Pumpkin Angel Food Cake with Salted Cinnamon Caramel

One of the challenges of cooking at the cottage is we don't have access to clean running water. Each weekend, we lug up three gigantic blue jugs and use that water to wash our dishes, fruits and vegetables.

And that has a huge impact on what we make up there. There's a limited amount of dishes we want to get dirty, because we can only do a limited number of dishes.

I don't know what Thanksgiving looks like at your house, but at ours, it's mess-tastic.

So, when we're at the cottage, it's often easier to turn to recipes that involve pre-packaged ingredients. It's not something I usually do at home; but up there, it's the sensible thing to do.

Thankfully, there are amazing recipes out there that turn packaged mixes into home-cooked delights.

This recipe comes from Grin and Bake It, and was a total hit. Angel food cakes and my family go way back. When I was a teen, I'd always ask for my birthday cake to be an angel food cake covered with whipped cream that had been mixed with crushed up Crispy Crunch Bars.

Be still my beating heart.

So, there was a big cheer when we brought angel food cake back into the fold this Thanksgiving. As I cut it at the table, it was universally declared to "wobble seductively".

Who doesn't love a good seductive wobble?

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake with Salted Cinnamon Caramel


(source)



Ingredients


1 package angel food cake mix
1 tbsp.  all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
¾ cup canned pure pumpkin
1 cup cold water


¼ cup butter, salted
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup whipping cream
¼  tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Place all cake ingredients (food cake mix through water) in a bowl and beat with a hand held mixer for one minute. Pour into an angel food cake tin and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until cake is browned and bounces back when lightly poked. Remove from oven and place upside down on the neck of a glass bottle. You'll do this because you don't want the cake to fall at all. Let cool for at least 2 hours.

2. To make the glaze, heat butter with sugars in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then stir in cream. Bring back to a boil and let cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in cinnamon and sea salt. Let cool to room temperature before pouring over top of cake.

Might I recommend some whipped cream on the side?

Salted Caramel Orange Breakfast Rolls

Phil (after taking a bite): Alyson, I don't wish to alarm you, but if I weren't already married, I would marry these things and maybe keep you on the side as my mistress.

Me: Oh, are they good?

Him: Mmph. 

Me: I'll take it, since your mouth is full of caramel, that they are.

They are, people. Oh, they are. The buns soak up some of the caramel as they bake, and get all gorgeously glazed. The recipe is based on one over on Cooking Light (Pecan Rolls, or something like that) that I may have made more fatty.

You need fat in the morning though, right? Right?

This could be your breakfast.

Ingredients


Dough:
3/4  cup  warm milk
1/4  cup  granulated sugar
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1  package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4  cup  warm water
2 eggs
3  tablespoons  butter, melted and cooled
½ tsp vanilla
18  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 4 cups), divided
Cooking spray

Caramel
3/4  cup  packed dark brown sugar
3  tablespoons  butter, melted
2  tablespoons  hot water
½ tsp flake sea salt

Filling
2/3  cup  granulated sugar
zest of one orange
1 1/2  tablespoons  butter, melted


If you've never made your own bread before, I highly recommend doing it. I promise, it's not as hard as you'd think!

1. To prepare dough, combine the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir yeast mixture into milk mixture. Add eggs, vanilla and 3 tablespoons melted butter; stir until well combined.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 16.8 ounces (about 3 3/4 cups) flour to yeast mixture; stir until smooth. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly soft and tacky). Now, I did all of this in my kitchen aid mixer, except for a final quick kneading at the end.

4. If planning on eating the same day: Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; turn to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes. Punch dough down and turn over in bowl; lightly coat with cooking spray. Cover and let rise another 45 minutes. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.

How my dough looked after an overnight stay in the fridge.
Not how I'm used to seeing dough look, but it turned out
just fine!

If wanting a leasurely morning where you DON'T have to spend 2 hours waiting for your sweet deliciousness: Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; turn to coat top. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. I punched the dough down once, just before going to bed, and as a consequence the dough didn't really rise again. The next morning, pull the dough out of the fridge, punch it down (if it needs punching), and let sit at room temperature while you get the other ingredients ready.

5. To prepare sauce, combine brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, and 2 tablespoons hot water in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth.

Mmm. Soon to be caramel.

Scrape sugar mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray (or two smaller pans, if your 9 x 13" one is rusty), spreading evenly over bottom of pan with a spatula. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly with salt, and set aside.

Glorious salt.

Salt flakes in caramel.

You can (and I did) make the sauce in advance and keep it in the fridge overnight.

6. To prepare filling, combine 2/3 cup granulated sugar and zest in a small bowl.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; pat dough into a 16 x 12–inch rectangle. To be honest, I never measure, I just rolled it out until it felt right.

Looks big enough to me!

Brush surface of dough with 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.

Mmm. Sugar + zest = happy

Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll).

All rolled up and ready to cut.

Cut roll into 1 inch (or so) slices.

I mark them off as I go before fully cutting them.

Arrange slices, cut sides up, in prepared pan. Lightly coat rolls with cooking spray; cover with  tea towel and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Ready to sit for 30 minutes.

7. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes until lightly brown. Pull out of oven and let stand for 1 minute before inverting onto a platter.

Letting cool so the caramel firms up a bit

8. Try to restrain yourself from eating them all.

Look at all those crevices for the caramel!

No. Seriously. It's harder than it looks.

Served on my Nana's china with nature's other perfect food: bacon.

Next time, I'm going to get a vanilla bean and replace the orange zest with the vanilla seeds. If you choose to go that route (salted vanilla caramel? Hello!), mix the seeds and sugar the night before (leave the pod in there too) to allow the sweet vanillay goodness to come through.

Try it. You'll be a god.