Salted Caramel Truffles

(Please excuse the ginormous gap at the opening of this post, I am on the verge of having a blogspot induced nervous breakdown where formatting is concerned.)

Courtesy of Edd Kimber's beautiful book "Say It With Cake", these truffles only served as fuel to my current salted caramel addiction. They were requested by my sister especially to top her Chocolate Truffle and Honeycomb Cake, the recipe for which will be up soon! 

They come with a warning though; it is hopelessly difficult to bake anything with salted caramel in it without devouring all the caramel before actually using it... and consuming one's body weight in salted caramel can't be healthy. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

300g dark chocolate 

300g caster sugar 

300ml double cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

20g light brown sugar 

20g unsalted butter 

1/2 tsp flaked sea salt 

cocoa powder, for dusting 

Method:

Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside. Put the caster sugar in a medium pan over medium heat and leave until the sugar begins to dissolve and caramelize around the edges. Using a silicon spatula, drag the dissolved sugar towards the middle to help it dissolve evenly.

Once the sugar is fully dissolved and has turned a dark golden brown colour, pour in half the cream, and all the vanilla and light brown sugar, it will bubble up furiously, so be careful and go sl

owly. Once the bubbling has subsided, add the remaining cream. If the caramel is lumpy, put over a low heat and allow to melt. Once you have a smooth caramel, add the butter and sea salt, and stir gently to combine. 

Pour the hot caramel over the chocolate and stir gently to combine. Chill until firm enough to roll into balls. 

To make the truffles, have a small bowl of cocoa powder ready and a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Take large teaspoons of the ganache mixture and roll into balls, then roll in the cocoa powder and set on the baking tray. Chill the truffles until needed. 

Maybe it has something to do with my distinct lack of hand-eye coordination, but when making these I discovered I am completely useless at rolling things into ball shapes. Hence, these were more of squashed spheres. But that just adds to the authenticity really, doesn't it? I hope Edd would agree. 

These would make a perfect gift, just like my Fresh Blueberry Marshmallows!

The Mother of All Cakes

Initially named "Sweet n Salty Chocolate Cake",  I've wanted to bake this for a very very long time, and my (Honorary) Grandpa Ian's birthday provided the perfect opportunity. The story behind the "honorary" epithet is long. Basically, despite not being a blood relation, Ian has for some time now been an essential member of our family. He holds an important part in all of our hearts, hence why we wanted to make his 80th birthday extra special for him. Until recently, I hadn't seen him for over a year, but this Saturday we all went down to London to celebrate with him. We all turned up at his favorite restaurant to surprise him with lunch, a day out, and of course - a rather magnificent cake.

At Christmas time, we always used to joke about how Ian could manage one of every pudding: and there were usually five or six options! He has an insatiable sweet tooth, something that I never cease to try and satisfy. Hopefully, this cake will do the trick! The sheer volume of sugar and glorious fatty goodness is just too decadent for anyone to pass up, especially Ian. This is why I've renamed it "The Mother of All Cakes!" I've never made anything quite this glorious before.

Whilst making the cake, be extra careful not to burn the caramel. It is important to put the cream on the heat at the same time as the sugar/syrup mixture, as it takes longer than you think to come to the boil. The first time I tried to make the caramel, I put the cream on the heat too late and ended up burning the sugar/syrup mixture waiting for the cream to boil! Trust me, burnt caramel does NOT taste good, as my Mother (aka resident bowl-licker) will testify! This resulted in an emergency trip to our local shop (who were blessed with the sight of me in my pajamas, no bra and a very chocolatey apron) to get extra cream.

Here's the recipe, ever so slightly amended from the Hummingbird Bakery book:

Ingredients:
For the sponge:
300g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
140g soft light brown sugar
100g cocoa powder
160ml buttermilk
1tsp vanilla essence
330g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
For the salty caramel:
200g caster sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
120ml double cream
60ml soured cream
1tsp fine sea salt
For the frosting:
200g caster sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
360ml double cream
450g dark chocolate
450g unsalted butter (NB - I used slightly less than this, probably about 420g, but judge for yourself.)

Method:
First make the salty caramel. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and golden syrup to the boil with 60ml of water. Allow the mixture to boil for about 10 minutes, during which time it should become quite syrupy and a rich caramel colour.

