I love it when a plan comes together! And this plan started with a couple of new baking items I’d picked up: Cinnamon Sweet Bits from King Arthur Baking Company, and the Acorn cakelet pan from Nordicware. (Full disclosure, I’m not sure Nordicware still sells this particular cakelet pan on their site, but they have other mini-fall cakelet pans; and one might find this specific one on ebay or elsewhere).
Add to this some extra vanilla cake batter I had left over from another bake, and I ended up with a great mini-cake teatime treat.
First to the cinnamon sweet bits – These small bits of cinnamon sugar are not like chips – they are softer, basically melt in your mouth, and have me thinking of a cinnamon coffee cake streusel, if I’m honest. And that’s a good thing! They mix into a normal cake batter without sinking to the bottom, and just give you lovely bite of cinnamon throughout the cake. (I used a Duncan Hines classic white cake, just eyeballing to add in the cinnamon bits, and some extra ground cinnamon and vanilla.)
They work really well with a small cakelet like these acorns – you can see the bits when you cut open the cake, as well as on top. So plenty of cinnamon flavor in a 2-3 bite treat.
And the pan is simply wonderful – I used a little baking spray, but I probably didn’t need it. You can tell Nordicware pans are good quality by just picking them up – sturdy without being too heavy, beautiful nonstick surfaces, and they are pretty enough to display.
One good tablespoon of cake batter in a tin with wells this size is just right, then pop in the oven for 15 minutes, and Bob’s your uncle. Brush on a little melted chocolate ganache (semi-sweet chocolate, butter and cream) to the top of the acorn to bring out the pattern, and you’ve got a nice fall afternoon tea treat without a lot of time or effort.
And that’s my semi-homemade solution, using two new favorite things!
There really is no excuse not to make your Fall afternoon teatime special, when a few ingredients (some pre-mixed or made), thrown together can turn into these lovely and delicious little acorn cakelets. Try it with some apple spice tea, and you’ll know Fall is finally here!
Very Nearly Teatime 