Click on the video above for a quick kitchen chat. I share some of the sugars/sweeteners from my pantry and tell you about my favorite breakfast tea, Golden Yunnan from Rishi. Also mentioned: Steen’s cane syrup, Lyle’s golden syrup NordicWare bundt pan, Winds Cafe in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Denshiro tea canister, and CasaWare infuser mug.
Click on the arrow below to listen to my chat with Louise Miller author of the novels: The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living and The Late Bloomer’s Club. We talk about the importance of baking and meditation in her writing practice, share wedding cake stories, her preference for popcorn as a dinner entree, and then get into specifics about burning sugar for the Burnt Sugar Cake with Maple Icing recipe from The Late Bloomer’s Club. I made the cake and am not shy to admit that my favorite way to eat it was with my morning cup of tea, because tea and cake are a perfect pairing.
If you are a fan of the Gilmore Girls you will love these two novels. They both take place in the fictional small town of Guthrie, Vermont that feels similar to Stars Hollow.
Louise is a professional baker, the novels are rich with kitchen scenes, and the end of each book features a recipe. I made the Burnt Sugar Cake with Maple Icing because I wanted the challenge of burning sugar; something I’ve never attempted. The instructions are very clear to follow, including never walking away from the sugar while it’s on the stovetop. The recipe and some of the steps in the process are below. I apologize for not snapping photos of the icing, the iced cake, or a slice of cake; the excitement of tasting it overcame me and I forgot!
As you can see from the pictures below, the burnt sugar is a deep brown color that enhances the finished cake. The complex flavor is difficult to describe; it’s a little bitter, but in a good way. The sour cream keeps the cake moist and the maple syrup in the icing provides an added depth paired with the powdered sugar for just the right amount of sweet.
Have you ever burned sugar?
Do you have a favorite sweetener to cook with?
Any helpful hints for using Date Sugar?
I loved your interview with Louise and wish I had a big slice of that cake now!