Not Quite Nigella

So when I was asked to make some pastries for today I thought no problem. With a full-time job there's not much time for baking during the week but with careful planning I thought that I could pull it off in no time. After all I've seen Nigella whip up some wonderful dishes in no time. So I planned and prepared but what do you know I still ended up sleeping at midnight and that was just preperations. I woke up early in the morning to finish off. Despite this I don't feel tired at all. I think it's because I enjoy doing this.

So here are the fruits of my labour. Top left: pecan slices. Top right: Chocolate tart. Bottom left: vanilla bean Napoleon or as the French would call it Mille Feuille.

The chocolate tarts are made with pâte sucrée, filled with creamy chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate whipped cream. Mmmm......I love chocolate and if I could I'd make everything with chocolate.

Now seen as how I have the day off tomorrow I will be in the kitchen again baking a special surprise.

Caramel Popcorn Part II

It's been a hectic week for me and even though I did make the popcorn 2 nights ago I wasn't completely satisfied cause I went home to discover that I only had microwave popcorn. Don't get me wrong I love microwave popcorn but I don't like to use it when making caramel popcorn. I find the caramel to heavy for the light popcorn. I decided to make it anyway but because I was so tired and rushed I almost burnt the caramel. I didn't enjoy the popcorn much so I decided I will try again the next day.

Yesterday I also got home a bit late from work but I still had to time to rush out to the shops to buy some popcorn after some procrastination because I was feeling a bit lazy. I even had time to take pictures. Normally I'm too busy enjoying what I've made to remember to take pictures.

I enjoy making popcorn from scratch. I enjoy the smell of fresh popcorn that fills the kitchen as well as the therapeutic sound of the popcorn popping.

First I added the popcorn and oil into a large pot. Some prefer to heat the oil first but it doesn't really make a difference to me. I still get good popcorn everytime regardless of which method I use.

You would need to cover the pot with a lid but leave the lid slightly open for the steam to escape. Not too wide though unless you want a mess all over your kitchen. Remember to cook the popcorn on medium heat otherwise it will burn. When the popping has slowed down I normally switch off the heat and leave the pot on the plate until the popping has stopped.

Mmmmmm fresh popcorn!!!

Once the popcorn has popped I remove the lid so that the steam from the pot doesn't wet the popcorn.

When making caramel popcorn I always transfer the popcorn into a large bowl and remove any unpopped kernels. This is important cause once you add the caramel it will be hard to do this. If you bite into any kernels while eating the popcorn you could lose a tooth or something....just don't do it. Also you might want to lightly salt the popcorn for flavour. At this point I normally start eating the popcorn before I even add the caramel.

I then proceeded to make the caramel. When I'm in a rush I normally start the caramel while the popcorn is popping but I don't recommend this because you could easily forget about a pot and burn something....and everybody knows that once your popcorn or caramel is even slightly burnt you just can't use it cause then it just tastes bad.

I added the sugar, butter and syrup into a heavy based pot. I've found that you don't need a very big pot like when making fudge because the caramel is heavy and doesn't rise up too much in the pot as it's boiling. I used golden syrup because we don't get light corn syrup in our shops here in South Africa. I also like to use glucose syrup when have it but unlike golden syrup it's not readily available and more expensive.

I stirred the caramel continuously until it started to boil. Once it started boiling I left it to boil for about 5 minutes without stirring.

Before the mixture boils...

About 2 minutes into boiling....


After 5 minutes I removed the pot from the stove (be careful the caramel is very hot and can cause serious burns) and added the vanilla and bicarb.


Stirred the mixture to incorporate the vanilla and bicarb. Notice how the bicarb causes the caramel to foam. For some reason I enjoy watching this.



Immediately poured the caramel over the popcorn and mixed it like crazy before it started to cool and set.


In the next part of the recipe you have to put the the popcorn into the oven. To see what the big fuss really is I put half into the oven and left the other half to set in a bowl. Quite frankly I preferred the popcorn that didn't go into the oven . I preferred the taste and more so the texture of the caramel before it went into the oven. Maybe it's something I did wrong but I found that the caramel sought of became "fudgy" once it came out of the oven. Anyway if you going to put it into the oven then you would need to leave it there for about 45 minutes to an hour making sure that you stir it every 15 minutes so that it doesn't burn.

Now that you can see how much I enjoyed making and eating this popcorn go on and print the recipe and make it yourself.

