Butterscotch Cupcakes with Cashew Praline

A few of us friends meet up once every week for a potluck lunch. It's an afternoon I really look forward to... great homemade food, gossip, silly jokes and endless laughter. I am happiest when I have to bring dessert and I so look forward to trying out something new.

I really wanted to make cupcakes this time and ofcourse all I could think of was a chocolate one with a  rich ganache frosting. But I forced myself to go a different route and I'm so glad I did. The recipe is from The Butch Bakery Cookbook and calls for maple syrup, but I decided to use butterscotch sauce instead and it was fabulous. It was my first time tasting the sauce, its heavenly!! The frosting is a simple whipped cream frosting flavored with the same sauce and I topped each cupcake with a piece of cashew praline.

Butterscotch Cupcakes

yields 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

10 tbs (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs, broken into a small bowl

2 tsps vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup butterscotch sauce (recipe below)

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup butterscotch sauce, 

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C. Line muffin pans with liners and keep aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Keep aside.

Beat the butter and brown sugar on medium high speed until well combined.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add half the flour mixture and the milk, beating to combine.

Add the rest of the flour and the butterscotch sauce, and continue to mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Fill the muffin cups, about 3/4th full.

Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, for about 20 minutes or until done. 

Leave the cupcakes in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes and then remove from the pans and cool on the racks completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

Make sure the cream, bowl and beaters are chilled.

Take the cream and butterscotch sauce in a chilled bowl and beat on low to combine and dissolve the sauce in the cream. Raise the speed to medium high and whip until stiff peaks form. 

Frost the cupcakes as desired and top each with a piece of praline. You can also crust the praline into little bits and sprinkle on top of the cupcakes.

Butterscotch Sauce

from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

4 tbs (55 gms) salted butter

1 cup (180 gms) packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (60 ml), plus 6 tbs (90 ml) heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

In a wide saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar and 1/4 cup cream, stirring until smooth.

Without stirring, let the mixture cook at a bubbling simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in he remaining cream. Let cool a bit and stir in the vanilla extract.

The sauce should be served warm. It can be stored in the refrigerator for upto 2 weeks. Reheat the sauce over low heat.

Cashew Praline

from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp light corn syrup

1 tbs water

pinch of salt

1/3 cup cashews, toasted and crushed into small pieces

Method:

Grease a baking sheet and keep aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt over medium high heat and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves.

Continue to cook, without stirring until deep amber. 

Remove from heat and stir in the nuts. Spread evenly on the greased baking sheet.

Let cool completely over a rack. Break into small pieces.

Sacher Torte

Any chocolate cake lover would have probably heard of the famous Sacher Torte. There is a great story behind the cake and the original cake is only sold by the Hotel Sacher. I so wish I get a chance to have it sometime! You'll find several recipes online and in books but the original one is a well kept secret.

I made this for my birthday back in August. It was a major one this year, 30!! Called for a special treat and the Sacher Torte seemed perfect! This one is from the book 'chocolate' by Linda Collister and  it surely took me to Chocolate Heaven!! 

Sacher Torte

Ingredients:

7 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 stick plus 4 tbs butter at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

5 extra large eggs, separated, plus one egg white

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Apricot Glaze:

1/4 cup apricot preserves

1 tsp lemon juice

Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup heavy cream

7 oz bittersweet chocolate

a little melted milk chocolate to pipe (optional)

whipped cream to serve

Method:

Grease and line a 9" spring form pan with parchment paper

Preheat oven to 325F.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and set aside to cool.

Beat the butter until creamy, add half the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the five yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Stir in the cooled chocolate.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the chocolate mixture and fold in gently with a large metal spoon.

Take the six egg whites in a large grease free bowl and beat until stiff peaks form, then beat in the remaining sugar, 1 tbs at a time.

Fold into the chocolate mixture in three batches.

Spoon into the prepared pan and bake till done. Check at 25 -30 minutes.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack, remove the parchment and cool completely.

To make the glaze. put the apricot preserves, lemon juice and 1 tbs water in a small saucepan. Heat gently and bring gently to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and push through a strainer into a bowl. 

Brush the hot glaze over the top and sides of the cake. Let cool on the wire rack.

To make the frosting, put the cream in a small saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Place the chocolate in a bowl and pour in the hot cream. Leave for 2 minutes and then stir until the frosting is smooth and glossy.

Set a plate under the wire rack to catch the drips and then pour the frosting over the cake so it completely covers the top and the sides. Use a spatula if necessary to cover any bare patches. Let set in cool place, but not the refrigerator.

