When I logged in today I was shocked at how long it had actually been since I had sat down to write about my Sugar Lovin pastry dealings.
Too long. October 14th. 3 weeks! But in my defense, the past three weeks have been spent moving and working like a mad woman, and there really wasn't enough time to sit down and write about my pastry life.
While I wait on pictures to share with you from the baby shower we catered on 10/24, I'll share a little bit about the last few weeks and my improved brittle recipe.
The weeks following my last post were characterized with packing. And then more packing. I also had family in town. And then my last weekend in Pittsburgh was 100% about work. I worked Friday and Saturday at the bakery finishing my last shifts and then Sunday was our catering gig (can't wait to share our recipes for lavender cupcakes with honey buttercream and chocolate cupcakes earl gray buttercream). The next thing you know, the moving truck was sitting outside and we were completely packed up and ready to go.
We arrived down here just to unpack, hang out a little and then I had to send the fiancee back to Pittsburgh for a time undetermined while he looks for work. In those three weeks, aside from the cupcakes we made and a batch of not-so-good caramel shortbread, I haven't baked a thing.
Last night I finally broke down. I am living with my fiancee's mom while we are in separate states and I've been a little wary of using her kitchen, but we had been planning on making pecan brittle all week and it was just time to do it.
The last time I made brittle, I followed the recipe exactly. I made it using all light corn syrup. The result? It was just sugary tasting candy with peanuts. I wasn't impressed. This time, I decided to split it up a little. I used half honey and half dark corn syrup and it yielded a much nicer result. It's got a complex flavor in the candy part that makes it much more enjoyable to eat.
See below for a Sugar Lovin worthy pecan brittle. You will need a half sheet pan AND a candy thermometer to do this right!
Salted Pecan Brittle
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp plus 1 cup Butter
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup Dark corn syrup
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Water
2 1/2 cups Toasted pecans, halved
1/4 tsp Baking soda
2 Tbsp Sea salt
Method:
1. Using 2 Tbsp of butter, grease a half sheet pan completely and then set aside. In a large, heavy bottomed sauce pot, combine honey, corn syrup, sugar and water over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to medium. Add your candy thermometer and stir occasionally, until mixtures reaches 280 degrees F, or the soft crack stage.
2. Quickly and carefully, mix in the pecans. Allow mixture to reach 295 degrees F on the candy thermometer and then remove from heat. Mix in the baking soda and then carefully spread mixture evenly on the half sheet pan. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle generously with sea salt. Allow mixture to cool completely (i.e.- the pan should be at room temperature) before removing from the pan.
Tips: You can really use any toasted nut in this brittle, so try hazelnuts or cashews instead!
Showing posts with label peanut brittle recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peanut brittle recipe. Show all posts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Death by Sugar Lovin pie
It's probably never a good idea to try and put two sweet things together that you've never made before. But I really, really thought that these might taste good, which they did, they just happened to send the eater into a sugar lovin high. To give you a description of the Death by Sugar Lovin pie: it began with an oat cookie crust that was lined with chocolate ganache, filled with a no bake cheesecake and topped with peanut brittle.
I know. My teeth hurt just thinking about all that sugar in one place. It was highly decadent and it was an experiment that was successful the fact that it taught me a few things and it gave me a couple of new techniques to share.
We'll start with the oat cookie crust:
In Bon Appetit's September Restaurant issue, they revealed the recipes of Christina Tosi, the pastry chef at Momofuku Milk Bar and the Momofuku restaurant empire (for more on the Momofuku family of restaurants, visit www.momofuku.com or read Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw). Tosi is known for being incredibly inventive and her desserts are known for being very addictive. What caught my eye in all of her desserts was the recipe for Crack Pie. You can find the whole recipe here, but today, I am focusing on the crust.
The oat cookie crust is very unique to me. While it resembles a graham crust or any crushed cookie crust, what's unique about this crust is that rather than starting with already crushed cookies, or buying a package or oreos, you make an oatmeal cookie bar, crumble it and create the crust completely from scratch. The oat cookie crust technique inspired me to start thinking about other types of cookie crusts you could make from scratch and the number of delicious fillings you could pair with them to make a truly unique pie. See your basic recipe here and get ideas on how to make it your own.
But for my first try, I followed Tosi's recipe. The oat cookie crust came out perfectly. The only thing I did differently was blind bake the crust without the filling for 17-18 minutes after pressing into the pie pan because I wanted to fill the crust with a cheesecake and ganache filling that couldn't be baked.
Now for thoughts on a cheesecake & ganache filling. Some key items to remember.
1. You won't need as much ganache as you think.
2. You won't need as much cheesecake filling as you think.
3. When in doubt, let it chill longer.
Ganache is a very basic pastry item that everyone can make. You just need chocolate and heavy cream. See the recipe here. The beautiful thing about ganache is that you can adjust your ratio of cream to chocolate to create a thicker or thinner ganache. The consistency you are looking for here is equal parts cream to chocolate for a thin glaze effect.
