caramel « The Repressed Pastry Chef

Mar.

Caramel Corn

Posted by Em at: 11:25 pm | 9 Comments

Last night, my buddy J was posting about making caramel corn. Surprisingly enough, I was smack-dab in the middle of making caramel corn myself… and we hadn’t discussed it prior! In fact, iurns out we were both making it from the exact same recipe! {insert Twilight Zone theme music here! LOL}. If you’ve ever wanted to make your own caramel corn but thought it would be too time consuming, too difficult, too full of ingredients you don’t have on hand, then be sure to keep reading because with this recipe, all those concerns will just fly out the window… and all you’ll have left is some incredibly delicious caramel corn. We’ll ignore the pesky dirty dish or two ;-) {continued}

Where have the days gone? My dear friend Beth emailed me this morning in disbelief that it was now March. March! I know time flies when you’re having fun but this is kah-ray-zee! Seems like just yesterday it was Election Day in the US. Immediately after that, let me confess it right here… I fell in love. No worries, DH is aware… in fact, he encouraged that love. He’s not threatened in any way, especially since it’s a car I fell in love with! LOL

For over 5 years I have coveted one particular automobile. When I’d see one I’d stop… I’d stare… I’d make goo-goo eyes… I’d probably even get just a bit drooly. I’d wax poetic about how wonderful that automobile is but I always, always, thought it was completely out of reach. In all honestly, well, it really was. But hey, a girl can dream… right? :)

As a little bit of background, my current car is coming up off lease this month and toward the middle of October last year I started looking at what might be my next one. I really wasn’t impressed with any of the new models but thought I was pretty much set on getting one that I happened to like quite a bit, I could afford it and figured I’d just once again lease it. I’ve been leasing for more than 10 years now and it works out well for me but in this particular instance I was getting nothing but major hassles from each and every one of the brand dealers in my area. One day DH said “yanno, you’ve always wanted that other car, why not just go ahead and get it”. I’m sure I laughed directly in his face because the idea was so ludicrous but he pretty much convinced me I could lease something new that I wasn’t really thrilled about or I could look at actually buying a Pre-Owned (uh… yeah, that’s “used” haha!) of my dream car. I toyed with the idea and did some internet searching and the first of November I found exactly what I was looking for… and I became a woman obsessed. I spent the majority of the month consumed with thoughts of “should I or shouldn’t I” and “can I really afford to do this” and “you don’t really need it” (although “need” is rather, uhmn, well, yanno, overrated if you ask me LOL). I made the decision to do it (poor DH had to listen to me talk it all out over and over and over again… God bless him for being so patient with me) and the weekend before Thanksgiving, it was mine :)

Next thing I knew, it was Thanksgiving!!! Then my dear friend Beth told us about the vacation she and her wonderful husband were planning in February and asked if DH and I could possibly join them. DH figured we could swing it, we both requested and got approval for the time off work and the next thing I knew… it was Christmas!

I turned around and all of a sudden, the calendar said it was New Years!

Then I looked and it was Martin Luther King Day….

… then it was Presidential Innauguration Day…

… then we were consumed with getting ready for our vacation…

… then it was February and Superbowl Sunday when of course we (uhm… make that DH) had to have a party!

… then the next morning we left on vacation!!!

Next time I looked at the calendar it was Valentine’s Day and we were returning from vacation. We went back to work for exactly three days and then it was off to the NASCAR races (DH is a hyoooooooooge fan) for four days. Then it was back to work… and laundry… and traffic… and HOA board meetings…. and parent-teacher conferences… and laundry… and dentist appointments… and transforming what original was the guest-room that oh-so-slowly-and-sadly-became-a-just-put-it-in-the-other-room room into what is now my new photography room… and then this morning dear Beth mentioned it’s MARCH! Holy guacamole I swear it was Thanksgiving just a couple of weeks ago!!!

Uhm… hmmmm… guess not, huh? And I’m guessing that by now you thought I’d forgotten all about the recipe for Caramel Corn too, but nuh unh, no way did I forget about that! The recipe can be found here. It’s good, it’s quick and it’s not all that complicated. I’m betting you have the ingredients on hand and it will make a really delicious treat. Tell ya what… make the caramel corn, grab one of those holiday movies I’m thinking you have in your collection (or go rent one), pop it in the DVD player and settle in for some enjoyment. It’ll make you feel like it’s November/December all over again… regardless if the calendar does say March.

