Sweet Potato Cinnamon Buns

Ok, so if there ever was something so decadent on earth that it would cause an uprising if a shortage occurred, it would be these cinnamon buns. They're ridiculously moist, buttery, crunchy, glazy, sweet-potato-y, and just straight delicious. The perfect fall brunch item, or maybe a Thanksgiving or Christmas day treat!! PLUS you can make the dough the night before, so the day of is just as simple as putting them in the oven.

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Buns
Buns
2 (1/4 oz) Active Dry Yeast packets
1/2 C warm water
1 t sugar
5.5 C flour, divided
1 C mashed sweet potato
2 T Honey
1 t cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 C milk
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C butter, melted
Zest of 1 medium orange
1.5 t salt
1 t baking soda

Filling
3/4 C butter, melted
2 C brown sugar
2 C pecans, toasted and chopped
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg

Glaze
1 C brown sugar
1/3 C corn syrup
1/4 C butter
1/2 C heavy cream
1 t vanilla

Icing
1/2 milk
2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C maple syrup

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together yeast, water and 1 t sugar in small glass bowl. Allow to rest for 5 mins. Meanwhile, combine sweet potato, honey, 1 t cinnamon, egg, milk and butter. In another bowl, combine sugar, 4.5 C flour (reserve 1/2 C), zest, salt and baking soda. In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together yeast and 1/2 C flour until well blended. Attach dough hook and gradually add sweet potato mixture and flour mixture, blending well after each addition.

Turn out onto floured surface and work remaining 1/2 C flour into dough, kneading by hand. Continue to knead for 4-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a large bowl, coated with cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for an hour, until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for filling.

Once dough has doubled, punch it down and turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Roll it out into a roughly 10 x 18 rectangle. Top with an even layer of filling, leaving a 1-inch margin on all sides. Roll the dough up, starting on a long side (so your end product should be appx. 18 inches long). Cut into 12 slices and arrange them face up in a baking dish coated with cooking spray (you can use 2 if you need to). Cover with plastic wrap and proof (rise in a warm place) for 30 minutes. Alternately, you can cover them and place them in the 'fridge the night before.

Meanwhile, assemble glaze. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in sauce pan and bring up to a boil, whisking frequently. Once it reached a rolling boil, allow it to cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla and heavy cream, whisking furiously.*

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, remove from oven and pour glaze over them in batches, allowing ti to sink in in between additions. Return to oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle. Allow to cool a bit.

Beat together milk and powdered sugar. Add maple syrup and beat until thickened, but not stiff. Just, glazey. Top buns with glaze once they have cooled off a bit and go to town.

Chocolate Cappuccino Stout Cake

So they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I would give this cake about an 11 on a scale of 1-10 for it's MAN-pleasing-ness (I mean, dark chocolate, beer, coffee?? Does it get any better?) My inspiration was a seasonal specialty beer made by Lagunitas in Petaluma, California called "Cappuccino Stout." With a nice nuttiness and hints of coffee and chocolate and a sweet maltiness, this stout is like heaven to drink, and it really got my brain turning in terms of what I could do with it in the kitchen. And thus, the Chocolate Cappuccino Stout Cake was born.

Chocolate Cappuccino Stout Cake
Cake
2 C Butter (4 sticks)
2 C Stout Beer, plus extra for garnish*
1.5 C Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder (Or Dutch if you feel like getting expensive)

1/2 C Fresh Brewed Espresso

4 C Cake Flour
4 C Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1.5 t Salt
4 Eggs
3/4 C Sour Cream (Or Greek Yogurt if you want to cut a few calories)

Ganache

8 oz Semi-sweet Chocolate (chips, chunks, whatever - just chop it up small)

1/2 C Heavy Cream

1T Instant Coffee Granules

Icing
1 C (2 sticks) softened butter
4-5 C Powdered Sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 t Vanilla
2 T Heavy Cream

Garnish
Mini Chocolate Chips (I used the leftover from the ganache - but you can use chocolate chunks, or curls, or whatever you used)

Sauce
1 C Brown Sugar
1/3 C Corn Syrup
1/2 C Reserved Butter-Cocoa-Beer Mix
1/2 C Additional Stout
1 t Instant Coffee Granules
1/2 C Heavy Cream

*I used 'Young's Double Chocolate Stout'. You can certainly use the 'Lagunita's Cappuccino Stout', but it's sometimes hard to find, and I kind of feel like if you can get your hands on it, you should certainly drink it.

Method
Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degree. Butter three 9-inch pans, line bottom with parchment and butter parchment.

Heat butter and beer in saute pan until butter is melted. Add cocoa powder and stir to combine. Transfer to bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Brew 1/2 C fresh espresso, remove 1/2 C of butter-cocoa-beer mixture from bowl, and replace with espresso. Reserve 1/2 C butter mix for sauce.

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In bowl of stand mixer (or a large bowl), beat together eggs and sour cream with paddle attachment. Once butter-cocoa-beer-espresso mix is cooled, add to mixing bowl and beat to combine. Add flour mixture a cup at a time until all in and mix for one minute. Divide equally between buttered pans. Drop pans on counter a couple times to release any hidden bubbles, and then make an indent with the back of a large spoon in the center of each (this will help them rise more evenly). Bake for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely before frosting.

Ganache
Place chocolate in medium bowl. Heat heavy cream in sauce pan with coffee granules, stirring to melt. When simmering, pour over chocolate and whisk until completely melted, dark and shiny. Allow to rest at room temperature for 10-20 minutes to thicken up a bit.

Icing
Beat butter in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment for 1-2 minutes, until pale yellow, light and fluffy. Reduce speed, and add powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until desired sweetness/thickness achieved. (I add my sugar at a low speed and then once incorporated, speed it up to really whip it into shape). Add vanilla and heavy cream and beat for 30-40 seconds.

Sauce
Heat brown sugar, corn syrup, butter-cocoa mix, beer and coffee granule in saute pan until it boils, whisking often. Allow it to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and immediately add heavy cream, whisking furiously. Set aside. (You can ad more beer if you like it a little 'stout-i-er'.)

Assembly
Using cerated knife, cut the tops of the cakes so that you have a flat surface (otherwise, your cakes will crack when you stack them!) Cut each cake in half (so you'll now have 6 layers instead of 3). With pastry brush, apply extra stout to the top of each layer. Place a small 'blob' of icing on your frosting surface, and place first layer of cake on it. Cut a ring out of parchment paper and line plate with it (to keep the surface clean). Frost top of cake with thin layer of icing, and repeat with remaining layers/icing, frosting sides last. Spoon ganache over only the top of the cake, being careful not to allow the ganache to spill down the sides of the cake. Apply a ring of mini chocolate chips around the edge, covering the transition from ganache to icing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serving
Heat sauce up so it's nice and warm. Cut a slice of cake, placing it on it's side, and spoon a bit of sauce over the top. It's great like this, but if you feel like getting EXTRA crazy you can serve it with a bit of chocolate or coffee ice cream.