Sticky Toffee Pudding

*Post by Angela.

I love cookbooks. I really do. I have a fat stack of them in my kitchen, and I use them more than most people probably do. They have pretty pictures, and nice indexes, and they can also be used to even out table legs and hit people on the backside of their heads. Cookbooks are fun. BUT many times I prefer using recipes I find online. Why? The human element and feedback. Which is one of the main reasons I started this blog - to share my insights on the recipes I tried.

My experience making this sticky toffee pudding is a great example. I’ve never made sticky toffee pudding (a traditional Irish/English dessert), but decided to tackle it for the birthday of a good friend who really loves it. If I had followed the instructions in the original recipe (in The New Irish Table, which has been my go-to lately) to the letter, I think the dish would have been a failure – the sauce would have been way, way too thin. And the thick, rich, buttery sauce was the star of the show. And now I can share how to make it properly with you all.

List of ingredients for the toffee sauce:

• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

The original recipe says to combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat (stirring constantly), then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the sauce has reduced to about 3 ½ cups.

5 to 7 minutes was a gross underestimation. It took 45 minutes of babying the sauce over medium low heat for it to reduce down to 3 ½ cups of glorious, buttery toffee. I made the sauce significantly ahead of time (maybe 6 hours) and refrigerated it uncovered, and just reheated it before putting the rest of the dish together.

List of ingredients for the cake:

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ¼ cups pitted and chopped Medjool dates
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 sticks (1 cup) softened unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Once I was ready to make the cake portion of the dish, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and greased up a large bundt pan. I added the water, dates and baking soda to a small saucepan and brought it just to a boil over medium heat, which was just enough time to transform it into a hot, sugary, syrupy mixture. I set it aside to cool.

I combined the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl, then set it aside, and beat the softened butter and sugar together in my Kitchen Aid mixer for about 5 minutes, until it was fluffy and had lightened up in color (pale yellow). Keeping the mixer running, I added the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, then half the flour mixture.

Finally, I added the cooled date mixture and the remaining flour mixture to the mixer bowl, mixed thoroughly, and poured the batter into the greased bundt pan.

I baked the cake for about 45 minutes, until golden brown. I then poured about half the toffee sauce over the cake and continued baking for about 15 minutes. Once the baking was done, I let the cake cool for a bit, then inverted it onto a serving plate, cut it into slices, and slathered on the rest of the toffee sauce.

In spite of the instructions, my first attempt at sticky toffee pudding turned out pretty well. So the moral of the story here is, trust your instincts. If following the instructions in a recipe produces a result that seems/tastes wrong, do what your heart tells you. I did, and was rewarded with buttery toffee goodness!

Caramel Budino

*Post by Angela.

I can't remember the last time I was excited to make a dessert. Though I don't crave sweets, I often enjoy the desserts we order when we're out and about. As for home, I'll make dessert when it's absolutely necessary (read: when we have guests), but generally I don't care for the process and almost always don't care for the results. This caramel budino from Bon Appetit, however, is not only really easy to make, but a wonderful dessert for those who don't love overly sweet sweets. I left off the caramel sauce, because, well, I'm someone who doesn't love overly sweet sweets. Plus, I was making this for pre-Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people, so I was trying to find shortcuts in all the dishes I made.

List of ingredients for the crust:

• 1/2 cup finely ground Nilla wafers
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

Ooh, I love crumbled cookie crust. The original recipe calls for chocolate cookies, but I'm a sucker for Nilla wafers and try to work them into recipes whenever possible. Anyway, I mixed everything together, then spooned about 2 tbsp of the cookie crust into the bottom of some mason jars (probably 6-7 16-oz. jars or 12-13 8-oz jars) and set them aside.

List of ingredients for the budino:

• 3 cups whole milk, divided
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons dark rum
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

First, I whisked together 1/2 cup of the milk and cornstarch in a small bowl and set it aside. I heated the remaining 2 1/2 cups milk in a saucepan just to a simmer, then turned the heat down as low as I could get it, just to keep it hot. In yet another saucepan, I stirred together the brown sugar with 3/4 cup of water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolved. Then I turned up the heat and cooked without stirring for about 5-7 minutes.

In the meantime, I whisked the egg yolks in a large bow, then gradually whisked in hot milk in a thin stream, then added the cornstarch mixture.

I slowly whisked in the caramel, then returned the combined mixture to the saucepan and cooked over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture had thickened, about 3-4 minutes. I took the saucepan off the heat and whisked in the butter, rum, and salt.

