Salted Caramel Apple Pie

You might be asking, another pie??  But it's pie season, and this one is so good!  This is not just any apple pie, but one with homemade salted caramel stirred into the filling, and additional caramel poured on top when served.  The big apple slices hold their shape and juiciness, and the caramel makes the filling wonderfully saucy.

This pie is also different because I finally decided to test-drive a recipe for a yogurt-butter crust, and I can report that it is super flaky and easy to roll out.  It wasn't so easy to assemble.  For the first time I used a handheld pastry blender like the recipe called for, rather than my food processor.  I've concluded that I'm lazy and prefer the machine, plus I feel like the machine works the dough less.  And we all know that working the dough less ensures tender pastry.  Also, while the yogurt works as a tenderizer, there simply wasn't enough moisture to bring the dough together.  I added about a quarter-cup extra water along with another teaspoon of yogurt.  I could chalk this up to the awfully dry conditions at home during fall and winter.  But continuing to work in the extra liquid made me afraid I was overworking the dough.  The pastry still came out tender, but next time I'll go the lazy route and use the machine.

Part of my autumn pie madness: puff pastry apple tartlets thrown together at a moment's notice

Finally, the caramel is simple to make, and I didn't even break out my candy thermometer.  But if you're short on time, I think storebought salted caramel would work just as well.  One last tip: I'm always afraid of crystallization when making caramels and syrups, so I put the lid on the pot for 2 minutes during the vigorous stage of boiling -- the steam builds up and washes down the sides, along with any crystals that have formed.  Both the pie dough and the caramel can be made a day or so in advance, and refrigerated until needed. Microwave the caramel to make it warm and pourable before using.  Have a good Thanksgiving, folks, and may it be filled with pie.

Looking for other Thanksgiving dessert ideas?  Here's a few:

Black Bottom Tart

Chocolate Cream Pie

Maple-Glazed Apple Crostata

Pear Custard Tart

Pecan Bars

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Sour Cream Pumpkin Tart

Vanilla-Bean Pear & Apple Tart

Salted Caramel Blondies

These Salted Caramel Blondies tasted even better than I thought they would.  Did you know that feasting is an Election Night tradition in newsrooms?  I was thinking of a simple snack to make and found a recipe for these at Two Peas and Their Pod.  They were so rich, it worked to cut them into about a quarter of the size of the bars you see here.  And they fueled editors and reporters until our boatload delivery of Italian food and North End desserts arrived as the polls closed.  Around midnight, as the coffee supply was refreshed, a coworker was saying she could use a blondie but they were long gone.

I wasn't always a fan of caramel, finding it awfully sweet.  But salt adds complexity, and I'll even say sophistication, to caramel.  And although there are recipes out there that will call for homemade caramel sauce -- and I will often go for the made-from-scratch stuff -- I loved how the caramel sauce came together in the microwave in under 2 minutes by heating caramel squares with a bit of cream.  Perfect for when you've got a hectic Election Night, or just want to curl up with a book, a blondie, and a glass of milk.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Are you sick of pumpkin recipes yet?  Apparently I'm not.  Right now my friend Jacob must be thinking, "Where's the chocolate?"  I had actually planned a couple of savory, non-pumpkin recipes for this week, but then I wanted to bring a sweet to round out the pizza at an event for journalists I helped organize.  So I went with the seasonal favorite, pumpkin.  And who can say no to caramel cream cheese frosting?  The cupcakes were a big hit, and people asked permission to take home the last few.  Granted, of course.

This recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures produces a light and moist cupcake, slightly sweet and nicely spiced.  I thought it needed very little frosting, less than you see here.  The caramel flavor doesn't really come across in the frosting, so I would skip making the caramel and just go with a plain cream cheese frosting recipe.  Now, what should I make with the other half a can of pumpkin?

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Pecan Bars

I spent almost my whole life thinking I didn't like pecan pie.  I love pies filled with fruit, or chocolate cream, or pumpkin, but nuts in gooey caramel?  Didn't sound like my thing.  But when I finally tasted pecan pie for the first time last year, I was hooked.  I learned the error of my ways.  The deep, smooth sugary filling combined with the pecans was irresistible.

Don't bother decorating the top with nuts. They fell off after baking, even though I pushed them into the filling.

When I got the idea to try pecan pie in bar form, this Barefoot Contessa recipe popped up first in my online search and had hundreds of raving reviews.  But the endorsements also had complaints about messes in the oven, the cost, and the fat.  Nine sticks combined for the shortbread and filling??!  And I wish someone had spelled out the cost.  The pecans were about $15 a pound and two pounds were needed, but thankfully I found them for $8 a pound in the bulk bin at another store.  The many positive reviewers said the cost was worth it -- or maybe just as a splurge for the holidays.

