Caramel Cheesecake Bars

I know what you're thinking...and yes, we did just have cheesecake bars recently, but these are as different from the lemon cheesecake bars as a dog is from a cat. Both have four legs, fur and can be domesticated to varying extents. But that's where the similarity ends. And so it is with these cheesecake bars.

Like so many good things I make, I found these on Tracey's Culinary Adventures.

And also like so many things I find on Tracey's website, the recipe was in a cookbook I own. For those of you who mastered the lemon cheesecake bars, these will be very familiar. I really like Alice's crust: it's almost a batter you spread in the pan...no fussy crust, no stress.

They're so easy, especially if you have the caramel already made, and although cheesecake isn't a favorite, these were otherworldly due to the salted caramel swirl, in spite of being a tiny bit overdone. Next time, I'll probably use my own caramel recipe (you can find my caramel 101 here) and add flour de del to it.

Caramel Cheesecake Bars - adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy thanks to Tracey
Printer-friendly recipe
Crust
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/2 cup (3.5 oz) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour

Filling
3/4 cup caramel sauce (recipe below)
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (1.75 oz) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 F with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a 13x9 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang so you can lift the bars out after they've baked.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the flour until just incorporated - the mixture will be soft, that's fine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and press into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool completely. Turn the oven down to 325 F.

To make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl in between. Transfer 2 tablespoons of this batter to the 3/4 cup of caramel sauce and stir to incorporate. Pour the remaining cheesecake batter over the cooled crust and spread evenly.

Dollop the caramel sauce mixture over the filling. Use a toothpick to gently marble the caramel, being careful not to scrape the crust while you are doing it. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are puffed and the center is just barely set.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let come to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably 24. Use the parchment sling to lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares with a long sharp knife. The bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Salted Caramel Sauce - adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 teaspoon flour de del or grey sea salt

Add 1 cup of water to a 2-qt saucepan. Gently add the sugar to the center of the pot - it will mound, that's fine. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, uncover the pot and insert a candy thermometer. Continue cooking until the mixture registers 300 F and is just starting to develop some color, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat under the pot to medium and cook until the syrup is amber and registers 350 F on the thermometer, about another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. If it simmers before the syrup is ready, just take it off the heat and set aside.

Remove the caramel from the heat and add about 1/4 of the warm cream to the pot. It will bubble furiously so be careful. Once the bubbling subsides, add the remaining cream. When it stops bubbling, whisk gently to incorporate fully. Add the butter and the salt and whisk to combine.

Set aside 3/4 cup of the salted caramel sauce for the cheesecake bars. The remainder can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Makes about 2 cups

Browniepalooza Day 5 - Sweet and Salty Brownies

Sorry to say, we've reached the last day of Browniepalooza, delayed a bit due to the Blogger outage, but I'm not sad. Nope, not sad at all because I have one of these

Yes, it's the sweet and salty brownie that won my personal tasting. I bought the Baked Explorations cookbook so I could have this recipe, and you should too. In fact, I'm not going to give you the recipe so you'll go out and buy this cookbook. Unless that's not in your budget. In that case, you can find the recipe here.

For all of us who love the sweet and salty flavor profile, these are a revelation. There is a layer of salty caramel, but it mostly melts into the brownie, making it moist, fudgy, sweet, caramelly. Then there is the coarse sugar and fleur de sel sprinkled on the top right after they come out of the oven.

A few observations:

• If your brownie audience isn't in love with sweet and salty desserts, reduce the salt on top to just a light sprinkling, or none at all. The saltiness of the caramel won't be enough to make them wrinkle their noses.
• The recipe counsels not spreading the caramel all the way to the side for fear it will burn. Au contraire. The caramel along the edge of the pan gets a little crispy/chewy and my tasters LOVED that part. Just make sure you line your pan with parchment (and I love that with parchment, there's no need to butter and flour the pan).
• You can make the caramel several days in advance. Keep it in the fridge and let it sit out for an hour or so before using it.
• I use my favorite Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chips to make these. No chopping chocolate and I don't think a premium imported chocolate would add anything.
• After making these several times, I think it's best to sprinkle on the coarse sugar right when they come out of the oven but the fleur de sel after slicing. The knife cuts can cause the salt to bunch up along the edges and that can be a little too much salt for some of us.

I know I can be prone to hyperbole, but these really are the best brownies I've had. Please try them, and give some of the others a chance, too. They are:

Palm Beach Brownies

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Best Cocoa Brownies

Browned Butter Brownies with Walnuts

Browniepalooza was so much fun (really!) that I think I'll do it next year. Maybe you'll join me. I already have my eye on a couple of recipes that I missed on this go round, plus someone is always coming up with a new spin on our old favorite. So many brownies, so worthy, that one week hardly seems enough!

