AMAZING Salted Caramel Sauce

I've been afraid of caramel. Very afraid. since my little incident over a year ago. My wound has healed, but I still have a faint scar to prove my battle wounds! ha My friend Nicole came over & wanted to make some delicious pumpkin blondies that required this salted caramel sauce, so I made her make it while I watched. Success! It seemed like I could attempt without an injury, so when I NEEDED to make this again a couple weeks later when my supply ran out, I did it! OK, I had a few mishaps with the sugar crystallizing and getting really hard in the bottom of the pan. I tried 3 times and finally the last time when I turned the heat up higher, it worked! I made this again at my mom's house for Thanksgiving & the same problem happened. Apparently no one really knows what that happens, or at least I couldn't get a good reason on the web. The foolproof way to make it though is to add a tablespoon of light corn syrup to the water sugar mixture, which prevents it from hardening. Just do that, it's easier... :) Also, DO NOT stir the mixture except when you first put it in the pan, or you will mess it up. Bad. It's really yummy though & very worth it!

Salted Caramel Sauce

• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 TBSP light corn syrup (optional, but makes it easier to make for the first time)
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced & seeded
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Mix cream, sea salt, vanilla & vanilla bean scrapings in a large cup. Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, mix water, sugar & corn syrup- stir one last time to combine & do not stir again! Heat over medium-high heat until starts to bubble. DO NOT STIR or you will disrupt the caramel-making process (Very scientific, I know), but you can gently swirl the pan to make sure everything is heating evenly. 

Watch it carefully until it turns a deep amber color (this is where my hands were full and I couldn't take any more photos!). Turn off heat and carefully add cream mixture, whisking constantly until comes together and any hardened caramel bits on the whisk melt away. When you first pour it in, it will go crazy & steam & bubble, but just keep whisking. 

Pour into a jar and store in the fridge. You should probably only keep it for a week or so, but I have kept mine a lot longer. Its really amazing on apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, brownies.... etc. you get the idea. :)

Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

I don't know why I've been procrastinating writing up this recipe for so long! It's a really yummy one! Who doesn't love chocolate + caramel?? I used one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes- from my Reese's Cupcakes. I wanted to make a true caramel buttercream, but after my caramel ice cream burn fiasco last year, I wasn't quite ready for that ( I still have the scar to prove it!). This frosting is more of a brown sugar buttercream. It was good, next time I might just buy some caramel sauce and whip it into some buttercream frosting. We'll see how I'm feeling. These cupcakes did get great reviews though- yum yum eat em up!

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
From Ina Garten

• 1 1/2 sticks (12 TBSP) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature*
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 TBSP brewed coffee**
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

*I use buttermilk powder (follow directions) or juice of 1 lemon and add milk until it reaches desired measurement
** I do not drink coffee, so I "brewed" a cup using instant coffee granules

1. Preheat oven to 350. Get your cupcake pan ready with paper liners. 
2. In your electric mixer bowl (fitted with paddle attachment), cream butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
3. Lower speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, better well after each addition. 
4. Add vanilla & mix. 
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee.
6.  In a third bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. 
7. With mixer on low speed, add buttermilk mixture and flour mixture alternately in thirds, beginning with the buttermilk and ending with the flour. Mix until just blended and scrap sides with a spatula. 
8. Scoop batter evenly into cupcake pans (I do 2 medium scoops each). Bake on middle rack 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then place on wire rack to cool completely before frosting. You can cool faster in the fridge, if desired.

Caramel Frosting
From AllRecipes
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes, can be doubled if needed

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream + 1-2 TBSP
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and 1/2 cup cream to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. 

Add soda and boil for 1 more minute.This will cause it to bubble up a lot- don't worry. 

Remove from heat and pour into heatproof bowl. Add butter and DO NOT STIR. 

Cover & place in fridge for 1.5 hours. Once it is completely chilled, it is ready.
Remove and add remaining 1-2 TBSP cream and beat with electric mixer for several minutes, adding powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes & enjoy! 

Caramel Ice Cream- Take two!

Since my first caramel ice cream recipe failed, Frieda over at Lovin' from the Oven, graciously sent me a much better recipe to try! Saturday night the bf was feeling a little under the weather, so we stayed home from our date night and it was the perfect opportunity to try it out. Unfortunately, about halfway through this recipe I badly burned myself and became glued to the sink with my hand under the faucet. The bf took over where I left off while I yelled read the directions to him from the sink-I'd come too far to give up! haha It really was silly of me, now that I look back on it. He was like "How's your hand? Who cares about the stupid ice cream?!", but I insisted he persevere and finish out the recipe. It was just a little more hectic because my accident happened during the critical time of melting the caramel (read: almost BOILING SUGAR) and mixing in the cream/eggs, etc. Anyway, he did a good job, but I kept screaming lovingly saying things like "Pour SLOWER!", "NOT the whisk!!"and "turn the burner down!" haha well I have to say this ice cream was much better than the other one! Not sure if I have a permanent Sous chef or if it was worth a badly burned finger though. :( The bf gobbled it up and said it was MUCH better than the last caramel ice cream, but he thought it was too rich to eat on its own. He suggested mixing it with the vanilla bean I normally make. Hmmm... We'll see. I kind of have my heart set on a cookie dough or cookies and cream ice cream next time...yum yum!

