When it comes to autumn blogging, I just can’t get away from apple related ideas. It’s a well known fact that toffee flavours go well with apple so I thought I might wheel out the salted caramel recipe for this week’s post.
We had this after a large roast on Sunday and it was the perfect pud for a cosy autumn afternoon. One of my housemates (self proclaimed crumble connoisseur) called it “the zenith of desserts”, just saying, perhaps this crumble is not so humble after all.
The great thing about crumble is that it’s so quick to make and you can do it in advance, either cooked or uncooked and pop it in the fridge until you need it.
You will need
For the crumble:
140g/5 oz unsalted butter
125g/4.5 oz porridge oats
75g/2.75 oz ground almonds
50g/1.75 oz plain flour
50g/1.75 oz caster sugar
2 tbsp clear honey
4 cooking apples (bramley)
For the salted caramel:
100g/3.5 oz salted butter
80g/3 oz soft brown sugar
100ml/3.5 fl oz double cream
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp salt
(Serves 6)
Apologies to those of you who spotted the missing ingredients list for a while there!
Step one
Mix together the dry ingredients for the crumble topping (almonds, flour, oats and sugar).
Step two
Rub in the butter with your hands, it’s better if it’s cold as the mix will breadcrumb a bit more. Mine was a little on the soft side because I got distracted and left it on the counter for a while.
Step three
Add the honey and mix in with a wooden spoon.
Put it in the fridge until needed.
Step four
Place all the ingredients for the salted caramel into a saucepan (minus the cream).
Heat gently until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved and then bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir regularly so that it doesn’t catch and burn. Leave to cool for fifteen minutes to half an hour.
Step five
Once the caramel has cooled for a little while add the cream and stir until combined.
Step six
Peel and chop the apples.
Step seven
Put the apples in the bottom of your dish, sprinkle with a little light brown sugar. Pour just a third to a half of the caramel sauce over the apples and cover with the crumble mixture.
There’s no way I could sleep at night if I didn’t include this next dessert in my British Favourites series.
I mean, I could probably sleep at night, I sleep like a baby, but sticky toffee pudding is one of the best puds Britain has produced. It wouldn’t be right not to feature it here.
So without further ado, here’s the recipe for sticky toffee cupcakes, enjoy my friends.
You will need
For the cakes:
200g/7 oz plain flour
160g/5.5 oz soft brown sugar
100g/3.5 oz unsalted butter/margarine (I use Stork for cakes)
150g/5 oz dates (medjool)
2 eggs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the toffee filling:
200g/7 oz sweetened condensed milk (half a tin)
100g/3.5 oz soft brown sugar
100g/3.5 oz unsalted butter (used salted if you prefer salted caramel to a more dulce de leche/toffee flavour)
50ml/1.75 fl oz double cream
For the toffee frosting/icing:
400g/14 oz of the toffee filling
100g/3.5 oz unsalted butter
100g/3.5 oz icing sugar
Dairy fudge pieces for decoration
(makes 12)
Step one
Cakes first chaps.
Whisk together the sugar and butter until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk again until the mix is fully combined.
Step two
Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda and whisk again. The batter should be light and fluffy.
Step three
Chop the dates up into the mixture. I just used scissors for this.
Stir in so they are evenly distributed.
Step four
Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases. Two dessert spoons in each should do the trick.
Bake on gas mark 4/180C/350F for 20-25 minutes. I overdid mine a bit so perhaps closer to the 20 minute end is better.
Step five
Place all of the filling ingredients into a saucepan and put on a low-medium heat until all are melted.
Turn the heat up until the mix reaches a gentle boil. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, pour into a heatproof bowl and leave to cool, you can pop in in the fridge after about half an hour to speed up the process.
Step six
For the toffee frosting add 400g of the toffee mix to 100g of butter and 100g of icing sugar. The butter and toffee should be at room temperature.
Step seven
Cut a hole in the middle of the cupcakes and remove the sponge bit, keeping the top. Fill with the remaining toffee and replace the cake lid. Pipe on the frosting and sprinkle with dairy fudge pieces. You can buy these in the home baking section but I prefer to buy the big bags of individually wrapped ones and chop them into smaller pieces myself. You get WAY more for your money that way.
I promise next week will be more diet friendly. Well, actually I don’t. I really like food, and the sweeter the better as far as I’m concerned.
Last week we had some buddies round for a sleepover and I couldn’t resist making a naughty pud. This salted caramel chocolate mousse filled roulade is the perfect edition to a girls’ night in, or a dinner party, or breakfast.