Caramel Crumb Bars

I have long been a fan of caramel. At my old office, the little deli downstairs sold wonderful carmelitas, dangerous indeed on stressful days. I've looked for a comparable recipe but most of them involve unwrapping store-bought caramels. That's a non-starter for me.

So when I saw this recipe on beurrista, I had to make it. This isn't a recipe for carmelitas, but it is delicious nonetheless. I was making another recipe the same day, and I confused the directions and mixed the crust in the food processor. It worked well, and I will do it the same way in the future. The crust was difficult to spread in the pan, so I covered it with plastic wrap and used the rounded handle of my bench scraper to coax it into an even layer. I froze it while preparing the filling, which is basically heating the filling ingredients in a pan. Easy!

Although the recipe doesn't call for chocolate chips, they'd be a perfect addition, as would a sprinkling of flaky sea salt in the caramel filling.

This one is a definite repeat. The bars are delicious, dangerously so, and are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. Give them a try soon!

Caramel Crumb Bars
Adapted from The Modern Baker
Printable recipe
Dough
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour, divided

Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
¼ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (optional)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened, condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x13x2-inch pan with parchment paper.

For the dough:
In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat the butter with the sugar and salt until soft and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vanilla.

On the lowest speed, beat in 2¼ cups of the flour, scraping the bowl and paddle with a rubber spatula and continuing to mix just until the dough is smooth, and the flour has been absorbed.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape ¾ of the dough into the prepared pan. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down evenly, without compressing it too much. Chill the dough-lined pan. Work the remaining ¼ cup flour into the remaining dough with your fingertips, so that it forms 1/8- to 1/4-inch crumbs. Set aside at room temperature.

For the filling:
In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, optional salt and condensed milk to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to boil gently, stirring often, until it starts to thicken and darken slightly, about 10 minutes. Pour into a stainless-steel bowl to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove the dough-lined pan from the refrigerator and scrape the cooled filling onto the dough, using a small offset spatula to spread the filling evenly on the dough. Scatter the crumb mixture on the filling.

Bake until the filling is bubbling gently and is a deep caramel color and the dough and crumb topping are baked through, about 30 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack until lukewarm, 15 to 20 minutes. Lift the slab of baked dough out of the pan and onto the cutting board before it has cooled completely. Cut the slab into 2-inch squares.

Caramel or Fudge-Drenched Vanilla Cakes

Wendy of Pink Stripes chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, rum-drenched vanilla cakes. We don't do alcohol so I had to figure out a way to take out the main flavor component and make this fabulous. The answer to any question, of course, is always chocolate. But I've learned that not everyone likes chocolate (I know, can you believe it?) So I made caramel sauce to go along for those who eschew chocolate.

I've posted my hot fudge and caramel recipes before so I won't go over the preparation for those again (but they're both fabulous, especially the hot fudge). I made these cakes, the hot fudge and caramel before I went to work. And I didn't get up at 3. That's how easy all of the recipes are.

In fact, the preparation was so easy and yummy that I hardly remember any details...and I just made this it week! I bypassed poking holes in the warm cakes and pouring the sauces over them, but I think they would be delicious with the caramel sauce infused into the cake. I'm going to try the recipe like that next time.

If you'd like to see what the other TWD bakers did with this one, you can find links to their posts here. And now for a self indulgent picture of Pearl and Joy:

Pearl (on the left) is 10 months old and Joy is a year old. It doesn't really show in this photo but Joy is dwarfed by Pearl.

TWD - Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

When this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was announced not quite three weeks ago, I could hardly imagine wanting ice cream. It was still cool (for us) at night with below average highs (for us) during the day. Rainy days brought hope for the end of our three year drought, but made me crave hot tea more than ice cream. Fast forward to this past weekend...highs in the mid-70s made ice cream sound appealing again.

Becky of Project Domestication must have had the inside scoop (no pun intended!) on the weather because she had the foresight to select this one. I've loved both of Dorie's ice creams that I've made (incredible vanilla here and amazing chocolate here) but I still had mixed feelings about this recipe. I made the caramel ice cream from Ad Hoc at Home with Nancy and a few other Twitter buddies and it was the Best. Ice. Cream. Ever. I can't believe I didn't blog about it but I'll make it for you soon. Promise.

Keller's recipe used an interesting technique for melting the sugar and caramelizing it, but Dorie's is the more common sugar + water + saucepan + heat = caramel. It was uneventful. (For those of you who are new at making caramel, check out this post for detailed step-by-step instructions.)

This recipe made delicious ice cream, but alas it didn't unthrone the caramel ice cream from Ad Hoc at Home. I think it needed some hot fudge, but I also enjoyed it with chopped pecans (though macadamias or - gasp - salted Marcona almonds would also be great).

