Sea Salt Caramels

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Fleur De Sel (Sea Salt) Caramels

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fleur-de-sel-caramels-recipe2/index.html

            So I was supposed to make these yesterday but I had volunteered to chaperone the high school dance where I worked. Needless to say I slept in late and stayed up all night watching students “dance”. Make out police here I come! So today I woke up with ambition, cleaned the whole house and started making my caramels! Silly me, likes to combine a combination of recipes but I miss read them when I was out shopping and realized that they called for either heavy cream or evaporated milk. I bought light cream and sweetened condensed milk. No worries though because the local grocery store is open until midnight. So out I went for heavy cream and decided to work off just one recipe today! So as much as I wanted to do Oprah’s recipe but ceste la vie. I also suggest being very patient and watch the pot as much as you can. Even seasoned chef’s like myself screw up. I actually burnt the first batch of sugar, corn syrup, and water pretty bad. I was happy my husband was home or else I wouldn’t have caught it! So I start over so this recipe took twice as long for me. What can ya do! I just hope they taste good!

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling (Or Extra Coarse Sea Salt because I’m cheap and refuse to pay for expensive salt for one candy recipe!)
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup water

Tools:

• 2 sauce pans
• 8x8 baking pan
• Wooden Spoon
• Candy Thermometer

Directions:

Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing it to drape over 2 sides, then spray paper with “Pam”.

In a deep saucepan, combine water, the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown (this is where I started getting impatient and started questioning if it was warm golden brown yet!).

<This is burnt bad caramel!

In a small pot, bring the cream, butter and 1 teaspoon of coarse salt to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. (Be careful -- it WILL bubble up violently and remaining bubbly until you pour it into the pan.) Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Very carefully (it's hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.

When the caramel is cold, pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut the square in half.

Starting with a long side, roll the caramel up tightly into an 8-inch-long log.

 

Sprinkle the log with fleur de sel, trim the ends and cut into 8 pieces. (Start by cutting the log in half, then continue cutting each piece in half until you have 8 equal pieces.) It's easier to cut the caramels if you brush the knife with flavorless oil like corn oil.

 

Cut glassine or parchment paper into 4-by-5-inch pieces and wrap each caramel individually, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator and serve the caramels chilled.

As you can see for an extra treat, I attempted to dip them in melted chocolate and sprinkled some extra sea

salt on top. Despite how they look, they were AMAZING!!!!!!



Peppermint Bark

Friday, November 11            Peppermint Bark

https://family.go.com/food/recipe-an-798914-peppermint-bark-t/

 

            So I know I said I was going to do Fleur De Sal Caramels today, but it’s almost 9pm and I spent the day out with my parents. So I’m feeling lazy (don’t worry they will be made this weekend!). Instead I wanted a candy recipe that seemed to be completed fairly quickly. My mother was extremely excited to find out there are recipes for Peppermint Bark (her favorite) and I thought that would be a great idea for today! This is a candy that is readily available everywhere. Almost all the big chocolate companies make it (Lindt, Giradelli, Hershey, Cadbury, etc). But many times it’s made only with white or dark chocolate. Well I’m not a dark chocolate fan so I’m hoping to make this with milk chocolate. There are also a million recipes that all essentially follow the same instructions with the option to do this in the microwave! I am going to try to layer it like this recipe here Joy of Baking but use the basics from here Food Network no matter what though out of all the recipes I found they are essentially the same. For directions I really enjoyed the one I post at the beginning of this blog. So here it goes.

Ingredients:

• 1 package white chocolate chips, good-quality (I used Ghirardelli, $3.29)
• 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips, good-quality ($3.29)
• 2 teaspoon vegetable oil*
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract ($3.99 for a whole bottle)
• 4  regular sized candy canes ($1.99 for a twelve)

 

Tools:

• Double Boiler (or a metal bowl to sit on top of a sauce pan)
• Spatula
• Cookie Sheet
• Tin Foil
• Baseball bat?...okay I used a rolling pin

Directions:

Line the bottom and sides of a baking sheet with aluminum foil (I sprayed it with some “Pam” first just in case), smoothing out any wrinkles.

