TWD: Cappuccino Cake Squares and a cat adventure

I had such good intentions for posting "Tuesdays with Dorie" on time this month. And then life came along and slapped us upside the head -- but, read on, the story has a happy ending.

I made Dorie's lovely Cinnamon Squares (Cappuccino variation) for a pot-luck on Monday. Took pictures, figured I'd finish up my post on Tuesday.

Our younger cat Annie didn't come in Monday night. That happens fairly often, so we weren't worried. But then she didn't show up on Tuesday -- not for breakfast, not in the afternoon, not in the evening...

We were worried. Really worried. She never stays away that long. To make a long story short, we spent the next several days talking to all the neighbors, checking all the hidden areas in our yard and neighboring yards, calling local vets & the Humane society, and worrying and grieving. I was too depressed to want to write up my TWD post.

Sunday afternoon we sat down for brunch in the sunroom. I was sipping my coffee and thinking, "Gosh, I'm beginning to accept that Annie is gone." Suddenly my husband Jim exclaimed, "What the f***!?" and there was Annie, calmly walking across the side yard.

It feels like a miracle! She seems to be fine; a little tired, a little jumpy, and her feet are dirty -- but no injuries, not sick or thirsty or starved. And of course, she'll never tell us about her adventure...cats never do. Sigh.

So, with no further ado, here are the Cappuccino Cake Squares.


I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, which was just right for our tastes. Wrapped the pan in home-made "cake strips" to help keep the edges from getting too brown. (What are they? Just long strips of aluminum foil, folded over wet paper towels, and clamped with metal clamps from an office supply store. If you use heavy-duty aluminum foil, they will last a long time.)

The cake took about 42 minutes to bake. For the frosting, I used 4 ounces of milk chocolate and 2 ounces of bittersweet, because somehow milk chocolate sounded like a good match to the coffee and cinnamon flavors of the cake. Unfortunately, I forgot that milk chocolate is even more sensitive to heat than dark chocolate, and some of the chocolate around the edges of the bowl ended up "seizing." But I beat in some more butter, which took care of most of the problem, and then strained the frosting through a fine sieve directly onto the top of the cake. That worked.


I was in a hurry, so I had to cut the cake while the cake and frosting were both warm. Messy messy messy but still delicious! The milk chocolate frosting was great. The icing really makes this cake.


It wasn't quite as big a hit at the potluck as the brownies or rhubarb squares -- but what can you expect? Still, it was much appreciated, and nibbling on the leftovers was a bit of consolation during our 5 days of worry.

All's well that ends well...


And before I end this post, thanks to Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures for choosing this recipe. Great choice!