Dixie Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting

In case you haven't noticed, we like to celebrate things at the office. We use pretty much anything as an excuse to have cake. This time it was Alison's birthday. She has gotten away with not celebrating her birthday for the last two years. I put a stop to that this year and she was a very good sport about it.

I really like spice cake. I think it has to be one of my favorite kinds of cake. It is also the only kind of cake I actually enjoy eating cream cheese frosting on. This particular spice cake was good, but I have definitely had better and will need to continue my search for the perfect spice cake recipe. The caramel frosting was very rich and was a nice change of pace from the cream cheese frosting you usually find it paired with.

Dixie Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting
(Source: Pillsbury Baking)

Cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Caramel Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray; lightly flour.

2. In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients except walnuts with electric mixer on low speed until moistened, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in walnuts. Spread batter evenly in pan.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar. Cook over low heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk; cook until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Remove from heat. Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. If needed, add a few drops of milk for desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cake.

Serves 24

Cinnamon-Caramel Swirl Shortbread

You may think pairing cinnamon and caramel is odd, but in reality it is a perfectly matched combination of flavors. I've never made shortbread before, but I found this recipe to be surprisingly easy. The topping was probably the hardest part, mainly because you have to constantly stir the mixture so it doesn't stick in a clump to the bottom of your pan and I had some serious issues with the drizzling. I would have liked to see a little more detail on what they think the best way to drizzle is. Using a spoon to drizzle resulted in blobs of caramel, which was not as aesthetically pleasing but still resulted in a tasty treat.

Cinnamon-Caramel Swirl Shortbread

(Source: The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

1/4 cup cinnamon sugar

Dough:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

14-16 vanilla caramel candies

1 Tbsp cream or milk

1. Preheat the oven to 35o°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Sprinkle the bottom of each pan with about 1 Tbsp cinnamon sugar.

2. In a medium sized bowl, cream together the butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in the flour. Divide the dough in half, and press it into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers. Sprinkle the top of both pans with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Prick the dough with a fork in an attractive pattern.

3. Bake the shortbread for 35-4o minutes, until it's golden brown around the edges. remove from the oven and loosen edges with a knife. Wait 5 minutes, then carefully turn the shortbread out onto a clean work surface, all in one piece.

4. Using a pizza wheel, baker's bench knife, or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily). Transfer the wedges to a rack to cool.

5. Heat the caramels and milk in a microwave-safe bowl, or in saucepan set over low heat. Stir until the caramels melt and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the topping over the cooled shortbread wedges. If it becomes too thick to drizzle, reheat briefly. Allow the caramel to set before wrapping the shortbreads for storage.

Makes 2 dozen wedges.

Samoas Bars

Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos (known as as Peanut Butter Patties and Peanut Butter Sandwiches when I was a girl scout) were always my favorite girl scout cookies. It wasn't until this time last year that I tasted my first Samoa (Carmel De-Lites) and discovered how amazing they were.

These bars, made in three stages, have a buttery shortbread base topped with caramel-coconut topping and chocolate. Step 1: the shortbread is baked and cooled. Step 2: the coconut topping is applied with a spatula in an even layer. Step 3: Once the topping has set, dip these in chocolate and drizzle some on top.

Samoas Bars
(Source: Baking Bites)

Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press into an even layer.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

1. Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

2. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled. When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

3. Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 24 bar cookies.