If liked pipe the word 'Sacher' or an 'S' with the melted milk chocolate. 

Serve with some whipped cream on the side. For best results, before each cut, dip the knife in hot water and wipe it dry.

Store the cake in an airtight container in a cool place. Best if eaten within a week.

Curd Rice with Garlic Pepper Roasted Broccoli

Curd Rice is the dish I grew up eating almost everyday and I still haven't had enough. We make it very often, especially in the summers to beat the heat and every time we need something that is totally hassle free. There is really no recipe as such to be followed, just dump all the ingredients in approximate quantities into a bowl and mix well, stir in the tempering and you have a bowl full of a creamy, spicy, and very comforting meal. You can stir in a whole lot of finely chopped or grated vegetables, it looks colorful and its a great way to include raw vegetables into your meal.
I like to have a spicy roasted vegetable on the side and this time Manoj offered to make a broccoli dish. Of late he has started taking an interest in cooking, I honestly don't know whats gotten into him, but I'm happy for the occasional break. It was peppery and garlicky and delicious!

Curd Rice

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups yogurt
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
1 tbs oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp urad dal
2 dry red chilies
pinch of asafoetida/ hing
1 tbs ginger, finely chopped
2 green chilies, finely chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
handful of cilantro, finely chopped

Method:

Mix the rice, yogurt, water and salt together.

Heat the oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add the urad dal, red chilies and and hing. When the urad dal turns a golden brown add the ginger, green chilies and curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds and then pour over the prepared rice and curd mixture. Mix well and stir in the chopped cilantro.

Serve as is or you can even cool it in the fridge. The longer it sits the thicker it gets, so you can add some more yogurt just before serving to make the consistency right.

Garlic Pepper Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients:
2 heads of broccoli, trimmed into florets
1/2 to 1 tsp fresh pepper powder
2 big cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tsps oil
salt to taste.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a pan with foil.

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined.

Put the florets on the lined pan in a single layer and roast in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until done.

Dulce de Leche Cake

A few years back I accidentally bought a can of dulce de leche instead of condensed milk. I didn't even know what it was at the time. When I opened the can and saw the color I was actually confused, only then did I read the label. I tasted it right away and kept tasting it over and over again, it is sinfully delicious!!

I have used it to make a bundt cake a few times, then I saw this cake in the book Sky High and it has been on my mind ever since. Finally made it for a friends birthday last month and it was as expected, heavenly! Dulce de Leche is definitely one of my top flavors currently.

I followed the cake recipe exactly from the book, but made a few changes in the frosting. I increased the dulce de leche and used some gelatin to stabilize the whipped frosting. Definitely made it easier to work with.

Dulce de Leche Cake

Ingredients:
8 eggs
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 2/3 cups cake flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I used only 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
3 tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
Rum Syrup (recipe below)
Dulce de leche cream (recipe below)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F/ 180C. Line the bottoms of three 8" round pans with parchment but do not grease the pans.
In large heatproof bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Gradually whisk in the brown sugar. Set over a pot of boiling water ansd whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture warms to body temperature.
Remove from heat and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer, until the mixture holds slowly dissolving ribbons when the beaters are lifted.
Whisk together the flour and cinnamon. Sift about a third of the flour over the eggs. Gently fold in.
Repeat two more times with remaining flour, folding gently only until mixed with no trace of flour.
Drizzle the melted butter over the batter and fold in gently, taking care not to deflate the batter ot to leave pockets of butter not folded in.
Divide the batter among the three pans.
Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool completely in the pans.
Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan and turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the paper.

To Assemble the Cake:
Place one cake layer, flat side up, on a cake board or plate. Brush the top and sides of the cake layer with about a third of the rum syrup to moisten evenly. Spread a little more than 1 cup of the dulce de leche cream on top evenly. Repeat with the second layer. Top with the third layer and moisten it evenly with the remaining syrup. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the cream and decorate as desired.

Rum Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup rum

Boil the sugar and water over medium heat until the mixture reduces to 1/2 cup. Take of heat and add the rum. Let cool before using.

Dulce de leche cream:
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup dulce de leche
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsps gelatin
3 tbs water

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small bowl and let it soak for 5 minutes. Microwave for a few seconds until transparent. Keep aside until cool.
Chill a large bowl and the beaters. Take the cream, dulce de leche and vanilla extract in the chilled bowl and beat on low speed to combine and dissolve the dulce de leche. Raise the speed to high and whip until it just starts forming stiff peaks. Add the gelatin with the mixer still on and whip until it holds peaks. Frost the cake immediately.