Caramel Cravings Anyone?

Having mastered the molten chocolate cakes I decided to try variations so last night it was caramel.  The trick with this one is to cut down on the sugar, unless you like really sweet desserts.  Here is my version of the recipe.

Molten Caramel Cakes

112 g  caramel sauce including water if too thick

1/3 cup butter

2 eggs at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400°.  Generously butter 4 custard cups and dust the inside with sugar.  Set aside.

Melt butter into caramel. Set aside to cool.  Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer unti
l it turns pale, and doubles in volume, about 6 minutes. On low speed, blend in the caramel mixture and vanilla.  Add the flour and mix for 1 minute.  Divide batter among the cups and place them on a baking sheet. 

Bake for about 14 minutes.  Immediately invert each cake onto a plate and unmold. The center should be slightly runny.  Serve with vanilla yogurt/coolwhip topping or vanilla whipped cream.

The Rise of Yorkshire

My first attempt at time lapse photography resulted in this little movie. While not the best quality images were produced, it was fun all the same.  At my house, Yorkshire Pudding is not just reserved for roast beef dinners.  I enjoy serving it with pork, chicken, turkey and sausage.  Did you notice their jumbo size?  For some reason I have a designated Yorkshire Pudding Pan, used only for baking these monsters.  

Happy New Year!

As promised, here is the revised version of Ricardo's Molten Heart Cakes from my November 23rd post.  I prefer to use chocolate with a higher cocoa content for a more bold and less sweet taste.  This dessert is light yet rich and satisfying for the discriminating palate of chocololics such as myself.  Note:  It is for 4 servings instead of the original 8.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

4 oz. (112 g)  chopped Callebaut 70% bittersweet chocolate

1/3 cup butter

2 eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400°.  Generously butter 4 custard cups and dust the inside with sugar.  Set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter. Set aside to cool.  Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer until it turns pale, and doubles in volume, about 6 minutes. On low speed, blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla.  Add the flour and mix for 1 minute.  Divide batter among the cups and place them on a baking sheet. 

Bake for about 15 minutes.  Immediately invert each cake onto a plate and unmold. The center should be slightly runny.

Note: Cake batter can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 2-3 days.  The cooking time for cakes with cold batter will be 3-5 minutes longer, directly from freezer 25-28 minutes.

Last Minute Decorating

It's Christmas Eve afternoon and I just added the finishing touches to my Christmas Fruit Bread gifts for family.  The tradition of giving bread began the year I couldn't afford Christmas gifts.  Now they count on it every year and of course I'm happy to oblige.  My tip to make the glaze more interesting is to add both vanilla and almond extract.  Merry Christmas, Hyvää Joulua and God Jul everyone!

Pulla: O Glorious, Heavenly, Delectable Pulla!

Showcased With My Finnish Dishes

I'm half Finnish but often I feel more like three-quarters. 1971 was the first year I visited Finland and although I was a only a child, I have many vivid memories of that experience.  It was new and exciting in so many ways, especially meeting family I had only heard about or seen in pictures.  There is nothing like Finnish coffee table adorned with fresh pulla.  If you like cardamom, this is the ultimate way to enjoy it, with a cup of coffee.  On extremely rare occasions when a loaf is becoming stale after a few days (usually it doesn't last that long), I make it into toast and savour each bite all over again.  

Cinnamon Bun Saturday

Today the sun was absent from the sky so it was a perfect opportunity to brighten the mood by stimulating the olfactory senses with a batch of cinnamon buns.  I add an extra special flavour boost by substituting vanilla sugar for the ordinary white sugar in the dough.  Yes, the aroma was intoxicating and I think it will linger for the next day or so.

The next time I bake these I plan to use Vietnamese cinnamon as I am told it is spectacular in comparison to the standard grocery store variety.  I'll keep you posted on the results.

Our Traditional Shortbread

Last year I purchased an electric cookie press, due to the fact that the one I usually borrow from my Mom has very undesirable qualities, being made of aluminum in the 60s.  My success with the electric model was far better this year having learned the trick of speed.  I think it must have taken only 15 seconds to form an entire cookie sheet full of shortbread!  This year I used Mexican white vanilla, given to me by my friend Pat.  The intoxicating aroma of floral tones baked into the butter and sugar filled the house for the rest of the day.