Put all the unwrapped candy canes in a large ziplock bag and seal.

Place it on a dish towel on a flat stable surface and crush with rolling pin (baseball bat, or hammer).

Melt the semi sweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. After it melts stir in 1 tsp. of mint extract.



Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer.

Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. (I’m kind of anxious so I rushed the process and threw it in the freezer for 15 minutes, worked just as well!)

Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and mint extract in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water.

Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer.

 

Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. (Be sure to press the pieces down with your spatula so that they stick)

Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil and break the bark into small irregular pieces.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Note however that since the chocolate isn’t tempered it should be stored in the fridge oppose to candy you buy in the store it will melt and may not reform if left on the counter.

Joy of Baking website has a wealth of knowledge on it and I highly suggest it. I took this from their website:

The difference between commercially made Peppermint Bark and homemade is how the chocolate is handled. Commercially made Peppermint Bark uses tempered chocolate which keeps the chocolate shiny and hard, even when stored at room temperature. Since most of us are a little hesitant about tempering, this recipe omits that step. Instead, a little vegetable oil is added to the melted chocolate which will keep it nice and shiny, and it will still have that wonderful 'snap' when you break it into pieces. The only difference is that since the chocolate isn't tempered, homemade Peppermint Bark needs to be stored in the refrigerator.

This was extremely easy to make and I highly recommend it to anyone! Even if you can only cook the basics this is one of those that makes people happy. Kids can most definitely help with this one with minimal risks of getting burned or hurt (unless they chase each other around with the rolling pin….which your wife might do to you too! haha) I also loved this because clean up was so incredibly easy and I didn't need to mess around with a candy thermometer!

Total Cost: Approximately $12.60 (* means I already had it at home)

Total Time: 15 minutes to make but about 30 minutes for the candy to set before eating

Honeycomb or Hokey Pokey

Thursday, November 10          Honeycomb or Hokey Pokey

http://www.oprah.com/food/Honeycombs and http://candy.about.com/od/sugarcandy/r/honeycomb.htm

To remind me of the New Zealand Candy I dipped these in chocolate!

 

So I was trying to decided from the millions of recipes I already had and the ones I recently discovered online what to make for day two. And figuring I already had most of the ingredients on hand from making the Marshmallows I decided to make Honeycomb.

Now I’m not sure many of you know about honeycomb. If you’re from Europe or New Zealand then you do, only you call it Hokey Pokey or Puff. See Wikipedia for more details Crunchie Bar or here Sponge Toffee

I love it! I wish I could buy Hokey Pokey here in the States (not online and I’m aware Newbury Comics sells it for a ridiculous price). So I stumbled upon this recipe on the Oprah website! Now you might say this doesn’t seem as hard at Marshmallow. I know! I’m not going from difficult to easy or vice versa, I’m going for what makes me not bored!

So here we go:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 generous tbsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp shortening
• 12 ounces dark chocolate
  
  (So I know this has a picture of powdered sugar but I threw away the box of regular sugar before I remembered to take a picture)

Tools:

• Wooden Spoon
• Baking Sheet
• Aluminum Foil
• Large Saucepan

Directions:

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, honey, and ¼ cup water in a large saucepan. (You want to use a saucepan large enough so that the mixture can triple in size and still be safely contained.) Stir the ingredients together (with a wooden spoon) until the sugar is completely moistened.

Insert a candy thermometer (I don’t have a candy thermometer to make this with however after today I feel like I need to get one! A digital no matter how high it goes up to is really no substitute!) and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 300 degrees.

At this point please be EXTREMELY careful, this is hot sugar that causes serious burns!

Once the candy is at the proper temperature, remove it from the heat and add the baking soda all at once. Immediately whisk the candy to incorporate the baking soda, and be careful—it will foam up.

