Previously, I had said that April is the greatest month, and I was right. Now that law school is (almost) officially over, I realize that I have so much to be thankful for: a great education, an amazing job opportunity, and fabulous friends and loved ones. I also wanted to thank everyone who reads this blog, and supports everything I do. Because of that, I've been lucky enough to be mentioned here by Endless Simmer for my Midori Caviar post. Last night was the greatest birthday I've had in a long time, and I'm so glad I got to share it with my favorite people :)
April is a glorious month that brings all good things: amazing concerts (M83, The Black Keys, Florence + the Machine), my birthday, the official end of my last semester of law school, and National Soft Pretzel Month! In honor of this auspicious (??) holiday, I decided to ditch Auntie Anne's and make my own doughy version. I used this recipe from Alton Brown, and as soon as they came out of the oven, I took one (while it was still burning hot) and covered half in Kerrygold butter and dipped the other half in salted caramel sauce. The recipe is incredibly easy, but time-consuming, as long as you have the right tools and space. The result: they didn't last more than 10 minutes.
Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons salted butter (the better quality, the better sauce)
3/4 cup heavy cream (I only had Silk French Vanilla Creamer...so I used it...and it was awesome, but generally I would advise using heavy cream)
a few sprinkles fleur de sel
In a large saucepan, dissolve sugar over low-medium heat until amberish brown in color, while, stirring sugar while it melts by swishing the saucepan around. Once it reaches the copper color, add butter all at once and stir until dissolved. Whisk in heavy cream making sure to whisk the whole time. At this point the mixture will foam up but keep whisking until it becomes a smooth sauce. This can be stored in the fridge for about a week, if it gets too thick just heat it very gently to get it to liquid consistency again.
There are certain occasions which require the perfect cake recipe. And there are certain occasions which require a truly special dessert. Fortunately, this was one of them, and this was both. There is not one person that doesn't like a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and topped with rainbow sprinkles, I seriously die. Not only that, but what's better than a frosting that has no added sugar and no butter (trust me, there's enough in the cake). Not only is this cake a crowd pleaser (a friend said she literally wanted to take a bath in the frosting), but it's also kid tested (by a 2-year old) and mother approved. Because the cake sets so well and the frosting is so thick, you only need one layer of frosting, and don't even need to crumb coat! Pop the cake out of the oven, cool it while making the frosting, hang out for 30 minutes while it cools, then frost, and you're ready to go.
Yields: two-layer 9 inch cake
Ingredients:
4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks butter (softened)
2 cups sugar (I also added a tad bit of brown sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 large eggs (room temperature)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350℉ and butter two 9-inch cake pans. In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until well mixed, the mixture will be pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Slowly beat in buttermilk. Mix in flour mixture alternatively with the milk until incorporated. Pour into cake pans and bake 35 mins (more or less depending on your oven). Remove from oven and cool on rack.
Yields: enough to fill and frost said two-layer 9 inch cake
Ingredients:
16 ounces milk chocolate
2 teaspoons Jameson (or any whiskey)
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups creme fraiche (at room temp)
1/2 cup mascarpone (at room temp)
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Melt chocolate over double boiler with instant coffee powder. Stir in whiskey and mix well. Set aside to cool slightly. Whisk together the creme fraiche and mascarpone along with corn syrup and vanilla until mixed together. Pour in chocolate and mix. Cool about 15 minutes.