To avoid  the spillage and mess that people described, I used two taller baking pans instead -- 10½ by 7 by 2 inches, and 12¾ by 8 by 3 inches.  The baking times stay about the same.  My sheet pans did not have the required 1 inch in height, and I correctly estimated that 1 inch could not possibly hold all the bubbling filling.  I also lined the pans with foil and then parchment.

Clockwise from top left: Woman in a hoopskirt outside Fort Warren on Georges Island; girls manning the fort walls; a powder magazine; these hobbit hole-looking structures opened out to a view of the ocean on the other side.

So, that health factor?  There's a healthier chocolate pecan bar recipe from The New York Times.  I wasn't happy with a recipe I tried from the column once and figured if you're going to have a pecan bar, have a pecan bar -- and then give away most of them.  I brought them to my book club's outing to Fort Warren at Georges Island.  The Civil War fort matched up with our read for the month, Gone With the Wind, and the pecan bars seemed to fit the southern theme.  My friends loved them, and were amazed at the weight of each square.  It was like carrying a brick.  I enjoyed them also, but I thought they tasted more like toffee bars and less like pecan pie.  It wasn't quite what I had been looking for, and it was also very rich.  Maybe pecan pie is next on my baking list.

Banana Caramel Swirl Ice Cream

I love desserts that look ultra-fancy but are deceptively easy to pull off.   This Banana Caramel Swirl Ice Cream was no harder to pull off than most ice creams, and even the caramel sauce was simple to make.  You just spoon some ice cream straight from the machine into a container, drizzle caramel over it, drag a skewer through the caramel to create the marbled design, then repeat in layers.  There's no technique to wielding the skewer either -- moving the skewer any which way creates gorgeous swirls.

The hot caramel sputters up when cream is added.  Be careful!

The caramel sauce is as simple as cooking sugar, water, and corn syrup together; then adding cream, and stirring in cold butter.  To help avoid crystal formation, which can ruin your whole batch, I cook the caramel with the lid on for the first few minutes -- the steam will build up and run down the sides, washing away any potential crystals.

The ice cream is smooth and creamy, with no iciness.  The flavor is reminiscent of banana bread, and the caramel sauce adds a more complex sweetness.  The chocolate lover in me wants to swirl this with chocolate sauce next time.

Rum Raisin Ice Cream with Caramel Sauce

I've bailed the ice cream maker out of the basement, and given it a home on the counter.  I know that sounds like neglect, but it's big and heavy due to the built-in compressor (no need to freeze churning bowl!) so I waited for ice cream season to begin.  I never thought Rum Raisin Ice Cream was my thing, until I had something like it at a local ice cream shop last summer.  And then I saw this recipe at Pastry Affair a few months ago, and it's been on my brain since.  And apparently it's Joe's childhood favorite.  I'm not a big fan of drinking rum, but I've concluded I love rum-flavored desserts like Vanilla Bean-Pineapple Tart, Black Bottom Tart, and Baba au Rhum.

This was excellent.  The raisins are briefly cooked in rum and soak up all the liquid.  When they were almost done I put the lid on my saucepan and turned off the burner, and the flame puffed up before going out -- except it must have caught some alcohol fumes because the lid rim was suddenly blue and aflame.  "Whoa!" I shouted.  "What's up?"  Joe called from the other room.  "Unintentional flambé!"  It was entertaining, but just be careful.

If you're like me, you might ask if you need the caramel sauce.  No one needs caramel sauce, but you want it.  Trust me.  The ice cream and the caramel are each very good on their own, but combined they might sing to you.

View the recipe at Pastry Affair.

Want more recipes for frozen desserts?  Here are some oldies but goodies:

Chocolate Gelato

Blackberry Ice Cream

Lychee Sorbet

Caramelized Pear Ice Cream

Maple Ice Cream in Waffle Cone Cups


Frozen Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie

This post was shared with:
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Whatcha' Whipped Up Wednesdays

Sweets for a Saturday

"Fancy Twix," or Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

"Would I like a fancy, homemade version of a Twix?"  I asked Joe recently.  He said yes.  See, I'm not big on candy or candy bars.  My friend Charmie used to say I like "old people candy" -- Werther's and Raisinets.  Hard candies, gummies, and nougat don't do it for me.  I don't even know what makes a Twix different from a Snickers or Milky Way.  But when I saw this recipe at Tracey's Culinary Adventures, I thought the shortbread layered with caramel and chocolate looked pretty damn good.