I poured the budino (about 1/2 cup for each jar) over the cookie crust, then placed the lids on and put the jars in the fridge for the budino to set for at least 4 hours. I actually made this a day ahead of time, which was key for my busy day. I served the desserts up with a helping of whipped cream and just a sprinkle of good sea salt.

Cute, right? Especially if you use the baby mason jars. I really liked being able to hand out the individual servings to my guests. This is a great make-ahead dessert to keep in mind if you are entertaining over the holidays.

Candy Cap Mushroom Ice Cream

*Post by Mark.

For this batch of ice cream, I was compelled to action by a summer's trip to San Francisco. It was on this trip that we purchased the wondrous candy cap mushrooms at Far West Fungi in the Ferry Building and their strangely bold maple aroma. There, we were able to sample Far West's Candy Cap popsicles, made from the creamy brilliance of Humphry Slocombe's aptly named candy cap ice cream, and grabbed a small bag of the dried mushroom to take back to Los Angeles for our own ice cream experimentation.

 

The oils from the mushrooms were potent enough to leave my hands smelling like maple for hours. No kidding about how potent the maple smell is here. Because of this, we didn't need to combine the actual mushrooms into the ice cream - we would merely steep the cream in the dried fungi. The end result is a complex, creamy, and spicy maple ice cream that retains a smooth texture without losing any flavor. 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 ounce Candy Caps
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 extra large eggs 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 whole vanilla bean (or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract)  

My first step was to steep the candy caps (I used all but a few small pieces set aside for later) with 2 cups of heavy cream in a small saucepan. It was kind of sad actually- watching the dried fungi drown in a pool of liquid, never to be used again. I heated the cream over medium heat until the mixture began to steam. I turned off the heat, placed a lid over it and allowed it to steep for a 1-2 hours. Once the cream had been infused with enough of the mushroom's aromatic qualities, I strained the mushrooms and squeezed out as much of the flavorful cream as possible into a large bowl. 

 

As the candy caps and cream were nearly finished steeping, I began warming the milk, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat. As the milk and sugar warmed, I began whisking together the egg yolks in a bowl. 

Once the milk mixture began to bubble, I slowly poured a portion of the warmed milk into the whisked egg yolks, whisking constantly, then combined the warmed egg yolks and the entire mixture back into the saucepan.

I continued to cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture coated my spatula. Make sure not to overcook and scramble your eggs. Once the mixture was ready, I strained it (below, left) into the bowl containing the flavored cream and stirred. 

The final step isn't absolutely necessary, but I wanted to make sure my ice cream really captured the full essence of the mushrooms. Using four or five of the dried candy caps that had been set aside, I blended them with a portion of my mixture. Once the pieces were fully pulverized, I whisked this small batch back into the larger batch. Some people might find tiny bits of mushroom in their ice cream disagreeable. Others will appreciate how much flavor and aroma the bits bring to the ice cream. 

With all the ingredients finally combined, I chilled the total mixture for an additional few hours and then let the ice cream maker do its thing. I finished it with a little bit of sea salt to taste right before removing it from the machine.

The end result was gone in sixty seconds good. I'm not talking about the movie, that's just about how fast I ate all of it. Mushroom ice cream has no business being this good, yet somehow this sweet and savory maple dessert is the perfect ice cream for autumn. 

 

Fried Banana Dumplings

*Post by Angela.

I'm not a huge fan of dessert. For some reason, that goes double for Asian desserts, which I generally find to be weird and unappetizing. However, there are some important exceptions: green tea ice cream, polvorón (which is more of a Spanish dessert anyway), and fried banana dumplings. After making the green curry chicken the other night, we had some leftover coconut milk, giving us the perfect opportunity to make this delicious deep-fried dish.

List of ingredients:

• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 12 small ripe Asian bananas
• Powdered sugar (optional)
• Chocolate sauce (optional)

First, I sifted together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Then I added the eggs and the coconut milk, whisking it together gradually until well combined.

Then I peeled the bananas. As you can probably tell, we couldn't find small Asian bananas (Mark would argue that I am a small Asian banana). We used a half dozen ripe regular variety bananas - Asian bananas would have been even better, as they are a little sweeter and have a slightly different texture, but the recipe still worked. I dipped each banana piece in the batter, making sure it was well coated.

I heated the vegetable oil in a big pot to about 375 degrees, then carefully dropped in half the batter-coated pieces.  

I cooked them about 5-7 minutes, until golden brown and extra crispy, then placed them on a paper towel-lined plate to get rid of the excess oil as I fried up the other half of the bananas.

