Caramel Swirl Marshmallows
Posted: December 28, 2018 Filed under: Caramel (15), Gooey (8), Holidays (29) | Tags: 9x9 pan of Marshmallows, Caramel Swirl Marshmallows, Easy Caramel Marshmallows, Homemade marshmallows, The Best Caramel Swirl Marshmallows Leave a comment
You know all those packets of hot cocoa mix you got in your Christmas stocking? Yeah, I’m here to tell you that if you plop one of these melt in your mouth, gooey, sticky, caramelly marshmallow nuggets in your mug of cocoa, you will be extra happy. I promise.
People often get very intimidated about making homemade marshmallows, but it’s really not difficult; you just have to be organized from the get go and assemble all your ingredients and tools and read through the recipe to get a sense of the flow before you start.
I’m here to tell you, people LOVE getting homemade mallows as gifts. This time of year, everyone is making cookies (myself included), but tucking into a hot cup of cocoa with a large homemade mallow is so comforting and they make a really thoughtful gift. You’ll be an instant rock star. This is the gift you give when you may not know the person too well and you don’t know what they like or dislike. EVERYONE loves a good mallow!
Yes, I’m probably a little late on the draw posting this I know, but like everyone else, I’ve been uber busy and you can always give these as hostess gift for a New Years Party as well.
Caramel Swirl Marshmallows
yield: one 9×9 inch pan or 24 large size mallows
Bloom
1/2 Cup cold water
4 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
Misc
1/4 Cup light corn syrup
2 tsp. butter vanilla flavoring or 2 tsp. vanilla
1 Cup + 2 Tbsp. room temp store bought caramel sauce (I used Coronado Cajeta-it has the perfect consistency) which you can find in Mexican Grocery Stores or Target for that matter…
Syrup
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup light corn syrup
2 pinches of salt
Prep
Candy thermometer at the ready
3/4 Cup confectioners sugar placed in a ziplock bag with 1/2 Cup cornstarch, seal bag and shake to mix
9×9 or 8×8 inch pan lightly sprayed with non stick baking spray, then line both sides with parchment paper sling and brush lightly with soft butter again on all sides (clean hands work best)
medium bowl brushed lightly with soft butter
1 Cup + 2 Tbsp. caramel sauce (misc. list)
rubber spatula
wooden skewer sprayed with non stick spray
small offset spatula sprayed with non stick spray or lightly buttered
mesh sifter
- Assemble prep list as above and keep on a cookie sheet for ease of use
- In a small bowl prepare the “bloom” by placing the cold water and sprinkle over the gelatin. Let sit at room temperature. After two minutes stir gently then set aside
- In the bowl of a stand mixer place 1/4 cup light corn syrup (from the misc. list)
- Microwave the bloomed gelatin for 30 seconds
- Start heating the syrup contents in a medium non stick pan over medium high heat. Stir the contents 1-2 times, to mix, then don’t stir after that. Clip the candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and heat until soft ball stage (240° F) Meanwhile…
- Place the heated/bloomed gelatin in the mixer bowl along with the corn syrup fitted with the whisk and turn mixer on low speed (have the butter vanilla flavoring next to the mixer)
- When the syrup reaches 240 degrees, turn off the heat and pour the syrup down along the side of the mixer bowl and try to avoid the syrup hitting the whisk. Turn speed up to medium and whip for 5 minutes. Then increase speed to medium high for 5 minutes, then add the butter vanilla (or just vanilla) and whip on high for 2 more minutes.
- Stop the mixer, working quickly and remove about 1/4 of the marshmallow and place in the buttered bowl and mix with the caramel sauce. Return the caramel mallow mixture to the remaining mallow in the mixer bowl and mix gently in a figure eight pattern.
- Tip out the combined mixture into the prepared pan and smooth with the small offset spatula. At this point I like to dot the top with the (2 Tbsp. caramel) and use the long wooden skewer to mix the caramel into the top.
- Dust the top of the marshmallow with the confectioners sugar/cornstarch coating
- Allow the marshmallow to sit at room temperature uncovered in a cool dry place overnight to “cure”
- The following day or 8 hours later, dust a cutting board heavily with some of the coating and flip out the entire pan of marshmallows onto the board and dust the top with more coating. Cut into squares, and dip the sticky sides of the marshmallows into more of the coating, tapping off the excess. Store mallows in an airtight container.
- After a few days, mallows will most likely need to be dusted again.