If you'd like the recipe, Becky has it for you here. And don't fear caramel...with a little practice you can master it and make this wonderful flavor your own.

TWD - Dulce de Leche Duos

Judging by the number of people who mainline dulce de leche, it's a popular thing. I haven't been successful finding it in the jar at my grocery stores and since it's made by boiling unopened cans of sweetened condensed milk, I was a little scared to make this one. But I found Alton Brown's recipe and made it without boiling any cans and with a minimum of drama. You can read about it here. Just to prove to you that I am a bit strange, I didn't looove it. It was nice, tasty, good, but I'll take homemade caramel any day.

These cookies, selected by Jody of Beansy Loves Cake, were fast, easy and a bit of a sticky mess to make. They call for 3/4 of a cup of dulce de leche plus extra to sandwich them together (hence the "duo" part of their name). Given my ambivalence about dulce de leche, I threw together Dorie's ganache recipe (also found in Baking From My Home to Yours) and filled half of them with ganache (chocolate makes everything better) and half with dulce de leche.

Both were embraced warmly and each had its own fans, but I thought the ganache added a nice counterpoint to the dulce de leche wafers. All in all, this one was good but not a recipe I'll make over and over.

If dulce de leche makes your heart sing, head over to Jodie's as she'll have the recipe.

Dulce de Leche

Dulce de leche is one of those things that inspires rapture when mentioned. It's a sweet milky caramel that is typically made by some manner of boiling an unopened or pierced can of sweetened condensed milk for hours. It has to be watched carefully for if the water evaporates, the can can explode and spray sticky caramel all over your kitchen.

I was dubious about boiling cans for hours and the accompanying risk of disaster. I don't have such a great track record with such things so I spent a few minutes with my buddy Google. Sure enough, Alton Brown has a recipe for dulce de leche, and it doesn't involve cans of exploding sugary milk.

Here's the thing: making your own dulce de leche is easy. You only need four ingredients, and you might have all of them without a trip to the store. It does eliminate the excitement that comes with waiting for your can of sweetened condensed milk to explode but I'm willing to forego that to keep my kitchen clean.

Homemade Dulce de Leche - adapted from Alton Brown
Printable recipe

1 quart whole milk
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the whole milk, sugar and vanilla bean in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat. When the sugar melts and the mixture starts to boil, add the baking soda and lower the heat to low until the mixture is barely simmering. Cook for an hour, stirring occasionally (don't try to incorporate the foam that forms on the top of the milk). Remove the vanilla bean and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup or clean container, cover and refrigerate for up to one month.

TWD - Thumbprints for Us Big Guys

Let's just set the record straight. Of all the things I am, I'm not a big guy. But I still loved these cookies.

I refer to the recipe of the week for Tuesdays with Dorie, Thumbprints for Us Big Guys. Mike of Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude is hosting this week, and I'm so glad he picked this one. I was feeling somewhat worn out from this cake, and couldn't muster the enthusiasm to go to the store for hazelnuts, so I used what I had on hand: almond meal. I also decided that these wanted to be made with salted caramel ganache (adapted from Heavenly Cakes, recipe below), which I made several months ago. This was the first time I used frozen ganache and it won't be the last.

I loved Dorie's tip of using the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes. I usually use my big guy-sized thumb for thumbprint cookies, and I often smash the poor little cookie. Not this time. Just poke the end of the wooden spoon almost to the bottom of the cookie and pull it out. Once the cookies have baked, cool slightly before applying the jam (or ganache).

These were wonderful with the bitter chocolate of the ganache, and the crumbly texture was a little like a sable, but they were a snap to make. They're definitely going in the rotation.

If you'd like the recipe for the cookies, Mike has it here. Here is my adaptation of RLB's caramel ganache.

Salted Caramel Ganache - adapted from Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Printable Recipe
3 ounces fine-quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 ounces fine-quality 70% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, heated
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the chocolate until very fine.

Spray a heatproof 2 cup measuring cup with cooking spray and set aside.

To make the caramel, stir together the sugar and water in a medium heavy saucepan until the sugar is moistened. Heat on medium-high, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is bubbling. Stop stirring and allow the syrup to boil undisturbed until it turns deep amber (370 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant read thermometer.) Remove it from the heat and slowly and carefully stir in the hot cream. It will bubble up furiously.

Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to stir the mixture gently, scraping down to the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to very low heat, continuing to stir gently for 1 minute, or until the mixture is uniform in color and the caramel is fully dissolved. Remove pan from the heat and gently stir in the butter until incorporated. Pour into prepared measuring cup.

With the food processor running, pour the hot caramel sauce onto the grated chocolate. By the time all of the caramel has been added, the chocolate will be melted and the mixture will be smooth and shiny. Add the vanilla and the salt and pulse 2-3 times.

