SALTED CARAMEL POUND CAKE

happy birthday canada!!!!! you should celebrate canada day by making this loaf cake. pound cake is my oldest sisters favourite dessert (probably because of its butter content.. is butter a carb?), so i decided to make her a special salted caramel flavoured one. she took one bite of this cake and responded with "i want to marry this cake." i guess you can say she liked it... a lot. it has the buttery flavour & dense texture of what everyone wants in a pound cake, but the glaze turns it from an average pound cake to something that much more amazing. it is best to make the salted caramel sauce in advance as you can use it for various things (like these fried wonton's) and to ensure it has time to properly set.

ingredients

for the salted caramel sauce

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

for the cake

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon salted caramel sauce (see recipe below)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

for the glaze

• 1/4 cup salted caramel
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

directions

• for the caramel: in a saucepot add the sugar and water. bring it to a boil while wiping down the crystals that form on the sides of the pan with a pastry brush. continue to boil until the mixture turns to a deep amber colour (approximately 5 minutes). be sure not to burn the caramel! it will go from a deep amber to burnt sugar VERY quickly. remove from heat and immediately whisk in the butter and cream. cool to room temperature before using.
• for the cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees. in the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the eggs and vanilla and beat. sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. mix until just combined. stir in the salted caramel and heavy cream until incorporated. place the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
• for the glaze: mix salted caramel and powdered sugar together until a thick consistency is formed (may need to add more powdered sugar). once cake has cooled, pour the glaze over top of the pound cake.

STUFFED CHEESE BUNS

this MIGHT just be one of the cheesiest recipes you will come across. it's not just a simple cheddar cheese bun that you can find at the bakery or grocery store (BORING...), it is stuffed with cheese (kind of like pizza hut's stuffed crust, but not really at all). feel free to take the cheese flavours & measurements loosely (by loosely i mean add even more, never less). mozarella and cheddar were the two cheeses i had on hand when i decided to make these, but i can't imagine how good they would be with some smoked gouda or jalapeano cheddar (brb, going to the grocery store). EVERYTHING is better with cheese and in my opinion, the stinkier the cheese the better. while i was preparing the buns for the oven my boyfriend tried to say there was wayyyyy to much cheese. then he took a bite of the finished product and shut right up. this recipe has been adapted from yammie's noshery's peeta's stuffed cheese buns. it is inspired by the hunger games (a reference i don't really get) but i am down to try anything that is hunger games & cheese related.

ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dry active yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 10 1-inch chunks of mozzarella cheese (to stuff inside)
• 1 cup grated old cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

directions

• in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment add the yeast and water. let sit for five minutes until the yeast begins to activate.
• add the sugar, butter, olive oil and one cup of flour on low speed.
• continue to add the remainder of the flour one cup at a time.
• turn mixer up to medium speed and let dough knead for 8-10 minutes, until a smooth elastic dough is formed.
• cover dough with a damp cloth and let rise for one hour (or until dough has doubled in size)
• once dough has risen preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• divide dough into 10 pieces (or smaller if you would like tiny cheese buns) and place one chunk of the mozzarlla in each ball, pinching the edges back up tightly (place the dough pinch side down on your banking sheet)
• sprinkle with cheddar cheese and parsley.
• bake for 15-20 minutes until the buns turn golden brown and the cheese begins to crisp slightly.
• eat accordingly (slathered in butter or more cheese)

POP TARTS

oh em gee POP TARTS!!!! can we all agree that pop-tarts are simply frosted hand pies with sprinkles? filled with fruit (& i use the term fruit very loosely), cinnamon sugar or even chocolate & marshmallows. growing up pop-tarts were always a breakfast item in my mind. pop one in the toaster & off to school i went! so to kelloggs, the maker of pop-tarts, us 90's kids want to thank you for not only inventing these little pockets of sugar heaven, but for tricking our parents into giving us sprinkle covered pie for breakfast. now lets get baking!

ingredients

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cold & cubed
• 1/4 cup ice cold water
• 1 cup fruit preserve (i used strawberry)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon milk
• sprinkles!!!

directions

• for the dough: mix flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. add cubed butter. using your hands (or a food processor) rub butter into the flour mixture until a flaky crumb like texture is formed.
• add in water one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. if you add too much water, add in a touch more of flour.
• shape dough into a disk, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for minimum one hour or over night.
• once dough has rested, roll it out to an 1/8th of an inch thick and cut into evenly sized rectangles (mine were 7cm by 10cm).
• on one piece of dough place a teaspoon of jam in the centre. take the second piece of dough and place it over the jam piece. using a fork seal the edges shut.
• trim edges neatly and poke holes using a toothpick in the top (to allow steam to escape).
• repeat until you have run out of pie dough and filling.
• make an egg wash by mixing the egg with 1 teaspoon of water. lightly brush over each pop tart before baking.
• bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
• for the frosting mix powdered sugar with milk until you get the desired consistency. it should be a relatively thick frosting.
• once pop tarts have cooled, spread frosting on the top side of the tart and finish off generously with sprinkles.