I’ve been working on this project for a couple of weeks and finished a few days ago but couldn’t post it because of the special few who are recieving it (hopefully today)! I put it in the mail as a suprise to people in my life whom I care about deeply but don’t necessarily tell them very often. On the lid I wrote a list of Things I Love About You and inside put my hand made chocolate truffles, butterscotch candies, salted caramels, and coconut fudge.
While making these sweet boxes, I was also exploring the history of sweet giving across history, time, and culture. In a book I am reading, Candy: A History of Sweet by Beth Kimmerle, talks about taste and memory. “Candy is with us at very special moments — we have candy at movies, we have candy at Easter, and we have candy at significant holidays like Valentine’s Day,” Kimmerle says. “People want those memories again, they want to be able to relive those days… They’re remembering their lives through candy.” This is true, but there are other factors that I rely on, especially in this project. I am a firm believer that food made with love tastes better, always. Smaller batches where one or two people’s creativity flows through their thoughts, down their arm, through the wooden spoon that is stiring, and into their finger that occasionally tastes the progression of the edible gift is what really makes something taste really good. Thus the preference for many people of a ‘home cooked’ meal, because one can usually taste the time and love put into what is inevitably nourishing them both body and heart.
Happy Valentines Day!
Fleur de Sel Caramels (Epicurious)
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel*
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
Special equipment: parchment paper; a deep-fat thermometer
Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.
Chocolate Truffles (Martha)
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen
8 ounces best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon liqueur, such as triple sec or framboise (optional)
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for rolling
Pour chocolate mixture into a shallow 8-inch dish or pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until mixture is very cold and set but still pliable, about 30 minutes.
Using a teaspoon or a 1/2-inch melon baller, scoop balls of chocolate mixture, transferring them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper as you work. Refrigerate truffles 10 minutes.
Using hands dusted with cocoa powder, dip each truffle in cocoa powder to coat, then quickly shape truffle into a rough round. Refrigerate truffles in an airtight container until ready to serve, up to 2 weeks; before serving, reshape into rounds, and roll each truffle in cocoa powder, if desired.
This recipe for Butterscotch Drops produces a hard candy that has the classic butterscotch taste. If you don’t want to make the candy into drops, you can pour it into a greased 9×9 pan and break it into small pieces once it is set.
Butterscotch Candies
(Elizabeth LeBau)2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cream
2/3 cup water
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
6 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Prepare two large baking sheets by lining them with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with cooking spray.
Combine the sugar, cream and water in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the cream of tartar and boil the mixture until it reaches 240 degrees (soft-ball stage). Add the butter and continue boiling until the mixture reaches 280 degrees (soft-crack stage).
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Using a very small teaspoon, carefully drop spoonfuls of the hot candy onto the prepared baking sheets. It is important to work quickly before the candy begins to set. The drops will spread, so leave a bit of space in between your spoonfuls. Continue forming small butterscotch drops on the prepared sheets until you run out of candy or it becomes too hard to work with. Allow the drops to set at room temperature, then lift them off the baking sheet. Serve immediately, or place them in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Coconut Fudge (see previous post The Best Fudge Recipe Ever)
True to design, my first Favorite meal has some interesting constraints that designers/creatives work well with in order to come up with a really great solution. The woman I am doing the meal for, Miss D., is both vegan and wheat free. She has chosen her grandmother as her Favorite, someone who took her in as a teenager and showed her how to love and be loved. It is truly a touching and lovely story and I am so honored to be a part of in creating a meal for these two remarkable women. Since her grandmother’s death, Miss D. has had a tumultuous and difficult relationship with both food and her body. Loosing someone who was the foundation of her life really shook who she was and how she thought of herself. This meal that I am creating for her is aimed at enveloping her through the senses, showing her that by honoring her memories of her grandmother she is in turn truly honoring herself. All five senses will be activated through various pieces I have created for use and/or viewing at our luncheon (and will not be divulged until after we have the meal this weekend, as I know Miss D. reads my blog and I want some things to be a pleasant surprise!). I made the fudge for the luncheon, I felt it was important to have something sweet that she could eat and I think her grandmother would truly have enjoyed as well.
In the meantime, enjoy the absolute best fudge recipe I have EVER tasted, which is also vegan. You know how sometimes traditional fudge can be dry or granular or just plain bad? This, my friends, will knock your socks off, blow your mind, whatever your fancy, they are just plain amazing. And to top it off, the original recipe is from a young woman, Hannah Kaminsky, who photographed and published her first cookbook My Sweet Vegan before she graduated high school.
Prego!
