HOW TO CARAMELIZE SUGAR

HOW TO CARAMELIZE SUGAR

Of course, the technique depends on what you're using the caramel for, so care should be taken to note in your recipe what kind of caramel is called for. For example, the caramel needed for caramel candies is much less cooked than what's needed for spun sugar.

Here is the basic technique we use when caramelizing sugar:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water plus more for brushing sides of pan

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar or lemon juice, optional

Use a heavy, high-sided pan so that the sugar liquefies without burning. Cast iron pans skillets work well for caramelizing.

Combine sugar and water in the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it forms a slurry with the consistency of wet sand. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir. After a few minutes, you may add some lemon juice or cream of tartar (dissolved in a bit of water) to help prevent re-crystallization.

As the sugar is melting, you can brush down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush to prevent crystallization (it will reincorporate and melt any dried bits of sugar that could turn into crystals.)

INow that the caramel is heating up, its color will start moving through all the shades of amber. Remove the pan from the heat once the desired color is about to be reached, since the caramel will continue to cook after removing it from the heat. (This can take from 5 to 15 or more minutes.) If you need to stop the cooking process abruptly, remove from heat and carefully immerse the bottom of the pan into a bowl of cool water.

FARMHOUSE BUTTERMILK CAKE

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 cup (113g) butter

2 cups (425g) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups (454g) buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups (361g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Topping

6 tablespoons (85g) melted butter

1 cup (213g) light brown sugar

1/4 cup (57g) milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 to 1 cup (74g to 113g) diced pecans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" cake pan.

Beat the butter and brown sugar together till smooth.

Add the eggs, beating till smooth.

Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla extract.

Farmhouse Buttermilk Cake 

Add the baking soda, salt, and flour to the wet ingredients, beating till thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 35 minutes. Towards the end of the baking time, prepare the topping.

Stir the butter and the sugar together. Add the milk, pecans, and salt. The glaze will be thick but pourable.

Top the baked cake with the topping, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven. The topping will look very runny. You can eat the cake hot, with the glaze still gooey; or let the cake sit at room temperature for a few hours, by which time the glaze will have set.

COFFEE CAKE ESPRESSO GLAZE AND CARDAMOM CRUMBLE

Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze and Cardamom Crumble

For the cake:

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup sugar

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

For the glaze:

2 tablespoons brewed coffee

1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the crumble:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans

Directions

1.

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray an 8-inch bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter in the mixer bowl at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time and mixing well between each addition, and then add the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into another large bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 batches and mix until just combined between each addition. Add the sour cream and mix until completely incorporated.Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake until a knife inserted near the middle of the cake and comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes and then invert the cake onto the rack and allow to cool completely.

2.

To make the glaze: Stir the coffee and espresso powder in a small bowl until the powder has completely dissolved.

Stir in the confectioners’ sugar. If the glaze is too thick, add a splash of regular brewed coffee or water.

3.

To make the crumble: Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine both sugars in a medium bowl.

Add the butter, cardamom, and salt and mix until well combined. Add the flour and mix to form a pebbly consistency.

Stir in the pecans. Scatter the crumble evenly over the lined baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

4.

To serve: Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake. While the glaze is still wet, press the crumble into the glaze to set for 10 minutes before serving.

THAI PEANUT SAUCE

Thai Peanut Sauce

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Serves: about 2 cups

Ingredients

• ¼ cup peanut butter

• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar

• 2 Tbsp lime juice (about 1½ limes)

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce (I use liquid aminos)

• 1 tsp salt

• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper

• 1" fresh ginger, sliced

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 2-3 garlic cloves)

• 1 Tbsp sugar

• 2 Tbsp honey

• ¼ cup cilantro

Instructions

1 Add all the ingredients, except the cilantro, to the blender or food processor. Blend until all the ingredients are smooth and creamy.

2 Add the cilantro and pulse until the cilantro is in very small pieces.*

3 Use as a dressing on your favorite salad, or as a dipping sauce.

Notes

* If you're using this as a dressing for a salad, I personally preferred adding the cilantro to the salad instead of the dressing. The big chunks of cilantro really boost the flavor!

ZEA’S SWEET POTATO BREAD PUDDING WITH RUM SAUCE

Zea’s sweet potato bread pudding with rum sauce

Total time:

1½ hours, plus cooling time

Servings:12 to 16

Note:Adapted from Zea Rotisserie and Grill in New Orleans. The restaurant bakes the pudding in a 3-inch-deep casserole dish; if using a dish this depth, the baking time can increase by as much as an hour.

