I run a 52/42 old-school double on my weekend bike and love it - the switch between chain rings is about half again as big a difference in gear as a switch between rear sprockets. Because the jump between chain rings is smaller I find myself shifting up front quite a lot (52/20 and 42/20 are the most-used gears on that bike for gently rolling terrain), which would eliminate your problem of getting stuck in the big/small ring. I've had a go on a few bikes with compact cranksets and personally haven't got on with the big jump between rings, or with the need to cross-chain the transmission.
If you went down this route you'd need to pair it with something bigger than a 23t largest sprocket though, which may also require a longer cage derailleur. I went from a 14-26t (five speed freewheel, it's a 1960s bike) to a 14-28t and after a bit of practice can get up pretty much anything now.
If you are interested in upping your cadence, have you tried out different crank lengths? I have slightly shorter cranks on my ten-speed than on my tourer/commuter, and find they make it easier/more natural to maintain a higher cadence. Just a thought.