Saturday 20 November 2010

The Cake Slice Bakers - Challenge 2 - November 2010 - Cinnamon Pudding Cake.


This month we made the cinnamon pudding cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman.
My first attempt came out very dry and not nice at all.  I then tried again and reduced the cooking time and it was a big improvement.  However, it wasn't a cake I would particularly cook again.  Although I liked the idea of the cinnamon cake with the lovely topping of gooey caramel, I have had far nicer ones than this.  It is simple and quick to make but I think any little extra effort to make a more traditional sticky toffee pudding is worth it.  Some of the cake slice bakers rave about it so if you fancy the idea, maybe you should try it and see if it is for you - have a look at The Cake Slice Blogroll to see some adjustments that others made to improve it.  In fact, one of our members, Felice emailed Lauren Chattman about it and got a very friendly reply.  She suggested that you could increase the topping ingredients by 50% to make more caramel or add an egg to the cake mix to make a richer cake.

  

I have just looked through my photos and found that they are blurred and horrible.  I wonder if my feelings about the cake affected the effort put into the photography?

Recipe - 
Serves 9.

Ingredients - 
For the caramel topping - 
1 cup plus 2 tbsp light brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
For the cake - 
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method - 
Make the topping - 
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM 4.
2. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (Not a loose bottomed one like I did the first time!  Of course, several minutes into cooking I hear the caramel start to pour out onto the oven floor - doh!)
3. Combine the brown sugar, water, butter and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally.  Set aside to cool.

Make the cake - 
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

2. Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 mins.

3. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the bowl.  Add 1/2 of the milk and vanilla.  Add another 1/3 of the flour.  Add the remaining milk and the remaining flour.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 30s.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.  Pour the topping over the batter. 

5.Carefully transfer to the oven and bake until set, 45 - 50 mins.  Now, my second attempt I only cooked for 35 minutes and it was much less dry.  The other cake slice bakers seem to have found that this is a better time for cooking, too.

6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, invert it onto a large rimmed serving platter, and serve warm.

7. Let leftover squares cool completely and store in a cake keeper or airtight container at room temperature for up to one day or in the refrigerator for 3 days.

16 comments:

  1. LOL - I love the pics of the kids :)It seems like most of the Cake Slice Bakers weren't overly impressed by the recipe - it does seem to need a little something extra.

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  2. Hi. Licking the spoon is always the best part of the process! :-)

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  3. Love your handsome helpers!

    Looks nice with the ice-cream - I'd say it would really help (it needed it)

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  4. I see you also went with the ice cream =) It stinks most of us weren't too happy with this cake. Thank you for commenting on mine.

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  5. Hi! You have cute assistants in the kitchen!

    The cake looks alright, especially with the ice cream!

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  6. is there anything better than warm cake and ice cream? mm! I like your kitchen mixer, I should really invest in one but haven't as yet.

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  7. You probably already know this, but your sons are absolutely adorable! They could be child models, they're gorgeous!

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  8. Warm cake and ice cream would really hit the spot right now (so what if it's breakfast time). Sorry you didn't enjoy the cake more...but I have to say your pictures look very yummy.

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  9. I felt the same way about this cake. I think it is funny that Lauren Chattman suggested doubling the brown sugar sauce, because for my taste there was already too much. Perhaps I am just not a big fan of gooey pudding cakes.

    Your little guys are ridiculously handsome!

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  10. Thank you all for the lovely comments about my boys. They are both very cute but can be right monkeys!
    Anna - if I put them in for modelling, would you like to be their stylist?

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  11. Hehe, absolutely! But I don't think they need it their mama seems to style them beautifully already :) <3

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  12. Hopefully our choice for the next month will be better. And yes.. very adorable helpers there :)

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  13. I loved your photos! I am going to try this cake again because I loved the flavors just not the results.

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  14. Looks very gooey, shame it was a bit dry. I agree it was best eaten within a few hours. Your little helpers are so cute

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