Sweet pumpkin seeds: Halloween

Halloween approaches! Well you don’t need me to tell you that, but it sets the tone. I don’t like being a clichés but then what’s cliché and what’s just tradition??! I am referring of course to the grand food blogger ‘tradition’ (?) of myriad pumpkin posts in October and November. And who am I to stand against tradition? 

This week in preparation for this Friday we decided to have a little pumpkin carving competition, myself and the bf. We each got a pumpkin, perused google images for inspiration and set to work. I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do. I started out with one idea about a Halloween cat in a tree but this morphed into something that is a lot more Christmas than Halloween but hopefully still wintery enough. I guess sometimes you can feel like you’ve had enough scares for a while and then you want a soft focus. My boyfriend’s pumpkin came out really well. Again, it’s not traditional but if you live near a forested area in the states or up north then I’m sure this image on your back porch would strike fear into your heart.

My very family friendly pumpkin

With stars all around the back!

My BF's bear print pumpkin, I love it!

So lets move onto the next little cliché, er, er... I mean tradition. Roasted pumpkin seeds! Yes that’s right, why waste when you have to gut your pumpkin? make use of those seeds! I am taking these a slightly different direction too. Lots of people spice and salt their pumpkin seeds but I wanted to sweeten mine. My sister used to get these delicious vanilla pumpkin seeds around Christmas (I know the C word again, sorry). I thought those seeds were absolutely delicious and so inspired by them I have gone for a sweet vanilla roasted pumpkin recipe. 

Vanilla Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Step 1 – Remove from your pumpkin, carve your pumpkin, and then was your seeds.

Step 2 – Dry your seeds on a fresh clean dish towel

Step 3 – Bash with a rolling pin to crack the shells

 

Step 4 – Boil a saucepan of water with 2 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt, then put in your seeds and boil for 30 mins

Step 5 – Strain the seeds and return to the warm pan, shaking to dry a bit before adding a half teaspoon or vanilla bean paste and stir thoroughly

Step 6 – Put some oil on a baking sheet or roasting dish, I used almond oil but roasters preference and roast for 10 minutes on 200’c. Stir frequently. 

Step 7 - Once out of the oven move them to some kitchen paper adn sprinkle with a pinch or two or sugar and one pinch of salt. Let them cool completely and then enjoy. The shells can be cracked off or eaten. They make a delicious snack or party food.

 

Creme Brulee Macarons

If you've read any of my previous posts about macarons you will know that I love to mess with the shells. I guess that it has something to do with a childish instinct to touch the untouchable and make a mess! Something I may not have told you before is that I spend an unreasonable amount of time in very expensive department stores, not trying on make-up, not oogling the beautiful clothes or the expensive jewellery. No, surprise, surprise I spend time drooling over the beautiful and amazing macaron selection!! I have macaron selection menus from Selfridges, Brown Thomas and Cocoa Atelier, I even leave the Selfridge's macaron menu sitting on my make-up table for inspiration.

 
Frequently, however, inspiration strikes from odd places. When I found this delicious vanilla  bean paste at an unbelievably good price I was determined to use it in macarons. However, how does one adequately compliment vanilla? Sure it goes with almost anything but what will bring out it's sweet smooth taste? Salted caramel and burnt sugar, me thinks. Hence a creme caramel inspired macaron.

Creme Brulee Macaron (more instructional photos to follow)

125g Ground Almonds
175g Extra Fine Icing Sugar
75g Caster Sugar + extra for sprinkling
3 Aged Egg Whites
3/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Filling
1 Can Condensed milk
1/2 tsp Salt

To make the filling submerge the can of condensed milk in water and boil until almost all the water has boiled off twice. Remove can carefully from the water and then leave to coll completely before opening (This is actually dulce de leche but it works for me, u gotta problem with it?? i joke!)

Now beat your egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean bowl, once light and fluffy slowly add the caster sugar and continue to beat until you have reached stiff peaks. In a seperate bowl, sieve together the ground almonds and icing sugar. Fold the almond and sugar mixture into the meringue and add the teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. Continue folding until the mixture becomes smooth and when dropped onto a plates flattens out. Pour into a piping bag and pipe in little 1/2' diametre circles on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Let the macarons sit and set on the counter for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180'. After the shell has set, sprinkle each macaron with a small amount of caster sugar, try if possible to cover the surface of the shell. Then using a blow-torch and a very gentle hand melt the sugar without burning either the macarons or the parchment paper.

Baked the macarons for precisely 10 minutes and then run water between the cooking sheet and the parhment once cooked to remove the cooked macarons from the paper.

Match up your macarons and then pipe a layer of caramel (dulce de leche) on one half. Sprinkle a tiny, tiny pinch of salt (a few grains) onto the caramel and then sandwich with a second macaron. Finally just enjoy =)

15 Minute Fudge

 

Ok this may take from 15-25 minutes depending on your hob/ saucepan but all in all this is real fudge fast! I have been to a number of fudge making facilities, including one in Amish country Pennsylvania and I have the greatest respect for their intricate and painstaking methods that produce delicious and timeless fudge. Thing is - I don't have a steel kettle over a fire or a giant slab of marble to work with and sometimes even a busy girl with a tiny kitchen needs fudge! So a few years ago I started working on a recipe for fast fudge. Like any novice fudge maker I started with a traditional recipe that my mum gave me. This recipe called for large quantities of butter, sugar and evaporated milk. I stood and stirred and stood and stirred and stirred and stirred and waited and waited and eventually ended up with more fudge than I could ever eat or share. Don't get me wrong the fudge was delicious but hardly worth all that stirring. So I worked on changing the recipe and after much trial and error (emphasis on the error) I finally discovered a method that produces a fast fudge with the perfect combination of smoothness and texture.

Simultaneously smooth and textured

There are a few points that need to be gotten out of the way straight off the bat. Firstly the key to great fudge is temperature so you NEED a sugar thermometer!! I spent years making fudge without a thermometer and it works but it's pure hit and miss. Secondly it's not essential but it's better if you have a heavy based saucepan as this will reduce the amount of brown bits in the fudge and reduce the likelihood of burning.  Finally my recipe uses condensed milk instead of evaporated, but I then add water, this makes no sense right?! Well in my experience fudge needs to boil, so it needs something to boil off. Condensed milk has less water, and some sugar has already been dissolved into it, therefore this way I control the amount of water to ensure the all important boiling but reduce the overall cooking time.

15 Minute Fudge

1 x 375g Can of Condensed Milk
300g Brown Caster Sugar
100g Butter (diced)
100ml warm water
1.5 tsp vanilla

Add all the ingredients accept the vanilla into a heavy based saucepan and turn the heat on low. Stir continuously until all the butter has melted. Then insert the sugar thermometer  and start to increase the heat under the saucepan very gradually, stirring continuously (I cannot emphasis this enough - turn on the radio, put your phone beside you and get someone to watch the baby because you will be standing beside this saucepan for the next 10-15 minutes or else your fudge will be burnt).

Once the temperature hits 115C (the soft ball stage) remove from the heat. Give the fudge a minute or two to cool before adding the vanilla extract. Then stir the fudge vigorously as it starts to cool and thicken. Just as the mixture starts to appear duller pour it into a pre-lined tin and then leave it cool. Once cool cut it into bite-sized squares and enjoy =)

A tower of vanilla-y decadent deliciousness