Why I'm Blogging Again... and A Recipe For Caramel Sauce

After many months hiatus, I am blogging again because:

• Things are piling up. Clutter surrounds me. There are piles of recipes I want to keep, recipes I want to try, and recipes I want to tweak. Pictures abound: of my family, friends, food, vacations, and old haunts. These pictures are crawling with memories. I won't even bother elaborating on the jumble that is in my head. Instead of dumping everything in a time capsule that I can bury in the backyard, I stake a claim in a little corner of the Internet (as I no longer have a backyard to speak of). In my little blog, which is buried under millions of other food blogs, where nobody can find it but me, I have a receptacle. I dump my clutter in this virtual space, in my "One Bowl" and I stir and season and pop everything in the oven and hit "Publish" and voila: my clutter comes out sorted and labeled. Here, I can pretend that my life is organized and well thought-out. 
• In my blog, I can talk to myself without actually talking to myself. I can indulge in narcissistic dialogues or rave endlessly about my children without extracting an obligation from other people to pretend to listen to me.
• It's a wonderful life and I like to remember it that way. Bad stuff happens and it has a way of clouding good memories, doesn't it? Here, good times are immortalized. Even if I jot down events that are not so very pleasant, it's easier for me to see the silver lining when things are written down and sorted out.
• I want one more reason to cook with Rosalind. That is why I started the blog in the first place.
• A few of days ago, we've discovered Hugh's first tooth! To date, he has two teeth peeking out. Soon, he will be eating what we cook and not too long after that, he will be cooking with us. 

You see, my presence here is out of pure selfishness. I'm not here to share recipes or baking techniques or cooking ideas.  There are millions of other food bloggers out there who do a better job at those things and most likely have more altruistic motives than I do. I am simply keeping a log of what interests me and what is important to me.

But if you happen to get lost in the interweb and happen to stumble upon our humble abode, you are very welcome to come visit and to skim or peruse. If you see a recipe that looks interesting, please try it. If there's a picture of a dessert that you want to try but it looks like I have been too lazy to post a recipe with it, please leave me a comment and I will gladly jot down the recipe for you. Then I'll have a copy for myself too! (See how self-serving I am?) And of course, if any questions arise, ask and I shall try my best to answer.

During my short stint blogging last year, I have come to the conclusion that a personal blog has the capacity to evolve and fulfill multiple functions. Just like my favorite caramel sauce. I've initially made this recipe to top apple pie a la mode and brownie sundaes. Then I've used it to complement various desserts. At some point, I've started flavoring cakes, custards and cheesecakes by directly mixing the caramel in the batter. Recently, Rosalind and I ate my caramel sauce right out of the refrigerator with spoons as we watched a Miss Marple movie marathon. Burnt sugar and butter never tasted so good! Try it. I highly recommend it (the caramel or any Miss Marple movies with Geraldine McEwan).


All Purpose Caramel Sauce

1 stick butter (4 oz or 8 Tablespoons)
1 cups sugar
1 cup cream

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium high heat. Stir frequently with a whisk to keep butter from separating.

As soon as the butter is melted, slowly pour in the sugar while whisking continuously until the butter and sugar are nicely blended.

Brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to remove sugar crystals.

Let it cook, whisking occasionally. Make sure your whisk is also free of sugar crystals; wash the whisk with warm water if you have to.


Be very careful with this next step because really really hot steam will rise out of the pan and can burn you. As soon as the sugar/butter turns a medium brown color, turn down the heat to low and slowly, little by little, whisk in the cream.

Whisk until smooth and the desired color is reached. Take off the heat. Let it cool. Refrigerate for longer shelf-life. It will thicken in the fridge but it can be quickly warmed up in the microwave or stove top to thin it out. The caramel gets hot pretty fast, just to warn you.

And there you have it. Spoonfuls of heaven.


P.S.
Caramel sauce is a very touchy subject. There are lots of schools out there. Some advocate stirring, some don't. There's a question of when to add the butter: with the sugar or after caramelization or if at all.  Cream or no cream. Dry or wet caramelization. Brushing the sides with water or putting the lid on to steam down the crystals.

This is the sauce I've been using for years. It works for me.

Guinness Stout Cake with Bailey's Whipped Cream

Here a wonderful St. Patrick's Day dessert. It's one of my bestsellers at the restaurant right now.

Guinness Stout Cake with Bailey's Whipped Cream

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

1 1/3 c Guinness

10 oz butter (2 1/2 sticks), room temperature
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c molasses
3 eggs

1 c chocolate chips

Ganache glaze
Bailey's Whipped Cream

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Using the paddle attachment of a standing mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Slowly add the molasses while the mixer is running on medium speed. Mix until incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Add 1/3 the flour mixture to the mixer. Mix in low speed then add 1/3 of the Guinness. Continue to add the flour and beer alternately, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter onto well-greased mini bundt pans. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. The recipe makes 12 of these mini bundt cakes; since I only have one of these pans, I bake them in two batches. The batter can sit at room temp while waiting for the first batch to finish baking. .



Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before glazing.

Glaze with ganache.

Ganache for Glazing Cakes

When I attended cooking school, it was impressed upon us to keep chocolate away from any water contamination or it would bloom and/or seize up. It was only a few years ago that I learned that chocolate and water can mix. It just has to be the right amount of liquid for the chocolate not to seize.

Sure, I have made ganache tons of times before, but just with cream. I thought that the "fat-in- water-emulsion" characteristic of heavy cream gives it a special affinity with chocolate. But alas, chocolate is not as selective as I had thought. Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and a water-containing ingredient (and not just cream). Pretty much any liquid would do: hot coffee, hot tea, even just hot water. What is important is the ratio.

The end products differ in flavor and consistency. This new and exciting insight (that in making ganache, I can go beyond heavy cream and butter) opened up all possibilities for experimentation for me.

But to start with, here is the ratio for a traditional cream-based ganache I use to glaze cakes.

Ganache for Glazing Cakes

8 oz dark chocolate
1 1/4 cups cream

Chop up the chocolate and place in a bowl. Heat cream over the stove top or microwave until simmering. Pour over the chocolate.


Let rest for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to absorb the heat and the mixture to cool a little before agitating. Whisk until smooth or stir with a spatula or wooden spoon if you don't want air bubbles (it's just a lot quicker with a whisk).




Tap the bowl a few times on the counter to get rid of some of the air bubbles.

Whipped Cream

Whipped cream is fun. It dresses up many desserts. It mellows out strong flavors or adds another dimension of flavor to sweets. Whip in powdered sugar, granulated sugar or caramel with the cream to sweeten it. Add liquor or extracts to flavor it.

Whipped Cream

1 cup cream
2 T powdered sugar

To flavor the cream, use either
2 T liquor (Bailey's, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, etc.)
or
1/2 t extract (vanilla, lemon, mint, coconut, etc.)

Combine the cream, sugar, and flavoring in a bowl.

Whisk (using a standing mixer or by hand) until stiff peaks form.

Blueberry Galette

The last quarter of our sour cream pastry from a couple of weeks ago was made into a blueberry galette. It only now appears on this blog because, well, I forgot to post about it. But I do remember immensely enjoying a slice (or so) with vanilla bean ice cream.

Another thing I forgot to do was take a picture of the finished product. I was gabbing with my sister Norly as we ate the galette, and the camera in my hand wasn't enough reminder for me to take a picture before it was all gone! Rosalind wasn't there to nudge me of my duties as she didn't take part in this project; her cousins were visiting at the time, and no dessert, especially a non-chocolate dessert, can compete with playtime with friends.

In any case, I think this dessert is worth a try. It works with most fruits so it is a great way to use up fruits that are in danger of being past their prime. Since I have developed a habit of freezing berries or stone fruits (peeled and sliced) that might not get eaten before going bad, I seem to always have a supply of fruit for pies, tarts, or galettes.

Blueberry Galette

1/4 recipe of sour cream pastry
1/3 c sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t corn starch
2 c blueberries

Roll out pastry into 1/8 inch thick circle. Place the pastry on a baking sheet lined with Silpat, parchment paper or foil. In a bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and corn starch.

Add the blueberries. Mix. Place the mixture in a mound on top of the pastry.

Fold the border of the dough over the filling, allowing the dough to pleat as you work around the galette. Sprinkle sugar around the pleats.

Bake at 400F until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown (around 25 minutes).

Coconut Cashew Tarts with Chocolate Chips

Coconut Cashew Tarts with Chocolate Chips

1/4 recipe of sour cream pastry
1 egg
1/4 c sugar
2 T milk
1 T vanilla
1/2 c coconut
1/4 c chocolate chips
12 cashews


Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out 12 circles (around 2 inch diameter).

Press the circles into a mini muffin pan.


To make the filling, mix together the egg, sugar, milk and vanilla until well combined. Add the coconut and chocolate chips. Scoop the filling into the tart shells.


Top each tart with a cashew.

Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes.

Chocolate Pudding Cakes

Little flourless chocolate cakes in cups. This is an easy fail-proof recipe that can be prepped ahead of time. The trick is not to over bake them. If served warm (or even just slightly above room temperature), there is a wonderful surprise in the center -- smooth and intensely chocolaty custard, almost like chocolate creme brulee. If they are over baked, the texture will be that of truffle cakes, still incredibly good, just in a different way.

The unbaked custard can be refrigerated in the ramekins up to two days in advance and then popped in the oven when needed. Another option is to bake the cakes beforehand, refrigerate, and then heat in the microwave when ready to serve. The baked cakes keep in the fridge for about a week.

A spoonful of pudding cake straight from the refrigerator is like indulging in chocolate truffles. A bite of it will definitely satisfy if, say, hypothetically speaking, a person wakes up in the middle of the night and is craving something supremely chocolaty.