Scrape ganache into a bowl and let stand uncovered for 1 hour then cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for two more hours, until firm enough to spread as a filling and frosting.

Roasted Pecan Cake with Caramel Orange Marmalade and Burnt Orange Buttercream

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick is Roasted Pecan Cake with Caramel Orange Marmalade and Burnt Orange Buttercream. I know you're thinking "good grief, whose idea was it to make such a high maintenance dessert?"

Umm, that would be me.

Unlike the times I've gotten to pick the recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly, I didn't choose something easy and popular like granola or grilled cheese. It's like I was challenging myself to see how few of my fellow SMS bakers would be able to play along with me this week.

I'm going to be straight with you. This cake was a lot of work. I made it over a three day period. You can make it in one day, but if you have a life and only one dishwasher, I suggest you do it over two days.

These are the dishes that couldn't go in the dishwasher. 

I started with the orange marmalade filling. It was super easy, and I tucked the saucepan in the fridge until I had time to continue.

A few days later, I rushed home from work and toasted the pecans and started separating eggs (eggs separate better when they are cold, but whip better when they are at room temperature). I was watching House, and it was hard to focus on the recipe with the doctors throwing out possibilities for the mysterious ailment that was killing their patient.

Once I pulsed the pecans and sugar in the food processor, I melted and browned the butter. I browned it past the point that Melissa tells us to take if off the heat because the flavor is so good when the butter is well browned. Then I strained out all the bitter black solids and added the butter to the pecan and sugar mixture, which I had transferred to a bowl. Toasted pecans and browned butter smells better to me than any substance on earth, and I wanted to eat it out of the bowl. But I resisted.

Next, I whipped a dozen egg whites until soft peaks formed, added some sugar, and whipped to the point where the eggs held stiff peaks. I folded the egg whites in to the pecan mixture and divided it between two prepared cake pans. I followed Melissa's advice and spun the cake pans on the counter to level them off. DON'T DO THIS! It piled the batter up against the sides of the pans, and I didn't catch it, so my layers ended up higher on the sides than in the center.

Once the cake cooled, I made the buttercream. It starts with reducing orange juice until it caramelizes. 3/4 of a cup of orange juice netted about 2 tablespoons of reduced caramelized orange juice, which I don't think was enough to flavor the buttercream. If you make this cake, double the orange juice. The buttercream did break as the book said it would, but it came together. When I tasted it, I wasn't impressed. It tasted just like butter, not like burnt orange.

The broken buttercream, before it came together

Once assembled, I completely forgot to finish the cake with toasted pecans, which would have helped cut the butteriness of the frosting and dominant marmalade flavor.

All in all, this was popular at work, but I was disappointed. It was a lot of work for a cake that didn't live up to the allure of its name. I loved the toasted pecans and browned butter (not a big surprise if you saw these cookies), but I found the orange marmalade too sweet and too marmalade-y. If I make this cake again, I'll fill it with orange curd instead of the marmalade. It would be more work, but a superior cake.

Roasted Pecan Cake with Caramel Orange Marmalade and Burnt Orange Buttercream
Printable Recipe

I made this cake for my friend Brandon's wedding, which was held in Virginia, at the beautiful farm where she grew up. She and I used to ride horses together, and Brandon loved to tell me of the adventures she'd had on her pony Irving back when she was a child--how they'd just take off for hours without a saddle or a plan.

When Brandon asked me to make her wedding cake, I wanted the decoration to capture the farm I imagined in my mind. She had a whimsical horsey cake topper that I embellished with fondant daisies. I decorated the rest of the cake to look like green pastures filled with lots of clover and lots of love. I only wish her pony could have had a slice.

Makes one 9-inch cake

FOR THE CAKE
1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped pecan pieces, toasted and cooled (see Note)
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
12 large egg whites, at room temperature

FOR THE CARAMEL ORANGE MARMALADE
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 cup orange marmalade

FOR THE BURNT ORANGE BUTTERCREAM
3/4 cup fresh orange juice (I suggest doubling the juice, it really cooks down a lot)
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

TO FINISH THE CAKE
1 cup pecan pieces, toasted

BEFORE YOU START

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. butter and flour two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans. Line each pan with a 9-inch round of parchment paper.

