Cinnamon Honey Sticky Buns

You may have noticed that I like to cook; when it comes to most foods, I'm always looking for new versions of my favourites. Why make plain macaroni & cheese when you can make sriracha mac & cheese? Why make a pepperoni pizza when you can make a goat cheese, leek and mushroom pizza? Why make ramen from a package when you could make kimchi egg yolk ramen? I can hardly remember the last time I made the same recipe twice; while I make loads of recipes I adore, I'm always looking for the next delicious thing or the coolest riff on something I already love.

Which is why it really means something when I say that my other grandmother (not Eleanor) makes the best cinnamon rolls. Her cinnamon rolls are so good that when December rolls around and every food magazine is coming up with new twists on the classic (orange-scented with cranberries! Chocolate with caramel sauce! Mincemeat with Marzipan frosting!), I flip straight past. Ever since I learned to cook, I've never made another cinnamon roll recipe; what would be the point?

It took the Recipe Box Project to get me to try a (slightly) new version of cinnamon rolls and no one is more surprised than me that I actually liked them! It shouldn't have been a surprise; the recipe required pre-made crescent rolls and since those aren't available here, I made my own dough according to the legendary recipe I'm attached to. But instead of her filling and glaze, I followed the Recipe Box version and it's amazing.

So in honour of both of my grandmothers, one of whom acquired this recipe and the other who nurtured in me a love for cinnamon rolls and whose birthday is this week, here's a hybrid recipe incorporating the best of both of their recipes. Make these to celebrate your birthday, when you need a breakfast treat, when you have someone to impress, or when you just need a grandmother's hug.

the verdict:

5 spoons out of five. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with a heavily-spiced filling, all nestled in a puddle of honey butter- these are the rolls most breakfasts can only aspire to. These won't replace my slightly different Christmas morning version, but these will absolutely be served at my next brunch and are definitely going into rotation... if I can ever get around to making a recipe more than once!

ONE YEAR AGO: CRAZY CHOCOLATE CAKE
TWO YEARS AGO: CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH DATE FILLING

the recipe:

Cinnamon Honey Sticky Buns

the directions:

Heat milk with butter until both are warm (butter doesn't need to fully melt), then pour into mixing bowl.
Add sugar and salt and stir well.
Add yeast mixture and stir well again.
Add beaten egg and ½ of the flour and beat until dough is soft.
If dough is still very wet and sticky, add additional flour, ½ c (60g) at a time and continue beating JUST until dough comes together and begins to come away from the beaters.
Cover with a towel and put in a warm, non-drafty place to rise.
Let rise til doubled in size (I usually leave this to go overnight so it's ready in the morning, but if you're waiting for it, will take approx. 1 hour).
While dough rises, make sauce: combine all ingredients except pecans in a small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.
Stir in nuts, then spoon 1-2 tbsp into each of 12 muffin cups.
Preheat oven to 190C/375F.
Punch down risen dough then roll each piece into a vaguely rectangular shape approximately 11x15 inches.
Spread dough with softened butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Starting with the long side, roll dough into a log.
Using a sharp knife, slice log into approx. 1 ½ inch rounds.
Place each roll into a prepared muffin cup, then place in a warm spot to rise again for 30-45 minutes until the dough has filled the muffin cups, approximately 45 minutes.
Bake at 190 for 12-15 minutes or until edges are dark gold and middles are pale golden.
Remove from oven and let cool 1 minute in the muffin pan, then turn out quickly and serve immediately while still warm; sauce will be a delicious warm caramel at the bottom of each roll.

the ingredients:
the dough:

¼ c (60ml) milk
½ c (114g) softened butter, divided
¼ c (50g) sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp fast action yeast dissolved in ¼ c (58ml) warm water
1 egg, room temperature and beaten slightly
1 ½-2c (180-240g) flour

the sauce:

2 tbsp honey
¼ c (50g) sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water
¼ c pecans, chopped

the filling:

2 tbsp butter, softened
¼ c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Better Than Sex Cake, or, Piña Colada Pudding Cake

Presented without comment, except to say that a mimeographed copy of a recipe labelled simply 'BETTER THAN SEX' and previously owned by my grandmother is probably the best way to explain my 2018 so far. Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

 

the verdict: 

3 spoons out of five. This cake is really tasty and (these days) unusual, but the whole 'make it the night before, then decorate it right before you serve it' make it a bit of a faff and I can't see myself going through it again. That said, if pineapple and coconut are your thing, this cake is a moist tropical paradise with the texture of a sticky toffee pudding and all the flavour of a beachside cocktail. Make up a different name for it and serve it to your friends, and no one will be the wiser.

