OMBRE CAKE

my ombre obsession began years ago. it first started when i decided to ombre my hair. but since bleaching the ends of my hair was probably not the healthiest thing to do, it was short lived. i then decided it was time to bring ombre into my baking. ombre cakes, ombre frosting, ombre cupcakes, OMBRE EVERYTHING. it may be time consuming as you need to bake each coloured cake separately, but aside from that it is really easy. everytime i have made an ombre cake for a party people have been beyond impressed [nothing modest about this cake]. the colours are so vibrant and fun. this particular cake is the first time i ombred the inside AND outside of the cake. it turned out exactly as i had hoped for and it was a huge hit. for this particular cake i chose a basic vanilla cake and buttercream frosting. however, i have ombred fancier cakes in the past including a coconut cream cake for my boyfriends birthday.

ingredients

for the cake

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups raw sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• food colouring (i used wilton rose coloured food gel)

for the frosting

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups icing sugar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• food colouring (again, wilton rose coloured food gel)

directions

• preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• in the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugar.
• add the eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
• mix in vanilla and oil until combined.
• in a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. gradually add to stand mixer at low speed.
• once flour is JUST combined into the wet ingredients, add the milk.
• separate batter into 4 bowls and add food colouring starting from lightest to darkest (white, light pink, pink, dark pink).
• using 9 inch cake pans bake each layer for about 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• let cakes cool completely before flipping onto a cooling rack.
• for the frosting add all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until light and fluffy, about 8-10 minutes.
• separate frosting into 3 bowls: white, light pink, dark pink.
• to decorate: begin with a white frosted crumb layer and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. next, begin with the darkest pink at the bottom, followed by light pink, followed by white.

BACON CINNAMON BUNS

BACON CINNAMON BUNS.. the perfect weekend breakfast treat! for a long long time i have been meaning to incorporate bacon into one of my desserts after seeing a maple bacon doughnut at a local bakery. these seemed like the perfect opportunity. the cinnamon bun recipe was given to me by my boyfriends mom BUT the recipe calls for raisins, which i hate (don't get me started on raisins) so i added a glaze and replaced the raisins with bacon bits. that works right? replacing dried fruit with cured meat? ok cool, moving on. don't judge the fact that margarine is used over butter, it is what i was told to use AND THEY TASTE PERFECT, so don't you change it! when i was making these, i had a hard time deciding if the bacon should be sprinkled on top or rolled into the buns. then i realized, i don't need to choose one over the other, i chose both.

ingredients

for the dough

• 2 1/4 cup + 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 envelope instant yeast
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 egg

for the filling

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup chopped bacon [reserve 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top]

for the glaze

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon milk

directions

• in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook mix 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
• heat milk, water, margarine until warm and add to the flour mixture followed by the egg.
• once the mixture begins to come together add the remaining 1 cup of flour until a soft dough is formed.
• knead dough for 5-10 minutes then let rest for an hour, covered.
• once the dough has doubled in size roll into a thin square and begin to add the filling.
• start with the margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon and lastly the bacon bits.
• roll dough and cut into 2 inch slices.
• place in a 9x12 square baking dish and let rest a second time for 30 minutes, covered.
• bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
• while the cinnamon buns are baking, make the glaze by whisking the icing sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and milk in a mixing bowl. to get to desired consistency either add more icing sugar or more milk.
• brush the cinnamon buns with the glaze hot from the oven and sprinkle with remaining bacon bits.

CHEDDAR & CHIVE SCONES

as i mentioned in my last post, i did a lot of baking over the long weekend. first up are these cheddar and chive scones. i made them super cheesy because everything is better with lots of cheese, right? the green onion gives the scones a fresh taste, colour, and offsets the strong flavour of the old cheddar cheese. i have made a lot of sweet and savoury scones, but these by far have produced the flakiest at interior! while it may seem weird to be adding eggs to a scone recipe, in this particular case it just works. enjoy them for breakfast or a snack and freeze them for up to two weeks.

ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, diced
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup old cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 scallions thinly sliced, green parts only

directions

• preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• in a mixing bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt.
• add butter, using your hands mix butter in until a grainy mixture forms.
• in a separate bowl whisk eggs and milk until well combined. fold into the flour mixture until a dough begins to form.
• add in grated cheese and chives.
• roll dough out on a floured surface to a 1 inch thickness. cut in desired shape.
• optional: brush scones with egg wash [1 part egg/ 1 part milk]
• bake for 20-25 minutes until scones are golden brown.