Quarantine Kitchen: A holiday dessert from Biltmore Park

This year has been full of unprecedented times and situations. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many families and individuals will be cooking at home this holiday season. That’s why we are bringing the dishes to you all month long in our Quarantine Kitchen series. We talked to twenty-three chefs who willingly shared some of their favorite dishes to prepare for the holidays. Stay tuned Dec. 1 through 24 on the blog as well as our social media channels for a new dish to feature in your home each day and let’s get cooking!

Fork Lore: Storied Food and Spirits, originally called Roux, takes classic Southern dishes and spins them in a way that tells their story to all those who visit Biltmore Park in Asheville. Opened in 2009, the restaurant quickly became a popular destination location for locals and tourists alike.

As a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in 1992, Executive Chef Chris Heath has held leadership positions in a variety of restaurants, including Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant, Tampa Bay Brewing Co., Lake Region Yacht and Country Club, Linger Longer Steakhouse at The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee & The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. He decided, however, to return to his culinary and family roots by moving back to North Carolina where he was born and raised. According to his co-workers, Chris brings passion, experience and technical knowledge to the table. He loves to highlight local ingredients in his dishes, from heirloom tomatoes to free range chickens. Whether cooking for his wife and three children or customers at his restaurant, Chef Chris delights in creating a dish that feels both familiar and exquisitely surprising, including one of his holiday favorites, Butterscotch Cake. According to Chef Heath, the recipe, detailed below, is best enjoyed when local eggs, butter and buttermilk are used. Pick up the ingredients at a farmers market, roadside stand or other retailer near you today and start creating a culinary story in your own kitchen!

Butterscotch Cake

Ingredients:

• For the cake:
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
• For the Southern Caramel Icing:
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

• Making the cake:
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans.
  3. Cream butter until fluffy and then add sugar and cream for about eight minutes.
  4. Add eggs one at a time and cream after each.
  5. Add flour and buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with flour.
  6. Add vanilla and beat well.
  7. Divide among pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until set.
  8. Turn out of pans onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
  9. Prepare Southern Caramel Icing. As cakes are cooling, ice the cake.
• Make the icing:
  1. Mix all ingredients in a 3 to 4-quart cast iron dutch oven.
  2. Swirl pan to keep ingredients moving in the pan.
  3. Cook to soft ball stage (235 to 245 degrees on a candy thermometer or when tested in a cup of cold water).
  4. Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until creamy and ready to spread.