Hey guys! I hope you are all a few pounds heavier and happier after Thanksgiving- I know I am!
Annnnd we’re onto Christmas, amirite? Actually if I’m being honest, I’ve had my tree up for several weeks already, and there were presents wrapped long before Thanksgiving. I love Christmas and the holiday season all together, so I’m all for early celebrations!
This cake is so interesting to me, and it feels very wintery and Christmasy to me also- maybe because of the generous dusting of powdered sugar on top. It’s packs a strong almond flavor, and it’s kind of an interesting take on a coffee cake.
First, you want to partially bake your cake so that it holds up with the meringue on top, and so that it will be finished cooking when the meringue is nice and toasty. Then, you spread a soft-peak-whipped meringue on top, and sprinkle sliced almonds all over. When you bake it, it will get all puffy and lightly toasty. Then, when it cools, the meringue settles down, and becomes a thin, crispy, sugary layer of goodness sitting atop a pretty cake.
I’m into it tbh, it’s super easy, and really unique! I first heard about this as something called a Swedish Visiting Cake. I don’t know too many of the details about it, or what it’s supposed to be, but this seems fairly similar to the original concept!
So anyways, I think let’s make this cake for visitors, let’s make it for breakfast, and let’s make it for desserts when company comes over for a cup of coffee. It’s winter, it’s holiday time, so I’ll just be over here baking, and I know you will be too!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease a tall 8 inch cake pan or spring form pan. If using a cake pan, insert a piece of parchment paper with flags up to help remove the cake. NOTE: IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU USE A TALL PAN HERE! The meringue will puff, so you need the room!
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, and sour cream and beat until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat until smooth. The batter will be thick.
Spread evenly into your prepared pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cake is puffed up and slightly golden.
While the cake is baking, beat your egg whites until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar, and beat until you have stiff peaks. Very slowly, add in the sugar while beating. Then, beat in the salt and almond extract. You should have a glossy, medium/soft peak meringue.
Remove the cake from the oven, and carefully spread the meringue evenly over the top. Sprinkle with almonds. Return to the oven for an additional 30 minutes. The meringue will be puffy and lightly toasted. Cool completely, and dust with powdered sugar through a mesh sifter. Enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hey everyone! Thanksgiving is already upon us, what the heck happen??
Thanksgiving is really the start of the holiday season for us, so we’ve already got Christmas decorations up and shining in our house. I know, I know, it’s too early. But it’s not too early, you guys are all wrong!
BUT, we’re still in pumpkin season, so that’s really the important thing to take away from this. I think many of us skip lunch on Thanksgiving, but it’s nice to have a little something for breakfast on the big day, especially if you’ve got company around.
Enter Maple Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. You guys. It’s the perfect combination of flavors, seriously. A sweet yeast bread, filled with pumpkin and all the spices, and then rolled up with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Top it with the flippin’ best maple cream cheese icing and seriously, it’s a winner.
So when I first started making yeast breads, I kind of thought of it as a huge, all day affair type of thing. It takes so long to rise, and shape, and rise again, I always thought it would take me forever. But when you’re baking at altitude, it really doesn’t always take that long.
In fact, because dough rises a bit faster here, I often can get through an entire recipe (like this one) in about 2 hours start to finish. That’s pretty crazy, and with all the downsides to learning how to bake at high-altitude, this just isn’t one of them!
This is a fairly small batch when it comes to homemade cinnamon rolls- normally you get a batch of somewhere between 12-18. But these make an easy 8 rolls, and I love this smaller-batch form. Hey, I can’t even go through 18 cinnamon rolls, and believe me I’ve come close.
So seriously you guys, if you’re looking for something festive, these are perfect to throw together the evening before Thanksgiving, or maybe just on Tuesday night for snacks throughout the week off!
In a small bowl, stir together the milk, melted butter, pumpkin puree, and sugar. The mixture will be thick. Microwave until the mixture is warm (about 110 degrees on an instant read thermometer). Stir in the active dry yeast, and set aside to bloom.
