Ok so since there's no one in the salon right now and there's only so many times that one can disinfect things before it gets ridiculous, I figured I'd write a post about something I baked a few weeks ago.
Let me preface this with saying that I-LOVE- autumn. It's my favorite time of year. Being raised in the greater Los Angeles area, I never cared about Fall. But then I moved to Salt Lake City in May of 2009 and heard folklore of this amazing season. I heard tales of crisp air, changing leaves and the excitement of a season.
Let me tell you, friends, it didn't disappoint. Oh my goodness. The Aspens were bright yellow, the Japanese Maples were green, red, yellow AND orange. ALL ON THE SAME TREE!! Fall is magical. That's the only way I know how to describe it. There was a chill in the air. Not too cold yet... just enough to warrant wearing a sweater and maybe a cute scarf. There were pumpkin spice lattes, warm fall goodies like Pumpkin cake and ginger snaps. There was a completely different energy around you. Fall was the time to go hiking in the mild afternoon and snuggle at night. :)
I was never really a fan of Maple flavored stuff. It just tasted funny to me. BUT I think the yummy fall treats and the excitement of living in a place with... well, with real seasons, I grew to love the sweet and comforting flavor.
We started having some events for our young adults group at church. We recently switched our service time from Sunday to Saturday nights so we've been having a lot of events to generate interest and get people stoked about the exciting things that are going on in the Lord's church.
Anyway, the point of my post... ah yes..cake.
We had a coffee/ open mic night and a few of us decided to make some yummy treats. Well, being obsessed with fall, I wanted to make something that was Fallish. Fallish? Is that even a word? Well, it is now. I decided to make a spice cake. I wanted to choose the topping for the cake very carefully since Spice cake isn't very sweet. Do I go with regular vanilla frosting? Nah, not the right flavor. Cream cheese frosting? Delicious, but still not right for this cake. Cream cheese frosting, while delectable, is just too heavy for a delicate flavor cake like this one. I thought it would overwhelm the spicy cloves, the smokey nutmeg and the warmth of the cinnamon. (man, cream cheese frosting is kind of a bully!) I decided to try my hand at making my own frosting. Past attempts haven't been as successful. I decided I was going to make a maple frosting to go on top. The only problem with this was that I'm kind of an insomniac baker. It was around midnight when my cake was done and cooled. I didn't have maple extract. Panicked, I ran to the pantry. Only to be disappointed by my lack of variety. Orange, peppermint, almond, vanilla... but no maple :( feeling defeated, I started to walk away from the pantry when it caught my eye... sugar free maple syrup. A light shone from above and angels descended upon this delightful condiment. I know what you're thinking. "First of all, you're insane. (that's probably true), second of all, how can they make maple syrup sugar free? Thirdly, how would that even be a viable option in frosting?"
Those are all valid concerns. There were a few reasons I chose the sugar free Vs. the Regular syrup. #1, it was a better viscosity. #2, regular syrup is WAY too sweet. #3, sugar free maple syrup tastes more like maply than regular sryup because they use the fake maple flavor. (I know I know...flavor integrity and whatnot. I was desperate. Don't judge me)
I took just a little of my prepared frosting (recipe found here) and put it in a separate bowl to test out my theory. I added some of the SF maple syrup to it and the result was lovely! But it still needed something. I wound up adding about 1/8tsp of cloves, 1/2tsp cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg to kind of marry the flavors in the frosting with the flavors in the cake. I taste tested and it was delicious! Warm- but not overwhelming. Perfect.
I added about 1/4 C of the SF Maple syrup to the rest of my frosting and added the same amount of spices (see previous paragraph).
I cheated and used boxed cake for the cake this time. I was just TOO tired to make my own cake from scratch. I always add a tsp of vanilla extract to whatever mix I use. It just makes it taste a little more homemade. That'll be our little secret. ;)
I added a 1 1/2 tsp allspice to the batter to bring out the flavors a little more.
Ok, folks! I think that's it! Here's the finished product! The resolution is bad because I took the picture with my blackberry. But you get the picture (see what I did there?)
If you want the full written out recipe, I'd be happy to email you step by step directions. Brett and I share an email address on here so feel free to contact either of us by this email. brettandsarahbeth@gmail.com. If you try out this recipe, leave a comment and let me know how it turns out!
May your days be filled with family, friends and food!
Happy Baking!
-SarahBeth
