Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces dates, pitted and roughly chopped
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) softened, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Butterscotch sauce, recipe follows

Butterscotch Sauce:

• 2 1/4 cups light brown sugar
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon brandy
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup cold heavy cream, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with parchment or waxed paper.

Combine the dates and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and gradually stir in the baking soda (it will foam up), and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar to the butter, and cream until fluffy. Without stopping the mixer, add 2 of the eggs and mix until combined. Add the remaining 2 eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the dates and mix until combined. Repeat until all the flour mixture and the dates are incorporated into the batter. Pour into the baking pan and bake about 40 minutes, until firm and set in the center. Let cool in the pan. When cool, turn out of the pan onto a baking sheet and peel off the parchment paper. The recipe can be made through this step up to 2 days in advance.

Butterscotch Sauce: Combine the brown sugar, butter, half-and-half, and brandy in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes, until combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

When ready to serve pudding preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour the sauce evenly over the top of the cake. Bake until the sauce is bubbly and cake is heated through, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream into soft peaks with the mixer. Cut the cake into squares and serve with whipped cream.
Serves 12

*This recipe is courtesy of Gale Gand*

The Rocky Road of Life is Sweeter When Paved With Chocolate

Even gloomy, cold, rainy days become cheerful when homemade confections roll out of the kitchen.  Nut brittles, toffee, truffles, caramel and of course, the iconic rocky road can bring a smile to the most weary face. Please find my time honored and exceedingly easy recipe for rocky road below.



Rachel's Rocky Road
32 oz. 60%+ good quality dark chocolate morsels or chopped
2 cups toasted pecan or walnut halves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 oz. bag mini marshmallows
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (for greasing the pan)

Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan. In a double boiler or a large metal bowl set over a a pot of simmering water, constantly stir the chocolate until fully melted.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla, sea salt, marshmallows and toasted nuts.  Stir to completely coat marshmallows and nuts with chocolate.  Spread the mixture evenly in to the prepared pan.  Cover the pan and refrigerate for a at least 2 hours.  When solid, cut the mixture in to squares.  Store at room temp, tightly wrapped.

White Chocolate & Persian Lime Fudge

• 1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup Persian Lime Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3/4 cup Sour Cream
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 lb white chocolate morsels
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• finely grated zest of two limes, about 1 tablespoon 
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Grease an 8" x 8" square baking pan. Combine sugar, lime zest, lime juice, butter and sour cream and olive oil in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture boils, stirring constantly. Continue boiling  over medium heat or until a candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees.  Remove from heat, stir marshmallows and white chocolate until melted and mixture is smooth. Immediately pour fudge into greased pan and let stand about 10 minutes until top is firm to touch. Using a knife, score top of fudge to make fudge squares. Refrigerate about 1 hour. When cool and firm, cut out fudge.

Homemade Bagel Dogs

For the bagel dough

1 cup warm water (110 degrees)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons white sugar

3 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

For the water bath

4 quarts boiling water

2 tablespoons  baking soda

For the eggwash

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon kosher salt for sprinkling

1.  Follow your breadmaker's instructions for making bread dough or pour the water into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and sprinkle with the yeast.  Let the mixture stand about five minutes or until foamy, then stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar and the salt. Using the paddle attachment and with the mixer on medium speed, gradually add flour, beating until well-blended and smooth, until you have a stiff dough. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and knead thoroughly until smooth and elastic in texture. Form the dough into a lump and place it into a lightly greased bowl. Turn the dough over to grease the top. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size.

1. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and knead briefly to eliminate any air bubbles and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12×9 inch rectangle or until it’s about a 1/4-inch thick, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or the board. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut 12 1-inch pieces of dough.
2. Dry the hot dogs thoroughly. Starting at one end of a hot dog, wrap the dough around overlapping slightly as you make your way to the other end. Place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining hot dogs and strips of dough. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let stand in a warm place for about 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Preheat the over to 400°. Fill a deep, heavy pot with water and add the baking soda. Bring to a gentle boil. Working 2 to 3 bagels at a time, carefully drop the bagel dogs into the boiling water, turning frequently with a slotted spoon or spatula, for about a minute. Lift out of the water and gently dry each bagel well on a kitchen towel and arrange about 2-inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with remaining bagel dogs.
4. Brush the bagels with the egg glaze and sprinkle on your garnish of choice. Bake for about 35 minutes or until nicely browned and crusty, turning the pan about halfway through. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack.

Makes one dozen bagel dogs

Asiago & White Truffle Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

6 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled
1 stick (8oz.) unsalted butter
 2 medium cloves garlic
1 cup half & half
1 tablespoon white truffle oil
1 cup grated Asiago Cheese
Sea salt & fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Optional:  Finely minced, fresh chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

Dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan add the salt, and cover with hot water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes are tender throughout when poked with a fork.  Heat the half-and-half, butter and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream-butter mixture, grated Asiago and truffle oil.  Stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.

Cranberry-Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Cranberry-Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbs.fresh squeezed blood or navel orange juice (about 4-5 large oranges)
• 1 Tbs. finely grated orange zest
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup + 1 Tbs. Blood Orange Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

Preparation

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven, remove any racks above, and crank up the heat to 350°F (175°C). Coat a 12-cup bundt or tube pan with 1 tbs. blood orange extra virgin olive oil and set aside.
2. Finely grate the zest of 2 oranges, then squeeze 4 of them. You should have 1 1/2 cups and 1 reserved tablespoon of orange juice of juice; if not, squeeze the 5th orange. Set aside.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand held mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the granulated sugar and continue beating until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and blood orange extra virgin olive oil, starting and ending with the flour, and beat until just a few wisps of flour remain. Pour in the orange juice, zest and dried cranberries and whirl for a few seconds to bring the batter together.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 1 1/4 hours. If the top is browning too much as the cake bakes, cover lightly with foil. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes and then turn the cake out on to a rack over a sheet pan.  Mix together 1 tablespoon reserved orange juice with confectioners sugar to form a glaze.  Pour slowly and evenly over the warm cake.  Serve at room temperature.

Caramel Sauce Recipe For Shona

Simple Caramel Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.  Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably.  Use caution with this step. Allow the mixture to cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Makes approximately one cup of sauce.

Decadent Chocolate & Aged Espresso Balsamic Fudge

12 oz. Heavy Cream
4 oz. Delizia Aged Espresso Balsamic
1/2 pound (about 1 cup) 60%+ dark chocolate
1/2 pound (about 1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract1/4 tsp. fleur de sel or sea salt

Butter a 9x13" baking pan and line with parchment that overhangs the sides.  In a metal bowl or double boiler, add all of the ingredients except the salt.  Set over a pot of gently simmering water, stirring constantly until the chocolate has completely melted.  The mixture will be very thick.  Pour in to the prepared pan.  Allow to cool to room temperature and cut in to squares.  Sprinkle a few grains of sea salt on each square.

Makes about 2 pounds of fudge.