Baked Apple Doughnuts

The last time we made doughnuts at my home, we almost burned down our entire apartment complex. Sadly, that's not an exaggeration. We had a grease fire, which resulted in me lighting myself on fire while trying to put the fire out, flames floor to ceiling in our kitchen and flames across our kitchen and living room floor. Fortunately, the fire in the apartment quickly distinguished itself. I smothered the flames on my hand, and we went to the ER (then the burn specialist in Milwaukee, followed by more trips to the burn specialist and lots of painful moments and good-natured mockery at work.) So for some odd reason, we have very limited use of deep-fried foods in our house simply because I'm wary of that cooking technique.

When I found Baker's Royale's recipe for these doughnuts, I thought they'd be the perfect way to use a few of my fall apple harvest. And I could make them since they are baked, not fried. Here's to Sunday morning doughnuts without a trip to the ER.

Baked Apple Doughnuts
Doughnuts
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp. dry active yeast
2 tsp. salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 small apples, skins on or off depending on your preference, diced
3 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup butter, melted
Glaze
3/4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp. apple cider
Caramel Drizzle

Place  water, yeast, salt, eggs, sugar, apples, flour and butter in a bowl, using a spoon or a sturdy  spatula fold batter until evenly mixed. Let the dough rest at room temperature covered for two hours. Transfer dough to refrigerator, and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from refrigerator. Transfer dough to a gallon-size plastic bag, and cut a corner off. Pipe 3-inch circles or whatever shape you desire onto a parchment lined bake sheet (or alternately pipe into wells of a doughnut pan).

Bake for about 18 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and transfer doughnuts to cooling rack.

To make glaze, place powdered sugar in bowl, and add  one tablespoon of cider at a time, stirring after each addition. Add more cider as needed to reach desired consistency. Prepare caramel sauce or use storebought caramel if desired. Place finished glaze in a bowl, and dip tops of doughnuts into mixture. Return dip doughnuts to cooling rack. Transfer caramel to plastic bag, and cut off one corner. Drizzle caramel on top of glazed doughnut. Makes about 18 doughnuts.

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

When my husband and I went to Vermont on vacation, we went to a sugar shack and sampled warm maple syrup. It wasn't my first time in a sugar shack, but it was for my husband. We left with fancy grade maple syrup, maple sugar and maple cream. Oh, and a determination to make homemade maple ice cream. And then serendipitously Brown-Eyed Baker posted this recipe.

I used our good ol' fashioned Wisconsin maple syrup for this ice cream. Mmmm, the perfect fall ice cream. (I also have pumpkin ice cream on my to-do list, and Maine sea salt ice cream. Good thing I like ice cream any day of the year because I have to churn quite a bit before my heavy cream spoils.)

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

Custard
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla Pinch kosher salt
Maple-Glazed Walnuts
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
Pinch salt

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the milk and sugar, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Meanwhile, pour the heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then, pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan occasionally. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula. Pour the custard through the mesh strainer, and stir it into the cream. Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally (you can speed up the process by placing the bowl in an ice bath), then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

To glaze the walnuts, heat the maple syrup in a small skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to come to a full boil. Add the walnuts, stir to coat them, then allow the mixture to cook until it again comes to a full boil. Once it reaches a full boil, stir for 10 seconds, then remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool completely. (The walnuts will still feel wet and sticky when cool.)

Freeze the custard mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Add the maple-glazed walnuts during the last few minutes of churning. Transfer to a freezer-safe container, and store in the freezer. Makes 1 quart.

Bourbon Caramel Corn Cupcakes

One of the recipes I flagged on vacation was from My Baking Addiction. It called for bourbon, which isn't necessarily a staple in our household. (We're more of a tequila kind of family.) My friend gave me the bourbon for the recipe, so I repaid the favor by making these cupcakes for her 30th birthday. She said they made turning 30 worth it.

These aren't overly boozy, but there is a definite bourbon flavor to them. These are keepers!

 

Bourbon Caramel Corn Cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk, warm
1/4 cup bourbon
Frosting
2 sticks butter, room temperature1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. bourbon
Popcorn
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
3 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla
 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup bourbon
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Garnish
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 24 cupcake tins.

In medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.

Add flour and milk/bourbon, alternating in three additions, ending with flour.

Evenly distribute into prepared cupcake tins. (The batch normally makes 24, but I ended up with 21. Weird.) Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat butter until creamy. Then beat in powdered sugar. Add in vanilla and bourbon, and beat until smooth. Add more bourbon if needed to reach desired consistency.

To make popcorn, pop corn and set aside in a very large bowl. Line a large jelly roll pan with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, heat sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, and bourbon  on medium heat, stirring often. Continue to stir until sugar melts and a deep caramel color is achieved. When you are ready to coat the popcorn, add the baking soda to the caramel and stir quickly. Remove from heat, and pour over popcorn. Stir the popcorn quickly and immediately after covering with the warm mixture so that every piece gets some coverage of the caramel. Spread the caramel-coated popcorn onto the lined jelly pan and allow to cool for approximately 10 to 20 minutes. Break apart into pieces.

Frost each cupcake, drizzle with chocolate and top with a piece of caramel corn. Eat the rest of the caramel corn while pretending you used it all on the cupcakes. Makes 21 to 24 cupcakes. 

Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes

While on vacation, the Shocktop Pumpkin Ale kept beckoning to me. We didn't have any on vacation, but my dear sweet husband picked up some for me the next time he went shopping. And really, him going grocery shopping is a sacrifice in itself for him.

Since I had my pumpkin ale (delicious, thank you!), I could bake these cupcakes I found on My Baking Addiction. These are moist cupcakes that welcome in fall. The pumpkin flavor melds into the cocoa for a taste of fall, and the buttercream's sweetness is well balanced by the beer.

Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes 
Cupcakes

12 oz. Pumpkin Ale
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Buttercream
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 lb. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. pumpkin ale (adjust as needed for desired consistency) 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 30 cupcake tins with paper liners. Combine the pumpkin ale, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add in sour cream, and mix until fully incorporated.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined (batter will be thin).

Evenly divide batter amongst the prepared cupcake liners. Bake 23 minutes, until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Remove pan to wire rack, and cool 5 minutes before removing from tins.

For the frosting, cream the butter. Add the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly begin adding the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, add in the pumpkin ale, and mix until light and fluffy. Beat on high speed for about two minutes. If frosting is too thick, gradually add in a little more pumpkin ale (1 tsp. at a time) until you reach the desired consistency. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. If desired, garnish with festive sprinkles.

The original recipe says it makes 24 cupcakes, but my batch made 31 cupcakes. Bonus!

Baked Kale

I'm always on the lookout for kale recipes that sound appetizing because our kale was edible in June ... and hasn't stopped growing since. Hardy little big plants, I tell you.

This recipe from Ezra Pound Cake is good the first time around but slightly less so when reheated in the oven. It's simple enough to make, though, so make the kale/croutons ahead and bake only what you will eat in one sitting.

Baked Kale

2 cups bread, torn into 1/2-inch pieces
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 pound kale, large stems discarded, leaves chopped well
1 tsp. chopped thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread the bread on a baking sheet, and toss with 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let the croutons cool on the baking sheet.

In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat the remaining 3 Tbsp. olive oil. Add the onion, and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook while stirring for one minute. 

Add the kale, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the thyme, and season with salt and pepper. (You can store the kale in the refrigerator at this point to make it the next day.)

Transfer the kale to an 8-by-10-inch baking dish. Scatter the cheese over the kale, and top with the croutons. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the croutons are golden. Let stand for 5 minutes, and then serve. Makes 4 servings.