Combating the darkness in my life by creating. Started a new starter (because I am a gluten for punishment) and tried a new recipe (inspired by the lady who gave out potatoes for Halloween).
2.5 cups flour (separated into 2 cups and 1/2 cup)
1 cup crumbled Biscoff (about 14 cookies, give or take)
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar syrup (I used this recipe)
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon*
2 eggs, room temperature
*Note - the amount of cinnamon gives you the kick-you-in-the-face Biscoff flavor. If you want less cinnamon, that’s cool too. I wouldn’t go less than 1 teaspoon, but you can also add other spices like cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves and it’ll give you a more well-rounded spice cake.
Directions
0. Combine starter, milk, and 2 cups flour. Set aside for 2-3 hours (it’s flexible. I’ve let the sponge sit for like 5 hours and it’s fine.)
1. Sift remaining half cup of flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
(2-3 hours later, or whenever you’re ready to bake)
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar syrup.
4. Add eggs, one at a time.
5. Mix in the sifted dry ingredients.
6. Fold in the starter sponge. Fold until the batter looks homogenous (one color throughout).
7. Fold in crumbled Biscoff cookies.
8. Bake for 12-15 min. (longer if using larger pans). It’s done when you stick a toothpick in and it comes out with little to no crumbs (if it has sticky wet batter then it’s not done). Yields about 24 cupcakes (this recipe is 2x the size of the non-sourdough one).
I find that the sourdough version is more moist than the non-sourdough version. I’ve found that sourdough gives so much more structure to cake. It’s really amazing and basically, I’m looking to convert all my recipes to use sourdough now (because I’ve turned into a crazy sourdough lady).
@peonymoss I promised earlier that I would write up the recipe for the Biscoff cake for you, but then I realized that the recipe I had developed was with a sourdough starter, so I quickly whipped up a modified version tonight and it came out pretty good! I will post the sourdough version tomorrow.
Biscoff Cupcake (non-sourdough version 2.1)
Ingredients
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom* (optional)
1 teaspoon nutmeg* (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger* (optional)
1 stick (8 oz) butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar syrup (I used this recipe)
1 egg, room temp
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk, room temp
1/2 cup crumbled Biscoff cookies (about 7 cookies, give or take)
*The optional spices are not Biscoff flavor, but they are delicious. If you add these, it will turn out more like a spiced cake.
Directions
0. Pre-heat oven at 350 deg F. Prepare your baking pans of choice.
1. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and desired spices together. Set aside.
2. Crush Biscoff cookies. I use a small food processor, but if you don’t have that, you can put the cookies into a plastic bag and gently crush with a rolling pin or heavy object. Set aside.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar syrup until combined.
4. Add egg and vanilla. Mix until just combined (do not over mix).
5. Slowly add half the dry ingredients into the wet batter and mix until incorporated. Add half the milk; mix until incorporated. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients; mix until incorporated. Add the remainder of the milk; mix until incorporated.
6. Fold in the crumbled Biscoff cookies.
7. Pour into prepared pans and bake. 12-15 minutes for cupcakes, 30-40 min for cake rounds or 13″x9″ rectangular cakes. Anything in between those sizes, I would start checking at the 20 minute mark. If your oven tends to have hot spots, rotate the cake pan halfway through. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (some crumbs are ok, sticky wet batter is not). Yields 12 cupcakes. This recipe has a good rise, so you should be able to get two 8-inch rounds. Recipe scales up easily.
8. Cool on a rack for five minutes before turning cakes out. Cool completely before frosting.
Biscoff Whipped Cream
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar**
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
**I usually do frostings by taste. I start with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and then add more by taste. You might like it sweeter and so you might use more than what this recipe calls for.
Directions
1. Whip all ingredients together until soft peak forms. Adjust for taste. Whip until desired consistency (for me, it’s right before it starts to look clumpy).
top left: cardamom spiced cupcakes with orange whipped cream
top right: several sizes of cherry crumb cakes, in the back are failed banana breads (i forgot to add the dry ingredients. it's still delicious, but i just can't give them away), also the unfrosted cupcakes
bottom picture: bread and butter (name a more iconic duo, I'll wait)
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina
blakekathryn
stormborns
