didn't do a very good job of decorating, but this devil's food cake from the Food Network was sooo deep and delicious. I strongly recommend lining the pan bottoms with circles of parchment for easy removal.

Recipe: Devil's Food Cake

I hope everyone had as great a night as we did.

Whole Wheat Caramel Oatmeal Bars

The use of whole wheat flour and oats makes these caramel bars just a little less bad for you. They strike a nice balance between sinful caramel and chocolate and wholesome granola bars. Creamy caramel studded with melty chocolate chips. There's also a little coconut thrown in there for texture. They have a slight nutty flavor from the ww flour, but if you prefer, you could use all white flour.

Whole Wheat Caramel Oatmeal Bars
Makes 9x13 inch tray

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/4 cup caramel sundae topping/sauce
OR 32 individually wrapped caramels melted with 6 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan lined with foil or parchment paper. If using the individually wrapped caramels, melt them in a medium saucepan over low heat with the heavy cream, stirring occasionally until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, oats, coconut, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in the melted butter until well blended. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of pan. Reserve the rest. Bake the crust for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and pour the caramel mixture over the top. Sprinkle with chocolate chips then top with the remaining crust mixture.
3. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the top is lightly toasted (check it around 15 minutes). Cool completely then cut into squares.

Rustic Cranberry Bread

Here is something just a little healthier to offset all the sugary baking I normally do. I bought a 10kg bag of whole wheat flour then realized afterwards that ww flour has a shorter shelf life than all-purpose. I suppose you can expect to see more whole wheat baking from me soon! Does anyone have any good recipes that use up a lot of ww flour? I have heard that you can substitute half the flour in a recipe with whole wheat but whenever I do this the thing comes out tasting too 'healthy'. lol. My belief is, if you're gonna splurge, then SPLURGE!

I have a friend who is a crazy healthy eater. When he was getting tested to get into the police force the doctor tested his cholesterol and said it was the lowest he'd ever seen. Now whenever I make something 'healthy' he gets to be my taste tester. I made this bread for him and he just adored it toasted with cream cheese.

Rustic Whole Wheat Cranberry Bread
1 large boule or 4 smaller rolls

1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1.In stand mixer bowl dissolve honey in warm water. Add yeast and let stand for a few minutes, until foamy then stir in melted butter.

2. Combine all dry ingredients except for 1 cup bread flour, in a separate bowl. Using the dough hook, Gradually add dry mixture to the yeast mixture. Add in the last cup of flour gradually, just enough for the dough to come together and be only slightly sticky.

3. Cover and let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Gently deflate dough and shape into a round ball or smaller rolls. Cover and let rise for another 30-45 minutes until doubled.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F for approximately 30-45 minutes or until instant read thermometer reads 190 degrees F. I like to bake these directly on a pizza stone, but you could use a baking sheet instead.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Braid

This festive braid falls into my favorite category of baking: yeasted and shaped sweet breads. Like a loyal I love the way the dough waits patiently for you in the fridge if you're not ready to use it immediately. You can do things on YOUR schedule



Cranberry Cream Cheese Braid
Makes 2 Braids

Dough
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour (approx.)

Filling
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce***

1. Dough: In large bowl, stir 2 tsp of the sugar with warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, heat milk, remaining sugar, butter and salt until butter is melted; let cool to lukewarm. Stir into yeast mixture along with eggs. Stir in 3 1/4 cups of the flour, about 1 cup at a time, to form shaggy dough. Dough will be soft.

2. Turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding the remaining flour as necessary. Transfer to large greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Filling: While dough is rising, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. The cranberry sauce should be thick, not runny. If yours is too runny place it in a pot on the stove and add flour or cornstarch (1-3 tsp depending on how runny it is) and simmer to thicken. Cool before using.

4. Assembly: When dough has risen, gently punch it down. Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a 15" x 9" rectangle. Place on greased baking sheets. Spread the cream cheese filling lengthwise down center third of each rectangle. Spread the cranberry sauce on top. On each side, cut 1-inch thick strips towards the centre - do not cut through the filling. Starting at one end, "braid" the strips by folding them alternately at an angle across filling. Seal ends. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes. Optional: Brush with heavy cream or egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet.