This particular cheesecake filling was a no-bake filling, which means there aren't any eggs. The bonus is that it comes together quickly. The downside is that it never reaches a true cheesecake density. It depends what you like in your cheesecake. I decided to go a slightly tangy and sweet route. My filling recipe can be found here, but for quick reference it had cream cheese, greek yogurt, goat cheese, honey, sugar and a touch of heavy cream.
And finally, the topper- peanut brittle.
I had never made candy or brittle before this little experiment. A few things I learned:
1. When in doubt, opt for a bigger pan.
2. Understand that you need to spend the whole time at the stove with the peanut brittle mixture.
3. Corn syrup is kind of flavorless.
My peanut brittle ended up being very thick. It still tastes good, but for brittle of any kind, thinness is key for breaking it up and eating it. When it's too thick, it doesn't break well and it gets stuck in your teeth, giving you the flavor of peanut brittle constantly.
I thought since my candy thermometer was going to gauge the temperature for me, I could watch TV and check on it every once in a while. Nope, nope, and nope. Peanut brittle needs to be stirred, and often. In addition, you have to watch the pan to make sure the brittle mixture doesn't overflow while boiling.
Also, corn syrup has absolutely no depth of flavor. So the original recipe I made tastes like peanut brittle, but in the future, I'll be making it this way, courtesy of Sir Emeril, minus the chili powder.
So when you assemble this Death by Sugar Lovin pie, it goes:
Crust
Ganache
Cheesecake filling
Broken peanut brittle pieces
Then it has to chill overnight. It does taste really good. It's just so decadent that you need to take a very small slice. Or, do this....try making all of these fun pastry items, just not in the same dessert!
I know. My teeth hurt just thinking about all that sugar in one place. It was highly decadent and it was an experiment that was successful the fact that it taught me a few things and it gave me a couple of new techniques to share.
We'll start with the oat cookie crust:
In Bon Appetit's September Restaurant issue, they revealed the recipes of Christina Tosi, the pastry chef at Momofuku Milk Bar and the Momofuku restaurant empire (for more on the Momofuku family of restaurants, visit www.momofuku.com or read Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw). Tosi is known for being incredibly inventive and her desserts are known for being very addictive. What caught my eye in all of her desserts was the recipe for Crack Pie. You can find the whole recipe here, but today, I am focusing on the crust.
The oat cookie crust is very unique to me. While it resembles a graham crust or any crushed cookie crust, what's unique about this crust is that rather than starting with already crushed cookies, or buying a package or oreos, you make an oatmeal cookie bar, crumble it and create the crust completely from scratch. The oat cookie crust technique inspired me to start thinking about other types of cookie crusts you could make from scratch and the number of delicious fillings you could pair with them to make a truly unique pie. See your basic recipe here and get ideas on how to make it your own.
But for my first try, I followed Tosi's recipe. The oat cookie crust came out perfectly. The only thing I did differently was blind bake the crust without the filling for 17-18 minutes after pressing into the pie pan because I wanted to fill the crust with a cheesecake and ganache filling that couldn't be baked.
Now for thoughts on a cheesecake & ganache filling. Some key items to remember.
1. You won't need as much ganache as you think.
2. You won't need as much cheesecake filling as you think.
3. When in doubt, let it chill longer.
Ganache is a very basic pastry item that everyone can make. You just need chocolate and heavy cream. See the recipe here. The beautiful thing about ganache is that you can adjust your ratio of cream to chocolate to create a thicker or thinner ganache. The consistency you are looking for here is equal parts cream to chocolate for a thin glaze effect.
This particular cheesecake filling was a no-bake filling, which means there aren't any eggs. The bonus is that it comes together quickly. The downside is that it never reaches a true cheesecake density. It depends what you like in your cheesecake. I decided to go a slightly tangy and sweet route. My filling recipe can be found here, but for quick reference it had cream cheese, greek yogurt, goat cheese, honey, sugar and a touch of heavy cream.
And finally, the topper- peanut brittle.
I had never made candy or brittle before this little experiment. A few things I learned:
1. When in doubt, opt for a bigger pan.
2. Understand that you need to spend the whole time at the stove with the peanut brittle mixture.
3. Corn syrup is kind of flavorless.
My peanut brittle ended up being very thick. It still tastes good, but for brittle of any kind, thinness is key for breaking it up and eating it. When it's too thick, it doesn't break well and it gets stuck in your teeth, giving you the flavor of peanut brittle constantly.
I thought since my candy thermometer was going to gauge the temperature for me, I could watch TV and check on it every once in a while. Nope, nope, and nope. Peanut brittle needs to be stirred, and often. In addition, you have to watch the pan to make sure the brittle mixture doesn't overflow while boiling.
Also, corn syrup has absolutely no depth of flavor. So the original recipe I made tastes like peanut brittle, but in the future, I'll be making it this way, courtesy of Sir Emeril, minus the chili powder.
So when you assemble this Death by Sugar Lovin pie, it goes:
Crust
Ganache
Cheesecake filling
Broken peanut brittle pieces
Then it has to chill overnight. It does taste really good. It's just so decadent that you need to take a very small slice. Or, do this....try making all of these fun pastry items, just not in the same dessert!
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