Gingerbread Sheet Cake

Recipe Adapted from Serious Eats
INGREDIENTS
1 cup light brown sugar
3 ounces unsulfured molasses
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon dried orange peel
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, fresh grated
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
3 large eggs, straight from the fridge
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled to about 100°F
5 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
2 1/2 ounces whole wheat flour
8 ounces buttermilk

DIRECTIONS
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F. Line an anodized aluminum half sheet cake pan with parchment, then grease lightly with pan spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine brown sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves, five-spice powder, black pepper, and eggs. Mix on low until moistened, then increase to high and whip until foamy and thick, about 8 minutes.

Reduce speed to low and drizzle in melted butter, then add all-purpose and whole wheat flours, followed by buttermilk. Once combined, shut off mixer and fold batter once or twice from the bottom up with a flexible spatula, then scrape into prepared pan.

Bake until cake is puffed and firm (though crust will retain a light impression when pressed with a fingertip), about 20 minutes. Cool in pan until firm, top with cream cheese frosting.

I love all things gingerbread. Gingerbread cookies- soft, snappy, I'll take them all, the gingerbread churro at Disneyland, Gingerbread Spice Life Cereal… so I knew I wanted to find a gingerbread cake that will make my heart the happiest. BUT in all the recipes I tried, it just wasn't quite spicy enough. Yeah, gingerbread needs to be spicy! To balance the of the sweetness of the holidays. So, I used the cake recipe that I enjoyed the texture of the most (the addition of whole wheat flour gives it such great texture) and used my favorite gingerbread spices.

Christmas Chex Mix

INGREDIENTS

13.5 oz Rice Chex
2 cup coconut
2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup light corn syrup
1.5 sticks butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp almond extract

DIRECTIONS
Line half sheet pan with wax paper.

In a large bowl, mix Rice Chex, coconut, almonds, and dried cranberries. Set aside.

In a medium sized pot, over medium heat, bring corn syrup, butter, sugar and salt to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, and add baking soda and almond extract. Mixture will bubble.

Pour over dry ingredients, and stir to coat.

Spread evenly over wax paper lined sheet pan. Cool 1 hour.

This is what I will probably eat every day in heaven, or not be allowed to eat in hell. It brings back memories of eating something very similar on cheer bus trips in high school. Only that definitely took out a filling, which then chipped a tooth, and was not nearly as delicious as this. There is just enough syrup to coat every ingredient, while still maintaining that delightful crunch from the Chex and slivered almonds. The flakes of coconut give it a "it just started to snow" vibe and complements the almond extract flavor, and the dried cranberries bring a tart sweetness and color. Definitely my new favorite.

Pumpkin Cake with Brown Sugar Caramel Frosting

Recipe adapted from: Our Best Bites
INGREDIENTS
Brown Sugar Caramel Frosting
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, divided
(2 sticks, and 1 stick)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 lb powdered sugar

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, heat two sticks of butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt over medium heat until sugar has dissolved, and mixture is combined.

Turn heat up to medium high, and bring to a boil. Let mixture boil for 1 minute, pushing mixture down from sides of pot. Reduce heat, and let simmer for about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat, and carefully* pour into a mixing bowl to cool. While the mixture is cooling, add remaining stick of butter 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until melted.
*Hot, simmering sugar is way hotter than simmering water.

When caramel has cooled to lukewarm, carefully incorporate  powdered sugar until fluffy and soft.

Use immediately, as frosting will thicken upon standing.

Okay friends, this frosting is my new favorite thing ever. It came about because the penuche frosting from my original post with this sheet cake has a tendency to become a little grainy, and is extra sweet. So I found the recipe for brown sugar caramel frosting from Our Best Bites, doubled the recipe, and added an extra stick of butter to give the sugar something to stay dissolved in. I also omitted the vanilla, because my vanilla was lost in our recent kitchen remodel, and I haven't made my way to Trader Joe's to purchase more. The extra butter does require that the cake stay fairly cool, because the butter makes the frosting extra soft and it will melt all over the place. But if you're looking for a frosting that has a warm, caramel flavor WITHOUT being sickly sweet, this is your jam.