As soon as the baking soda is incorporated, pour the candy carefully onto the prepared sheet.

This doesn’t pour “evenly” like you might think. I tried to spread it out on the pan but the sugar just wouldn’t cooperate!

Allow it to cool and harden completely, and then break it into small pieces. Honeycomb can be eaten as-is, or you can dip it in chocolate

All in all this was an extremely easy recipe to make. However I’m leery so far of the texture that it went too high above 300 for me that it’s more like hard candy and less like Honeycomb or Hokey Pokey. But when I come home from work tonight, I’ll have to find out!

I also want to warn people that there are a lot of conflicting recipes out there. I read the reviews after each recipe as well and people all had varying results despite “following the recipe exactly”. If you go from recipe to recipe make sure that the measurements are the same even if the directions are not or you’ll wind up in big trouble and a waste of money!

So I'm dying to try these and I will post as soon as I do! I also have to pick up some chocolate on my way home from work. Regretably since I had the ingredients I can't post the prices but I estimate it's around the same cost as the Marshmallows ($7.50).

Total Time from start to finish: 1 hour (plus 2 hours for "setting")

**For Tomorrow: Fleur De Sel Caramels!

Homemade Marshmallows

Wednesday, November 9                                    Marshmallows

            Well after searching through a millions of sites and getting the original inspiration from Martha Stewart, I decided I hated her recipe for peppermint marshmallows BUT, I still really wanted to make them. Having this idea stuck in my head already, I searched out for better recipes than hers. I ended up using a combined effort from Cooking for Engineers  AND Joy of Baking Website.

I set out to Shaw’s grocery store to buy my ingredients. A * next to the item means I already had it in the house.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cold water*
• 3 - 1/4 ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin ($1.87 for a 4 pack)
• 2 cups granulated white sugar ($1.49)
• 1 cup light corn syrup ($2.79 for a 16 oz. bottle)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt*
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract*
• Confectioners Sugar for dusting ($1.49 for a 1# box)

Tools:

• Candy Thermometer
• Wood Spoon
• Rubber Spatula
• 5 quart mixer (or a hand mixer but this was safer)
• 2 quart sauce pan

Directions:

Lightly spray with a non stick vegetable spray, the bottom of a 13x9x2 glass baking pan. Then sift about 3 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar onto the bottom of the pan.

Place 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of your electric mixer that is fitted with a paddle attachment (The directions say you can use a whisk but this being plastic made it a million times easier to clean, I also started with the whisk and got annoyed, paddle was happier). Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. (And yes it will bubble or “bloom”)

Meanwhile, in a heavy two quart saucepan, place the sugar, corn syrup and remaining 1/2 cup cold water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.

Cover the saucepan with a lid and let boil for about three minutes to allow any sugar crystals to dissolve from the sides of the saucepan. Remove the lid and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Increase heat to high and boil, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

With mixer running at low speed, slowly pour the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture in a thin stream down the side of the bowl (If your mixer came with a splash guard, NOW is the time to use it! 240 degree sugar burns can seriously damage any where it hits on your body, I’ve seen this happen at Culinary School).

Gradually increase the speed to high and beat until mixture has tripled in volume and is very thick and stiff, about 10 minutes (looks like thick marshmallow cream). Add vanilla extract and salt, and beat to combine, about 30 seconds longer.

Scrape marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a damp rubber spatula (I kept a cup of hot water near by to dip the spatula in if it got too messy). The mixture is very sticky so just smooth it out as best as you can.

Dust the top of the marshmallow with another 3 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar and let stand, uncovered, at room temperature until set, about 12 hours.