TO MAKE THE CAKE

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the pecans with 2/3 cup of the sugar and pulse grind until it is a coarse flour. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the all-purpose flour, an additional 2/3 cup of the sugar, the baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
2. Have ready a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, brown the butter over medium heat. (The butter will melt first, and then the milk solids will settle to the bottom. After a little while, the milk solids will start to turn golden.) When the milk solids have reached a nutty brown color, immediately remove from the heat.
3. Using the fine-meshed strainer, strain the butter into the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Discard the butter solids. Stir in the vanilla.
4. In the very clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the very clean whip attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. In a slow steady stream, with the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 2/3 cup of the sugar and increase the speed back to high. Beat until there are firm--not dry--glossy peaks of meringue.
5. Using a rubber spatula, briskly fold in one-third of the meringue mixture into the batter to lighten it. Add the remaining meringue and gently fold it in until just combined.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Spin the pans to level the batter. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool in the pans for 20 minutes before turning the layers out onto the rack. Cool completely before filling or frosting.

TO MAKE THE MARMALADE

1. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat the sugar with the water until amber in color, like clover honey. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the orange juice to stop the cooking.
2. Add the marmalade and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.

The marmalade may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

TO MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM

1. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, reduce the orange juice until it is syrupy and just starts to caramelize (it turns brown). Watch it closely; don't let it burn! Add a splash of water to the caramel orange syrup to stop the cooking. Set aside to cool.
2. In another small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the 2/3 cup of the sugar and water and cook to 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the 3 tablespoons sugar and beat until there are medium-stiff peaks of meringue.
4. When the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees, decrease the speed of the mixer to medium, and immediately but slowly pour the hot liquid sugar in a steady stream down the side of the bowl and into the meringue. (Or, if the syrup is not yet 240 degrees when the meringue is ready, turn off the mixer until it is. Then turn the mixer to medium and add the syrup.) Beat together until stiff glossy peaks form.
5. With the mixer still on medium, add the butter in pieces to the meringue. The mixture will break, but just keep beating and it will come together beautifully. Add the vanilla and reserved caramel orange syrup and mix to combine.

If using the buttercream immediately, set aside at room temperature. If not, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. If the buttercream has been chilling, let it reach room temperature before beating it in the electric mixer. The buttercream will break, but then it will come together beautifully.

TO COMPLETE THE CAKE

1. See How to Assemble a Layer Cake (below) for instructions on how to fill and frost a split layer cake. You will split each cake layer in half, and spread one-third of the marmalade over each of the interior layers.
2. After frosting the cake, gently press the toasted pecans against the sides of the cake with your fingers.

This cake keeps very well, in a cake saver in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The cake should come to room temperature before serving.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE A LAYER CAKE

Assembling a layer cake seems as though it would be pretty straight forward, but there are a few tips I use so that my results look consistent and professional.

First, the filling:  Before you assemble your cake, be sure that your fillings are at the appropriate temperature. Fruit curds should be cold. Ganache fillings, buttercreams, and frostings should be at room temperature.

Next, the cake:  The layer cake recipes in this book are made up of two separate layers. Before you do anything, use a serrated knife to trim off any excess cake that has domed or risen up, and make your layers as flat and even as possible. Give the scraps to your kids or save them for something like trifle.

FOR SPLIT LAYER CAKES

For fillings that are looser in texture, such as lemon curd, or fillings that taste best in smaller amounts, such as raspberry preserves, you want more layers holding less filling. Therefore, you will need to split each trimmed cake layer in half. This can be done with a long serrated bread knife. If you're good, you can cut the layer without measuring and do so evenly. If you're not sure how good you are, you can use a ruler to measure and toothpicks to mark the center of the layer every 3 inches or so all around. Once you've marked the center all around, lay your knife above the toothpicks and cut through the layer as you turn the cake, always staying on top of the toothpicks and cutting until you have cut the layer completely in half. Don't separate the halves yet. Repeat with your second layer.

While the cakes halves are still together, take a finger full of frosting and mark a vertical smear down the side of the cake, anywhere, from top to bottom, so that later you can line up the layers where they belong.

Slide each of the top layers onto a separate flat plate, or paper plate, and set aside.

Cut four strips of wax or parchment paper about 12 inches long by 3 inches wide. Place the bottom half of a cake layer cut side up on your serving plate. Tuck the wax paper under the edges of your cake on all sides. Later, after frosting the cake, you can pull away the strips to reveal a nice clean serving plate.

Using a metal offset spatula, spread the filling across the top of the layer but leave about 1/2 inch uncovered around the outside edges. (This leaves room for the filling to be squished down but to stay inside the cake.)

Place the matching half of the bottom layer over it cut side down. Spread filling over the trimmed top, leaving a 1/2 inch around the edges uncovered. (You know--squish room.)

Now place the reserved top half of the second layer trimmed side down on the second layer of filling. Spread it with filling, again leaving 1/2 inch around the edges uncovered.

Place the matching half of the second cake cut side down on top of the third layer of filling.

Using your hands, press gently on the center of the top layer to join the layers together. If you have the time, refrigerate the filled layer cake for at least 1 hour. Chilling will make the cake easier to frost.

