Easter Weekend means Chocolate: Turtle Brownies

This Easter weekend could have been awful, it was the first one I've ever spent away from my family and since my mum pretty much makes Easter Sunday the best, this was a pretty big decision. But instead of being a disaster Easter weekend was absolutely lovely. I got not one but two Easter egg hunts and more than that I got quality time with friends and my bf which was really enjoyable. On Saturday we went to a lovely Easter BBQ with an outdoor egg hunt. It was so much fun and the food was absolutely delicious. So of course I had to contribute something baked but we'll get back to that. Sunday I used the magic of Skype to have breakfast with my family and then had the most amazing chilled day. The weather here was absolutely awful on Sunday but after a few weeks of running around a day of being confined indoors while rivers of rain splatter your window, some blissful relaxation (read watching frozen) and the remains of my baked goods were the perfect combination. So what was the fitting baked good for this weekend of enjoyment - well you know it's got to involve chocolate.

How bout adding some caramel? maybe some nuts?

Any ideas?

It's Turtles Brownie

I've made brownies a few time, including recently with low fat versions. These versions are inspired by the delicious DeMets Turtles and some delicious sea salt caramel brownies I saw on littlerosebook back in January. Previously I have always made a more cakey brownie but since these were to be turtles brownies which are american, it only felt right to use an american recipe. So I adapted a recipe from the hummingbird bakery

A home-made valentines gift: Turtle Hearts

You know you wanna find this on Friday morning!

I haven't put a recipe for chocolates up here before, there's a reason for that. Listen, I love chocolate, love it truly but working with it is messy, tricky and annoying. Now add caramel to the mix and I guarantee you a lengthy clean-up.So this is not a quick bake or even an evening after work activity. In fact this is best done over multiple evenings or maybe a whole rainy Saturday because this is a multi-stage process, with multiple clean-ups.

So what would justify this much effort, love of course!

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 =)

Sacher torte with a twist

A little while ago (March) I had to come up with a creative but beautiful recipe for something fun and this was the outcome! Take the traditional sachertorte - dark chocolate cake, apricot and ganache, Delicious right?! But why apricot?? Why not orange? Hence sacher torte with a twist!

Sachertorte with a twist

Candied Orange Peel

6 Oranges

900g Granulated Sugar

360ml Water + 2 saucepan’s worth of water to blanch oranges

The Oranges were scrubbed, peeled and the peel sliced into strips. These strips were then placed in a saucepan full of water which was brought to the boil. They were boiled for one minute and then submerged in icy water. This process was then repeated.

After the blanching 360ml water and 900g sugar was melted together. This was brought to the boil and then boiled until it reached a temperature of 230’F. The heat was then reduced and the orange peel was added. The orange peels were kept in the simmering syrup until the peel was transulent. They were removed from the syrup and placed on a wire wrack before being dredged in sugar and allowed to dry in a very low temperature oven and then on a plate.

Orange Marmalade

4 Oranges

800g Jam Sugar

50g Glaced ginger

The oranges were washed, sliced and placed into a blender along with some glaced ginger. They were blended into a pulp and this pulp was put into a saucepan. 800g of jam sugar was mixed with the orange and ginger pulp. This mixture was then heated until boiling. The heat was reduced and the jam was cooked for a further 45 minutes. A jar was sterilized in preparation for the jam. The mixture was removed from the heat and allowed to cool slightly before being put through a colander to remove any lumps of orange. The mixture was then cooled and jarred. 

Caramel Shells/ Twist

175g Caster sugar

175ml Water

Water and sugar are melted together, swirled (not stirred) and boiled until they achieve a rich amber colour. This is removed from heat, cooled rapidly for one minute and then drizzled with a fork over the backs of the cake tins used for the sachertorte cake

Excuse the odd colouring but it's the best way to show the caramel

A couple examples of my other caramel creations including the all important twist

Sachertorte Cake (recipe based on the one used by Mary Berry in the GBBO)

140g Dark chocolate

140g unsalted butter, at room temperature

115g Caster sugar

1tsp homemade vanilla extract

5 eggs, separated

100g Ground almonds (sieved)

40g plain flour

The oven was pre-heated to 180’C and the cake tins were greased and dusted with cocao powder. The dark chocolate was melted and then cooled. The butter was beaten and the sugar was added. This mixture was beaten until it was light and fluffy. The melted chocolate and vanilla was added and mixed in. The egg yolks were beaten together and mixed in. The mixture was removed from the kitchen aid and mixed again by hand. The flour was sieved in with the sieved ground almonds. This was added and folded in.

In a separate bowl the egg whites were beaten by hand. A portion of this mixture was added to the chocolate mixture  and mixed thoroughly, to loosen it, before the remaining egg whites were folded in. This mixture was spooned into the molds, up to 2/3 full and baked for 26 minutes before being cooled on a wire wrack.