For Tomorrow (November 10, 2011)

****Remove the marshmallow from the pan by first running a small sharp knife around the edge of the marshmallow to loosen it from the pan. Invert the pan onto a large cutting board that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar. You might have to use your fingers to help loosen the marshmallow from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper (the marshmallow will be sticky) and dust the top of the marshmallow with confectioners' sugar. Cut the marshmallow into squares using clean kitchen scissors, a pizza roller or a sharp knife. Dip the cut sides of the marshmallows in additional confectioners' sugar. Shake off excess sugar and store the marshmallows in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to two weeks.****

This is as far as I got. I took a few photos but I’m dying to try these. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until tomorrow as they need to set. I will post pictures as soon as I can so long as my husband doesn’t attack them while I’m at work tomorrow!

These were really simple surprisingly to make so far. Very hot, so you need to be patient and careful. Definitely not a project for children (I definitely don’t recommend making candy with them any time hot sugar is involved). They smelt weird until I added the vanilla then they started to smell amazing. I of course licked the spoon after I was done and it tasted just like FLUFF! I was so excited!

However, cleaning is not something anyone online warns you about. It stinks. Hard sugar (think rock candy or toffee) is impossible to scrub out with a sponge. I actually boiled soapy water and then poured out the sugar that stuck to the pot. The fluff or marshmallow crème mixture was easier and just melted away with very hot tap water. Be patient it’s worth it to keep your pots this clean and to wash up right away. I’m usually lazy and would do it the next day but with the hard sugar that would be miserable.

Take the extra effort and do it sooner rather than later! I will be eager to post the results tomorrow and get ready to start on my next candy project. I can’t wait to decide tonight! Thanks for following along and be sure to post especially if you’ve tried this or another recipe, I’d love to hear all about it!

Total Cost: $7.65 approximately
Total Time from Start to Finish (including clean up): 1 hour 15 minutes with "setting" time 13 hours 15 minutes


Added November 10, 2011 at 4:47pm:

Well I finished the marshmallows and they came out absolutely amazing! I just wanted to add a few photos of them. They taste great, have the perfect texture and smell, and were really easy to clean up and take out of the container. This is definitely something I would make again and encourage people to make themselves! I’m brining some to my family and to my second job tonight for some honest taste testers! I hope you enjoy making them too!

As you can see I just used a pizza wheel to cut them. Made things quick and simple and tossed them in powdered sugar!

They made about 36, 2x2 inch pieces. I cut them smaller for work and left them big for home.

 

For tomorrow: Honeycomb

Welcome!

Welcome to the Boredom Reversal Candy Challenge

Goal: From Now (Wednesday, November 9, 2011) until Christmas Day, 2011 I will not watch television or cruise the internet until I complete one candy/chocolate recipe a day. Each day will be a different recipe and I will blog a summary of the process and end results with pictures each day. I will take Sunday & Tuesdays off and this will work out to be 34 types of candy. Follow along with me from start to finish. I hope this inspires you not to be bored as well!

About the Blogger:

            My name is Mickey, and I’m a classically French trained Chef. I have my Bachelors of Science in Culinary Management. I have been a chef at a variety of restaurants but predominately run the Front of the House (dining room). I am currently a Culinary Arts Assistant Teacher & Dining Room Manager at a local vocational high school. In college I have never taken a chocolate, sugar, or candy course. I am not into baking though I can bake. I only took one desserts class which was required and one breads & rolls class. However in college I have worked at two different chocolate shops, one which made their own chocolates from scratch and the other which purchased all their chocolates from different purveyors. I learned a lot but I was never subject to making any of the chocolates just photography for websites or catalogs. Which is why this is going to be a fun challenge!

Monday, November 07

So I actually started while I was browsing along the Martha Stewart website looking for arts and crafts to do. Something that could inspire me for the holidays or give me a new hobby, everything I saw was too difficult, too costly, or too elementary school. So I went back to basics. I stumbled upon some candy recipes and thought this is both challenging and something I know. I can perfect recipes I already know or learn something new. The hardest part wasn’t what recipe to make, but which one to start this blog with! In these next 34 days (not including Tuesday & Sunday’s) I will make nougat, toffee, brittle, caramel, bark, jellies, and marshmallows.