Sunday Baked: Buckeyes

Apparently, I need to apologize to the state of Ohio. I was never much of a fan of you... no offense, it's just that I'm a Purdue alum, and we just don't like anyone from The Ohio State University (intended mocking and sarcasm). Naturally, if I don't like Ohio State University, then I should make a blanket statement about the whole state... The logic is there, right!?

Daring Bakers: Passion Fruit Gelées with Lime Sugar

 So, here it goes... And it isn't pretty this month.

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy

 

Errrrrrrrrr... Say what? I messed up already?

Darn it!

Not the recipe... No, actually these little gems are quite refreshing. I am talking about this whole "Candylicious" themed month here at The Daring Kitchen. Yes, I read through the instructions at the beginning of the month and thought I understood the challenge, but as I am about to post, I am realizing I messed this one up. I messed it up pretty good.

Now, from what I thought I had read, I didn't have to make a chocolate candy if I did not want to enter the contest. To be honest, with school starting, a son with a broken leg, and a whole bunch of other craziness, the last thing I wanted to do was think about a creative chocolate recipe. (Thanks to those who did 'cause I will be trying them out later.) No, I needed a no brainer this month. A simple recipe where I could just stick to the script.

Well, as it runs out, I did need to make a chocolate recipe AND a non-chocolate recipe...

Says so right here... See?

MANDATORY ITEMS

You must make TWO candies

The first candy must be ONE of the following CHOCOLATE candies:

     a. A truffle, dipped or not dipped in chocolate OR
     b. A cut (square) dipped chocolate/bonbon OR
     c. A filled chocolate/bonbon using a chocolate mold

The other candy can be any CHOCOLATE or NON-CHOCOLATE candy you like.

I am not sure how the requirements could have been made more clear. And, to top it off, I went out and found my own non-chocolate recipe.

GULP! 

I am fairly certain finiding my own recipe isn't allowed either. What in the world was I thinking? Wow! Was I off on this one, or what?!

Since I am realizing my mistake a few hours before post time, instead of a Daring Bakers compliant post, you get these candies made of passion fruit puree and lime infused sugar. They were a bit reminiscent of Jell-O Jigglers but with more sophistication. The original recipe called for plain sugar to coat, but I chose to jazz them up with the lime sugar, which added a definite kick. To be honest though, out of the three options (no sugar, plain sugar and lime sugar), I thought the unadorned gelées were the best.

Hopefully, next month will prove less of an embarrassment. I can't promise though :)

Have a Sweet Day!

Jaime @ The Great Cake Company

 

PASSION FRUIT GELÉES with LIME SUGAR  

Makes about 4 dozen candies  

Start to Finish: 13 hr (includes setting time)

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FOR THE LIME SUGAR
2 small limes
1 cup of sugar

Method
Using a microplane, zest limes and add to sugar. Mix the zest with the sugar until well combined and store in an airtight container. Zest should be ready in about 5 to 7 days. If you find the citrus flavor is not strong enough after 1 week, add a little fresh zest to the sugar before using.

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FOR THE PASSION FRUIT GELÉES
Recipe adapted from Gourmet (December 2007)

4 (1/4 ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup water
2 cups sugar plus additional for tossing
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup thawed unsweetened passion fruit puree (maracuya) such as Goya brand

Method
Lightly oil an 8-inch square, nonstick baking pan.

Sprinkle gelatin over water in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and let stand 4 minutes to soften. Heat gelatin over medium-low heat, stirring until dissolved. Add 2 cups sugar and stir until dissolved. Add lemon juice and stir.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, washing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Reduce heat to medium-low and boil, uncovered, without stirring, 13 minutes (watch carefully so that mixture does not boil over). Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes for bubbles to dissipate. (Skim any foam that remains after 5 minutes.) Stir in passion-fruit purée (do not scrape bottom of pan; leave any dark bits that stick).

Pour into baking pan and pop any remaining bubbles with a toothpick. Let stand at room temperature until set, at least 12 hours.

Run a sharp knife around edge of gelatin and invert onto a cutting board. If the gelées will not release from the pan, place a hot towel on the bottom of the pan until they release. Cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips, then cut strips into 1-inch pieces. Just before serving, gently toss gelées in a bowl of (lime) sugar to coat, brushing off excess.

