Salted Caramels

I would like to introduce you to my new love... salted caramel! Now I know this is a thing that's been doing the rounds on food blogs for a while, but I am only just now jumping on the band wagon. "Salted caramel, where have you been all my life?" Caramel has always been a favorite flavour of mine, but when combined with sea salt, it takes on a whole new dimension. The perfect balance of sweet and salty!


I made two batches. The first, plain caramels cut in to 1 inch squares. The second batch, I put in to chocolate cups with pecans. Either way, these are Soooo yummy!!!
The recipe listed below is for the caramels in the chocolate cups.
Enjoy!

Salted Caramels

Ingredients

• 2 cups chocolate (use the good stuff, not baking chocolate!)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling on top.
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup or golden syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup whole pecans

Directions

1. In a double boiler, melt 1 cup of chocolate. Carefully coat the inside of 24 patty pans, or mini cupcake papers with melted chocolate. I like to put a spoonful in the patty pan and just carefully turn it until coated. Place them in a mini cupcake tin as you go in the fridge so they harden.


2. Bring the cream, butter and sea salt to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat and set aside.


3. Boil the sugar, corn syrup/golden syrup, and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan; then cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 248°F (120°C


4. Carefully stir in the cream mixture—the mixture will bubble up. Simmer, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. The temperature should not go higher than 250°F(121°C)


5. Carefully spoon caramel into prepared chocolate cups, filling about 1/4 full.


6. place 1 whole pecan on top of caramel and then spoon a little more caramel over the pecan, making sure that you do not fill the caramel above the edge of the chocolate cup.


7. Melt the remainder of the chocolate and when smooth, top the caramel cups with chocolate. Gently wiggle baking tray to smooth out the top.


8. Top each cup with a small pinch of sea salt.


9. Refrigerate to harden and set the chocolate. Once set, store at room temperature.

Apple Pie

"As American as apple pie." What does that mean? I guess it really is a very "American" desert. Australian's idea of pie usually includes some type of meat, not fruit. It's been a long time since I've had apple pie. What better way to remedy my homesickness than this classic American desert?
Enjoy!


Apple Pie

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cut into 1 inch cubes and chilled
• 1/4 cup shortening
• chilled6-8 tbsp ice water
  

Filling:

• 6-8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I like a tart apple like Granny smith.)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry cutter until mixture is coarse and no chunks larger than a big pea remain. Add water and press dough into a ball with the palms of your hands.Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and spices. Add apples and toss until apples are coated. Pour melted butter over the top of apples and stir until well combined. Set aside until pie crust is ready.

Divide dough in half. Place one piece between two large pieces of baking or parchment paper. This is different than the old school way of doing it where you would roll it out on a floured surface. Adding more flour to the dough may create a tougher crust and prevent it from being light and flaky. Keep rolling until the dough circle is about 1 1/2-inches wider in diameter than the rim of the pie dish (hold dish over flat crust to check size). Dough for top crust doesn't need to be quite as large, only 1/2-1 inch larger than the pie dish. Gently lay the bottom crust into the dish. Fill pie dish with apple filling. Roll the second piece of dough out like the first, but use a small cookie cutter to cut a small, simple shape out of the middle to let air escape while baking. Lay top crust on top of filling and pinch edges to seal. Bake pie at 425 F (220 C) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F (175 C) and bake for a further 30-35 mins, or until juices are oozing from the pie’s vent. Let pie cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before slicing to allow juices to thicken and pie filling to set.

Chocolate "French" Macarons

First of all, let me start by saying I am in no way an expert on the subject of french macarons. I have never made them before and I have never even been to France. (Although it is on my list of dream destinations.) I do however have a love for baking and cooking and love a challenge in the kitchen! Rumor has it, these little suckers are hard to make and there is a science to making them. Every recipe and website has different tips and tricks for perfecting them. I took a chance and tried a simple recipe for a chocolate macaron with an espresso ganache. Now like I said before, I've never had a real one, but I have an image in my head as to what they should look and taste like, and these came pretty close to what I'd imagined! Two little pillows of crunchy, melt in your mouth meringue, with a rich dark chocolate and espresso ganache sandwiched in between. Until I make it to France to taste the real thing, this will have to do.

ENJOY! Chocolate Macarons

Macarons:

• 1 cup icing (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 3 Tablespoons coco powder
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Ganache:

• 1/8 cup cream
• 1 cup dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso

1. In a large bowl, sift together icing sugar, coco and almond meal.
2. In a separate bowl, or electric mixer, whisk egg whites until thick. Add white sugar in 2 separate parts, whisking in between each. On high, continue to whisk until very stiff peaks form.
3. Fold egg whites in to almond mixture until just combined. It's important not to over mix.
4. Fill a pastry bag with mixture. Pipe on to baking tray lined with baking paper. Form small flat circles, about 1 teaspoon, about an inch apart. Rap baking tray on the counter top a few times to flatten the macarons out slightly.
5. Bake for 12-15 mins. Remove and place on cooling racks completely.
6. To make ganache, put cream and espresso in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add chocolate and let sit for 2 mins. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
7. Place a small amount of ganache between 2 macaroons making sure not to squish out the sides. Let set on cooling rack for at least an hour to set.