Coconut Fudge
Adapted from Hannah Kaminsky’s My Sweet Vegan
Makes 32 Small Pieces
1 c semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or chocolate chips)
3 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 c dutch process cocoa powder
2 T coconut oil
1/2 c coconut milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 c unsweetened, toasted, flaked coconut
Line a baking pan with at least 1 inch sides with parchment, leaving the parchment to extend a bit up the sides. It might help to put a smear of coconut oil on the bottom of the pan to help the parchment stick.
Mix the chocolate, sugar and cocoa together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Mix the coconut oil and coconut milk together in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir and heat until the oil has melted and bubbles just start to form. Remove it from the stove and immediately pour the hot coconut over the chocolate mixture.
Let it sit for about a minute, and then stir well to melt the chocolate completely. If it seems that it has cooled too much, try putting the dish over a bowl of hot water and stirring constantly until you have a nice smooth mixture. Add the vanilla, stir, and then pour the fudgy goodness into the parchment lined baking pan, pressing it into the corners and smoothing out the top. Toss the coconut flakes all over the top and press them into the fudge just a little so they will stay. Let the fudge cool completely before cutting it. I covered mine once it was room temp, and tossed it in the fridge to firm it up even more.
November 4th was a day for double celebration. Hope in the form of a new President-elect, Barack Obama, and a renewed sense of confidence in my country were in abundance yesterday evening. Another noteworthy celebration was Andrew’s birthday. About 15 of his friends and I gathered at a bar that blanketed us with the election happenings on screens that covered entire walls of the place. Once Ohio was taken by Obama, we knew, and the celebrating started in earnest.
The lava-cake became a sweet compliment for an already sweet night. Hope has won.
In the spirit of the election and eating as art, I ask you: what do you think hope taste like?
The Birthday-Election-Lava-Magnificence-Cake
Step one: Make the Chocolate Ganache
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
8oz. really good semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
Warm the cream and put the chopped chocolate in; stir until melted. Remove from heat and put into another bowl to cool. Stir occasionally as it cools
Step two: Make the Devil’s Food Cake
I perused the internet for this recipe since I am always trying to find an even better recipe of what I have already tried. This one was pretty good though, I must say.
1/2 cup butter
3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour one 9×13 inch pan or two 9 inch round pans.
- In a small pan melt the butter or margarine with the unsweetened chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Cream together the sugar and the eggs until light in color. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and temper mixture by beating well (so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs!) Add 1 cup boiled water (still warm) and blend well. Mixture will be very liquid.
- Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this mixture to the chocolate mixture and blend well.
- Mix together the vinegar and the milk and stir into the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan(s).
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cake divides well for filling with mousse, or ganache, or black forest fillings.
- Let cool on racks completely.
Step 3: Make the Chocolate Anglaise found here
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla
1. In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium heat, cook milk, cream, and sugar, stirring often, until mixture begins to steam and bubble around edges of pan, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Put egg yolks in a bowl and whisk in about 1/2 cup hot milk mixture, then pour egg mixture back into pan and whisk to blend. Cook, stirring with a flexible, heatproof spatula over medium-low heat until custard reaches 160° on an instant-read thermometer and thickens noticeably, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla.
3. Pour through a fine strainer set over a bowl. Set the bowl of custard in a larger bowl of ice and water for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture cools. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap pressed against surface of custard. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Other crème anglaise uses. Use this versatile custard in any number of desserts. Some of our favorite options:
In a tart: Pour into a baked pastry shell and top with raspberries.
In a layer cake: Spread the sauce between each layer, then frost with your favorite icing.
In chocolate cream pie: Pour into a prepared cookie-crumb crust and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
In a parfait: Layer the sauce with vanilla crème anglaise (or vanilla pudding), almonds, and crushed meringues or shortbread cookies.
As a pudding: Simply serve as is, with a bit of whipped cream.
Step 4: putting the Lava-Cakes together
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and fill a rectangular pan(s) with water. Place into the
preheating oven.
2. Crumble up one, or both of the cake rounds
3. Combine with the Chocolate Anglaise, mix well so the cake is not chunky but thick as a batter
4. Put into ramikins, place the ramikins into the water bath preparation in the oven
5. Scoop a tablespoon of the ganache into the centers of the ramikins, cover with cake/anglaise
batter.
6. Bake for about 20 mins until they puff up a bit.
7. Voi la, Election-Birthday-Lava-Magnificense.
If you only used one cake round like I did, you can use the left overs to make a one layer cake. I sliced the layer in half, used up the rest of the Anglaise in the middle, then frosted it with the rest of the Ganache. Yum!
