Vanilla Spice Butter Food

VANILLA BUTTER CREAM

Steps:

• Cook the sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and water in a saucepan over medium heat to 245 degrees F. At 235 degrees F wash down the side of the pan with a brush soaked in water to remove sugar crystals. Pour the cooked batch into a mixing bowl and let it cool to 110 degrees F. If sugar crystals form on top of the batch as it is cooling, sprinkle the sugar crystals lightly with water to dissolve.
• Melt the butter. When the sugar mixture reaches 110 degrees F, start the mixer on slow speed and add the flour and butter. Continue mixing until batch becomes semi-firm. Pour batch onto a table (previously sprinkled with flour). Dip hands into flour and knead batch until it is soft and creamy. Take small sections of the batch and roll it into a 1-inch diameter tube. Cut the tube with a butter knife into bite size pieces. Roll each piece and place on waxed paper. Keep at room temperature (65 to 75 degrees F) for 4 to 24 hours. Coat the pieces with chocolate. The coated vanilla butter creams may be eaten after another 24 hours.

VANILLA-SPICE BUTTER

Steps:

• Blend the ingredients in a food processor, shape into a log on waxed paper, wrap and chill.

CHUNKY APPLE SPICE CAKE WITH VANILLA BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
• Beat butter and brown sugar for 5 minutes in a mixer bowl.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla just until blended.
• Set aside.
• Mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, allspice and salt.
• Gradually add to sugar mixture; beating until well blended.
• Stir in apples, nuts, and raisins, if desired.
• Pour into one greased 9-inch baking pan; bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool on wire rack 10 minutes.
• Serve warm with Vanilla Butter Sauce.
• Vanilla Butter Sauce:.
• Combine butter and whipping cream with brown sugar.
• Bring to boil over medium heat.
• Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
• Serve warm.
• Do-ahead Suggestion: The cake and sauce can be prepared and refrigerated separately the day before.
• Warm the cake, in the oven, and the sauce, on top of the stove, before serving.

VANILLA-SPICED CARAMEL AND PEAR TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Roll out pastry to 12-inch square and trim off corners, forming slightly rounded crust. (If using all-butter puff pastry, roll out to 12-inch round.) Transfer pastry to 10-inch-diameter springform pan, pressing pastry firmly onto bottom and 1 to 1 1/2 inches up sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep frozen.
• For pears:
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over low heat. Add sugar and next 4 ingredients. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring until sugar melts and turns brown (color of peanut butter), about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add pears, rounded side down. Cook until pears are almost tender, turning and moving skillet around occasionally to ensure even cooking, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on ripeness of pears. Carefully turn pears over; continue to cook until pears are very tender, about 10 minutes longer. Remove skillet from heat; cool pears in skillet with spices (pears will release juice while cooling).
• For filling:
• Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Add cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. Increase heat to medium; cook until butter is golden (watch to avoid burning), 3 to 4 minutes. Remove vanilla bean and spices from butter; discard. Whisk sugar, egg, and coarse salt in medium bowl. Whisk in flour. Gradually whisk browned butter into egg mixture. DO AHEAD: Pears and filling can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover separately; let stand at room temperature. Whisk filling before using.
• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400°F. Brush frozen crust with beaten egg white. Pour filling into crust; spread evenly over bottom of crust (filling will be very thin). Using slotted spatula, remove pears from skillet, allowing excess syrup to drain back into skillet; reserve syrup. Arrange pears, rounded side up, atop filling (about 9 around edge and 3 in center of pan).
• Bake tart until crust is deep golden and filling is set and brown at edges, about 1 hour. Run small knife around sides of pan to loosen tart. Release pan sides. Transfer tart to platter. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature to cool slightly until just warm.
• Just before serving, boil syrup in skillet until reduced to generous 1/3 cup, 1 to 2 minutes. Discard spices. Drizzle syrup over pears. Serve tart slightly warm.

CHUNKY APPLE SPICE CAKE WITH VANILLA BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Set oven to 350°F.
• Grease a 9-inch baking pan.
• For cake: Beat butter and brown sugar for 5 minutes in a mixing bowl, until light and fluffy; beat in eggs and vanilla just until blended; set aside.
• Sift together, flour, pumpkin pie spice, allspice and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until blended; stir in apples, nuts and raisins (if using).
• Pour the batter/mixture into prepared baking pan.
• Bake 35-40 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool on wire rack.
• For butter sauce: Combine butter and whipping cream with brown sugar; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, stir in 2 tbsp vanilla, mix until blended.
• Note: The sauce recipe may be doubled for a larger amount. Serve cake warm with vanilla butter sauce--delicious!
• Do ahead note: The cake can be prepared a day ahead, and the following day, warmed up in the oven on low temperature, then served with warm sauce. Also the sauce can be prepared ahead, and then warmed if desired.

SPICED VANILLA SAUCE WITH BUTTER

Steps:

• In saucepan, mix together the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and allspice; blend in cold water. Bring to a simmer and simmer until clear and thickened.
• Blend in butter and vanilla.
• Serve over hot fritters or serve with bread pudding or other dessert.