The orange marmalade was then heated with 2 tablespoons of water. It was passed through a sieve to remove any bits before being brought to a boil and boiled for 1 minute. This glace was brushed generously over the cooled cakes.

The Chocolate Ganache

250ml Double cream

33g Glucose syrup

375g 74% Dark chocolate

62g Butter

The cream and glucose were heated together until boiling. The chocolate was broken into pieces and placed in a bowl. The heated cream mixture was poured over the chocolate. This was then mixed until smooth. Once smooth the butter was added little by little, stirring to incorporate between additions.

The ganache was let cool further before being poured over the sachertorte cakes and let set.

Finally the candied orange peel and sugar decorations were added. 

So this has been a little more complicated than my usual recipes but it is well worth trying, the cake is moist and delicious and the orange marmalade compliments the dark chocolate ganache perfectly, cutting through the heaviness and contrasting the richness of the ganache. The bit of caramel adds a nice crunch and the orange peel just seals the deal. I hope you enjoy this recipe. =)

Spiced apple mini eclairs - a little bite of seasonal joy

I love this time of year. The changing colour of the leaves, the chill in the air, everyone wearing hats and scarves and getting to wear wool tights. It's an exciting season! There are also so many wonderful culinary delights to explore; freshly picked apples, pumpkins, squash and big beautiful sweet potatoes. That said however, it can also be quite a hectic time. The start of school and college, sports clubs and societies getting into full swing, protecting your house/car/health/kids for the winter and of course the many wonderful holidays to prepare for. It can feel like you are running from one thing to the next and it's wholly possible to miss many of the beauties that are on offer as you go. 

I think it is important to take a day or at least a few hours to yourself and immerse yourself in all that the season has to offer. It was in this very spirit that I embarked on my latest baking project. Following a brisk and energetic walk in the park where I admired the many colours of the leaves and inhaled the wonderful scent of cold air, I was inspired to capture some of the tastes of the season in a tiny sweet bite and eclairs are something I haven't made for a while. They also require some time and concentration which is perfect when one is determined to experience me time. The outcome was even better than I had expected. The sharp apple contrasts perfectly with the creme patissiere and the salted caramel rounds out the experience. Needless to say it is ill-advised to eat too many but if I'm honest that didn't stop me. Ah well, guess I'll just have to take another walk.

Just one won't hurt!

Spiced Apple mini- Eclairs

Choux pastry
 300ml water
115g unsalted butter
130g  plain flour
pinch of salt
4 eggs

Apple filling
4 cooking apples
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves

Creme Patissiere
3 egg yolks
50g white caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp plain flour
300 ml whole milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
75ml double cream

Caramel
175g White Sugar
175g water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat your oven to 200'/400'/Gas mark 6. To make the eclairs put the water and butter into a saucepan and heat until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and mix in the flour and salt. When the mixture has formed a dough, return to the heat and continue to mix for a minute of so to dry out the dough. Remove from the heat and gradually add one egg at a time, mixing thoroughly and quickly to ensure that the egg doesn't have a chance to cook before it is mixed in. Your arms will hurt doing this but persevere - it is worth it. Once all the eggs are in, scoop your mixture into a piping bag and pipe little 2" lines of dough onto a lined baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes and do not open the oven until they are done as this will affect the rise.

To make the apple filling, peel and chop your apples and mix the pieces in the lemon juice as you go to preserve the colour. Put your apple slices into a dry saucepan and put the spice on top. Do Not Mix yet. Let the apples start to stew and release juices for a minute, then mix. Continue to mix and heat until the apples have achieved the appearance of apple sauce. Remove the cloves and blitz with a hand-held blender to ensure all the lumps are gone.

• You will notice there is no sugar in the apple filling. There will be enough sugar in the rest of the recipe and the tart taste works well so trust me.

To make the creme patissiere, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light and fluffy. Bring the milk and nutmeg to a boil in a pan. Mix the corn and plain flours into the eggs and beat thoroughly. Once the milk has boiled, carefully pour about 1/4 of it onto the eggs and beat thoroughly. You can then pour this egg and milk mixture onto the rest of the milk. Continue to whisk and heat for another few minutes until the consistency is thick but smooth. Place in a clean bowl covered in cling-film which you push onto the surface of the creme. Once cooled, whip the cream and fold into the creme patissiere.

Start the caramel as your piping your eclairs, it will help you to avoid the tempting mix. Using two piping bags fill one with apple and one with creme patissiere. For the apple bag top it with a small injection piping nozzle and use a wide nozzle for the creme. Inject the nozzle of the apple bag into the end of the eclair and pipe along the bottom on the eclair, repeat this with the creme and you will feel the eclair fill up and become heavier. Keep an eye on the caramel and swirl if necessary. Repeat this process with all the eclairs and leave to stand.

When the sugar has turned a golden brown add the butter and salt and stir until incorporated. Spoon over the eclairs just before serving. Enjoy