Buckle up, it’s not a speedy bake, but it’s worth it.
You will need
For the sponge:
130g/4.5 oz Caster sugar
100g/3.5 oz Plain flour
4 Eggs
35g/1.5 oz Cocoa powder
For the chocolate mousse:
200g/7 oz Dark chocolate
3 Eggs
40g/1.5 oz Caster sugar (golden if you have it)
90ml/3 fl oz Water
For the salted caramel frosting:
300g/10.5 oz Icing sugar
250g/9 oz Butter
80g/3 oz Soft brown sugar
100ml/3.5 fl oz Double cream
2 tbsp Golden syrup
2 tsp Salt
Step one
Sift together the cocoa powder and flour. Usually I’m not one of life’s sifters, but for this one you’ll want to; you don’t want to knock out all the air trying to get the lumps out of the flour.
Step two
Whisk the four eggs until they are pale and shiny and so that the tracks of the whisk stay for a few seconds before sinking back into the main mixture.
Step three
Gently fold the flour and cocoa powder mix in two halves. Do this with a metal spoon and imagine you are stirring a bowl of baby kittens. Softly.
Ideally I guess it should all be one colour, but mine was still a little marbled and it didn’t seem to impact the bake.
Step four
Slowly pour batter evenly across a lined tin. Mine’s not actually a swiss roll tin, it’s a bit bigger. Try not to knock any air out.
Step five
Tilt the tin to distribute the sponge mix as evenly as possible and get it right into the corners. You want to avoid spreading it with anything but you do need it to be as flat as possible on the surface. There’s no fat in this recipe to melt down and level everything off.
p.s. the GIF makes it look quicker than it is, be patient.
Step six
Bake in a preheated oven on 220C/ gas mark 7/ 450F for 10 minutes.
Step seven
While the sponge is in the oven, dust a sheet of greaseproof paper with icing sugar.
Step eight
As soon as it’s finished cooking turn the sponge out onto the paper.
Cut a small groove about 1cm in from the edge to start the roll. Place another sheet of greaseproof on top and roll the cake up. Leave it to one side to cool.
Step nine
Move onto the mousse. In fact, probably do the mousse first, it needs a while to chill.
Separate the three eggs into two bowls and finely chop the chocolate.
Step ten
Place the chocolate and 90ml water in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water until melted.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then stir in the egg yolks. The mixture will become thicker and should be glossy.
Step eleven
Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks, add the caster sugar and whisk again until combined. You should be able to turn the bowl upside-down without it all falling out.
Step twelve
Place a spoonful of egg white into the chocolate and stir quickly to loosen the chocolate mix. Then add the rest and gently fold in with a metal spoon.
Put in the fridge for an hour or two, the longer the better really.
Step thirteen
Make the salted caramel for the buttercream by melting together 100g of the butter, the brown sugar, golden syrup and salt. Do this slowly and then bring the heat up to a simmer.
Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir regularly so that it doesn’t catch and burn. Leave to cool down for about half an hour or so.
If you think you’ve seen this before, you have, this is about the 5th time I’ve used this salted caramel recipe.
Step fourteen
Once the caramel has cooled down a bit, stir in the 100ml of cream. Set to one side and make the buttercream.
Step fifteen
With an electric whisk beat together the rest of the butter and the icing sugar. Cover with a tea towel to begin with, or you will wind up looking like a cloud.
Step sixteen
Add the salted caramel to the buttercream and whisk. Voila. Place in fridge for at least 15 minutes until cooled completely.
Step seventeen
Once the chocolate mousse is set get ready to assemble.
Unroll the sponge and spread a layer of caramel over the surface. I didn’t use all the buttercream so go with what feels right. I used the rest of it up on some cupcakes. Apparently I want my housemates to be obese.
If you’re wondering why mine looks darker than yours it’s because I used dark soft brown sugar and cooked it for too long.
Step eighteen
Spread the mousse over, try to keep air in it if you want, but you’ll abandon all hope fairly soon.
Step nineteen
Using the greaseproof paper roll the roulade up. Now. I probably didn’t get my first bit tight enough, but regardless, this bit ain’t pretty. Just do it, put it on a chopping board/tray put it back in the fridge and don’t think about it.
Seriously. The mousse will splurge a lot a bit. Pretend it never happened.
Step twenty
After about an hour or so in the fridge the mousse will have firmed up again. You can take it out, wipe away any excess filling and dust some more icing sugar over it.