HOW TO CRUMB COAT AND FROST A LAYER CAKE
You are going to frost your layer cake in two steps. The first step will be a crumb coat, which will keep most of the unsightly crumbs from ruining your finished frosting. To do this, simply apply a light, even layer of frosting on all sides of the cake. (Really, it doesn't matter what it looks like; it will be underneath the final frosting.) Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill for a good 30 minutes.

After the crumb coat has chilled, smooth on your final layer of frosting. It does take a lot of time to get it really smooth and perfect, so I prefer to make the frosting all swirly and peaked--it looks way more delicious this way as well.

If you must travel with your cake, finish it the night before, and refrigerate it overnight. Your layer cake will will be a lot happier on the trip, and have the best odds of getting to the party in one piece.

TO TOAST NUTS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden and you can smell them. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Salted Brown Butter Caramel Pecan Cookies

Yes, I know, it's a long name for a little cookie. But honestly, if I didn't put all of their charms on their calling card, you might just move on without a second glance. Let's pause to contemplate the total package.

Browned butter--nutty, rich, and nuanced;
Caramel--just a tease of caramel flavor from the hot browned butter cooking the dark brown sugar;
Pecan--plump, oven toasted pecans, crunchy and fragrant;
Salt--the perfect older sibling of ingredients, it flatters other flavors without stealing the show.

These cookies are the result of seeing a few of my Twitter buddies tweeting about trying the Cook's Illustrated chocolate chip cookie recipe. I baked along, but thought the chocolate eclipsed a cookie dough that deserved to be the star. So I tweaked the recipe and made it without chocolate, and doubled up on the nuts. I thought about adding some coconut but didn't have any in the pantry.

These are my perfect cookies. I'm in love. I've eaten about five of them. I wish I had more but I gave them all away. I sent some to my Secret Bakee this month. I hope she likes them.

Salted Brown Butter Caramel Pecan Cookies - makes about 4 dozen 2" cookies

Printable recipe

2 cups (7 ounces) pecans
1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (7 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces/100 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces/150 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans out on a large cookie sheet or sheet pan and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Once pecans have cooled, coarsely chop and set aside.

2.  Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Heat 10 tablespoons/142 grams butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma and the milk solids are very brown, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large, deep heatproof bowl. Immediately stir remaining 4 tablespoons/58 grams butter into hot butter until completely melted.

4. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in pecans and give dough a final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

5. Portion out dough: 1 tablespoon will give you 2" cookies and 2 tablespoons of dough yields 3-3 1/2" cookies. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

6. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 9 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

TWD - Bittersweet Chocolate Minis with Salted Caramel Ganache

I was all prepared to write a whiny, negative post about how disappointed I was with this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. This after steering some of my fellow TWDers astray by complaining on Twitter that it was boring, dry, blah, blah, blah.

But you know what happened? My coworkers took me to task for dissing these cute little cakes. They loved them, LOVED them, and they questioned the fine tuning of my palate because I didn't like them, too. I guess I was wrong.

It all started with the name: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes with Chocolate Glaze. I took exception to the milk chocolate (not a fan) mini bundt (don't own the pan) and glaze (I glaze about as well as I pipe--terribly). I was prepared to love this with a few changes. I substituted bittersweet chocolate for the milk chocolate and baked them in mini brioche molds. I decided to replace the problematic chocolate glaze with caramel ganache from Rose Levy Berenbaum's Heavenly Cakes, to which I added fleur de sel.

This was so much better than I thought it would be. That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement, but I feel good about this one. My coworkers, a discriminating bunch, loved it. They gave it a chance after I dismissed it, and in that I learned a valuable lesson: taste is subjective, and it's a judgment each person makes independently.

Many thanks to Kristin of I'm Right About Everything for picking this recipe for us. I never would have made this one otherwise, and that would have been my loss.

TWD's 2nd Birthday - Tarte Tatin

Two years ago, when Laurie at slush got Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan for Christmas, she put out a message on her blog. She planned to make one recipe from the book each week, and invited others to join her. Tuesdays with Dorie was born, and hundreds of us have glommed on to her idea and aspiration.

Two years ago, I really didn't know what a blog was (no, I hadn't been living under a rock). I found Tuesdays with Dorie six months later, and wished I could participate, but not only did I not have a blog, but I was about to be without a kitchen. That's when Laurie threw down the gauntlet...join by Oct. 31 2008 or forever be on the outside looking in.

Kitchen or no, blog or no, I knew I couldn't let TWD escape me. I set up my blog and joined. Two weeks later, my kitchen was demoed. Two months later, my dream kitchen was finished and I rejoined my online buddies in making recipes from the quintessential book for the discerning home baker. I never dreamed that blogging would merge my old love of writing with my perpetual love of baking and sharing.

