Just a Hunk, a Hunk of Burnin' Cake - Old Fashioned Burnt Sugar Cake

So I am finally blogging about the Burnt Sugar Cake recipe that I got from my Grandmother.  I promised a while back that I would get to this and I would hate to disappoint anyone who has been waiting breathlessly for it.  :)

Honestly, I should have blogged about it sooner cause this cake is positively delicious!  Though, how could it not be?  It's basically a Caramel cake with Caramel 7 minute frosting schmeared all over it.  If you love Caramel, you will LOVE this....  Thanks Grandma!!!!!

Burnt Sugar Cake

Burnt Sugar Syrup

1/2 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup (2 oz) (60ml) Water

Burnt Sugar Cake
3 cups (11.3 oz) (320g) sifted Cake Flour (sift before measuring, if your using weight don't worry bout it)
1 TB Baking Powder
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 cup (8 TB) (4 oz) (114g) Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups (10.6 oz) (300g) Granulated Sugar
3 large Eggs, separated
1 cup (8 oz) (237ml) Water, room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 of the Burnt Sugar Syrup

Burnt Sugar 7 Minute Frosting

3/4 Cup plus 2 TB (6.1 oz) (175g) Granulated Sugar; Divided
1 TB light corn syrup
2 TB water
3 Large Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tarter
The remaining Burnt Sugar Syrup

First you have to make the syrup and let it cool.  So, place 1/2 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and place over medium flame.

Once the sugar has melted and become dark brown, remove the pan from the flame and add the water

and continue stirring until all the lumps have dissolved.

You well end up with about 6 TB of syrup.

Set this aside to cool while you begin constructing the cake.

Grease the bottom ONLY, of 2 9-inch (23 cm) pans, then line with parchment or waxed paper, then grease and flour the paper....  and preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) (GM 4) Degrees

Once you have sifted and measured the flour....

Add Baking Powder and Kosher Salt, then sift at least 3 more times to mix the ingredients together.

Set this aside for now and separate the eggs, setting the whites aside for a little later.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter until light.

Add the Sugar and continue beating until fluffy.

Add the Egg Yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition so the emulsion doesn't "break".

Add the Vanilla and 1/2 of the Burnt Sugar Syrup.

Now begin adding the Flour mixture, alternating with the Water, beginning and ending with the Water. (Basically, 1/4 cup Water, 1 cup Flour, 1/4 cup Water, 1 cup Flour, 1/4 cup water, 1 cup Flour, 1/4 cup Water)

Continue beating, after adding the last of the Water, for an additional minute or two until a nice smooth batter is formed.

In a clean bowl, beat the Egg Whites until firm peaks.

Fold the beaten Egg Whites into the batter.

Divide the batter between the 2 pans.

Bake the Cakes for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean (careful not to over bake or the cake will be REALLY dry due to the egg whites)

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before running a spatula around the edge and turning the cakes out onto a rack to finish cooling. (don't forget to remove the paper)

While the cakes are cooling you can make the Burnt Sugar 7 Minute Frosting.

In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup (150 g) Sugar, Corn Syrup and Water and boil over low heat.

Bring to a boil and cook until they syrup reaches 232 F (112 C) Degrees.

Meanwhile, in a grease free bowl, begin whisking or beating the Egg Whites with the Cream of Tarter until soft peaks form; then sprinkle in the remaining 2 TB (25 g) Sugar while continuing to beat until firm peaks form (this take about 3 minutes).

Remove the syrup from the flame and slowly pour it into the meringue, in a steady stream while continuing to beat the meringue on medium speed; being careful not to hit the whisk or beater with the syrup cause it will fling little shards of sugar into your frosting.

Once the syrup is completely added (do not scrape the pan) go ahead and add the remaining Burnt sugar syrup too.

Continue beating until the meringue cools down; somewhere between 5 - 10 minutes (7 Minutes on average).

OK, Now let's finally get this cake put together......

Apply 3/4 cup of the 7 minute frosting to one of the cake rounds then, of course, lay the other on top.

Schmear the remaining Burnt Sugar Marshmallowy goodness ALL over the cake....

Top with a few Pecans if you like, but they aren't really necessary. (For some reason, this cake screams pecans to me)

Then the best part... Cut into this puppy and have a BIG ol' Slice.

MMMMMMM  surprisingly "buttery" with a strong caramel flavor all wrapped in caramel marshmallow deliciousness.  Heaven!   Is it possible to swim in a cake?

Mangia!!
~~

Leapin' Lepeshki - lep-YOSH-key

Since I have been on a scone kick lately, I thought it might be nice to travel to mainland Europe and touch on something rather scone-like.  After all, the English haven't completely cornered the market on tea time treats.

Meet the Lepeshki (lep-YOSH-key) of Eastern Europe.  A delicious Rye Flour based scone/cookie containing Sour Cream instead of the Cream and Butter of the English Scone.  The Sour cream is not merely an affectation of the region.  Just as with Rye Bread, the Sour Cream provides the necessary acid in the dough to prevent the Amylase from breaking down the starches in the Rye, thus allowing for a better rise.  There is a little bonus acidity provided by the honey that is used in the sweetening of these delectable pastries as well.

So in a nutshell, this is a rich whole grain (though there is some AP flour too) "scone" that has been lightly sweetened with Honey and delicately flavored with Almonds.  Yeah, delicious with Tea... or Coffee... or Milk... or Water....  hmmmm  or with a second Lepeshki.  LOL

Lepeshki

2 cups (8 oz) (235g) Dark Rye Flour
1 1/2 cups (6.7 oz) (190g) AP Flour; plus a little more for rolling
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 TB Baking Powder
1/4 cup (.8 oz) (25g) Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda 
1/2 (4 oz) (112g) cup Honey
3/4 cup (3 oz) (90g) Sour Cream
1 1/2 TB Whole Milk
3/4 tsp Almond Extract 
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 large Eggs; 1 TB of the white removed
1 oz sliced Almond

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)(GM 6).
Whisk Rye Flour, AP Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Sugar and Baking Soda together in a medium bowl, making a well in the center.

In a separate small bowl combine Honey, Sour Cream, Milk and Extracts.

Crack eggs into a tiny bowl, separating 1 TB of white from 1 of the eggs into a separate bowl.

Beat eggs briefly with a fork and add to the Sour Cream mixture.

Pour this Egg/Sour Cream mixture into the well you have made in the flour.

Mix together with a fork or your finger, in a circular motion slowly incorporating more of the liquid as you mix until you have formed a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.

Using a round cutter, make 2 1/2 inch to 3 inch rounds and place on a parchment lined sheet pan.

With a dry pastry brush, remove any excess flour from the tops of the lepeshki.

Whisk the reserved egg white slightly to break it up a little.

Brush with reserved egg white onto the top of each round,

then lay sliced almond across the top.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes; they will still be very light in color, but you do not want to over toast the almonds on top.

Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Try and wait until they are cooled before serving...  I usually can't wait that long.  :)

Mangia!!
~~