Walnut & Pistachio Baklava
Posted: April 1, 2016 Filed under: Gooey (8), Nutty (12), Pastry (7) | Tags: Baklava, Walnut and Pistachio Baklava Leave a commentWhen I lived in San Francisco we used to frequent the most amazing Greek restaurant called Mykonos. It has just the right amount of atmosphere; it’s cozy, non pretentious, and has great authentic affordable Greek food. They have THE best moussaka I’ve ever had and great baklava. The husband and I always ordered the same exact thing every single time; a family platter that had an assortment of traditional food and it came with coffee and baklava at the end of the meal. We almost never ate the baklava in the restaurant because we always left too full and with leftovers to boot. I would save it for the next day and when I did- I savored it with a good cup of coffee or tea. I always looked forward to that baklava and promised myself that eventually I would take a crack at making my own. Baklava is not hard to make- just a bit time consuming and tedious, but there is something relaxing and almost meditative that happens while you build each layer of love.
At first glance you will be scared when it comes out of the oven, as it looks dry and somewhat of an experimental science project gone wrong, but have no fear. Once you pour over the unctuous sweet syrup is when the magic truly happens. It is not a dessert to make when you are in a rush but rather a treat to build while you have the kitchen to yourself, it’s quiet and you can enjoy the process. You must also reserve some constraint as the whole mass must bathe languidly in that syrup for 6-8 hours or overnight to soak up the sweet love before you can bust into it, so plan accordingly.
I must have researched and read a million recipes before coming up with this combination. Some recipes call for all walnuts while others call for a combination of almonds, walnuts, and pistachios or even all pistachios- it’s really what you prefer just make sure you have a total weight of one pound of nuts.
Baklava
yield: one 9×13 inch pan (about 24 pieces depending how small you cut them)
one (1 lb.) package of filo dough- thawed in the fridge overnight
1 lb. of nuts (I chose 50% walnuts/50% pistachios) [mixture to equal about 4 cups onced chopped if you don’t have a scale]
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2-3 sticks unsalted butter, melted
For Syrup
1 1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup honey (I used orange blossom)
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 piece orange rind- minus the pith (approx. 1 inch wide by 2 inch long)
3/4 Cup water
1. Make the syrup first and then allow it to cool in the pan to room temperature. Remove the filo dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temp (in the box) for 1-2 hours.
2. To make the syrup: place all the contents in a saucepan (2-3 quart size is best) and bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring just initially until the sugar is dissolved, then decrease the heat to medium low and boil for 4 minutes (without stirring). Remove from the heat and let cool. Once cool, remove the orange rind.
3. Place the nuts in a food processor and pulse until nuts are fine, but do not grind to a powder. I pulsed my pistachios and walnuts separately as they are different sizes and this ensures they do not get too small. Place both nuts in a bowl and add the spices and mix to combine.
4. Prepare the filo by placing 2 sheets of plastic wrap side by side and overlapping slightly on the counter top. Carefully lay out the sheets of filo onto the plastic wrap and cut the stack to size to fit your pan. All brands are different- (My filo came in one huge stack that measured 13 x 18 inches so I simply cut it into two stacks each stack measuring 9 x 13) then place another sheet of plastic wrap big enough to cover on top of the filo, followed by a damp tea towel or kitchen towel. Keep the filo dough covered this way as you are working with it to ensure it does not dry out as the dough can easily tear. You may need to check your tea towel and re wet it and squeeze out again to maintain a damp towel.
5. Brush the sides and bottom of a 9×13 inch pan with melted butter. Carefully pick up one sheet of filo dough and place it on the bottom of the pan and brush with melted butter. Continue in this manner; brushing EACH and EVERY sheet carefully with melted butter (I used a silicone brush) until you have built a stack of 10. Sprinkle a generous 3/4 Cup of nut mixture over the stack. Start another stack (this time a stack of 5 layers) (ALWAYS brushing EACH layer with melted butter as you “stack”), then sprinkle 3/4 Cup of nut mixture. Continue this 5 layer stack followed by nut sprinkle until you have used all the nuts, then build a final and top layer of 10 sheets or a minimum of 5-7 if your package does not allow a final layer of 10. Make sure to brush the final top layer with melted butter. Preheat the oven to 325° F.
6. Take a sharp pointed knife and cut 3 vertical lines so you visually have 4 equal portioned vertical rows through the entire built layer spacing your rows about 1.5 inches apart (see the above picture). Now cut diagonal rows through the entire stacked layers (to form diamond shapes) and place the baklava in a 325° F oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until it is light golden brown.
7. Remove the baklava and allow to sit for 5 minutes then pour the cooled syrup over the baklava. You will hear it hiss and crack a bit (that’s normal). Allow to sit a room temperature to soak up the syrup. Once room temp, cover lightly with plastic wrap and let sit for 6-8 hours or overnight to ensure the baklava soaks up the syrup. Enjoy at room temperature or warm slightly if you wish by zapping in the microwave.
