Caramel Syrup

The kids wanted waffles, and I was out of cream, so I couldn't make their favorite Dutch honey topping, so I texted Mom for her caramel syrup recipe. She got back to me quickly, so I was able to whip it up in time.
Note: This foams up a lot! So use a large pot even though it makes about 2 cups of syrup. It almost boiled over in my 4 quart pot.

3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

In a large pot mix all but the vanilla. Bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Boil for 7 minutes. It will foam up.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pretty simple, and delicious!

Chocolate Ganache

It think I might be using this recipe a lot.  So easy, so yummy.  I used about 1/4 of this for the brownie recipe I just posted.  This is taken almost completely word for word from Jamie's website - I took out the witty parts because face it, I'm not witty, at least not when I blog.

12 ounces (2 Cups) semi sweet chocolate chips
12 ounces (1 1/2 Cups) heavy whipping cream
dash salt
1/4 t vanilla 
  
1. Put chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and pour the whipping cream over the top of them. 
2. Stir for a bit and place your bowl in the microwave and heat it up for 30 seconds.
3. Stir the mixture together and place it back in the microwave for another 30 seconds. 
4. Stir the ingredients together again. The chocolate should be melting a bit by this point. Don't be alarmed if it looks a little bit creepy and chunky at this point. Smooth chocolate bliss is in your future.
5. Place the bowl back in the microwave again for 30 seconds then stir. By this point the ingredients should begin to combine nicely and beautifully. Whisk it together until it is nice and smooth.
6. Toss in a dash of salt a little splash of vanilla and stir to combine. 
7. At this point your Ganache will be very thin. It works well in this form as a dip. 
8. As the Ganache cools it will begin to thicken. If you are planning to use it as a glaze over cake, cupcakes or cheesecake you will want to let the Ganache cool so that it resembles the texture of thin pudding. Ganache at this "pudding" like texture is perfect for covering cakes or cheesecakes and letting a portion of the Ganache roll over the side of your dessert. Begin by covering the top of the dessert with a generous helping of Ganache. Then with a spoon, gently push some of the Ganache over the sides of the dessert. It should slowly creep down the sides and most often (if you push it over slowly) it will begin to set up as it drizzles down the sides. This makes for a beautiful presentation. 
9. Left over Ganache stores well in the refrigerator. It will set up and become fudge like. (That's nothing to complain about, now is it!) The Ganache can easily be returned to its glossy, glaze like state by heating it in the microwave for 30 seconds. 

Devil's Food Cake Cockaigne

This is the cake Aaron made for my birthday on Sunday. It is from the Joy of Cooking.
The directions are a bit confusing so hopefully I can write this so you can follow. I'll do the ingredients first (even though that's not how it is in the book). And yes, sugar and buttermilk are listed twice, on purpose.
As for the buttermilk -we just used milk with lemon juice to sour it (1 cup milk to 1 tsp lemon juice). And cake flour can be made by adding 1/4 c. cornstarch to 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour (to make 2 cups)

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened nonalkalized (whatever that means) cocoa
1/2 c. buttermilk or yogurt
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. buttermilk or yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs


Have all ingredients at room temperature. Grease and flour 0ne 9-inch tube pan or 2 9x2 inch round cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together 1 c. sugar, cocoa, 1/2 buttermilk. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl combine 1/2 buttermilk and vanilla.

In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add 1 c sugar, on high speed, until lightened in color and texture. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in cocoa mixture. Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk mixture in 2 parts ( i.e add 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the buttermilk, 1/3 flour, 1/2 buttermilk and then remaining 1/3 flour). Beat on low speed or stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. Scrape the batter into the pan(s) and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes in round pans, 45-55 minutes for the tube pan.
***important. Know your oven. Go the full 55 minutes in a tube pan unless you think it's done. We checked ours at 45 minutes and it fell :( But it still tasted good!***
Let cool in the pan(s) on a rack for 10 minutes. Slide a thin knife around the cake to detach it from the pan(s). Invert the cake. Let cool right side up on the rack.

Aaron glazed it with a Chocolate Ganache, also from the Joy of Cooking. It would have been really rich if we'd had heavy whipping cream. But even using skim milk, it was great! And I don't think he used this much chocolate, probably 1/2 of the recipe.

3/4 c heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Bring cream to a boil in a small sauce pan. Remove from heat and add chocolate, Stir until most of the chocolate is melted. Cover and let rest of 10 minutes. Stir or whisk very gently until completely smooth. Stir in 1 Tbsp liqueur (optional) - we used vanilla. For a pourable glaze, let stand at room temperature stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 85 to 95 degrees. F. For frosting, let stand until spreadable. It can be soften again slowly if necessary.

the frosting

Oh, and this it the frosting I made, although I scaled it back since I wasn't doing a layered cake. Oh, and I accidentally put in too much vanilla, oops! Oh, and make sure it's at room temp, so it mixes well!

Cream Cheese Frosting II
SUBMITTED BY: Janni

INGREDIENTS
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Syrups

I decided to do a few syrup recipes to go along with my waffle recipe. Most of these I got from my MIL.

Maple Syrup
A really simple syrup (1 part water to 2 parts brown sugar) with maple flavoring (Mapleline) is a good cheap substitute for store bought syrup. I mix it in the 1 c. glass measuring cup and put it in the microwave for 1 minute.

Blueberry Syrup
Add fresh or frozen blueberries to the maple recipe - only cook it on the stove in a small pot over medium heat. Boil for a minute. When the berries start to burst it is done.

Orange Syrup
1 c. butter or margarine
1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice
1 c. white sugar
In a small pot mix together all ingredients and boil for about 3 minutes. It's really sweet and yummy!

Dutch Honey ( I haven't actually made this one, but it's yummy- I've had it at in inlaw's!)
1 c. sugar
1 c. karo syrup
1 c. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
Bring to a boil in the microwave on medium and then add vanilla.