March 8, 2021

Snickers Lovers Cake

by Keelie Banks

Your favorite childhood candy bar is transformed into a true decadent treat!

If you’re anything like me and love snicker bars, you’re going to go crazy over this cake! It’s everything you love about a snicker Bar reimagined as a super moist, decadent, chocolate layer cake. From the salted caramel frosting, right down to the nougat filling, this baby is exploding with flavor! Its one of those cakes you just can’t trust yourself around. Every time you walk into the kitchen you’ll find yourself nibbling on a piece. Usually I have more self-control, but when it comes to this cake I feel helpless. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t keep my grubby hands off of it. Trust me when I tell you this cake is not meant for casual consumption. Whip it up for a special occasion but by no means make it simply just because. Your waist line will pay dearly! I was fully aware that this cake is one of my weaknesses, however because it was my birthday I thought I’d bring this recipe out of retirement. And let me tell you, it was just as good as I remember! And let me tell you, I still have no self-control when it comes to this cake! Looks like this recipe is going back into the vault. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. The full delicious recipe is listed below. Bake it now, regret it later!

Pro tips…

This cake is delicious, but doesn’t come together quickly. I highly suggest that you make the salted caramel sauce and frosting the day before making the cake layers, nougat filling and milk chocolate ganache.
To fully enjoy this cake, let it sit out and warm up to room temperature before indulging into a slice. It will be hard but I know you can do it.

INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE CAKE:
2½ cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
3 eggs (at room temperature)
1½ cups buttermilk (at room temperature)
1½ cups strong black coffee (hot)
¾ cup vegetable oil
4½ teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR THE NOUGAT FILLING:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup evaporated milk
1½ cups marshmallow fluff
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups salted peanuts (roughly chopped)

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
4 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
¼ cup salted caramel sauce
2 cups powdered sugar

FOR THE MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
8 ounces milk chocolate (finely chopped)
4 ounces ½ cup heavy cream

FOR THE ASSEMBLY / GARNISH:
Additional salted caramel sauce
Chopped peanuts

DIRECTIONS:

Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the insides of the pans, tapping out excess; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer (or large mixing bowl if you’re using a hand mixer), sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for an additional 20 seconds (the batter will be very thin).
Divide the batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
Make the Nougat Filling: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and evaporated milk, stirring until dissolved, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and add the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and vanilla extract, stirring until completely smooth. Fold in the peanuts. Let the nougat mixture cool to room temperature before using it in the cake. You can do this leaving it at room temperature or you can pop it into the refrigerator to speed up the process. Be sure to give a stir occasionally as it cools.
Make the Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 5 minutes (I like to use the whisk attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, but it’s not necessary). Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional two to three minutes, until light and fluffy.
Assemble the Cake: If your cakes baked up uneven or have domed on top, level off the tops. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Cover with half of the nougat filling and then spread a couple spoonfuls of the salted caramel sauce over top to evenly cover the nougat filling. Top with a second cake layer and cover with the remaining nougat filling and top with caramel sauce. Place the final cake layer on top face-down. Frost the cake with the salted caramel frosting, finishing it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, until the frosting is set.
Make the Chocolate Ganache: While the cake chills, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Begin whisking the mixture in the center, gradually working your way outward until the ganache is completely smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until it has thickened slightly, yet still a pourable consistency.
Garnish the Cake: Transfer the ganache to a 2-cup measuring cup. Slowly pour the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake, letting it push itself outward and flow over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes, giving the ganache a chance to set up. To finish garnishing, drizzle some additional salted caramel sauce over the top and side of the cake, and top with chopped peanuts. Keep the cake refrigerated, removing it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to serving.

Recipe adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker.

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January 25, 2021

Oatmeal Cream Pie Request!

by Keelie Banks

1 comment

Cookies, Sweet Treats

Per the request of my niece, I’m whipping up an oldie but a goodie. Do you guys remember oatmeal cream pies? Those cream filled oatmeal sandwich cookies by Little Debbie. My niece Hailey absolutely loves them. I have to admit, I use to enjoy them quite a bit when I was her age as well. But not so much now as an adult. I find them way too processed for my precious little taste buds. Once you get used to eating fresh baked homemade goodies, store bought treats won’t cut it anymore. I’d much rather re-create them in my home kitchen. To be honest, I’m a bit obsessed with doing so. This won’t be the last time you find me making a copycat recipe here on my blog. It’s a fun way to take a trip back down memory lane, plus they usually taste better than their store bought counterparts. I did a little digging and found a recipe that’s a dead ringer for the classic little Debbie snack. It has the same great flavor without the yucky aftertaste from the fillers and preservatives. The full delicious recipe with pics is listed below. I hope you have just as much fun recreating this blast from the past as I did!

Pro tips.

Don’t over bake the cookies. Bake cookies for 6 to 8 minutes. The edges should be set, however the middles should be soft. Don’t worry, they will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Let them stand on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Don’t let the cream filling sit too long. After whipping the filling until it’s nice and fluffy, let the mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes being sure not to let it sit too long or the mixture will be too difficult to spread.

Oatmeal Cream Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

Cookies

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 eggs
1 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups quick oats

Filling

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (about 1 1/2 packets)
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup water (divided)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature

Make the Cookies:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Make cookie dough: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and molasses together for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, salt baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix for 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour and oats, mixing until combined.

Form balls of dough: Using a medium (2- tablespoon) cookie scoop drop the dough on to the prepared baking sheet 3- inches apart. These cookies will spread.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden and centers are just set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack, carefully, to cool completely. The centers of the cookies will (and should be) very soft, which is why letting them cool on the baking sheet is an important step.

Make the Filling:

Mix gelatin and water: In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/3 cup water. Stir it together and let it stand about 5 minutes. Mixture will get thick as it sits.

Heat: In a 2- quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water until mixture comes to a full boil. Continue boiling for 30 seconds and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and gelatin mixture until it dissolves completely.

Whisk: Transfer the mixture to the clean bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With your mixer on medium speed, mix for 20 seconds. Gradually raise the speed to high and mix until the mixture is stiff, white, fluffy, and cooled to barely warm, 5-7 minutes.

Add sugar: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add your powdered sugar, mixing until combined.

Add in the butter. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until completely smooth, about 2 minutes.

Cool briefly: The filling will set up as it sits, so wait until it is thick enough to spread or pipe before filling the cookies, 5-10 minutes. Make sure not to let it sit too long, as it will become too thick and marshmallow-like to spread.

Assemble Cookies

Add filling and top with another cookie: Use a large piping tip or an offset spatula to spread about 2 tablespoons of filling onto the bottoms of half the cookies. Press the remaining cookies onto the filling, creating sandwiches. Allow the cookies to set for 20-30 minutes.

Original Recipe can be found at cookiesandcups.com