As Laurie is nothing if not inclusive, she queried the group about which recipe should be chosen for the two year anniversary (Dorie herself chose the first anniversary recipe). Laurie ultimately picked two recipes for our second anniversary.

Now, if I could still fit into my favorite jeans, I would probably have made both of these recipes, but I chose the Tarte Tatin. After all, Dorie and I share a love of Paris and its food, and it's a dessert I've never made. For me,TWD has been all about trying new things and honing my craft and it just seemed right. Many of my fellow TWDers are making the Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake, and some are even making both.

This dessert is (please don't throw things in my direction) pretty easy, unless you're forgetful like I am. It requires you to make caramel in a cast iron pan, layer apples and then top with puff pastry. I rolled out the puff pastry with the paper still on one side, and it was extremely hard to peel off after I set it on top of the tart. After baking, you face the most difficult step--flipping the tarte tatin onto a serving platter. Even that is manageable with your third hand. What, no third hand? No worries. You're certainly a neater flipper than I am. Seriously, this requires one pan and a knife to peel and cut the apples. The results are a spectacular, unctuously gooey caramel apple experience that will earn you many fans. Even over-caramelized like mine, the apples are the star. If you make this, think about sprinkling a little Vietnamese cinnamon on the apples before putting the puff pastry on. If you'd like the recipe, you'll find it here. Even better, buy the book and discover your baking muse.

Thank you, Laurie, for all you do for us. And especially for inviting us on this journey.

TWD - Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

People, did you notice it's November already? I'm shocked. I'm also SOOOO behind on everything, and not just in the blog part of my life. Which is why I haven't been by to visit you recently. Sorry about that!

See, we got home from our family vacation late Monday night (a week ago!), and the delicious feeling of posts in the queue evaporated on Tuesday. The feeling of MUST POST NOW started overtaking the feeling of MUST HAVE CLEAN LAUNDRY NOW, and the two struggled until I found myself two days later with clean laundry hanging all over the house and three unfinished recipes littering the kitchen.

One of these three recipes was last week's chocolate caramel chestnut cake, chosen for us by Katya of Second Dinner. I had initially resisted this recipe as it was "due" the day after we got back from vacation, but when Laurie gave us the flexibility to mix up the recipes this week, I reconsidered making it. When I found the chestnut puree and chestnuts in Paris (at Monoprix, a combo department/drug/grocery store) for a fraction of what they would have cost me at home, the bargain factor kicked in and I resolved to make this when I returned home.

While in Paris, I picked up a nasty respiratory infection that I am still battling, and that made it harder to settle back into a routine once we got home. Still, I made the cake part of the cake and froze it for a few days until I had an event suitable for such a classy dessert.

The event? A silent auction for our P.E.O. chapter. I bought gold luster dust and brushed it on the chestnuts for the decoration on top of the cake. Since I assembled the cake at 4:30 AM on the day of the auction, I forgot to use both the syrup (which I made with water instead of brandy) and chopped chestnuts between the layers. The finished cake wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be, but the gold chestnuts gave it polish.

The cake was delicious with the ganache and the glaze (I made myself a scrap taste using cuttings from what I cut off the domed top layer), but I would have liked more chocolate flavor (I'm not a milk chocolate fan). I intend to make the caramel ganache again with bittersweet chocolate and salt, since what's not to love about salted caramel ganache?

Thanks, Katya for choosing a cake I never would have undertaken on my own. It wasn't so difficult and the flavors were interesting together. If you'd like the recipe, buy the book (Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan) or stop by Katya's as she has it posted.

TWD - Chocolate - Crunched Caramel Tart

This one will be short and sweet. Carla of Chocolate Moosey chose Dorie's Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick. Chocolate, caramel, honey roasted peanuts, what's not to love?

This tart is easy to put together and is as impressive as it is delicious.

Thanks, Carla, we really enjoyed your pick.

Hitting the Sauce

Cathy, this one's for you.

OK, let's get started. Start with a cup of sugar (or two cups or 3/4 of a cup, or ten cups). Totally up to you how much you want to make. Smaller quantities burn easily, so don't take it below 1/2 cup of sugar.

This is your tool of choice

Heat the cup of sugar in a medium saucepan (I used a small one, here, but as you will see later, that makes it a little exciting). If you're going with ten cups, size up on the pan. Before you begin, have an equal amount of heavy cream near the stove.

Melting oh-so-slightly around the edges

Can you tell what I'm making?

Use medium-low heat at first, and as the sugar starts melting around the edges, stir it up. You don't need to stir constantly at first, but definitely don't leave the kitchen. After all, you're cooking sugar. It demands respect.

The sugar will get chunky, then melt into a light caramel chunky liquid. Oops, I said "caramel," ruining the surprise.