Mini S’more Tarts
Posted: April 17, 2013 Filed under: Chocolate (29), Gooey (8), Pie/Tarts (29) | Tags: Mini S'more Tarts, S'more Tarts, S'more Tarts with Ganache Leave a commentI came up with this when I had leftover chocolate ganache sitting in my fridge and wanted a fun way to use it up. Every time I opened the fridge there was that ganache in the bowl staring back at me. “Aren’t you going to use me?” “Aren’t you going to bake with me?” “Aren’t you going to pour me over something?” Ganache guilt. That damn ganache kept talking to me. Egging me on, scolding me. What-the food in your fridge doesn’t talk to YOU? You definitely don’t want to throw away perfectly good ganache. Quite often I end up having ganache leftover from a previous recipe. The first time I made these I brought them to a summer potluck BBQ party. People do not like to be cutting desserts at a party; myself included. Mini desserts are perfect for a party because you want to be able to sample other things and not fill up on one dessert, and more importantly-when people hear the word “s’more” they get a little giddy. Even if you’re 50.
Note- if you don’t want to make home-made marshmallows you could buy store-bought (large size) and cut them in half (horizontally) place them on top of the ganache and toast (blow torch) them like that.
Mini S’more Tarts
Note: This recipe takes several hours, so read through first and plan accordingly. Tarts can be filled day before and kept in fridge before topping with marshmallow.
yield: ~24 mini muffin size tarts
Graham Cracker Crust (can prepare day before)
5.4 oz pkg. whole graham crackers (they usually come as 9 crackers in a bundle) or 1 1/4 Cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a bowl combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter until well combined. Line mini muffin pan(s) with paper liners. Press about 2 1/2 tsp. to 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture into the wells (and up along the sides) of a mini muffin pan(s) (using the back of a rounded measuring teaspoon to pack helps) pack the mixture as tightly as you can. Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and being careful, smooth the bottoms of the crusts with the back of your measuring teaspoon as they will puff up slightly. Return to the oven and continue to bake for another 3-5 minutes. Upon removing the pans smooth the crusts once more if you need to get rid of any puffing that occurred while baking. Place the pans/tins on wire rack to cool completely before filling with ganache. The crusts will completely firm up once cooled.
Prepare the ganache. Note: if you are using leftover ganache simply microwave until melted, stirring after 30 second intervals and proceed with filling.
Chocolate Ganache Filling (can prepare the day before)
5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
5 oz. heavy cream
Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Microwave cream until boiling. Pour the cream over the chocolate and starting in the center stir the mixture gently (to avoid air bubbles) and continue stirring until mixture is completely emulsified. Pour warm ganache into the individual graham cracker crusts (to the top) and place in the fridge to chill to become firm. Once firm proceed with making the marshmallow topping. Allow the tarts to come to room temperature before piping on the marshmallow.
Marshmallow Topping
2 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin (such as Knox)
cold water divided: 1/3 C cold water + 1/4 C cold water
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Cup sugar
Note: before you start have your tarts already filled (ganache needs to be firm) and ready for topping.
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer place 1/3 cup cold water and stir the gelatin to mix, then leave to bloom while you prepare syrup mixture. Prepare a piping bag fitted with a large round tip such as an Ateco 806 or 808 (I like an 808). Have a small cup of water with a pastry brush handy as well as a candy thermometer.
2. In a small saucepan over medium high heat stir sugar and 1/4 cup cold water until sugar dissolves. Once sugar dissolves, stop stirring and insert a candy thermometer and boil until you reach soft ball stage (238° F which is soft ball stage). (Have a small cup of water with a pastry brush next to stove in case sugar crystals form while syrup cook-if sugar crystals form brush the sides of the pan with the wet brush). Remove syrup from heat and pour about one tablespoon of syrup down the side of your mixer bowl and whisk to combine, then pour the rest of the syrup into the bowl down the side of bowl and whisk to combine by hand for 2 minutes to cool a bit. Secure the whisk attachment to mixer and whisk on high until you reach soft peaks; about 8 minutes. Immediately place mixture into piping bag and pipe marshmallow onto ROOM TEMP prepared tarts. Note: PIPE THE MALLOW ONTO ROOM TEMP TARTS as if the tarts are cold the mallow tends to separate from the ganache.
(You will most likely have extra mallow leftover and you can pipe mallow “hats”onto a sheet pan sprinkled heavily with powdered sugar. Let the mallow topped tarts rest for a couple hours or overnight to set. Once mallow is set toast the marshmallow topping with a hand-held brulee torch. Serve at room temperature.