If Twix tasted like this, I might be more of a candy bar fan.  Wow.  The shortbread is nice and crumbly when you bite into it, the caramel is smooth and rich, and the bittersweet chocolate topped with coarse salt is my favorite.  Don't skip the salt, which transforms the flavors of chocolate and caramel.  Tracey mentioned in her post that she halved the amount of caramel and thought the result was perfect -- I agree, but Joe wanted more caramel.  Depends on how much of a caramel fan you are.  Also, I like mine straight from the fridge because the bars get a little soft at room temperature.

This wasn't difficult at all to make, though you have to make the three components in stages and give them time to set.  I've done trickier candy-making, like homemade marshmallows.  If there's a deterrent to making this again, it's that a pound of butter -- that's right, four sticks -- goes into this recipe.  Two for the shortbread, one for the caramel layer, and one for the chocolate.  You can halve the recipe, but what would you do with the other half a can of sweetened condensed milk?  This will be a repeat in my kitchen, but we'll be giving a bunch away like we did this time.  Spread the love, and the calories.

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Sweet Treats Thursday

Caramelized Pear Ice Cream

I've never had pear ice cream, and didn't know it could be this good.  The pear is refreshing, but the caramelization gives it a buttery flavor and creaminess, without any butter.  For this recipe in The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz recommends Comice or Bartlett pears, which he says have a heady, roselike aroma when ripe.  I found beautiful and fragrant red Comice pears at the grocery store.

I also made his recipe for Salted Butter Caramel Sauce to drizzle on top, but it's totally unnecessary and kind of redundant.  Joe's really been enjoying the caramel as a topping for vanilla ice cream, and the sauce is really easy to make.  But the Pear-Caramel Ice Cream is delicious all on its own.

This post was shared with:
Tea Party Tuesday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday

Flour's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I had previously made an easier Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, but this recipe from Flour proves that a little more trouble can really make it worth your while.  A homemade caramel takes some time but isn't hard to do, and fresh pineapple soaks up the caramel.  The cake is rich and moist but crisp at the edges.

If I had one complaint, it's that the caramel was just a tad too sweet.  Just a tad.  But my preference for sweets isn't the same as everyone else's, and Joe said the cake and level of sweetness were perfect.

I get intimidated by caramels because of how easily those damned crystals form, but this one was simple enough.  The sugar-water mixture starts out clear, then develops a golden tinge.  At bottom-left, you can see the outer ring is still clear and the pot needs to be swirled before the whole mixture becomes golden brown.

I'm glad Joe helped make this, not least because it's really hard to snap photos while whisking burning-hot caramel!  Butter is whisked in, making the caramel steam and froth; pineapple is added and cooked in the caramel, then removed to a plate before being placed in the cake pan.

The caramel is poured over the pineapple, and then topped with the cake batter.  After the cake is baked and cooled, it gets up-ended onto a serving platter.  Each bite gives you a little burst of juice from the caramelized pineapple, and cake that's rich and moist.

Caramel Custards

This is the easiest custard.  Thirty minutes to bake, at least another 20 minutes to chill, but only about 10 minutes to whip up.  And there's only four servings so you're not left eating dessert all week (bad for the body, if good for the soul).  The taste is admittedly more vanilla than caramel, and I was hoping for the caramel.  I wonder if a good brulee-ing would solve that.  Next-day perspective tip: Let them chill for several hours if you have the time and patience.  They're more delicious when very cold.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Dobos Torte

This month the challenge was to bake that famous Hungarian cake, the Dobos Torte. It calls for baking thin layers of cake, stacking them with buttercream, and topping them with hazelnuts and wedges of caramel. I made mine a miniature so I wouldn't scarf down too much cake, and opted for wispy strands of caramel.

I also nixed the hazelnuts because Joe can't have them, and halved all the ingredients but kept the cooking temp and times the same. I got seven layers out of my little cake tower -- they slide around a little bit with all the buttercream, so you may want to insert a wooden skewer through them while you stack and frost, then remove it and chill. Recipe and obligatory challenge rules follow the pics.


Whip your egg whites to a soft peak and then a stiff peak.



To make my cake a mini, I used a personal-sized springform pan without the bottom. I ladled a third of a cup of batter into the mold, and you can see that when you lift the mold the batter mostly holds its shape. They bake up looking kind of like pancakes.


The buttercream is cooked slightly in a double boiler, and then you add the chocolate to melt.



To make strands of caramel, lightly coat some waxed paper with cooking spray. Dip a spoon into the warm caramel and wave it in zig-zag motions over the paper. Let it firm for a few minutes, and then lift it off the paper. Use a recipe other than the one in this challenge, which is more toffee-like and didn't have the right consistency for caramel strands. (I used Martha Stewart's.)
***
The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

So, what is the Dobos Torta (or Torte)?

The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.