Little Box Brownie

A Baking Blog from Melbourne, Australia

Caramel

Peanut Brittle Slice

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Well… doesn’t time fly when your having fun? It seems to be flying for me even when I’m not. I can’t for the life of me believe how quickly the weeks are blurring together to form months. Its been nearly 3 weeks since my last post, I think thats a bit of a record. Its not that I haven’t had recipes to put up, in fact I have a number of them, its just that I haven’t found the time. So I hope no one has been waiting for their next sugary fix.
Wedding season is back in full gear and between that and spending every free minute sanding little Miss Daisy, which has had its fair number of dramas I might add, I have just lost track of time,

This next recipe is one I made months ago, so many months ago I can’t even recall why. but its good, supper tasty in fact, just a little on the hard side to eat.

 
Peanut Brittle Chocolate Slice
 
Base
 
200 g butter
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
 
Filling
 
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 water
50g butter
2 cups unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup cream
 
Topping
 
250g dark chocolate
50g butter
 
pre heat the oven to 170C
 
To make the base, cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour and baking powder until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Then stir through the sugar and combine the egg until the mixture forms a dough. Press this into a 20 x 30 cm tin and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown, remove from the oven and set aside.
 
To make the filling, place the corn syrup, sugar and water into a saucepan and heat until the mixture becomes golden, swirl the pot rather than stirring the ingredients, or alternatively use a wet pastry brush to brush down the sides.  Remove from the heat and stir through the butter and cream, be very carful as the mixture with splatter and rise up. Stir through the peanuts and pour into the base immediately. 
 
To make the topping, place the chocolate and butter into a double boiler and heat until the chocolate has melted. Pour over the slice and leave to cool. Cut when cooled.

Chai and Caramel Pear Tart

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Pear Tart

Are you a coffee drinker? I’m not I can’t stand the stuff. Coffee has the most amazing aroma though it really is quite deceiving, it smells so sweet and caramelised yet tastes so incredibly bitter. If I do drink it I have to add in piles of sugar and I prefer to use my sugar intake a little more wisely on something I enjoy eating….. such as cake!!! More than a few years ago I was with someone who ordered a chai tea. I remember smelling it thinking wow that smells amazing with all the Indian spices and to my surprise tasted equally as good, so from then on in I have been a chai convert, swapping my hot chocolates to a Chai tea. Sometimes though it is a bit of a hit and miss with chai as there are different forms of the tea, you can get syrups and powders, but my favourite would have to be the actual tea spices, when they are infused into the milk and some honey added. Yum its like a warm comfort drink, perfect for the winter. I have wanted to use it in my baking for ages as I see all these wonderful chai recipes on other sites so finally decided to give it a whirl in this next tart I came up with.
If you don’t feel like making the tart, as it does require a bit of time, the poached pears are amazing on there own or would be perfect with some creamed rice:)

Chai and Pear Caramel Tart
 
Pastry
150g butter
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 tablespoon water 
 
Pears
5 small pears  (all the same size)
3 cups water
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons chai tea (I used T2)
 
Caramel
50g butter
390g sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tbsp golden syrup 
 
Topping
1/2 cup thickened cream
50g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
Bouquet garni of chai*
1 cup plain flour
1 egg
 
pre heat oven to 170C
 
To make the pastry, place the butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into a food processor and pulse until fine breadcrumbs form. Then add the egg and water, pulse until a dough starts to form. Turn onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Place in cling wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30mins (now is the ideal time to start the pears). Remove from the fridge and roll out until about 2mm thick, turn into a 25cm lined round tin and blind bake for 10 mins. Remove the beans and bake for another 10mins. set aside
 
Peel the pears and then place into a saucepan with the water, sugar and chai. Let this simmer for about 30minutes on a medium heat or until the pears are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside. 
 
To make the caramel place the butter, condensed milk and golden syrup into a saucepan, and on a medium heat boil until the mixture becomes golden brown. Make sure you constantly stir otherwise it will stick to the bottom and burn.
 
To make the topping, Place the cream, butter, sugar, golden syrup and the bouquet of chai into a saucepan and slowly simmer until the ingredients combine, and the chai infuses into the mixture. Remove from the heat and remove the bouquet. Stir in the flour and the egg until well combined.
 
To assemble, pour the caramel into the tart case, then place the pears in so they are evenly spaced. Pour in the topping and bake for 45 mins or until cooked.

*chai tea wrapped in muslin and tied with string, you could also use two chai teabags.

