TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

It's only January 19th and already my New Year's Resolutions are a sad crumpled heap kicked into the corner. I resolved to be a better blogger and ESPECIALLY a better blog commentor--I know I have the worst commenting karma ever and anyone who comments on this blog deserves major props and cupcakes and also apologies, because I am a loser--and not only have I not done better about commenting--sorry, sorry! Cupcakes are in the mail--but I'm also falling behind on blogging. Deep breath.

But at least this time, I have a 2 Legit excuse. I spent the long weekend up in the Bay Area, getting drenched in serious monsoon weather and eating Burmese food (where have you been all my life?) and walking around with my snooty nose in the air and my pinky out at the Fancy Food Show. You guys, food trade shows are so fun. It's a blast to be able to talk to people who are passionate about their products and sample so many squizillion delicious foods. There were trillions of truffles...

[These are from Norman Love and are hand-painted by art majors. Yes, really!]

and millions of macarons...
and beautiful brownie pops...


and cakes of both giant marshmallow...

and brie cheese.

Given the week's extracurriculars, it's only fitting that this week's TWD recipe is an "almost-candy bar," since I'm apparently on an all-candy diet. I can't quite see these as a candy bar, since they seemed more like a REALLY HEFTY bar cookie to me, but they were pretty face-rocking good.

I omitted the raisins (of course) and cut them into small bar shapes, which I later cut even smaller since these bad boys seemed to expand in the stomach. My only change for next time would be to not use all of the crust/topping, since I thought it was a little too thick in comparison to the fudge layer. But overall these were awesome and they're a definite make-again for me.

P.S. If anyone's interested, here are some of the candy/chocolate trends I noticed:

• Antioxidant/superfruits are still big: goji berries, pomegranates, acai, etc.
• Vegan/raw chocolate and truffles and other "good-for-you" chocolates
• Yuzu and other exotic citrus fruits
• Passionfruit! I'm really excited about this one.
• Fun texture additions like popping candy, chips, etc. I saw panko used several times
• Bacon everything. Vosges should rename their company Bacon R Us. There was even a bacon-maple marshmallow.

Read More...

Summary only...

TWD: Caramel Crunch Tart with Nougat Ice Cream

Hello, Snickers bar disguised as a fancy tart! I mean, that's what this was, right? A crispy tart shell encased a fabulously dark caramel sauce studded with salty peanuts, topped by a rich chocolate ganache. Caramel + peanuts + chocolate = Snickery goodness. Of course, this tart was waaaay better than your common candy bar.
I decided to dress this tart up a bit by sprinkling crushed peanuts in a ring on top, and making some sugar corkscrew curls. The stars aligned and I was a sugar spinnin' rockstar, making dozens in no time flat. Usually I decide to play with sugar on the one day a year we get rain in LA, and the humidity wreaks havoc, so this was a welcome break from pattern.

I kind of couldn't stop taking pictures of the corkscrews and making "booooiiiing" noises in my head. They were mesmerizing:

You'll poke your eye out, kid!

I loved this tart because, although the flavors were familiar, almost common, it tasted very sophisticated, I think because it really wasn't very sweet. I cooked my caramel very dark so it had that smoky-verging-on-burnt taste, and I used salted peanuts instead of honey roasted to keep it sort of savory. I used a fairly dark chocolate, too, and the combination of these fillings meant that this was a very "adult" dessert.

Of course, I had to go ahead and ruin the sophistication with some ice cream! I couldn't get the Snickers comparison out of my head, so I made some nougat ice cream to complete the similarity. The real Snickers candy bars have a peanut-flavored nougat, while this one is more of a traditional Torrone-style nougat flavor. However, the sweet honey and almond flavors, and the creamy texture, were the perfect complement to the tart. Even if you've already devoured your tart, bookmark this nougat ice cream recipe--it's one of my favorites (and no ice cream maker required!)

Also, I've put together a tutorial showing how to make sugar corkscrews!

I taught myself how to make them by reading other recipes, and had some frustrations in the beginning, because I didn't realize how the sugar should look and behave when it was ready to be spun. Once I got my sugar to the right stage/temperature, it became really, really easy. So hopefully this tutorial will help by showing exactly what texture and appearance the sugar should have. I put it up on my candy site, check it out here: How to Make Sugar Corkscrews. Let me know if you guys try it out!

Read More...

Summary only...

The Best Football You'll Ever Eat

"All right, gang, huddle up!"
"This is the Superbowl, so ya gotta bring your A-game. Johnson, go long for the pass from Brown. Franklin, don't let their guys get within 10 yards of Burton. Smith, stand around and look delectable."