The original recipe can be found at epicurious.com. The following is one I simplified for Rosalind.

Chocolate Pudding Cakes

1/2 c butter (1 stick), chopped up
1/4 c water or brewed coffee
4 oz chocolate (bittersweet or semisweet) chopped
1/2 c sugar
2 t vanilla
2 eggs

Measure out the water (or coffee) in a liquid measuring cup (4 cup capacity, preferably glass). Add the butter and chocolate.

Microwave for about a minute just until the butter and chocolate melt.

Whisk until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, and eggs.

Whisk until well combined. Divide into 8 buttered ramekins (1/4 cup capacity).

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes. The edges of the cakes should be dry and slightly puffed but the center should still be soft and shiny.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

Cocoa Brownies

This just beats all. How can you top an afternoon spent making (and eating) soft gooey brownies with one of your bestest friends in the whole wide world?

Cocoa Brownies

1 1/2 c cocoa powder
2 1/2 c sugar
1 t vanilla
pinch of salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 oz) butter (melted)
4 eggs
2/3 cups flour

In a large bowl, mix the cocoa and sugar. Add the vanilla, salt, and melted butter.

Mix.



Add the eggs one at a time. Mix thoroughly.

Stir in the flour just until blended.

Spread the batter evenly on a sheet pan (or jelly roll pan, or 9x13 pan) lined with parchment paper (or wax paper or foil).

Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes. Let cool before cutting.




I asked Rosalind and Nina to use a half sheet pan because I wanted the brownies thinner than usual. Little did they know that I had planned on claiming half of their creation to use as crust and topping (brownie cubes) for my turtle cheesecake.

Apple Cinnamon Crepes

Apple Cinnamon Crepes

1 apple, peeled and chopped
3 T sugar
1 t cinnamon

3 nine inch crepes

In a cooking pan, combine all ingredients and cook to desired tenderness and caramelization.


Fill the crepes with the apple filling. Top with caramel sauce.

Buche de Noel

If you skip all the decorations to guise the cake as a log, this makes a scrumptious chocolate roulade. This is definitely not a one bowl recipe. It takes a few extra steps than our usual endeavor, but it is really pretty simple. Notice that the list of ingredients consists of four things: chocolate, heavy cream, egg whites and sugar.

BUCHE DE NOEL

For the cake:
8 oz semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
7 eggs whites
2 Tablespoons sugar

For the filling and glaze
1 lb semisweet chocolate
2 cups heavy cream
another 1/2 cup heavy cream for the filling

To make the cake:

STEP 1
Microwave 1 cup cream in a glass liquid measuring cup (4 cups capacity) until it comes to a boil (about 1 minute). Add the chocolate (8oz) to the cream and let sit for a minute

and then whisk together until smooth, making sure the all the chocolate is melted.

This is our ganache for the cake.


STEP 2
Beat the eggs whites on medium speed until frothy (use the whisk attachment if using Kitchenaid mixer).

Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the sugar.

Beat until stiff glossy peaks form. (We got somewhat overzealous and over beat the eggs slightly but this meringue cake is so forgiving that it all turned out okay.)

Take about 1/4 of the whites and mix it with the ganache to lighten it

then dump the whole thing to bowl of whites. Gently fold together.

Pour the batter in a half-sheet pan (or a cookie sheet) lined with greased parchment paper. It is very important to grease the parchment; it makes it easier to peel and roll the cake later.
Bake at 375F for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

To make the glaze and filling:

Microwave 2 cups cream in a glass liquid measuring cup (4 cups capacity) until it comes to a boil (about 1 1/2 minutes). Add the chocolate (1 lb) to the cream and let sit for a minute or so and then whisk together until smooth. Allow to cool. This is our ganache for the filling and glaze.

Now we'll make chocolate "mousse" for the filling. Whisk the 1/2 cup cream until thickened.

Add 1 cup of the cooled ganache

and beat until stiff.

Refrigerate the "mousse" until ready to use.

Save about 1/8 cup of the remaining ganache to use as glue for the meringue mushrooms (if you're making them) and the rest can be used to glaze the cake. The glaze can be kept at room temperature until ready to use.

To assemble the cake:

Release the sides of the cake from the pan by running a knife around the cake. Spread the chocolate mousse on top of the cake, leaving about an inch margin all around.

Gently roll the cake onto itself, pulling off the paper as you roll.

If needed, you can use a metal spatula to completely release the cake.

Cover the rolled cake with the used parchment paper, tucking under the paper to keep the roundish shape of the log. Refrigerate for about half an hour to let the cake set. It would also be easier to move the cake after it has been refrigerated.

Pour the glaze over the cake. Use a spatula to cover every inch of it. With a fork, make marks resembling that of a log.

Trim the edges of the log and decorate with meringue mushrooms, fresh herbs or shaved chocolate.