This week a cheap and cheerful bake was on the cards for everyone out there cutting costs this January. The perfect pudding to blast away those winter blues. I apologise in advance for laughing in the face of all your 2015 diets, but if you’re going to break them, this is a great way to do so.
This recipe is ideal for people who doubt their skills in the kitchen, I’ll be seriously impressed if you managed to mess this one up. Send me photos if you do.
You will need
For the pudding:
500ml/17 fl oz Double cream
100ml/3.5 fl oz Condensed milk
2 Eggs
Vanilla pod/2 tsp Vanilla extract
100g/3.5 oz Dark/Milk chocolate
50g/2 oz Soft brown sugar
6 – 8 Slices white bread (let’s be honest, you will need to get a loaf anyway, and I wasn’t counting properly)
3 Bananas
Butter for spreading
Ramekins if you’re feeling a bit posh.
For the salted caramel:
100g/3.5 oz Salted butter
80g/3 oz Soft brown sugar
100ml/3.5 fl oz Double cream
2 tbsp Golden syrup
2 tsp Salt
(Makes 6)
Step one
Whisk together the cream, condensed milk, vanilla and eggs. Set aside, and try not to think about how much cream that was.
Step two
Butter the bread slices generously. I just used regular spreadable butter for this, but if you’re a purest you could buy unsalted.
Using a cutter that’s the same diameter as your ramekins, cut circles out of the bread. Chop the offcuts into small pieces and leave to one side.
Step three
Slice the banana into thin pieces and chop the chocolate into small chunks (as if I haven’t said it enough – a bread knife is the best way to do this).
Step four
Assemble!
Butter the ramekins and layer up the puddings. Bread, banana, chocolate, sugar, repeat. Finish the last layer with bread using the offcuts and sprinkle some caster sugar on top, this will make a lovely crisp topping.
Step five
Once all the ramekins are layered up, pour the custard mixture on top, try to fill them evenly.
Leave to sit for 20 minutes to let the custard soak into the bread.
Step six
Bake in a pre-heated oven for 35 minutes on 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
Step seven
While you are baking the puddings, place all the ingredients for the salted caramel into a saucepan (minus the cream).
Heat gently until melted and then bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir regularly so that it doesn’t catch and burn. Leave to cool for about half an hour.
Step eight
Once cooled, stir in the 100ml double cream.
Not the prettiest things but they aren’t too shabby to eat. Bon apetit!
This week two celebrations collided when my lovely teacher at college had a special birthday and we crept ever closer to the 25th December. Thankfully, teach didn’t mind the seasonally confused gift – Happy Birthday Lana!
This week it’s Christmas pudding truffles, surprisingly easy to make, and with a large yield they are perfect for last minute gifts on a budget.
You will need
300g/10.5 oz Dark chocolate
100g/3.5 oz White chocolate
300ml/10.5 fl oz Double cream
30g/1 oz Unsalted butter
Red sprinkles
Cocoa and caster sugar for dusting
(Makes 60-70)
Step one
Chop the dark chocolate finely using a bread knife. Resist the urge to eat it all.
Step two
Heat the cream and butter gently in a saucepan. Wait until it starts to bubble and steam dances across the surface. There is no need to let it boil, as Mary Berry always says – chocolate melts in a child’s pocket.
Step three
Take the cream off the heat and whisk into the chocolate until fully melted. Place in the fridge to speed up the setting process.
Step four
Check regularly on the truffle mix, don’t let it harden fully. Once a spoonful holds its shape when dropped onto the rest of the mixture it’s pipe-able.
Place into a piping bag, and, holding it perpendicular to the greaseproof paper (which you have put down as instructed, um, nowhere in this post) squeeze downwards. Don’t worry if these are a bit misshapen, it’s just to make sure they’re roughly the same size.
Step five
Pipe pipe pipe.
Leave to set a bit longer, preferably with a window open to cool the truffle down quickly. The truffles won’t thank your winter central heating.
Step six
When the truffles are set roll them into balls. You will need fairly cold hands for this, so rinse them in cold water.
Step seven
Dust the truffles in cocoa and caster sugar. I mixed these at random so I’m not sure on quantities, but I used about two thirds caster sugar to a third cocoa powder.
I dusted as I rolled, as hands warm the outside of the truffles so the caster sugar will stick.
Step eight
Melt the white chocolate slowly in the microwave, pipe little splodges and drop some red sprinkles on top. I got these from Sainsbury’s, so not too hard to track down.
Leave the white chocolate to set and pack away your truffles into little bags or boxes and spread the Christmas (or Birthday) cheer!