I’m still not ready for that ;-)

Have a delicious day!!!

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Posted in caramel, recipes | 9 Comments »

Oct.

Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake – TwD

Posted by Em at: 7:01 am | 21 Comments

It’s Tuesday and we’re baking with Dorie. This week’s recipe is a brownie cake topped with caramel and peanuts. If that’s not enough to be considered positively drool-worthy, just add a bit of freshly whipped cream and a maraschino cherry and this is downright irresistible!

First, let me give props to Tammy (Wee Treats by Tammy) for this phenomenal choice. Once again, this is a recipe I never would have considered making. And… once again it was received with plenty of nom, nom, nom happy noises and devoured in record time. I believe I am quickly becoming quite the popular girl in my new neighborhood at work. My co-workers are luuuuuuuuuuv-in me! LOL

The recipe itself isn’t terribly difficult, thought it’s definitely more involved than making box-mix brownies, opening a jar of caramel sauce and adding some peanuts ;-) After all, this is a Dorie Greenspan recipe and the extra effort turns out an extra-tasty dessert. According to the recipe, this should be baked in a round springform pan but I chose to use a square pan instead. I dunno, I just happened to feel like a square cake so that’s the pan I grabbed. Everything came together perfectly however the center of my cake was noticeably sunken in. Not all that attractive but after caramelizing my sugar, water and corn syrup and adding the peanuts, well, I think the dip was somewhat disguised. I know it sure didn’t effect the taste because this was really good!!! I liked it… the hubs loved it… and my co-workers kept coming back for more. Oh yeah, you need to make this!

For the recipe you can check out the blog of our host Tammy. And please check out the other TwD bakers and their version of Dorie’s Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake. And if you’ve been on the fence about becoming a TwD baker yourself, hop off and join! Memberships are only being accepted thru the end of this month so come on – start baking Tuesdays with Dorie!!

Have a delicious day!

Posted in Chocolate, Dorie Greenspan, Tuesdays with Dorie, brownies, cake, caramel, recipes | 21 Comments »

Sep.

Over The Top Brownies

Posted by Em at: 7:44 am | 13 Comments

Some people like their brownies fluffy… and cake-like. But not me :) if I’m going to lust after a brownie it’s gotta be rich and dense and fudgy. These brownies certainly hit the mark on that point… and topped with caramel and chopped peanuts and ribbons of melted chocolate? That just takes them completely over the top!!!

When I made these, I didn’t use enough caramel topping or peanuts. I’ve adjusted the amounts according to how much I’ll use next time since I’d like more of the caramel and nuts. But feel free to adjust and use more or less according to your liking. And yes, I definitely think you’ll like these!

Over The Top Brownies

Ingredients
for the brownies
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate (chunks, disks, chips or mini chips)
for the topping
1/4 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate
18 Kraft Caramels
2 tablespoons heavy cream
chopped/crushed nuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F
Prepare a 9×13 baking dish as follows: lightly spray the insides with cooking spray then with the dish horizontally in front of you lay in one sheet of aluminum foil across the length (left-to-right) leaving enough overhang on the sides so that you can use the excess foil as handles and on top of that lay in one sheet of aluminum foil across the width (top-to-bottom). Spray the foil with cooking spray. You want to be sure the insides of the pan are completely covered and you have foil “handles” which you’ll use to lift the slab of brownies from the pan after baking :)

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, both sugars and the vanilla extract in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition until the liquid mixture is completely blended.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually add this into the liquid mixture until it is fully incorporated. Add in the chocolate pieces (chunks, disks, chips or mini chips) and stir to combine. It will resemble fudge frosting at this point… and it will taste delicious!! Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Bake about 40-45 minutes until a few moist crumbs cling to a toothpick inserted in the center. Don’t bake to the point of the toothpick coming out clean or the brownies will be dry. Remove the baking dish from the oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes… then… using the foil handles remove the brownie slab from the dish and cool completely on wire rack.

Put the caramels in a microwave-safe bowl and add the heavy cream. Microwave in 30-second increments until the caramels begin to melt and stir to incorporate the cream. Do not over-cook this!

After the brownies have cooled a bit but are not yet at room temperature, pour the melted caramel/cream mixture over the top and let it set up for a little while. Then drizzle on the melted chocolate and top with crushed nuts. Once everything has cooled and set, but the brownies and enjoy… preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!