"25, 31, 14....hut, hut, hike!"
"They've got the ball! Go in for the tackle!"
That's right, what's better than watching the Superbowl this Sunday? (Um, everything?) How about eating footballs instead? These adorable and delicious candies have a fudgy peanut butter and chocolate filling, covered in chocolate candy coating and decorated to look like mini footballs.

Apologies to any fans who are appalled at my faux-football terminology and dialogue above. It should be obvious that I know nothing about football--I had to google a picture of a football to know how to decorate them!--but I do know I love eating them.
Recipe under the cut!


Chocolate Footballs
Recipe first appeared on my candy site

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky (not natural)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp + 1 tsp milk
8 ounces chocolate candy coating
2 ounces white candy coating

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and set aside for now.

2. Place the peanut butter and softened butter in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (Alternately, you can place them in a large bowl and use a hand mixer.) Mix on medium speed until creamy and well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.

3. Stop the mixer and add the powdered sugar, cocoa, salt, and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and mix until the peanut butter is well-distributed. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides very well, and mix again on low. At this point the mixture will look very dry and crumbly.

4. Add the milk and mix on low, continuing to mix until the candy moistens and comes together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. (This may take a few minutes.) Once it has come together, squeeze some of it into a ball in your hands to check the texture. It should hold together smoothly, without cracking or crumbling, but not be too moist. If necessary, add a little more milk, a half-teaspoon at a time, to get a consistency that you can comfortably work with and mold.

5. Using a teaspoon or a small candy scoop, form the candy into 26 balls and place them on the foil baking sheet. Elongate each ball and pinch the ends into points, so that they are football-shaped. The footballs should be approximately 1.5 inches long and 1 inch wide. (You can vary the size to get fewer or more footballs out of the recipe.) Continue until all the candy is formed into footballs. Refrigerate while you prepare the chocolate candy coating.

6. Place the chocolate candy coating into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted, stirring after every 45 seconds to prevent overheating. Stir until completely fluid and free of lumps.

7. Using a fork or dipping tools, dip a football into the melted candy coating, submerging it completely. Remove it from the coating and allow excess to drip back into the bowl. Replace the dipped football on the foil-lined baking sheet, and repeat with remaining footballs and candy coating. Return the footballs to the refrigerator to set while you prepare the white candy coating.

8. Place the white candy coating into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted, stirring after every 45 seconds to prevent overheating. Stir until completely fluid and free of lumps. Scrape it into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip, or a Ziploc bag. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag to pipe the chocolate.

9. Decorate the footballs by drawing white circles around the edges, and laces in the middle of the balls. Allow to set completely. If desired, you can cut the excess pooled chocolate from the base of the footballs to make them look neater. Footballs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Read More...

Summary only...

Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel-Peanut Brownie Cake

Members of the jury, I ask you: can Dorie's Caramel-Peanut Brownie Cake more accurately be described as Diabetes on a Plate Cake?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Seriously, y'all. I love me some sugar as much as the next person, but this cake was intense. It was, in the terminology of my barely-remembered high school chemistry class, a super-saturated sugar solution.

For the uninitiated, this was a rich brownie cake covered in a thick coating of homemade caramel sauce and salted peanuts. (Add a little nougat in there and it'd be a Snickers cake.) The picture in the book looked so amazing I was expecting to love this cake, but it was a little bit much for me. I didn't serve it with whipped cream or ice cream as suggested, because I was already dying over the calorie count, but in retrospect I think there needed to be some richness to cut all the sugar. I also thought the chocolate cake was lost under all of the caramel and peanuts and the taste just didn't come through. Each bite was about 60% caramel flavor, 25% peanut flavor, and 15% chocolate cake flavor.

I halved the recipe and made a 6" cake, since there are only two of us in the house and we're notoriously bad at sharing our sweets. (The ONLY time I wish we had typical corporate jobs is when we're trying to give away desserts--we are seriously lacking in coworkers to share them with.) Even with the smaller cake size, we each had a piece and then the cake languished on the counter for a few days. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really compel us to attack it with spoons in a feeding frenzy, either. I think the peanuts were my biggest deterrent--if they're not in peanut butter, I just don't want them in my dessert.

All that being said, I'm not tossing this recipe to the curb. I'd make it again, but with the following changes:

• Bake the cake a little bit less so it's fudgier
• Go lighter on the caramel on top
• Use hazelnuts or pecans instead of peanuts--we're just not peanut people
• Serve it with a tart ice cream--I think a creme fraiche ice cream would be fantastic with this cake

I do think it has potential to knock my socks off so I'll bookmark it again and give it another chance to prove itself.
Give it to me straight: are we crazy? Do peanuts really belong on top of a cake? Was it too sweet, or am I a big wimp?

Read More...

Summary only...