Rise or Not To Rise...

I recently came across a recipe for Potato Bread in a Cooking Light Magazine. I always run... very fast... not looking back... hair flowing in the wind, from anything that calls for yeast. It's just something that I've never been good at. I think it boils down to patience.... and the fact that I wasn't born with that gift (my kids and husband can vouch). It really is a gift, both patience and bread-baking.

Usually when I become brave enough and put my big-girl panties on and go for it, it does one of two things: it rises, it's beautiful, and it leads to twisting and turning the recipe into new experimental bread endeavors... or, it falls flat (pun intended) and it goes in the garbage. I live just outside of Memphis, so I know humidity is not the issue. No, I'm pretty clear this "rising" incompetence has nothing to do with the weather, the yeast freshness, or the procedure. It's definitely me.

This recent reproduction of the Cooking Light Potato Bread turned out beautifully. We ate two loaves in 1 week. I decided I would try the same recipe but with sweet potato (leftover from the cupcakes). I also substituted a bit of white-whole wheat flour. It was a tad more dense, but still came to a rise, and tasted great (especially toasted with honey and butter). However my creativity turned it's back on me and became cruel with these two words: Cinnamon-Raisin.

Now see, here's where they would freeze-frame the movie and the narrator would make some quip and then they would rewind the movie so that the characters could start over with different dialogue that the narrator had referred to during the freeze-frame. I should have stopped while I was ahead.

My Cinnamon-Raisin venture was flat and inedible, verifiying of a couple of things: don't fix it if it ain't broke (that's said with the Southern-most twang imaginable) and a Chef and a Baker are very different things. Not that I'm trying to justify my failure (yeah right).

That Potato Bread recipe just wasn't meant to be tampered with. It was perfect all on its own. I might try the sweet potato substitution again, but right now I'm happy with my new biceps after all that kneading. On to new things....

Original Potato Bread

Sweet Potato Recipe Contest

I decided to enter my very first recipe contest! I've never been able to do this before because professional chefs are typically excluded. This contest prohibits "full-time kitchen professionals." I only work 10-15 hours in our church kitchen and write a bi-weekly food column, so they said I was good to go. You'll have to pardon my newbie excitement, but...this blogging thing has opened up a whole new world! Since I'm just beginning my blog-journey, I've been constantly reading and following one blogger's favorite sites to another's, and so on and so on. I eventually get so far away from the original blog I was reading, that I have to start from the beginning. That's how I ran across the sweet potato contest at Sweetbytes. I've put my contest recipe entry for Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting below. This recipe is a combination of two of my favorite things: cupcakes and brown butter. If you want to add a touch of crunch, try sprinkling the frosted tops with candied-spiced pecans.


Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting
Yield: 24 cupcakes, 1 loaf, One 9x13 cake, or 48 mini cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Tbsp. honey
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sweet potato baby food or canned sweet potatoes (drained & mashed) or 1 cooked & mashed sweet potato
2 cups white-whole wheat flour (or half whole wheat, half all-purpose)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cardamom or nutmeg
For the Brown Butter Frosting:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners (or spray a loaf/cake pan with non-stick spray). Cream together the butter, honey, & brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and the sweet potato. The batter might look curdled, but it will come together once the flour is added. While the mixer is off, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, & cardamom/nutmeg. Mix on low speed until combined. Place batter in the cupcake liners, 3/4's full and bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting. For the frosting: melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Beat the cream cheese and pour the hot butter over it, on low speed. Turn up the speed and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing to combine. Add the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Frost the cupcakes once they are completely cooled. These will keep in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.

Here's the recipe I like for Candied-Spiced Pecans (courtesy of Allrecipes.com). I add 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper to it for an extra kick.