Salted Caramel

Salted Caramel Mocha Cake Donuts

Claudia's Cookbook - Salted Caramel Mocha Donuts 18

I’ve had a bit of a donut obsession over the last few months. I’m not 100% sure why. I don’t really crave them, and they’re not really my favourite dessert. If there was a box of store bought donuts sitting in the lunch room at work, I could easily pass it up. Chocolate cake, on the other hand, I would have to be dragged from. So, my obsession has baffled me slightly. I actually blame Pinterest. I’ve never made homemade donuts before, so I think I felt: a) left out and b) up to the challenge.

I’ve been on the hunt for a donut pan for a while. It was one of those things where I would see them everywhere when I didn’t want to buy one, and nowhere when I did want to buy one. I finally found one at a great local kitchenware store this weekend. I wasted no time and got to work on these delicious treats.

These donuts are baked and have the texture and density of cake (hence the name, cake donuts). The chocolate is rich, the glaze is sinful and the salted caramel is, well, amazing. Baking donuts are also a tad healthier and less greasy than traditional deep fried donuts. They are also very easy to make and they take no time (9 minutes)! I’ve already had orders from my hockey team to bring a few dozen to our game on Wednesday. They are a very supportive (and hungry) bunch.

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Rolo Brownie Trifles

I love TV night. I celebrate my favourite guilty pleasure shows with 3 lovely ladies practically every week. It’s a fun time where we laugh, catch up on the week’s drama and, of course, eat. This week I volunteered to do the dessert because baking is clearly what I am most comfortable with. I scoured the Internet to find something a little more special than the average brownie recipe. That’s when I came across Bakingdom’s adorable website with this gem. My pictures do not do this dessert justice. This individual trifle recipe is decadent and rich – a perfect guilty pleasure treat. You simply can’t go wrong with Rolo candies, brownie, gooey salted caramel, and chocolate whipped cream! Everything in this recipe is made from scratch. You could easily make this with a box brownie recipe, store bought whipped cream and caramel sauce. It would probably taste pretty good, but not as good as this.

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Salted Caramel & Nutella Rice Krispie Squares

I waited for as long as I could. I tried my best to avoid walking down the aisle where I knew it would be. Alas, the temptation was too strong. I broke down and finally bought that tub of Nutella. Oh Nutella, you sultry chocolatey temptress. I didn’t grow up on Nutella. I grew up on old fashioned peanut butter and Cheez Whiz. Yes, I said Cheez Whiz. Claudia constantly reminds me that I was quite the picky eater growing up. I refused to eat any kind of sandwich that she made for lunch that wasn’t Cheez Whiz. Let’s just say I am happy my palate has evolved and I can appreciate the better things in life – like Nutella.

Like most Mom’s, Claudia made a lot of Rice Krispie treats for us kids growing up. I figured I would take this classic dessert and put more of an adult twist by topping it with chocolate and my latest obsession – salted caramel. I adapted this recipe from Mini Baker. It’s so simple and positively delicious. If these were available back in the ’80s, the 8-year old me would have put down the Cheez Whiz and picked up the Nutella.

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