*From what I know of french macarons, these turned out ok in some ways and not in others. They tasted great and the texture was fantastic. They had the "foot" on the bottom of the macaron and did not crack during baking. They did not however have the smooth shiny finish across the top as they should have. It think this may be because I did not ground the almond meal as most recipes suggest, so that is is fine like flour rather than sand. I may have also over mixed it a bit. They also raised a bit more than they should have. I think this is because I used icing "mixture" rather than pure icing sugar. The mixture contains cornflour and may have caused it to rise a bit.

Coconut Cupcakes

I have a confession:
I LOVE CUPCAKES!

The cupcake defiantly seems to have made a comeback in recent years. From humble vanilla, to rich chocolate, the flavour possibilities are endless! I have made many cupcakes in the past few years, but this one has got to be one of my favourites!
ENJOY!

COCONUT CUPCAKES with meringue topping

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups large-flake unsweetened coconut

Meringue topping

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 Tablespoon coconut flavour
  

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients and coconut in a large bowl. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

2 .Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

3. Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool on cooling racks completely before topping.

4. To make meringue, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add caster sugar and continue to whisk until shiny. Spoon meringue on top of cupcakes and use s small spatula to form peaks, or fill pastry bag fitted with a large tip to top meringue.

5. Place cupcakes in oven bake until meringues until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have been very hesitant about posting a chocolate chip cookie recipe on my blog. I mean, anyone can make a chocolate chip cookie... right? So I went on the hunt for the world's best chocolate chip cookie recipe. I mean if I am going to post a recipe for this universally loved cookie, it's gotta be something AMAZING! I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and adapted my recipe from that. The secret ingredient, instant vanilla pudding or vanilla custard powder, keeps them moist and gives them an extra kick of vanilla. The verdict's still out for me. Sure, they were good, but not sure if I would call them "World's best." However I was told by a few people when I took them in to work that they were the best they had ever had. You try them and be the judge!
ENJOY!

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients
· 2 1/4 cup flour
· 1 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoons baking powder
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1 cups butter, softened
· 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
· 1/4 cup white sugar
· 1 package of vanilla pudding mix or 1/3 cup vanilla custard powder
· 2 eggs
· 1 tablespoons vanilla
· 2 cups milk chocolate, chopped (I like cadbury dairy milk bar and used 2 whole blocks)

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C.)
Line baking trays with baking paper.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar.
Mix in instant pudding or custard powder until blended.
Stir in eggs and vanilla.
Blend in flour and then chocolate chips.Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on to a baking tray and bake for 10-12 mins

Vanilla bean Panna Cotta

If you haven't ever tried panna cotta before and have no idea what it is, imagine if Jello and vanilla ice cream got together and had babies! It's wiggles like Jello, but melts in your mouth like creamy vanilla ice cream.
You can splurge and split a real vanilla bean, or you can use vanilla bean paste... my newest and greatest find! It's all of the thousands of tiny little seeds already scraped out of the vanilla pod. One little teaspoon is equivalent to one whole vanilla bean!
ENJOY!*** Note *** although this turned out soooo yummy, for some reason all of the vanilla seeds sunk to the bottom. Does anyone know why this happened or how to prevent it? Maybe something to do with using skim milk rather than whole?

Vanilla bean panna cotta

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 1/2 cups (375ml) cream


• 1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk


• 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste


• 1/2 cup (115g) caster sugar


• 2 1/2 tsp gelatin powder


• fresh berries to serve

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan. Use a small sharp knife to split the vanilla bean lengthwise, then scrape the seeds from inside the bean. Add the seeds and bean to the saucepan. (or 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste) Slowly bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
Discard bean from cream mixture. Add sugar and return to a low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until sugar dissolves.
Place 2 tbs of boiling water in a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle over gelatin. Bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat. Sit the bowl of gelatin in the water and stir until dissolved. Cool slightly, then stir into the cream mixture.
Lightly oil 6 x 1/2 cup (125ml) panna cotta moulds or ramekins. Place on a tray and pour in cream mixture. Refrigerate for 4 hours.
To serve, break the seal by inserting a small knife between the panna cotta and the mould. Turn onto a serving plate and shake to release. Serve dish with fresh berries.

Baileys fudge

Fudge... mmm... Baileys... mmm... BAILEYS FUDGE...MMM!!! I haven't had a lot of experience making candy, but I have had a wee bit of experience eating it! I came across this recipe in Marie Claire magazine and couldn't resist!
ENJOY!Baileys Fudge

• 150ml (3/4 cup) Baileys
• 50ml (3 Tablespoons) milk
• 30g (2 Tablespoons) butter
• 350g (1 1/2 cup) sugar
• 300g (1 1/3 cup) white chocolate
• Butter for greasing
  

Grease a cake tin with butter or line with baking paper. Chop white chocolate into small pieces.
Measure out 125ml of Baileys and pour into a saucepan. Add the milk, butter and sugar, and put the pan over a low heat. Stir occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted.
Turn up the heat to medium and let the mixture gently simmer while stirring constantly. Leave the mixture to bubble slightly for 10 minutes. This is important because it it does not reach 238 F (114C) the fudge may not set.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in chopped-up chocolate and last 25ml of Baileys. Keep stirring until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth consistency.
Transfer to the tin and chill in the fridge for at least two hours, or until it has set completely.
Remove from the fridge, cut into pieces and enjoy!