Gelées, without the sugar coating, will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two weeks.

Homemade Rocky Road Marshmallow Pops

This all started with a simple campfire and my sons' love of the ooey, gooey sugar bomb otherwise known as the marshmallow. On a typical campfire night, we are a Jet-Puffed marshmallow family without complaint. However, on this particular night I had a crazy idea... "Hey guys, maybe we can try to make our own marshmallows someday?" Well, you would have thought I told them that we had a personal invitation to visit Santa at the North Pole. They wanted homemade marshmallows, and they wanted them right then and there.

Enter Mother's Day and Rocky Road candy. I know, it's not your traditional Mother's Day treat, but there is a simple explanation. My mom has made this delicious candy for us ever since I can remember. When I see a bag of marshmallows I think 'Rocky Road' before Rice Krispie Treats or S'mores even enter my mind. My mom stands by the Eagle Brand recipe for her Rocky Roads (which is very good), however, I wanted to jazz them up a bit for Mother's Day... make them pink, add a fancy stick....

To start, I needed to make homemade marshmallows. I have only ever tired one recipe for homemade marshmallows (click here for recipe by Alton Brown), and I see no reason to look further. His recipe results in deliciously soft pillows of delight! I do feel as though I should forewarn you, once you make these it is really hard to go back to the store bought hockey puffs (especially since these can be made and stored in an airtight container for quite some time).

I follow Alton Brown's recipe almost exactly except I always line the pan with parchment before coating with cooking spray to allow for easier removal of the marshmallow. For these marshmallows I also added three (3) drops of AmeriColor Tulip Gel Paste and two (2) drops of AmeriColor Soft Pink Gel Paste with the vanilla in the last minute of whipping to make them pink for Mother's Day (optional).

After the marshmallow has set for about six (6) hours, lift it out of the pan using the parchment handles. Take a pastry brush and brush the excess powder sugar/corn starch mixture off the top. Then, using a pizza wheel dusted in the powder sugar/corn starch mixture, divide the marshmallow into equal sections based on the pan sized used. Since I used a 9"x13" pan I divided it into three equal lengths measuring 3"x13". Dust the raw edges of the marshmallow with the powder sugar/corn starch mixture, and set two of the three aside (see below).

Next, place the ruler along side the long edge of a marshmallow strip, and cut the outside 1/2" off each end using a long knife dusted in the powder sugar/corn starch mixture. Readjust your ruler so it lines up at one of your clean edges, and cut the marshmallow every two inches. This will allow for you to have six 2"x3" rectangles for your pops. Again, dust all raw edges of the newly cut marshmallows with the powder sugar/corn starch mixture, and repeat the same process for the remaining two marshmallow strips. You should end up with 18 marshmallows total.

My marshmallow mongering kids would have me stop here, and that would be perfectly acceptable. You could easily package these pretty gals, and they would make lovely gifts. Alas, I am going to carry on for Mom and make these into Rocky Roads.

OK, so here is where there is potential for things to get a bit messy! There is probably some easy method for dipping marshmallows documented out there somewhere, but I was not privy to this information. So, I rolled-up my sleeves and went at it alone. Hopefully, you can avoid the mistakes I made, and move directly to the adorable, delicious pop part. Here is what I learned.

...It is all in the dipping. You are going to want to use a vessel that has a narrow base and taller sides to hold the melted chocolate, such as a coffee cup. This will allow you to have a uniform line of chocolate around the marshmallow. I used my husband's ceramic Butter Bell (which, by the way are fantastic). It was the perfect shape and held the heat of the chocolate well.

The key is to dip the marshmallow into the chocolate (do not hold the stick for this), remove it, and then using a small spatula or knife gently scrape off the excess chocolate first from the sides and then from the bottom of the marshmallow. Be careful not to take it all off (that would be a shame), just the heavy stuff. Set the pop on its side on the plate of peanuts (or any nut or decoration for that matter), and let it rest for a good minute or two before you rotate it to cover the remaining sides with the peanuts. This allows time for the chocolate to set and helps keep the peanuts in place. Also, try to keep the nuts off the bottom... unless you want your pops falling over and disorderly.

