Variations on a theme

I make the same things over and over again, until eventually I overdo it (Have you ever eaten yourself silly on cinnamon rolls? I am still trying) or have such a disaster that I can’t face the thought of trying again for a while. I suppose that is how a lot of things end.

To make up for that, I am inconsistent. And willing to substitute in nonsensical ways.

This one was supposed to be cinnamon-raisin-walnut bread. There were no raisins around though (What do you mean, I could have gone to the store?) and only a third of the amount of walnuts I usually put in. So I added a cup of oatmeal instead. Oatmeal and raisins are interchangeable, after all!

It was still quite satisfying. This will happen again I think.

I also had another fun zebra cake adventure. This one looked more like a reverse Dalmatian, occasional vanilla splotches in chocolate cake. Next time (and I am sure there will be one…after all, it’s still coming out as cake!) I think I will not try to convert the rest of the fudge sauce I used to make the chocolate part of the batter into frosting. That didn’t end particularly well. I’ve had worse ideas, but I didn’t stop to consider how sweet the result might be. It was nicely pourable though, which led to an unfortunate frosting moat between the cake and the plate. Next time I might try waiting a minute before tossing it all on the cake. Assuming I ever think “Ooh, that leftover hot fudge sauce might make a good frosting!” again.

Look! There's a spot!

It wasn’t completely insane – actually it might be, but the general idea was the chocolate-yoghurt frosting that was recommended for the chocolate sourdough cake (which is actually an espresso-yoghurt frosting. I didn’t have espresso powder and more people like chocolate…this is how I get into trouble.) – I put in some yoghurt too, left out the butter and then added the powdered sugar. Maybe I just don’t know enough, but it made sense when you realize that this improvised (No recipe is sacred. Not even my grandmothers hot fudge sauce.) sauce was unsweetened cocoa powder, butter, a little milk and powdered sugar. Other than the milk, it’s pretty much what I put in the yogurt frosting. Which admittedly IS quite sweet as well. Even using just half the recipe I end up with an extra bowl of the stuff (this goes on cinnamon rolls later), if I’d stopped where I usually do it might have been fine. I have no idea why I didn’t.

For now I might stick to the caramel frosting I’ve been addicted to lately. I’ve been putting in less powdered sugar because I can’t get it to spread (or stick to the cake) when I use the recommended amount. Maybe I should skip the cooling step. And add some yogurt. Or hot fudge sauce. And chocolate-covered peanuts. Or chocolate peanut butter. I think I am confusing “frosting” and “ice cream” at this point.

The most interesting thing I tried and didn’t make anyone loopy on sugar were the not-cinnamon rolls of the week: Thanks to the Bach’s suggestion, I filled them with potatoes and cheddar.

They made a delicious dinner.

I also made sweet ones, half of which I filled with black currant jam, for dessert. Something new I learned: Two tablespoons of jam is quite enough (conveniently that was exactly what I had!), and microwaving the jam until it’s a bit more fluid makes spreading it quite a bit simpler. Of the jams I’ve tried as filling I think currant may be one of the favorites so far. Sometime we should try them all at once and find out…that will be a messy, sticky day. Full of jam and happiness.