Caramel Popcorn Part I

So winters come full blown and all you want to do is cuddle up on the couch with a plate of your favourite comfort food. I love popcorn anytime of the year but during winter I like to indulge in caramel popcorn. I've been wanting to make this for a long time but never got around to doing it so when I found these videos on ehow.com I thought I will give these a try tonight. The nice thingk about popcorn is that it's so versatile. You can add sweet or savoury flavourings and lately popcorn has found its way to the dinner table. With the caramel popcorn you can add nuts or drizzle it with melted chocolate to make it even more decadent. A word of warning though...make sure you fish out any unpopped kernels before adding the caramel otherwise get ready to make a trip to the dentist. Bon Apetit!

Warning: Be very careful when working with caramel as it gets very hot and can cause bad burns.

How to make stove top popcorn (okay so you already know how to do this but I thought I'd include the video)

http://www.ehow.com/video_2346783_how-stove-top-popcorn.html

How to make caramel popcorn part 1

http://www.ehow.com/video_2346784_how-caramel-stove-top-popcorn.html

How to make caramel popcorn part 2

http://www.ehow.com/video_2346785_how-caramel-stove-top-popcorn.html

Finishing off your popcorn

http://www.ehow.com/video_2346788_how-finish-stove-top-popcorn.html

You can use slightly more or less popcorn depending on how heavy you want you popcorn coated with caramel popcorn.

A tip for popping your popcorn: Pop the popcorn on medium heat. When popping has slowed down (a few seconds delay between popping) turn off the heat and leave to continue popping. When popping has stopped remove from stove and pour popcorn into a bowl. I find that the steam from the pot wets the popcorn that's why I like to transfer the popcorn to a bowl as soon as it's done popping.

After reading the recipe you might find yourself wondering what light corn syrup is. It took me a while to figure it out but even once you've figured it out you will soon come to realise that we just don't have it in South Africa. My suggestion to you is that you use golden syrup in it's place. You could also use glucose syrup but it's so much more expensive and harder to find.

Another thing that might have you scratching your head is the packed brown sugar. I shopped for days looking for packed brown sugar in the shops and was about to pull out my hair (okay so if you know what it is you probably laughing at this point) when - thank the heavens - I came across a post on the internet clearing the point on packed brown sugar (thank God for the internet). Packed brown sugar is not a type of sugar. The "packed" refers to how you measure the sugar. If a recipe calls for packed brown sugar then it means that you have to pack the sugar tightly in the cup when measuring it.

When I first read this recipe I thought why do I need to put this in the oven. It's just extra work and extra washing up. Depending on the humidity the caramel will remain soft even after it has set. Putting the popcorn in the oven ensures that the caramel is crunchy once it has set. I like sticky popcorn sometimes but I find that it sticks to my teeth too much so I generally prefer it crunchy.

1 cup unpopped popcorn
1/4 cup oil
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt (you could use less if you using salted butter or margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 250 degree F (120 degrees Celcius). Pour oil into the bottom of a large pot and add popcorn. Heat over medium-high heat. Place a tight fitting lid onto the pot but leave a space on one side for steam to escape. Pop the corn. When the popping slows down (few seconds delay between popping) turn off the heat. When it’s all popped, pour into a large bowl and season with salt.

Step 2
Put popcorn (already popped) in a large bowl. Set aside.

Step 3
In a heavy saucepan, combine margarine, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt and melt on medium heat. Bring to boil stirring while stirring constantly. Leave to boil without stirring for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda.

Step 4
Pour mixture over popcorn. Stir to coat. Spread popcorn on a large greased jelly (swiss) roll pan or large oven tray.

Step 5
Bake in a 250 degree (120 degrees Celcius) oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Watch the popcorn closesly. If gets to dark or begins to burn then remove from the oven immediately. Remove from oven and spread (in a thin layer) on wax paper to cool (you can stir now and then to prevent the popcorn from sticking). Break apart and enjoy. Store in an airtight container.

Seductive Hot Chocolate

I'ts winter and there's nothing better than warming your self with a decadent cup of hot chocolate. This winter you might want to forget about the stuff you get in a tin at the supermarket and try making you a cup of your very own sinfully rich hot chocolate. Now's not the time to be worrying about calories (at least on the day you will be making this). Pair this off with the chocolate biscuits I posted previously and you will have your taste buds singing Whitney Houston's I will always love you. Now you don't want to have this everyday we do need to keep an eye on our waistlines but feel free to enjoy it occasionally or on weekends like I sometimes do. So grab a blanket, cuddle up and start a new love affair.