Salted Caramel Praline (To mix in)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp sea salt (NOT table salt)

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or grease lightly with vegetable oil. In a heavy-bottom skillet, spread sugar in an even layer. Heat over medium until edges begin to melt, use a heat-proof spatula to push the melted edges in towards the middle. Stir gently until all sugar is dissolved. Cook, stirring infrequently, until sugar starts to smoke (I had a hard time telling if it was smoking or not, but figured out this step is right before it boils. DO NOT let the sugar boil or it will get a burnt taste.) Caramel will be the color of an old copper penny. Quickly sprinkle sea salt over caramel without stirring. Pour caramel onto prepared baking sheet, turning sheet to spread thinly. Set aside to cool and harden.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 TBSP salted butter ( I only had unsalted)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3/4 tsp vanilla

Make an ice bath by filling a large bowl 1/3 full with ice cubes and about 1 cup water (ice cubes should be floating in the water). Nestle a smaller, 2 quart bowl on top of ice. Pour 1 cup cold milk into bowl and place mesh strainer over top.

Spread 1 1/2 cups sugar in a heavy-bottom skillet in an even layer. Heat over medium until edges begin to melt, use a heat-proof spatula to push the melted edges in towards the middle.

Stir gently until all sugar is dissolved. Cook, stirring infrequently, until sugar starts to smoke (I had a hard time telling if it was smoking or not, but figured out this step is right before it boils. DO NOT let the sugar boil or it will get a burnt taste.) Caramel will be the color of an old copper penny. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and salt. (This is where I burnt myself on HOT HOT caramel when I added the butter. Add butter CAREFULLY!). Stir until completely melted. Gradually whisk in the cream, stirring constantly. If the caramel begins to harden, return pan to heat and continue stirring until melted. Stir in 1 cup milk. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Slowly add about 1 cup of caramel mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly add yolk/caramel mixture back into saucepan. Cook custard until it coats the back of a spoon and you can draw a line down the back of a spoon without custard running into it. Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk in the ice bath and add vanilla. Stir until mixture has cooled down.Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker for about 30 minutes.

While it is freezing, crumble praline bits in a large plastic bag with a rolling pin.
Sprinkle in bits after ice cream is churned. Pour into container with lid and freeze until firm (2-4 hours). While you're eating it, the tiny caramel bits will melt and add a nice ooey-gooey texture to your ice cream! Enjoy!

Like I said before, I love my ice cream maker, but it does have to washed by hand. :(
Sonny volunteered to wash it for me, but I figured licking it clean wouldn't be too sanitary...
For the brave, posted last are a few photos of my sugar burn Sunday morning. It's OK- when I'm eating this ice cream I forget that my finger hurts! :)







Hope you had a great weekend!

Caramel Ice Cream

I have made many things since I first thought of creating this blog, however this ice cream is the first thing I've actually taken a picture of recently, and today is the day I finally pulled it all together and made my blog come to life! :)

I bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker a while back for $20 at Marshalls (one of my favorite stores) - something I simply could not pass up! Honestly, I was not confident when I placed it in my cart that I would use it too often. However, I have to say I'm glad I proved myself wrong! I use it to make fro yo/ice cream/gelato/margaritas once or twice a month. Definitely a good investment! I love this brand, and my boyfriend's only complaint is that it is a little noisy.... but after he shuts his office door he is happy to come out again once the treats are ready!

Let my just preface this recipe by saying that I am not an expert on making ice cream at all. I have only made a couple flavors. My previous fav was vanilla bean- I will post that recipe sometime as well. I was looking for a recipe to change it up a bit but still wanted to use a vanilla bean (since I just got a bunch in bulk from eBay) and came across this caramel version. OK... so I googled "Caramel Ice Cream Recipes." I should save you the trouble and say this recipe isn't great, but some people who do not like super sweet things may like it better.. Anyway on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 large egg yolks

Preparation:

• Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into large saucepan; add bean.
  
• Add sugar and 1/4 cup water and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously and caramel will initially harden- don't worry, it will dissolve in next step!)
  
• Stir over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve, about 4 minutes.
  
• Add milk; bring to simmer. Whisk yolks in large bowl to blend.
  
• Gradually whisk caramel mixture into yolks.
  
• Return custard to saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on spoon when finger is drawn across, about 5 minutes (do not boil).
  
• Strain custard into large bowl; refrigerate until cold.
  

• Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions (I did 30 minutes).
  
• Transfer ice cream to covered container and freeze until firm.

To be honest, this was not as good/sweet as traditional caramel ice cream and mine had a little bit of a burnt caramel taste (almost bitter), to which other reviewers of this recipe called "sophisticated." hmm To combat this, I served with fresh whipped cream and homemade chocolate syrup that I had leftover from this chocolate Sybil cake I made last week. It's not like I didn't eat it, but I think I might look for another ice cream recipe next time.

Boyfriend's comments (I should warn you that he is a harsh critic):
"Is this COFFEE flavored? I DON'T like this. ..... If I got this at a restaurant I would send it back. " After thinking for a few moments he said, "Well maybe other people would like it..." HA I knew this would not be sweet enough for him. I also made him try it before it had completely frozen because I couldn't wait to post my first blog entry, so that could also have had an effect.... haha





This was a bit of a disappointing treat to top off a great day spent with bf's brother and sister in law, who were in town for the weekend. There was no shortage of food as we started off the day with a delicious brunch on South Congress, went for a dip in chilly Barton Springs and enjoyed a margarita (or two) overlooking Lake Austin. Hoping they are able to come back soon so we have an excuse to try out the duck tour! :)

Have a great weekend!

M