Once your pop is dipped and rolled, stand it upright on a sheet of parchment, and allow it to rest until it the chocolate is completely set. Then, place them in cellophane bags, tie on a ribbon and a tag (yeah, I forgot that part), and pass them out to all the deserving moms you know and love.

Homemade Marshmallows
Recipe by Alton Brown

3 packages unflavored gelatin

1 cup ice cold water, divided

12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Gel Paste Food Coloring (optional)

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during and gel paste color (if using) in the last minute of whipping.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

Lift the marshmallow out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut the marshmallow into desired size using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.


Rocky Road Candy Coating  

12 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
16 ounces dry roasted peanuts (or other nut), coarsely chopped
Parchment Paper
Offset spatula or knife

Place coarsely chopped peanuts (or other nut or decoration) on a plate. Have ready a sheet of parchment paper for cooling the pops.

Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Remove and stir the chocolate. Place chocolate back in microwave and heat for 15 seconds. Remove and stir. Continue heating and stirring in 15 second increments until the chocolate is melted. Scrape chocolate into coffee cup or other vessel for dipping.


Good Luck!
Jaime @ The Great Cake Company

Sunday Baked: Malted Crispy Tart

I am very excited as this is my first post for the Baked Sunday Mornings baking club. Hooray! We are going to be baking our way through Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's eye-candy of a cookbook, Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented. I am late to join the group, so I will be trying to catch-up over the next couple of weeks. I am also technically supposed to post on Sunday mornings, but I didn't anticipate that life with three kids would still carry on as normal even though Mommy had to bake and blog :) Anyway, it should be a lot of fun, and I encourage you to join us and get baking.

This week we tackled a whopper of a recipe, the Malted Crispy Tart (p. 71). After reading Matt and Renato's description of malted milk chocolate ganache topped with a light malt flavored pastry cream (diplomat cream as they call it), crunchy caramelized rice crispies and Whopper pieces, all of which is encased in a brown sugar crust, I was taken. I became nostalgic for the malt chocolate flavor I remember so clearly from when I was just a wee lass. Whoppers used to be my movie theater candy of choice back in the day, so I was excited to get started and reminisce a bit.

Let me start right off and say thank goodness this was delicious 'cause it sure was a whole heck of a lot of work! I wasn't joking when I said it was a whopper of a recipe. Perhaps if I had read Matt and Renato's baking tip mentioning all the bowls and steps it required, I would have started last week... I am not totally kidding. With that said though, you should really give this a try. It is quite tasty, and it brought back memories of my childhood. In my opinion, when a recipe can do that, it's a keeper.

This recipe called for a 9" tart pan, but since I was planning to ship these off with my husband in the morning to feed the hungry mob (aka - coworkers), I opted to make mini tarts instead. The brown sugar crust made with a hint of malted milk powder blended up easily in the food processor and pressed well into the pan. If you opt for the mini tarts consider placing pie weights into the cups to prevent puffing while baking.

I think my favorite part of the recipe was the flavor and texture of the caramelized Rice Krispies. They tasted very much like Frosted Flakes, but better. I can see many uses for these little guys. The malted milk chocolate ganache was delicious as well. I love the flavor of a good quality milk chocolate, and the malt powder added just a little something extra... I easily could have licked the bowl clean.

As a side note, if you choose to bake mini tarts you can go halfsies on almost everything but the crust recipe. I had a lot of extra ganache, pastry cream and caramelized Rice Krispies, which I will put to good use later.

Once all the components were made, none of which were too difficult, assembly of the tart commenced! Below is the breakdown on how they were filled. In hind site, I probably would have increased my chocolate to pastry cream ratio... perhaps 2/3 chocolate to 1/3 pastry cream. I also think the addition of a complimentary liquor to the pastry cream would be a nice touch... perhaps rum?

 

Finally, after all that, we achieved decadent, deliciousness! Again, a whole heck of a lot of work, but definitely worth trying at least once, especially if you are feeling nostalgic for the chocolate malt flavor of your youth.  

 

According to Baked Sunday Morning rules, I cannot publish this recipe for all of you. I can only try to make you drool. I respect this decision and encourage you to go out and by the book, you will not be disappointed, I promise.

Up Next: Fat Tuesdays

Lemon Chiffon Cake