Sweet potato bread pudding

9 eggs

3 cups sugar

3 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (from 1 large boiled, peeled and mashed sweet potato)

1/3 pound butter, melted

1 quart milk

1 cup (5 ounces) raisins

1 pound stale French bread cubes, cut into ½-by-½-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

1. In the bowlof a stand mixer, or in a large glass or nonreactive bowl using a hand mixer, beat the eggs. Slowly beat in the sugar, then beat in the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract. Beat in the mashed sweet potatoes until thoroughly combined, then beat in the butter. Add the milk, beating until all of the ingredients are completely and thoroughly incorporated. If using a stand mixer, transfer the custard base to a large glass or nonreactive bowl.

2. Using your hands,mix the bread cubes and raisins into the custard base. Cover and refrigerate the mixture overnight.

3. Shortly before baking,heat the oven to 275 degrees. Thoroughly stir the mixture, making sure there are no white spots of un-soaked bread (it is fine if the soaked bread breaks down somewhat as you stir), and check to see that the raisins are evenly distributed.

4. Pour the mixtureinto a lightly buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Lightly scatter and press the pecans onto the top of the pudding.

5. Bake the puddinguntil it has puffed and the custard is set in the center, about 70 to 90 minutes. Remove the pudding to a rack to cool for 2 hours before serving.

Rum sauce

2 cups light corn syrup

1/4 cup dark rum

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan,heat the corn syrup, rum and vanilla to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and, using a whisk, vigorously beat in the softened butter. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve. This makes about 3 cups sauce.

TOMATO RISOTTO

Tomato Risotto
4 to 6 servings

• TIME
30 minutes

Once you master the risotto technique, you can make flavorful versions throughout the year. This summery version, for tomato risotto, is based on red, ripe fruit from the garden, but if you want to up the tomato quotient, surround the finished dish with slices of multicolored heirloom varieties. Best as a first course or vegetarian main course.

INGREDIENTS

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

• Salt and pepper

• 1 ½ cups arborio or carnaroli rice

• Pinch of red-pepper flakes

• 2 garlic cloves

• ½ cup white wine

• 2 cups diced ripe red tomatoes

• 3 cups boiling water or vegetable broth

• ½ cup grated pecorino or Parmesan, plus more for serving

• 4 medium tomatoes, in different colors, sliced

• Chopped parsley, for garnish

•.   Snipped basil. About a Tbsp.

1 Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the onion, and season generously with salt. Add pepper to taste, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2 Add the rice and cook the onions, stirring, until the onions are barely brown, about 2 minutes. Add red-pepper flakes, garlic, white wine and diced tomatoes, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more.

3 Add 2 cups boiling water and adjust the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring well with a wooden spoon every minute or so.

4 When the liquid is absorbed, add remaining 1 cup water and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, until the rice is cooked, but the grains are still firm. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding another splash of water if necessary to loosen the mixture. Turn off the heat, stir in the pecorino and 2 more tablespoons olive oil.

5 Transfer to a low, wide serving bowl. Surround the rice with tomato slices and season them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and basil. Pass more grated cheese at the table.

BEIGNETS

Last recipe from Sandy Daniels hoarde.  I feel better now.  I will go through them once more to make sure I got them all.  I also found some on the cloud.  Sometimes you surprise even yourself.

BEIGNETS

¾ cup water

1 teaspoon yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg lightly beaten

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla 

½ teaspoon salt

4 cups flour

Vegetable oil for frying

Powdered sugar for dusting

Combine the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar and warm water, let stand 10 minutes.  Add milk, sugar, egg, butter, vanilla and salt to the yeast mixture.  Stir.  Add the flour a cup at a time.  Stir, (do not beat) after each addition until no flour is visible.  You may need to use your hand to work in the last cup of flour.  Grease a bowl with butter and transfer the dough to the buttered bowl, turn it over so the top is buttered.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 ½ hours or overnight.

Divide chilled dough in half.  Let half rest 10 minutes at room temperature (cover the other half and chill).  Heavily flour work surface and rolling pin.  Roll dough to ¼” thickness.  Use a scraper to loosen the entire circle of dough.  Slip your hands under the dough and lift dough completely to put air between the dough and the counter.  Lightly roll dough again.  It should be an even 1/8” to ¼” inch thickness.  Cut into 2 ½ inch squares.  Lift dough with a metal spatula and slip into 375° oil.  Dough slides to the bottom but pops up to the surface in about 5 seconds.  The dough will start to puff up in about 10 seconds.  Fry only the number you can handle at one time.  Turn frequently to brown evenly.