Put the double cream, soured cream and salt in a separate pan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. When the sugar syrup is ready, remove it from the heat and carefully add the hot cream. It will bubble up as you pour in the cream, but smooth out again quickly to become a creamy golden colour. Pour the caramel into a small bowl and set aside to cool while you make the frosting.

For the frosting: In a small, clean saucepan bring the caster sugar and golden syrup to the boil with 60ml of water, again letting this boil for approximately 10 minutes. In a separate pan, bring the double cream to the boil. Carefully pour the hot cream onto the boiled caramel. Set this caramel aside to cool slightly.

Once it has cooled, add the chopped chocolate, stirring constantly while the chocolate melts. Using a hand held electric whisk, mix the frosting for about 10 minutes, or until the bottom of the bowl feels cool. Add the butter to the chocolate-caramel frosting and whisk together until the mixture is light and looks slightly whipped. Place the frosting in the fridge to cool while you make the sponge. (you might not want to add all the butter)

EXTRAVAGANTLY SPOON THE FROSTING IN GLORIOUS MOUTHFULS INTO YOUR EAGERLY AWAITING JAWS AND LAUGH GLEEFULLY WITH CHOCOLATEY ECSTASY-... oh wait, no, don't do this. Well, at least try not to.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line the bases of the sandwich tins with parchment.

Cream together the butter and both types of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.

In a jug, stir together the cocoa powder, buttermilk and vanilla essence with 60ml of water to form a thick paste.

Sift together the remaining sponge ingredients, and then add them in stages to the creamed butter and sugar, alternating with the cocoa powder paste and mixing thoroughly.

Divide the butter between the three prepared cake tins and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the top of the sponge feels springy. (NB - Mine took slightly longer than this, 28 minutes in the end.) Remove from the oven and allow the sponges to cool slightly in their tins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the sponges are cool, place one on a plate and top with approximately two tablespoons of the salty caramel, smoothing it over the sponge with a palette knife. Top the caramel layer with 3-4 tablespoons of the frosting and smooth it out as before.

Continue this process, sandwiching together the two other sponges with the remaining salty caramel and a layer of frosting. When all three sponges are sandwiched together, cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate as you please.

This cake certainly took a little longer in the kitchen, but that time was certainly well worth the impressive end result. Cutting into the cake to find oozing caramel swirled with creamy dark chocolate frosting was a mouth-watering experience, and I have no doubt Ian will have taken this cake home and demolished it in no time! 

Here's a snap of the lovely Ian himself cutting into the cake. It was a really lovely day and wonderful to see someone we all value so much, and I was chuffed to bits to be able to give something to him that I knew he would enjoy. It just goes to show, however cliche it may be, that the best thing about baking truly is the sharing.

Salted Caramel "Surprise" Brownies

Salted caramel is a huge craze at the moment, and i'm all for jumping on the band wagon and going along with it when it comes to something this delicious. Today, in honour of a get together with old friends for a 19th birthday, I made Edd Kimber's Salted Caramel Brownies. Delicious fudgy chocolate brownies with a layer of sweet and salty caramel baked into the middle - bite size heaven. The recipe for these can be found on Edd's blog here.

However, as I was making these, I had a few baking mishaps which turned them into salted caramel "surprise" brownies; the reason for which will soon become obvious. Here's the recipe:

Salted Caramel Filling
175g caster sugar
150ml double cream
10g unsalted butter
large pinch of flaked sea salt

Fudge Brownies
180g plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
300g dark chocolate, around 65-75% cocoa solids
150g unsalted butter
220g light brown sugar
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the caramel, heat the sugar in a medium pan over a medium heat until it is browning and melting around the edges - make sure to cook it far enough – it should look like the colour of an old penny. Pour in half the cream and all the salt, be careful the mixture will bubbly up violently.

The melted sugar

Once the mixture has calmed down pour in the remaining cream followed by the butter, if there are any lumps place the pan back on the heat and stir until smooth. Take off the heat and allow to cool and then pour into a squeeze bottle (this makes it easier to spread the caramel later).*I didn't use a squeeze bottle, just poured it into a jug and used the jug to pour it evenly over the brownie mixture*

After the cream has been added.

