Snickerdoodle Gooey cake

I had never heard of gooey cakes until last year. They started popping up in my blog reader and the combination of cake base topped with a sticky, buttery topping caught my eye. It wasn't until I was flipping through the Smitten Kitchen cookbook looking for a dessert to take to a potluck that I found a version that I had to make immediately. Deb's recipes tend to have that affect on me.

The thing that sticks out about this gooey cake is the topping. Cinnamon and sugar forms a thin crust over the creamy center, reminiscent of a creme brûlée. Cinnamon and sugar are not fancy flavors-they remind me more of a favorite breakfast (cinnamon-sugar sprinkled over hot, buttered toast) than they do of a fancy dessert. 

The cake cuts into bars and ends up being perfect for toting along to an event. It feeds a crowd and is something different than everything else on the table. 'Tis the season for barbecues, picnics, and potlucks. This won't disappoint, and there won't be any leftovers either! 

Snickerdoodle Gooey Cake

adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, by Deb Perelman

Ingredients:

For the base:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

3/4 sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

For the gooey layer:

1/4 cup honey (or light corn syrup)

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

For the topping: 

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9x13 pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with a nonstick spray. 

For the base:

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer or stand mixer until the color lightens. Pour in the milk and the egg and mix until combined. 

Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt) and then add into the wet ingredients. Beat until just mixed together.

Pour the dough into the pan and spread out until bottom of pan is covered. Put aside.

For the gooey layer:

Back in the mixer, beat the butter and sugar together. Add in the egg and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of bowl when needed. Whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Pour in 1/3 of the flour and mix until just combined. Add in 1/2 the honey mixture and do the same. Repeat until all the flour and honey mixture have been mixed in. Careful not to overmix here. Pour over the base layer and spread until evenly covering it. 

For the topping:

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and pour in an even layer over the entire cake.

Bake for 25 minutes. The gooey layer will still be, well, gooey under the topping. Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then lift out using the parchment paper and cool completely on a cooling rack. Once cool, cut into bars. 

Lavender Lemon Bars

I don't really subscribe to the idea that desserts have their seasons. I will happily eat gingerbread in the summer and ice cream in the winter. Every once in a while though I make something that just feels right for a particular moment in the year. These lemon bars epitomize a summer dessert for me. The lemon is crisp and refreshing, while the lavender adds a depth of flavor to set it apart. The lavender is in the crust and sprinkled on top so that it won't detract from the lemon, only enhance it.

 I served these at a book club event as well as a backyard barbecue and they were equally at home at both. Summer calls for recipes that can do double duty, don't you think?  already brainstorming different ways to use these two flavors together again. Lemonade? Lemon cake? Lemon drop martini's sweetened with a lavender simple syrup? You'll probably be seeing more of this combination this summer!

Lavender Lemon Bars
adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 sticks softened unsalted butter
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
2 c flour
pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon dried lavender

Filling:
4 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
6 tbsp flour
juice of 3 lemons (approximately 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp lemon zest

Topping:
powdered sugar
dried lavender

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep 9x13 inch pan by spraying with non-stick spray or coating in butter.

For the crust:
Mix together butter and sugars in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Within a few minutes the mix should be light in color and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the flour, salt and lavender. Mix until just combined and then finish mixing using a spatula. Pour into pan and push the dough into the bottom using your fingers to create an even crust. Beware of any uneven sections because those might show through the filling. Bake crust for 20 minutes until it browns slightly.

For the filling:
Whisk eggs and sugar together until light in color. Add in the rest of the filling ingredients and whisk until completely combined.

Take the crust out of the oven and pour in filling mixture right away. Pop it back into the oven for another 25 minutes (check at 20 if you have a hot oven, but mine needed the full 25). It should be slightly brown around the edges no longer wobbly in the center.

Cool in pan. Cut into slices and sprinkle with powered sugar and dried lavender. Store in airtight container in the fridge.