***I have also seen similar recipes that use blueberries or pineapple. I'm pretty sure any fruit would go well with the cream cheese filling.

Maple Walnut Twists

I am in love with this sour cream sweet dough. It is a little stickier to work with than other doughs but the reward is a tender, moist, fluffy sweet dough for anything from cinnamon buns to these maple walnut twists. This dough also rises really well. Maple is one of my favorite flavors any time of the year but especially during the fall and especially paired with walnuts. I got rave reviews from my co-workers when I brought these twists in. The nice thing is that they look a lot more difficult than they really are. The addition of maple extract to all 3 parts (dough, filling and glaze) really makes these burst with flavor.

Maple Walnut Twists
Makes 1 - 12" Round

Dough
4 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water (110°F-115°F)
1 pkg. active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp maple (or vanilla) extract

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp maple extract

Glaze
2 tbsp butter, melted
1-2 tbsp milk or cream
1/2 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup icing sugar

PROCEDURE

1. Dough: Dissolve 1 tbsp sugar in the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Do not stir. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir briefly with a fork, cover and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the 3 cups of flour, remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, and the salt. Add the slightly firm butter and continue to mix until meal-size crumbs form, about 2 to 4 minutes depending upon the temperature of the butter.
3. Mix together the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add the sour cream mixture to the flour along with the dissolved yeast, and mix on low until a rough dough is formed. Dough will be soft and sticky. You may need to add a little flour to make it handle-able but add as little as possible or else the dough will become tough.
4. Lightly butter a medium bowl. Turn the dough into the prepared bowl, smoothing the top with lightly floured hands. Brush the top lightly with a small amount of softened butter. Cover and let rise for 45-60 minutes at room temperature.
***For later use: cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to use, let it come to room temperature and finish rising.

5. Filling & Assembly: Grease or line a 14-inch pizza pan. Combine all filling ingredients in a small bowl. On a lightly floured surface divide dough into 3 equal portions. Try to use as little flour as possible when rolling and handling dough. Roll one portion into a 12-inch round and transfer to the prepared pizza pan. With your hands, spread 1/3 filling mixture on the dough, all the way to the edge. Roll out the second dough portion and place it on top of the filling on the first. Spread with 1/3 filling then repeat with the last portion of dough and last portion of filling.

6. With kitchen scissors, cut 16 strips around the dough circle starting at the outer edge. Leave about 2 inches in the centre of the dough to keep the whole thing connected. Gently twist each strip 4-5 times and tuck the ends under, pressing gently to keep them from unraveling. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 20-25 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pizza pan on wire rack.

7. Glaze: Combine all glaze ingredients and mix to the consistency of molasses. Drizzle over slightly cooled maple twists. If the twists are too hot the glaze will just melt and run off.

Creamy Caramel Corn

Do you ever have something you want to make or a recipe that you want to try but for some reason you keep putting it off? That's how I felt about making caramel corn. I expected it to be time consuming, messy and to have a burned sugary mess on my hands. None of the above happened and it really couldn't be easier! The hands-on time is minimal, the clean-up was a cinch. The hardest part is waiting for it to bake in the oven.

All you do is pop your corn (I used my air-pop popcorn maker but you could use microwave popcorn or make it the stovetop way. My son had never seen popcorn being popped before. He was so excited as the little kernels rattled and swirled around the air popper then all of a sudden reached their popping temperature and all began exploding into puffy pieces of joy (in the eyes of an almost-3 year old). It was priceless and one of those unexpected yet utterly rewarding mother-child bonding experiences. Working full time means that I only see Zach 2-3 hours/day from Monday to Friday - between when I pick him up from daycare and before he goes bed. I miss the year of maternity leave I had where we got to connect with other parents at mom-baby events and do swimming lessons, spend a day at the park, etc.

Ok, back to the corn. :)
After your corn is popped it takes literally 5 minutes of boiling the caramel on the stove. Then you dump it over your popcorn, stir it, put it in the oven. It's so easy, cheap and so much better than storebought. Looking back now, it seems silly that I ever paid for caramel corn. Let alone the $10 they charge for a medium bag at Kernels Popcorn at the mall.