You will need to use the best chocolate you can get your hands on. I like to use Lindt chocolate but any fine chocolate will do. You could use any type or flavour of chocolate but I recommend that you use dark chocolate or 70% chocolate. Use white chocolate for a white hot chocolate drink.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups milk
½ cup fresh cream
100g dark chocolate
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Directions:

1. Using a serrated knife chop the chocolate finely on a clean cutting board or counter. Make sure that the surface you are using, especially if you are using a wooden cutting board, has not been exposed to any strong smelling foods that could impart bad flavours to the chocolate.
   


2. Heat milk over low heat and slowly add the chocolate stirring until all the chocolate has melted.
   


3. Add salt and vanilla if you are using it. (You don’t need to use the salt but using it brings out the flavour of the chocolate and also cuts back a bit on the sweetness.)
   


4. Increase the heat to medium and gently bring to a boil stirring continuously.
   


5. Remove from heat as soon as it begins to boil and serve immediately.
   


6. You can store unused hot chocolate in the fridge and re-heat before serving.

Tips and Variations:

• For a chilled refreshing drink cool the hot chocolate and then refrigerate until cold, Pour into cups top with whipped cream. Sprinkle shaved or grated chocolate and serve
  


• For a lighter hot chocolate drink replace the fresh cream with milk or water and use less chocolate
  


• For a less sweet hot chocolate use 70% or 85% chocolate.
  


• For those of use who are worried about too much calories you can replace the milk with use low fat or fat free milk and the cream with water. Cut back on some of the chocolate you use and use dark chocolate as a healthier option.


• 
  For those of us who would like to make white hot chocolate you could sprinkle some ground cinnamon into your hot chocolate for a nice touch.
  


• If you one those people who like to live on the wilder side of life you could add a dash of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and chilli powder. If you want add lots of flavour from the spices add them after you add the salt and before you increase the heat. If you want less flavour from the spices add them when you remove the pot from the heat just before serving.
  


• If you want a more adult drink you can add a dash of your favourite liquer. Good options are Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Irish cream liquer, Frangelico, peppermint liquer or chocolate liquer. If you adding liquer you would need to do so before increasing the heat to make sure that the alcohol is burned off.

The possibilities are endless

Another for you to try

Nutella Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

3 tablespoons Nutella
1 1/3 cups milk

Directions

1. Put Nutella and 1/3 cup milk in small saucepan over medium heat.


2. Whisk until blended.


3. Add remaining milk, increase heat to medium-high, and whisk until hot and frothy.


4. Pour into a mug and enjoy.

For extra decadence you could top your cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream or marshmallows

Chocolate Kissed Biscuits (Cookies)

What could be better than biscuits covered in chocolate with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winters day. Every winter I make these and I can't get enough of them. Because I love chocolate so much I decided that I would like to try the chocolate version. I'm going to keep myself busy making these this coming weekend.

Don't make too many though otherwise you won't be able to keep your hand out of the biscuit tin. I always make and share with my friends and neighbours. You could use milk or dark chocolate with these but I prefer milk chocolate cause I find it not too overpowering. You don't need a lot of time to make these so they good for any day of the week. Bon Apetit!

Ingredients

225 g self-raising flour
90 g cocoa
30 g cornflour
225 g unsalted butter or margarine, softened
90 g icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
115 g chocolate, melted
icing sugar, for, dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Grease 2 large baking sheets.
3. Into a bowl sift together the flour,cocoa and cornflour.
4. In another large bowl beat the butter and icing sugar until fluffy.
5. With the beater on low speed gradually add in the flour mixture and vanilla essence until it becomes a soft dough.
6. Shape into'bar' shapes about 10cm long by 5cm wide. Allow room for spreading. OR Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe and pipe into finger shapes about 5 to 10 cm long. Allow room for spreading.
7. Bake about 15-20 minutes until light golden brown, rotating baking sheets at half-time to allow for even cooking.
8. Keep an eye on them as they should only be slightly firm and all ovens are different.
9. Leave to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking tray and then transfer to a wire rack and cool until firm.
10. Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate and place back onto greaseproof paper and allow chocolate to set. Alternatively you could dust with icing sugar
11. Store in container with waxed paper between layers.

There are so many ways that you could change the recipe to give you differnt varieties.

• You could leave out the cocoa to make them plain. Pipe rosettes instead of "fingers" and dip the bottom of the biscuits in chocolate. If you want to make them extra special you can place a small glaced cherry in the centre of the biscuit prior to baking.

• You could also mix chopped pecans into the dough and instead of piping roll into little "fingers". Dust them with icing sugar after they have baked.

• You could also pipe circles and place a little jam in the centre before baking. Dust with icing sugar after they have baked.

The possibilities are endless! Have fun.