Cinnabon cake

Today Louis turned 24, I was trying to come up with an idea for a cake he would love. I asked him what he thought of a dark chocolate cake with cookie dough frosting...he said I sounds good but was very unenthusiastic about it so I had to wrack my brain and think of a dessert he loves. Then I saw a picture of a cinnamon roll cake {BINGO!} the only problem is I didn't really like the recipe I found for it, not that it wouldn't have tastes good because god knows any sort of cinnamon roll tastes like heaven but I had made a copy cat recipe for a Cinnabon a few months ago and it was absolutely delicious so I decided to use that recipe instead. 

I had to wake up early to rush to make it this morning because last night I was absolutely exhausted and couldn't bring myself to make anything. I rushed to make my morning coffee to get me going and started making this bad boy. 

Cinnabon dough:

1 (2 1/4 tsp) packet of active dry yeast 

1 cup warm milk plus 1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter softened

1 tsp salt

2 eggs room temp

4 cups flour

In a small cup or bowl mix the yeast, milk and sugar together. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes and it should start to foam (I like to do this to make sure the yeast is active).

In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together until smooth, than mix in the eggs and salt.

Start mixing in the flour adding in one cup at a time until the mix becomes crumbly.

Pour in the yeast mixture and use a wooden spoon to mix everything together.

I made the mistake of using my hand mixer which I regretted a few minutes in. The dough will still be sticky, so I like to lightly spray my hands with non stick cooking spray or just rub a little bit of oil on my hands.

Grab another bowl and grease it lightly, place the dough into the bowl, cover it with a damp towel or paper towel and let rest in a warm area until it double in size about an hour. A little tip I learned was to turn the oven on to 200 degrees, once it's heated turn the oven off and place the bowl in the oven and let it sit for 45 minutes. 

Cinnabon filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter softened

1 tbsp of flour

In another bowl mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and flour together.

Once the dough is doubled in size cut the dough in half and roll out on a floured surface.

Roll it into a rectangle as best you can and make it like 1/4 inch thick.

Spread half the cinnamon mix on to the dough. Be patient it takes a while to evenly spread the mix, I used a combination of a spatula and my hands.

Grease a spring form pan and set aside.

Using a pizza cutter cut 2 inch wide slices of dough.

Loosely roll the strips in the spring form pan to form a giant cinnamon roll. Pinch the ends of the strips together.

It won't look very pretty when your done but don't worry I promise that after it rises and bakes it will fill out look lovely (goodness that sounds like something my parents would have said to me when I was going through puberty). Cover the pan with a dam paper towel again and let sit for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the towel and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to flatten any parts that are rising quicker than the other side.

Bake for another 15 minutes. 

Cream cheese drizzle:

6 tbsp butter softened

1/4 cup (or 2 oz) cream cheese softened

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a bowl mix the cream cheese, butter, sugar salt and vanilla together until smooth.

Mix in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time.

Once the cake is done remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

Turn the oven off and place the cream cheese mix into the still hot oven and allow to sit for about 10 minutes or until it starts to get runny.

Use a spoon and drizzled the cream cheese mix over the cake. Enjoy while warm. 

It will help if you place the cake on a plate or pan to catch the extra drizzle that falls off the cake but I was in a hurry. 

Let's just say Louis and everyone else absolutely loved it! 

Crunchy coconut French toast with coconut syrup

So it's been hard for me to come up with crepe recipes, I think I'm all crepe'd out so Crepe Monday will be taking a hiatus until I can come up with new flavors and ideas, if you have any new ideas for flavors please feel free to comment below. I saw a recipe for crunchy French toast and started to drool a bit. I just love idea of the soft inside of a warm piece of French toast with a nice crunchy outer layer. I took it one step further and decided to add coconut flakes and make a coconut syrup recipe I also came across. I have to say this made my tummy extremely happy. I have to apologize in advance for the terrible pictures but the boys were not cooperating with me one bit, so I would have to snap a quick picture then run and help Jowell with something or pick up Lennox's toy. This breakfast would probably only take me less than 30 minutes to make on a regular day but this morning I think everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed...it just wasn't happening...but I actually managed to get a good amount of sleep in what seemed like a week and a half of sleeping in one hour intervals since my little one was going through a growth spurt and wanted to feed around the clock. Thankfully that is all over with and he is back to sleeping in his crib and only waking up once a night...ahhh the feeling of being {somewhat} rested...every mothers dream...

Coconut syrup: 

1/2 cup butter

¾ cup Coconut milk

1 cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp coconut extract

1/2 cup heavy cream 

In a medium sized pot put the butter, coconut milk and sugar. Heat over medium heat until the butter is melted and you no longer feel any sugar granules.

Bring the mix to a boil and allow to boil for about a minute or two.

Remove from heat and add the baking soda, and coconut extract.

It will start to foam, just keep mixing until the baking soda is mixed in and there are no lumps. Next mix in the heavy cream and allow to cool before using. 

Original recipe from: http://cookingalamode.blogspot.com/2010/03/blender-french-toast-with-coconut-syrup.html?m=1

Crunchy Coconut French Toast:

2 eggs

1/4 cup coconut milk

2 Tbsp flour

3 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 loaf of French bread sliced

2 cups corn flakes

1 cup coconut flakes

In a large skillet melt a tablespoon of butter on medium heat. 

In a bowl mix together the eggs, coconut milk, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.

Place the corn flakes in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin or what ever item you want to use to crush the cornflakes until the are about half their size. Mix the coconut flakes and the cornflakes together in a separate bowl. 

Take the sliced French bread and quickly dip the French bread into the egg mixture.

Let any extra egg mix drip from the bread then coat the bread in the cornflake mixture making sure to press the bread into the mix to cover all of the bread. 

Place the bread into the heated skillet and cook for about 2-4 minutes on each side or just until browned. 

Original recipe from: http://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/2014/03/crunchy-french-toast.html

Homemade turkey burgers

3 lbs turkey

2 medium onions chopped

6 garlic cloves minced

2/3 cup olive oil

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp chili powder

4 tsp paprika

1 tsp seasoned salt

1 tsp pepper

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs 

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Unfortunately I forgot to remove my ground turkey from the freezer so my hands were in so much pain by the time I finished mixing everything. 

Make 12 equal balls of turkey meat (I just eyeballed it).

Form the balls into patties and cook on the grill.

It might make them easier to handle if you place them in the freezer for about an hour but I was starving so we just threw them on the grill like that. 

Super soft chocolate chip cookies

This is my absolute favorite cookie recipe, these cookies are so soft, buttery and addicting they are like potato chips, you can't only have one. I made these a few days ago but with being so busy with wedding stuff I haven't gotten around to posting much of anything (sorry) but this is a recipe that I though would be great to share because who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies? 

3/4 cup butter softened  

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

1 egg at room temp

2 tsp vanilla extract 

2 cup flour 

2 tsp cornstarch 

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl cream together the butter and sugars. 

Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix well. 

In a separate bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. 

Mix in the flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time until everything is fully combined.

Using a tablespoon, scoop out cookie dough and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes exactly, no longer or they will be over cooked.

Let them cool for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooking rack. 

This recipe will make about 3 dozen cookies.  

Original recipe from: http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-ever-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html?m=1