The best part about making your own is that you can CUSTOMIZE!!! This first batch I made was plain but you can bet that next time I am going to add pecans or honey roasted peanuts. Since I love my sweets I might also opt for a higher caramel to corn ratio, maybe doubling the caramel recipe. Seriously, if you like caramel corn, try this.



Caramel Corn
Makes 5 Quarts | adapted from Paula Deen

1 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light or golden corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
5 quarts popped popcorn (1/2 cup unpopped kernels)
1-2 cups nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Set out 2 large roasting pans (or lasagna pans). Pick through the popcorn to remove any unpopped kernels. Place popcorn and nuts (optional) in a very large bowl.

2. Over medium heat, combine first 4 ingredients and boil for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popped corn and stir to coat well. Divide the popcorn between the 2 roasting pans. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
**Tip**: Leave one pan in the oven while you stir the other so it doesn't cool and harden. Bake for longer if you like crisper popcorn.

3. Remove from oven to cool, breaking the popcorn apart when it is cool. Store airtight.

Fruit Leather

This is my favorite way to use up rapidly ripening fruit or too much fruit. You can use your oven or a special food dehydrator appliance. The best home food dehydrators are made by Nesco. Almost any combination of fruits will work, so be creative! These rolls pictured here are apple-mango. I used 2 gaga apples and 1 mango with a few spoons of sugar to sweeten. Mine were done in 12 hours using a dehydrator.

**TIP**: I find that apples gice the best textured leathers and work especially well when mixed with other runnier fruits such as berries. They are often complement almost any fruit and are a good 'filler' to stretch expensive fruit further without compromising the taste.

When making fruit leather, there is no set recipe. So much of it depends on the specific fruit you are working with, its sweetness and your personal taste preferences. Here are some general tips from www.simplyrecipes.com.

Fruit Leather Master Recipe
yields about one baking sheet

4 cups fresh or canned fruit (peaches, plums, berries, apples, pears, grapes)
Water
Lemon juice
Sugar/Honey (as needed)
Spices (optional)

1. Rinse, peel, remove stems, de-seed and chop the fruit. Taste it to see how sweet it is. If still a little tart, you may need to add some sugar in the next step.

2. Place fruit in a large saucepan. Add a half cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped fruit. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook on a low for 10-15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through. Uncover and stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the fruit in the pan. Taste the fruit and determine what and how much sugar, lemon juice, or spices to add. Add sugar in small amounts to desired sweetness. ***Note: The fruit seems to get sweeter after drying as the flavor becomes concentrated. Add lemon juice one teaspoon at a time to help brighten the flavor of the fruit. Add a pinch or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices if desired.

Continue to simmer and stir until any added sugar is completely dissolved and the fruit purée has thickened, another 5 or 10 minutes (or more).

If you are working with grapes - strain the juice out of the mashed grapes to make grape juice.

3. Puree cooked fruit in a blender/food processor until very smooth. Taste again and adjust sugar/lemon/spices if necessary. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silpat/silicone mat or grease it with a neutral oil (ex. canola oil). Pour out the purée into the baking sheet to about an 1/8-1/4 inch thickness.

4. Place the baking sheet in the oven at 140 degrees F. If you have a convection setting, use it, it will speed up the process and help dry out the purée. Let dry in the oven like this for as long as it takes to form fruit leather (8-12 hours, can do this overnight). If you have a food dehydrator, use it instead of the oven, set at 135-140 degrees F. The fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky, but has a smooth surface.

5. When ready, you can easily peel it off the Silpat mat. To store, cut into 1 inch strips, roll each strip up in waxed paper and tie with a of string. Store airtight. Can be stored in freezer up to 1 month.

Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie

This is my (better late than never) Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Even though we Canadians celebrated this holiday over a week ago, in my world it's never too late for pie! You could alternatively say that i'm EARLY for American Thanksgiving instead LOL.

This silky smooth and creamy pie comes together so easily in a food processor. The 1/3 cup sour cream really helps give the filling great texture. You can easily do a bunch of steps in advance, like baking the crust or making the filling and keeping it in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

***The recipe says it makes one 9" pie but I had so much filling left over that I made a second (shallower) pie! I recommend either halving the filling in this recipe or making extra pastry for tartlets or a smaller pie to use up the extra filling. The recipe below is as it appears in the book.

Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie
Makes 1- 9" pie | Dorie Greenspan

1 9-inch partially baked single crust

2 cups (canned) unsweetened pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dark rum
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for topping

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F.
2.Put all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Rap either the bowl against the counter to burst any surface bubbles, and pour the filling into the partially baked crust.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and continue to bake for 35 to 45 minutes longer or until a knife inserted close to the center comes out clean. (If you don't want to create a slash, tap the pan gently—if the custard doesn't jiggle, or only jiggles a teensy bit in the very center, it's done.) Transfer the pie to a rack and cool to room temperature.
4. Serving: Serve the whipped cream either chilled or at room temperature
Storing: Like most pies, this one is best served the day it is made. However, you can make the pie and keep it refrigerated.

TWD: Banana Nut Biscuits

I deviated quite a bit from the original recipe which was for Sweet Potato Biscuits. I don't really like sweet potatoes unless they're cooked like fries with chipotle mayo or aioli. Mmmm... yum....

Anyways, back to the biscuits. A popular substitution other TWD bloggers used was pumpkin, but I finished my last can of that making pie and I'm a little pumpkin'd out to tell the truth. I was in the middle of raiding my pantry for substitution ideas when my son came up and asked me for a snack: a banana. Ping! A light went off. Mashed banana instead of mashed sweet potato! They're a similar starchy texture with a hint of sweetness just like the potatoes. My bananas were not overripe so the texture was just perfect. Next I threw in some nuts - pecans - because banana-nut is such a great combination. I sprinkled them with sugar to top and baked them to golden brown perfection.

Here is my adapted biscuit recipe. It is probably a bit sweeter than the original biscuits would have been. Check out Prudence Pennywise, our host for this week's TWD for the original recipe.

**TIP Re: Cleanup**
For easy clean-up put newspaper underneath your wire rack to catch crumbs. When you're done, roll up the newspaper and discard - no more crumbs on the counter! Plus, it's like recycling, right?



Banana Nut Biscuits
Makes 12 | adapted from Dorie Greenspan

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup very cold butter
1 cup mashed banana
1/3 cup chopped pecans
heavy cream or sour cream (if needed to reach desired consistency)
sugar for sprinkling tops

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix to combine.
3. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives, until it resembles oat flakes.
4. Using a fork, stir in bananas and pecans. If the dough is too dry or won't come together, add sour cream or heavy cream, 1 tbsp at a time, to desired consistency.
5. Pat into a large rectangle about 3/4" thick and cut into triangles. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin Loaf

This simple quickbread smelled so good in the oven that it was like torture waiting for it to be done and then to cool before digging in. It tasted even better the next day after the spices had a chance to meld together. (And after I slathered it with cream cheese frosting!) Orange and lemon zest in the batter were an awesome complement for all the spices. Moist, tender, delicious, they'd make great muffins too. The only thing this recipe is missing is GINGER! I was surprised to see it wasn't included in the ingredient list but refrained from adding it to give her the benefit of the doubt. While the loaf was still good, it was missing something and next time I will definitely add 1/2 - 1 tsp ginger powder.

The recipe comes from Carole Walter's book on coffee cakes and sticky buns. I have only made 2 of her recipes but several of them sound promising. The book lacks pictures, which is one of its downfalls. I like the book but not ehough to buy it, so I keep borrowing it from the library! There is a good mix of old classics with new creations. I tend to stick to the classics, personally. The book has some errors but they are listed on her website.

Pumpkin Loaf
Carole Walter | 9x5" loaf

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups canned pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup medium chopped, toasted pecans (optional)

1. Position the shelf in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 325°F. Well butter the loaf pan.
2. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and allspice in a medium bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. et aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for two minutes or until lightened in color. Add the brown sugar, taking about 2 minutes, and the granulated sugar taking about 1 minute. Add the orange and lemon zests and beat for one minute longer. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
4. On medium-low drizzle in the oil. Reduce the speed to low and add the pumpkin puree. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add the dry ingredients in two additions and blend for 10-15 seconds just until incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the pecans.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60 - 65 minutes or until the top feels springy to the touch, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.