For the brownies preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 9×13 light coloured pan and line with a strip of parchment leaving about a 2-inch overhang along the long edges to make removing the brownies easier. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside. 

Place the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, and stir occasionally until the mixture is fully melted. Take the bowl of the heat and add the eggs, sugars and vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth. Sieve over the flour mixture and gently fold together.  

*This is where I went a little wrong. It is advisable, to CHECK the bottle of vanilla essence you take out of the cupboard is actually vanilla essence.... not almond essence. Hence the "surprise" of these brownies is that they are also slightly almondy, due to me not checking the label on the bottle first! Oops!*

Divide the mixture equally in half and spread out the first half into the prepared tin. Using the squeeze bottle pour the caramel over the batter leaving a 1 1/2 cm border around the outside. You now need to spread the remaining batter over the caramel and this bit can be a little tricky. Edd suggests using a piping bag to pipe the remaining brownie mixture evenly over the top of the caramel, but I simply draped it over straight from the bowl and this worked nicely.

Ready for the oven

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 until the a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, you don't want raw batter. Allow to cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut into squares. *I found that the brownie actually took closer to 40 minutes to bake properly*

Out of the oven - if only you could smell a picture...

Makes 15 perfect squares of oozy gooey goodness :) (12 if you fancy a slightly  bigger brownie.)

It just goes to show that no matter what your baking experience, everyone has a mishap occasionally, and these still tasted yummy despite being a little.. err.. nutty. It reminds me of a time many Hereford friends will remember when my Mum accidentally drizzled Vanilla Syrup all over pizzas (instead of olive oil) before cooking them!

Happy Baking! x

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Happy Easter everyone!

As per usual, today I was in charge of dessert, so armed with Edd's "Say It With Cake," I arose on Easter Morning (minus an hour in bed, pah!) to make us a delicious treat - salted caramel apple pie.

My Dad absolutely loves apple-y puddings in any way, shape, or form, and my Mum is an absolute fool for anything with the words "toffee" or "caramel" in the name - so I thought, why not combine the two with this recipe? Plus, it gave me a chance to delve into my new book for the first time, thanks The Boy Who Bakes!

My pet hate is peeling and chopping apples, so first I employed some trusty helpers in the form of a sibling and a Mother! We sliced up 1.3kg of eating apples (pink lady and granny smith) then tossed them in cinnamon, nutmeg and cornflour.

Apple elves peeling, coring and slicing!

First to make the caramel filling - melt the sugar in a medium pan over a medium heat until its browning around the edges. Then add half the cream, it bubbles up furiously so watch yourself! When the bubbling has calmed, add the rest of the cream, stir in the butter and the mixture should turn a golden brown color.

The caramel bubbling away. (NOT baked beans as it looks like)

Leave to cool while you make the pastry and assemble the pie. As you can see, when the caramel cools it goes rock solid (or this may just have been mine...), but just zap it in the microwave when you're ready to use it!

Er... Ed, we have a problem.

Next up - the pastry. Rub the butter into the sugar and flour, add water to bind together, and form into a ball. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge, and divide into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger ball into a disc large enough to line a 23cm pie dish, like this one, demonstrated by the Easter bunny:

Fill with one third of the apple filling, then top with some of the caramel. Repeat twice until you have used all the apple. Roll out the rest of the pastry and top the pie, using your fingers to crimp the edges. Glaze with the beaten egg and water. Use a sharp knife to make some ventilation holes in the top.

Layer one...

Layer two..

Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celcius (fan oven) for ten minutes, then turn the oven down to 170 degrees and bake for another hour. If the pastry is browning too fast then cover it with a foil tent. Remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly then dig in!

The finished product!

*DISCLAIMER - NO CHICKS OR BUNNIES WERE
HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS PIE*

Served warm with a blob of vanilla ice cream after a yummy pork roast, this was absolutely gorgeous. The salted caramel taste wasn't as prominent as I thought it would be, but it really bought out the cinammon coating the apples and made for a really rich apple pie, so I would definitely make this again!

All in all, a superb pudding, perfect for feeding a hungry family.