Pear and Chai Tart

Salted Carmel and Chocolate Macaroons

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These little baby’s are my arch rival, I just can’t make a perfect macaroon to save my life. This next recipe is as good as its going to get, they’re a little bit bumpy, but these baby’s have feet, whoooooohoooooo, finally they have feet, no not the type of feet there going to get up and walk out on me but a little bubble foot like all good macaroons should.
Every time I try to make them something goes astray, it probably has something to do with my inability to follow the instructions, after the first three batches you would think I would learn but sadly no. I was telling one of my most loyal readers that I just couldn’t make them, and the next thing I know she had bought me a cookbook on Macaroons (Thanks G) So after reading through that I have learn’t a few secrets and worked out a recipe that some how miraculously worked. The secret is italian meringue and man oh man do I love the Italians for this one. If you make macaroons with an italian meringue, by pouring hot liquid sugar into the egg whites rather that using sugar straight out of the packet, it works. Well it works for me and as the saying goes if it can work for me it can work for you.
I did read that chocolate macaroons are the hardest and trust me to want chocolate ones, but really who can resist chocolate?

Chocolate Macaroons
 
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
4 egg whites
1 3/4 cups almond meal
1  cups icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
 
Caramel Sauce
 
1 1/2 cups of sugar
50ml water
60ml cream
60ml golden syrup
125g butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
 
Pre heat the oven to 160C
 
Place the sugar and water into a saucepan and heat until the sugar melts and boil for about 4 minutes, brush the sugar down from the sides with a wet brush so the sugar doesn’t crystallise.
 
In and electric mixer beat the egg whites until they form peaks, slowly add the hot sugar syrup while constantly whisking. Whisk until the mixture is glossy.
 
Sift the icing sugar, cocoa and almond meal in to a bowl then slowly fold this into the meringue mixture a little at a time. Place into a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle and pipe 2.5cm rounds onto a lined baking tray. Set these aside until the the tops of the macaroons are firm to touch approximately 30mins.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the macaroon bases are firm.
 
To make the caramel filling, Place the sugar and water into a saucepan on a medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves and it starts to boil. Let it boil until the syrup turns a golden colour. Then remove from the heat and stir in the cream, golden syrup, butter and salt. Be careful not to burn yourself as the mixture will bubble up and let off steam. Leave the caramel for 10mins to cool slightly and spoon onto the macaroons.
 
Makes 12

Whittaker’s Peanut Butter Chocolate and Caramel Brownie

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This next recipe comes from the wonderful Whittaker’s Passion for Chocolate book. While on holiday in New Zealand I found this cook book and its a little gem. The Whittaker’s have been producing Chocolate in New Zealand for years, since about 1896 I think, and finally they have put out an amazing cook book, with an array of recipes for the chocolate lover in all of us.
This is one of those books you can’t walk past or put down as its filled with great photos and really interesting and diverse recipes. The recipes are from the Whittaker family’s treasure trove, some local chefs, and even some really cool local bloggers. Some of the recipes are savoury such as chocolate braised leg of hare and lamb rump with rosemary-infused dark chocolate sauce, the majority of them however are sweet, which is perfect for my sweet tooth. Truffles, brownies, fudge, meringues, custards, brulees, cookies, oh the list goes on. So I may be busy for a while making them all.
I have been eating Mr Whittaker’s famous peanut slab for years. I was reading that it use to come in a huge slab and when you went to the local dairy (Convenient Store) they would cut pieces off for you, however all my life I have only even known them to come as an individual wrapped chocolate bar.
 Mr Whittaker has in recent years put out some new blocks of chocolate, and one of them is peanut butter chocolate, holy yum. So it goes with out saying I was very excited to be able to make this recipe, a caramel and peanut butter chocolate brownie.
I thought I would have to get some of the chocolate sent over from New Zealand, however was really delighted to see that their selling this chocolate at Big W, and Woolworth’s in Australia. For those of you in parts of the world that can’t get the chocolate I will put up an additional recipe in the next few days, yes thats right I’m going to make a second batch just for you, not because I can’t stop eating it or anything 🙂
If you love chocolate, good photos, and great recipes, you have got to get your hands on a copy of this book. Did I mention that every recipe comes with a photo of the end result, go on find out where to get one and get it. It will make you so very happy.
Enjoy  xxx
Whittaker’s Peanut Butter Chocolate and Caramel Brownie
 
Brownie
 
250g Whittaker’s Peanut Butter chocolate
225g butter
450g sugar
8ml Vanilla essence
45g cocoa powder
175g plain flour
5 eggs
 
Caramel
 
80g Salted butter
390g sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tbsp golden syrup 
 
Pre heat the oven to 180C
Place the chocolate, butter, sugar and vanilla into a double boiler and heat until the ingredients have melted and combined, remove from the heat. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the chocolate mixture and stir though. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Set aside
 
To make the caramel place the butter, condensed milk and golden syrup into a saucepan, and on a medium heat boil until the mixture becomes golden brown. Make sure you constantly stir otherwise it will stick to the bottom and burn.
 
To assemble, pour half of the brownie mixture into a lined 20x30cm tin. Then dollop on 2/3 of the caramel. Pour over the remaining brownie mixture and Dot over the rest of the caramel. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked.

Recipe from Whittaker’s Passion for Chocolate, Andrew & Brian Whittaker, 2012, Random House