Stir more frequently as the melting is progressing (which will happen quickly depending on how hot your stove is).

The chunks will melt away. Keep stirring, and wait until the sugar gets deep brown.

It may foam on the surface, but use your stirring to peek into the caramel to determine its color.

Once it's deep brown, remove the pan from the heat and CAREFULLY pour in the whipping cream.

The mixture will fiercely bubble up and may seize.

This boiled up dangerously close to the top of the (too small) pan, so I put the camera down to make sure I didn't need to grab the fire extinguisher.

No worries! Return it to the heat, and stir (with your fork or with a heat proof spatula) until the caramel is completely smooth.

Pour into a heatproof container (like a measuring cup or this milk bottle). Cool on the counter for a bit before refrigerating.

That's it, you've made caramel! It's an aggressive, bitter caramel, so if you like a mellower caramel, don't take the sugar to the edge of burning like I do. When you're trying it for the first time, don't worry if you don't let it get brown enough. With time, your sugar confidence will grow and you'll learn how to take it to the edge to get that wonderful bitter flavor. This is an easy recipe, and doesn't require brushing the sides of the pan with water as sugar crystals don't form. The possibilities are endless, but we love it on vanilla ice cream. It's equally good served with cheesecake, profiteroles, or if put in a squeeze bottle, you can use it to decorate dessert plates (not that I do that).

And clean up? A breeze. Let your screaming hot pan cool off, then let it sit with water in it for a bit. The caramel melts away and the pan is easily cleaned with no sticky mess.

TWD - Caramel Swirl and Coconut Macadamia Ice Creams

Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, vanilla ice cream. When the recipes were announced, I thought the bookends of the month, the first and last recipes, were a natural together. I planned to make the Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies and serve them with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Then peer pressure took over.

I started thinking, what will my fellow TWD-ers do with this recipe? It's practically a blank canvas, and Dorie's playing around suggestions encourage us to take off in many directions, including mix ins and swirl ins. I could have done one of those, but I had to do something different so that maybe you would stop here and go "Wow! Look what Leslie did with this! I never thought of making it with sriracha."

OK, maybe not that different. So I decided to make my caramel sauce (recipe to come), which is ridiculously easy, and swirl it in after the ice cream chilled some.

I made this ice cream on the same day I made the brownies. The high that day was 102, we don't have air conditioning, and I appreciated this one didn't require turning the oven on.

Until I decided toasted macadamias and toasted coconut would be perfect compliments to the rich vanilla base. The oven went back on.

The custard base was super simple. The star players were heavy cream and whole milk with a vanilla bean (its vanilla caviar, as Gail Gand would say, stripped out and added to the mixture). Egg yolks added richness and stabilized the mixture; the custard was cooked until it thickened slightly. Once cooled, the custard is churned in an ice cream maker.

As I poured the churned mixture, still soft and bursting with flecks of vanilla, into two separate containers, I put aside the dasher to taste once the ice cream was safely in the freezer.

Oh. My. I wanted to climb in the freezer and be with it, it was that good. Better, yes indeed, than the Bouchon vanilla ice cream I made a few years ago. So good, I didn't want to serve it with the brownies. Or add anything that would take away from its pure vanilla flavor. But I did.

The caramel was swirled in after the ice cream froze for a half hour. I may have been a little heavy handed with the caramel, but I knew the vanilla base could stand up to the aggressive bite of the bitter caramel sauce.

Then I chopped the toasted macadamias and added them and the toasted coconut to the other half of the base. Mix lightly and back in the freezer for both flavors.

Then wait. Waiting is hard.

Sneak a bite...

After tasting the caramel swirl, I knew the coconut macadamia could never live up to it. The caramel was rich and almost bitter from being taken practically to the edge of burning before the cream was added. No namby pamby sweet caramel for me. It lends a complexity that the vanilla plays up without competing with it. This ice cream is some of the best I have ever eaten.

Sneak a bite of the other flavor...

Impossible. The saltiness of the macadamias (which I accidentally left in the oven a bit too long, until they were brown) and the sweet toasted coconut with the rich vanilla backdrop made a flavor as subtle and complex as the caramel was in-your-face.

Not to overstate it, but this recipe blew me away. As written, it's the very best vanilla ice cream you could ever hope to eat or make. But when you let your imagination carry you away, it's transformed from the star to a supporting role. Your flavors can shine because the foundation is solid.

I never thought I could make great ice cream, but Dorie has taught me I can make a lot of great things. All it takes is the right teacher, and letting your mind wander until you find the flavors that speak to you.

If you'd like the recipe, check out Lynne's blog. Or better yet, buy the book. We're cooking from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. It's filled with amazing, fun and even some challenging recipes that will increase your baking repertoire.