Once I was done frying, Mark and I customized our shares to our preferences - I just sprinkled a little powdered sugar over mine, while sweet-toothed Mark drizzled his pieces generously with chocolate sauce. Either way, these sweet dumplings tied a really nice bow on a dinner at home.

Olive Oil & Maple-Candied Bacon Ice Cream

*Post by Mark

If 'put a bird on it!' is the call of the Portlandia hipster, then 'wrap it in bacon!' has become the anthem of the unoriginal 'foodie', often typed in ALL CAPS and accompanied by excessive exclamation point usage. We are a culture so obsessed with the pliable porcine strips that we have food trucks offering the product undivided attention. We're wrapping matzoh balls in them for lack of authentic inspiration. Bacon Soda! Bacon Dental Floss! Bacon Birth Control! (Okay, I made the last one up... I think.)

Yes, we get it. Bacon makes everything better. (Well, maybe not everything. Last year I was coaxed into a latte with bacon in it. Needless to say, it was disgusting.) Which is why I'm not here to completely lambast its usage as an unoriginal gimmick. What keeps bacon from sinking to the ranks of over-saturated food trends like cupcakes and food trucks* is that it's so damn delicious and it goes so damn well with almost anything. Anyone whose ever tasted bacon and chocolate in the same bite will likely agree. 

So it was really only a matter of time before bacon found its way into my ice cream. For my first bacon attempt, I decided to candy the bacon and fold that into some rich olive oil ice cream (below).

I adapted my recipe from Ice Cream guru David Lebovitz's Olive Oil recipe in The Perfect Scoop. 

Ingredients for the Olive Oil Ice Cream:

• 1 1/3 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks (I used duck eggs)
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp bourbon

Ingredients for the Candied Bacon:

• 6 strips thick cut bacon
• 1 cup maple syrup (reduced to 2/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup lt. brown sugar

Let's start out with the bacon. In his book, Lebovitz goes into explicit detail on his tests for candying bacon. His conclusion? Light brown sugar is the way to go. He also supposes that reduced maple syrup could possibly do the trick, but couldn't justify the loss of so much maple syrup. I decided to use both. I reduced a cup of (Trader Joe's, not my stash of the good Vermont stuff) maple syrup from 1 cup to about 2/3 and lathered it over top my bacon strips (Lebovitz warns that regular maple syrup mostly slides off during the cooking process). Then I sprinkled the brown sugar over the strips (below) and sent them into the oven at 375 degrees.

Cook the bacon until it's nice and crispy (below, left). If anything went wrong for me in this attempt, it was that I made the mistake of cooking the bacon how I normally like to eat it on its own. Sure, bacon is great when it's slightly undercooked, fatty, soft and juicy. Unfortunately, when you freeze that same bacon, it can become chewy and unpleasant. Err on the side of burnt and crispy and you'll be fine. Once cooked, I diced up the bacon strips and let them cool down (below, right).

Now for the olive oil ice cream. I decided to make this batch particularly indulgent and picked up some Shaner Farms duck eggs (below) from our local butcherettes at Lindy & Grundy. You'll also want to use a high quality olive oil (Lebovitz suggests using one that's fruity). Lebovitz also calls for a pinch of salt, but I figured we might get enough saltiness from the bacon, so I skipped the ingredient. 

I warmed the milk and sugar in a saucepan. In a separate bowl, I poured in the cream and set a mesh strainer on top. In a second bowl, I whisked together the egg yolks. The duck eggs provided slightly larger yolks then regular chicken eggs, but the real difference was just how difficult they were to crack open. The shell of a duck egg is like a steel fortress. 

I slowly poured the warm mixture into the whisked egg yolks, whisking constantly, then combined the warmed egg yolks and the entire mixture in the saucepan. I stirred the mixture over medium heat until the mixture coated my stirring spatula. Make sure not to overcook and scramble your eggs. Once the mixture was ready, I strained it (below, left) into the bowl containing the cream. I stirred in the olive oil as the bowl cooled in an ice bath (below, right).

 

I threw the bowl in the fridge until it was completely chilled, then poured it into the ice cream maker to do its thing. Towards the end of the process, I started dropping in chilled pieces of candied bacon, and then into the freezer it went.

The end result? The bacon and olive oil play really nice together (below). But this is really just the tip of the iceberg. I'm thinking about coating my bacon in dark chocolate next time. Or maybe an Elvis Ice Cream that pairs peanut butter and banana with the bacon. Root Beer Bacon?

*Speaking of food trends, is there a bacon cupcake food truck? I'm not even gonna google that, because there probably is.