In a large bowl, stir together the egg and the vanilla extract. Once the yeast mixture has bloomed, it should look a little puffy near the yeast granules, stir the yeast mixture into the egg and vanilla until incorporated.
Add in the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and 3 cups of flour. Stir together with a sturdy spatula or a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently start to knead. You will likely need to add a bit more flour while kneading. You are looking for the dough to still be slightly tacky and soft, but strong enough to hold in a ball shape. It should only take about 5 minutes of kneading in additional flour.
Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic for the first rise. You want the dough to grow by just under double in size, as you can see from the photos above. For me, this only takes about 20-30 minutes.
Return the dough to your floured surface, and begin to pat out into a rectangle. Then use a rolling pin to roll the dough to a rectangle about 10x16 inches. It doesn't need to be exact.
Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough, all the way to the edges. It will be a very thin layer of butter. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon, and then evenly sprinkle the mixture over the butter, again all the way to the edges. With your rolling pin, gentle press the mixture into the dough. Starting on the longer edge, roll your dough into a spiraled log.
Cut of the edges of the dough, and then cut the dough into 8 even rolls. I use a very sharp knife and a sawing motion here, cutting the dough in half, and then each of those pieces in half, and repeating again to reach 8 total.
Lightly grease an 8 inch cake pan with cooking spray, and place the rolls evenly into the pan. Cover with plastic for the second rise. Preheat your oven to 375 while the dough rises.
For the second rise, the dough will only get slightly puffed. For me, this takes about 15 minutes, or about as long as it takes for my oven to preheat. Then, remove the plastic and bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes, until just slightly golden on top.
In a small bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, maple extract, salt, and 1/2 tbs. of milk until smooth. Add more milk if needed to reach your desired consistency, though I like to keep my icing a bit thick.
Frost the rolls in the pan while still hot, and serve warm. Enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hey everyone!!
Happy holiday season, amirite? There’s a lot of (obvious) reasons why I love the winter and the holiday season, but here’s what I’m happy for today- I’m over here eating baked goods at an alarming rate all dang year, and now it’s time for everyone else to join in!
I hear there are a lot of people who aren’t into Christmas celebrating this early, but man, I’m into it. I feel like once I grew up and started taking on a lot of the work that goes into making Christmas wonderful for the people around me, I realized it’s a lot of work to only enjoy for a few weeks. So I’m gonna enjoy that as loooong as possible!
Alright anyways, we’re here to bake, right? And you guys love pumpkin bread, obviously, right? Right. So this is actually a variation on one of my older recipes on the blog for a pumpkin bundt cake, but sometimes you don’t need an entire cake. Sometimes just a loaf will do.
When you sprinkle sliced almonds over the top, they all roasty-toasty in the oven, and that added crunch on top of a slice of pumpkin bread is just right. Plus it’s super easy- we aren’t making a whole crumb topping (yet) or anything like that, just tossing some sliced almonds over the top, and bakin’ her up.
So you know all the good things about pumpkin bread guys- it’s spicy and tastes like the fall and winter, and it’s got this deep orange color that just makes me happy, and it’s got just the right texture to make everyone enjoy every last crumb. ENJOY IT GUYS- tis the season!
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and grease a 9 inch loaf pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, brown sugar, and oil until combined. Add in the eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Slowly add in the flour mixture in alternating additions with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until the batter is smooth. It will be fairly thin.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, slice, and enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hey guys! Happy first snow if you’re here in Denver! Actually it might have already done a light snow a few days ago, but this is the first like. Snowy day so. HAPPY FIRST SNOW!
I know I like JUST posted another crumb cake recipe, but since it’s all cold out, it just feels right to do this. Let’s break it down.
So traditional crumb cake is vanilla cake topped with a brown sugar and cinnamon crumb. This is just a simple twist- I’m adding spices to the cake portion to make for a warm, spicy, very fall tasting cake. We’re still topping it off with big crumbs stuffed with cinnamon and sugar, and when you bring them together you get something that is just too perfect for a day like today.
I baked mine in a braiser-style dutch oven. You can make yours in one those too, or in a traditional 6 quart dutch oven. Or in cast-iron skillet, though I’ve done it that way. I think it would work well though!
I’ve been poking around the interwebs looking for the origin of crumb cake, and it seems to be originally German. Traditionally it was made with a yeast dough, instead of a cake batter base, so that might be something I dive into on a day where I’m feeling adventurous.
I’m so excited for winter. I really love winter here in Colorado, so this first snow is legit making me smile. It’s the holiday seeeaaasssonnn guys! I may or may not already be doing some Christmas shopping and planning. I’m aware it’s October haha. It just feels like the holidays are so fleeting, and I really like to stretch em out as much as possible. Oops.
And anyways, it’s not as though I bake any less any other time of the year, but fall and winter are like. THE baking seasons. Everyone wants to make baked goods, everyone wants to eat baked goods, everyone wants their homes to smell like baked goods.
So here we are. This will make your house smell bonkers delicious, plus then you get to freakin eat it guys!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease your dutch oven. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Add in the flour mixture and buttermilk alternating in several additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. The batter will be thick. Spread evenly in your prepared pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients with a fork. Mash together as needed to get the butter evenly distributed, and to create large crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hi everyone!
I’m a bit behind on my blogging schedule, mainly because I’ve had some exciting things happen in the last couple of months! First- I finished all the content for my upcoming book and turned everything into my publisher. Super exciting/terrifying to have sent it all off! I’m also really excited to share these pretty promo cards they made for Sugar High:
Second bit of a news is a fun one. I’m so excited to say that my husband and I are expecting our first child! I’ve nicknamed the little lime-sized baby “Muffin” for now. Life is wild.
Onto this pretty pound cake! Since the holiday season is officially upon us, it’s time to think about sweet treats that travel well, and please crowds. This chocolate chip pound cake is perfect for any such an occasion.
I love pound cake because it stands alone- you don’t need to make frosting or cream or anything to go with it, although if you’re feeling up to whipped cream, go for it. It’s just lightly sweet, very dense, and provides us with a perfect little snack anytime. Or a breakfast. Yes, I eat cake for breakfast, it’s fine.
This is a classic recipe, and you can find my bundt cake version over here. I’ve made this one in the form of a single loaf- a bit less cake overall, and the addition of chocolate chips gives it just the right twist.
You can actually alter this recipe in so many yummy ways. For example, top it with sliced fruit before baking, or fill it with berries, or lemon zest and juice. Whichever way you make it, it’s still going to have that perfect tightly-knit crumb that you’ll keep coming back to.
I hope you’re starting off your holiday season brightly this year! Personally, I’m one of those Christmas fanatics that starts listening to Christmas music on November 1st, and shopping later that day. However you prefer it though, treat yoself with something sweet all season!
Ingredients
Instructions
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
I have no original recipes to share with you guys today. I do, however, have wonderful news. This year, for the first time literally ever, I’ve made cookies that actually look presentable. Real talk, cookies are flippin difficult to decorate.
Pinterest is full of like all these fantastic photos of amazing cookies that look like they were made by the best chefs in the world. And every single year, I try to make cookies that at least resemble these. And then I end up with messy, fairly horrifying situations.
This year, success. I used a lot of great recipes from other blogs out there, and baked way too many cookies, but I did get a good amount of them decorated and adorable. First off, here’s the recipes I used this year:
All of these worked perfectly for me. I think the biggest thing was figuring out the right consistency for my icing, and having the patience to practice. I’m gonna confess something right now, and it’s serious. I actually am kind of bad at following recipes completely. Like I just want to add more vanilla to everything, and I never measure flour correctly because who has time for that. This is probably where the real icing problem was, not gonna lie.
My second tip- do it with friends. Seriously I made so many cookies, and it took longer than expected because I really just wanted them to look perfect, and I was EXHAUSTED by the end. Decorate with friends, it’ll help.
Lastly, use the piping bags and the tips and the whole thing. Setup and cleanup are harder, but the entire rest of the decorating is soooo much easier. It’s worth it! I can’t tell you how much celebrating I did both inside my head, and out loud to other people when I got these babies right.
Merry Christmas you guys!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
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