ONE YEAR AGO: CRAZY CHOCOLATE CAKE
TWO YEARS AGO: CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH DATE FILLING

The recipe:

Better Than Sex Cake

the directions:

Make cake as directed.
While cake bakes, heat pineapple and sugar to a boil and cook until sugar melts and mixture thickens slightly.
When cake is done baking, poke all over with a wooden skewer.
Once cake is mostly cool, pour pineapple mixture over it and spread evenly.
Allow to cool completely, then spread pudding evenly over cake.
Refrigerate overnight.
Immediately before serving, whip the cream with powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
Spread whipped cream over cake and decorate with toasted coconut.

the ingredients:

1 recipe yellow cake (from ½ of this recipe, or your favourite 8x8 cake)
10 oz (295ml) crushed pineapple with juice
½ c (100g) sugar
2 c (470ml) vanilla pudding (your favourite recipe or, if you're stateside, 1 3.4oz box instant vanilla pudding)
1 ½ c (360ml) whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar
¼ c (20g) desiccated coconut, toasted in the oven until brown

Chocolate Midnight Madness, or, Chocolate Tart with Pecan-Biscuit Crust

Happy Galentine's Day! If there's one thing Eleanor and I have in common, it's that we both adore our lady friends. I was looking for a recipe to celebrate Galentine's Day and everything my friends have meant to me over the years when I found this recipe for Chocolate Midnight Madness. A dessert best served cold so you don't have to faff around with getting it out of the oven at just the right time: check. A deep, grown-up chocolate flavour that's just barely sweet with a crunchy, crumbly, toasted crust: check. A fun, silly name: check. And... the weirdest secret ingredient I never thought would work: check.

This tart contains mayonnaise, my friends. MAYONNAISE. This would be weird enough, but we've discussed ad nauseum my deep, dark hatred for mayonnaise. But what's a woman to do? I had already picked out the recipe, I loved the idea of a chocolate tart, so I went for it. And to my surprise, I was rewarded with the best chocolate tart I've ever made. I mean, mayonnaise is really only eggs, oils, a pinch of salt and a pinch of acid- all ingredients that are included in every cake, but I was still horrified. How was I to justify this? Answer: I didn't. I just made the tart and let it speak for itself. And if you didn't know it was condiment-based, you definitely wouldn't be able to tell.

Fresh out of the oven and still a little puffed before being chilled.

As you can see, the crust is reallllly crumbly

It may not look like much, but this is a dessert worth making for your besties, preferably eaten in the kitchen, directly out of the pie plate with a dozen forks scooping it up after you and your pals come home from a long night of dancing. Whether or not you confess the world's weirdest ingredient? I'll leave that up to you.

The verdict:

5 spoons out of five. This tart is insanely good, super simple, and really impressive, even if tarts usually aren't your thing.

ONE YEAR AGO: CRAZY CHOCOLATE CAKE
TWO YEARS AGO: CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH DATE FILLING

the recipe:

Chocolate Midnight Madness

the directions:

Blitz the biscuits and pecans in the food processor until the mixtur e is fine crumbs.
Pour the crumb/nut mixture into a removable-bottom tart pan or pie plate and spread across the bottom of the plate.
Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and stir to combine, then press crumb mixture to edges and up the sides of the plate.
Set crust aside while you prepare the filling.
Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
Beat cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth, then add sugar gradually.
Beat until well-blended, then add eggs, one at a time.
Add vanilla and blend.
Pour a few spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture into your bowl of melted chocolate and beat with a spoon or whisk until combined (this will keep the mixture from splitting when you combine it).
With mixer on low speed, drizzle chocolate mixture into cream cheese mixture, then continue beating until very smooth.
Bake 30 minutes until edges are set and middle has a slight wobble when nudged.
Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least four hours or up to overnight.
Serve plain or top with whipped cream, and eat it in the middle of the night with your best girlfriends.

the ingredients:

1 c (85g) Rich Tea biscuit crumbs or graham cracker crumbs
¼ c (30g) pecans
¼ c (60g) butter, melted
8 oz (240g) cream cheese
½ c (115g) mayonnaise
½ c (112g) sugar
2 eggs
6 oz (180g) semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla