Butterscotch Maple Chocolate Chip Layer Cake

     I'm not sure what came over me when I did this. I was all of a sudden consumed with the idea of making a layer cake. I grabbed a box of cake mix and decided to screw around with it. Naturally, I added booze. Maple Crown Royal has become a staple in my kitchen. Then I decided to do something different. If you haven't heard of Inbru, you need to check it out. It's a totally natural coffee flavoring made from California rice hulls.

Prepare to be amazed with the power of SCIENCE!

You just add them to your coffee grounds while brewing and *POOF!* your coffee is flavored for zero calories. I had heard rumors that you could use Inbru in baking, so I gave it a try. I added their Butterscotch Drop flavor. It worked wonderfully. You could smell the aroma of Butterscotch throughout the house. It imparted a fantastic flavor to the cake. If you're patient and let the cake sit a while, the flavor deepens and really adds a fantastic dimension to a plain old yellow cake. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Butterscotch Maple
Chocolate Chip Layer Cake

Ingredients
Cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• substitute 1/4 cup water from the cake mix with Maple Crown Royal
• 2 teaspoons Inbru Butterscotch Drop coffee flavoring
• 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (I got this recipe from Sweet Savory Life. Definitely check out the page, there's lots of great stuff to be found! The recipe yields around 3 cups, which is way more then you'll need unless you have a heavy hand with the frosting. I had about a cup left over)

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or ½ pound), softened (but not melted!)
• 3½ cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract (I went with vanilla)
• 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream (I used milk. I figured it was plenty rich already)

Directions

Frosting

1. Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

Cake

1. Begin preparing cake according to directions on box. Remember to swap 1/4 cup of the Crown in for the water. 
2. While batter is mixing, add the Inbru. 
3. Add the chocolate chips and mix until they are distributed through the batter.
4. Divide the batter between two greased 9" cake pans.
5. Cook cakes according to directions on box.
6. When cakes have cooled, remove from pans. (Be patient here. The chocolate chips will make the bottoms stick to the pan a bit. Give it time and you'll get the cakes out without destroying them). Here's where things become difficult. With a good, long bread knife, cut horizontally across one of the cakes to remove the rounded top. Spread a layer of frosting across the flat surface.

   

   Try to cut as level as possible or you get a slightly lopsided cake.
   Just like mine!

7. Lay the other cake on top of the frosted layer. Frost the sonofabitch! Give it a couple hours before you eat it to really let the butterscotch flavor develop!

Good times!

Maple Bacon Walnut Ice Cream

     Every now and then I have a stroke of sheer genius. A spark of inspiration so bright it is blinding. I run around the kitchen clapping my hands and generally looking pleased with myself. This was one of those times. I had made bacon for breakfast and ended up with some leftovers. Jokingly, I suggested making bacon ice cream. That's when it hit. Not just bacon ice cream. Bacon ice cream with toasted walnuts. And maple! There must be maple! But not just any maple. Maple Crown Royal! So I dragged out the ice cream maker and commandeered the basic vanilla ice cream recipe from the manual.
     The result? The maple flavor of the Crown Royal came through wonderfully. The walnuts and bacon gave a nice crunch. It was the perfect combination of sweet and savory.

Maple Bacon Walnut Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1-1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla syrup
• 4 strips crisp bacon crumbled into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons crushed, toasted walnuts
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Maple Crown Royal

Directions

1. In a pan, melt butter. Add bacon, walnuts and brown sugar. Cook on medium heat until a thin caramel starts to form, stirring regularly. Set aside to cool.

   

   This is what you should have at this point

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light. Add whipping cream, milk, Crown Royal and vanilla. Combine thoroughly.
3. Add the bacon, walnut and caramel mixture to the large bowl, mix well.
4. Load into the ice cream maker of your choice and process as directed.

Good times!