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Mini Cap’n Crunch Chocolate Tarts

December 12, 2017

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When my friend Jafreen and I entered a bake off during our undergrad years, we thought we had it in the bag. We were both good bakers, definitely spent more time in the kitchen than our peers, and would put together thoughtful, from scratch baked goods. Needless to say, we lost. Terribly. We were outbaked by Duncan Hines. I don’t remember who was on the judging panel, but this post is for you.
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This past weekend we got to compete at the Islamic Center Professionals of NYU’s Bake Off. It was so fun. Secret ingredient was revealed 72 hours prior so research and experimenting time was limited. We were split into categories of cake, cookies, pies/tarts and puddings. My partner was the defending champ of the pudding category, with his cranberry creme brulee. This year we were in pies/tarts. So when they revealed the secret ingredient of breakfast cereal, my mind went into overdrive. If the secret ingredient were a single fruit, you’d have a lot less to work with. But there are dozens of cereals to choose from – all with different flavors and textures.
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I knew I wanted it to be a tart rather than a pie – pies rely on the flaking crust to be considered a pie and are more often than not made with fruit. Tarts can have a little bit more flexibility – can be made with a shortbread crust, or cookie crust. Then in terms of fillings – should I do pastry cream and fruit? Chocolate and peanut butter? Should I incorporate the cereal in the crust? In the filling? On top?
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My partner pushed me to go the extra mile. After all, when it comes to bake offs, presentation can be just as important as taste. So we thought of recreating the cereal bowl plus milk pour over experience. What is a pourable topping in dessert? Creme anglaise. What goes well with creme anglaise? Chocolate, souffles and cooked fruit desserts.
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So the chocolate tart was born. Mini because we’d have to make portions for the audience to try (also they are more elegant). And pourable creme anglaise in mini bottles that I found in the wedding favors section of Michael’s. Cap’n crunch in the shell. Caramelized rice krispies on top so you have some crunch to balance the smooth chocolate filling. And garnished with a little berry.

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We were proud of our entry. And I was proud of my friends who entered, particularly because they were overcoming challenges of their own to be there. My old friend Jafreen, as well as my new friend, Moni of Moni’s Kitchen.

img_0089My husband was there for support. Isn’t he cute? OK you can stop looking now.
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Ultimately, the judges deemed our tart the winning entry for our category, and the audience voted ours the best dessert of the night! Grand prize went to an amazing honey ricotta cheesecake with a Honey Bunches of Oats crust, homemade ricotta and divine salted caramel drizzle. Very well deserved! Can’t wait til next year!

Feel free to make this without the addition of Rice Krispies and Creme Anglaise. If you’d like to make a traditional tart without the cereal, simply swap out the Cap’n Crunch for the same amount of flour. And before anyone else tries to take this idea – Salted Caramel Rice Krispies Cereal. I’m calling it! You heard it here first!

Ingredients

For the tart shell (recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table):

  • 1 cup Cap’n Crunch Berries or regular Cap’n Crunch
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 18 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, diced
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 2 cold large egg yolks

For the filling (recipe from Epicurious):

  • 9 oz bittersweet chocolate (60% cocoa), in small pieces
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt

For the topping (recipe from Food52:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 cups Rice Krispies
  • pinch sea salt or fleur de sel (optional)

For the creme anglaise (recipe from Epicurious):

  • 1/4 cup Cap’n Crunch cereal or cereal of choice (optional)
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 3 tbsp sugar

Directions

  1. Make the tart shell: grind the cereal in a food processor until fine (if there are some slightly bigger chunks left, can crush them with fingers, careful to avoid the blade). Add flour, powdered sugar, salt and process until cereal/flour is evenly distributed. Remove the lid, add butter, and pulse 5-6 times to combine. Beat the egg yolks with a fork and with the machine running, drizzle the egg yolk into the dry ingredients. When you see clumps just starting to form, turn the machine off and dump out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead just until it comes together into a ball, divide in two and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease a mini tart pan with non stick cooking spray. Remove dough from fridge. At this point you can either pull off golf ball sized pieces of dough and press into each of the mini tart molds, or you can roll out onto a floured surface to about 1/4 in thickness and cut out circles. I used a 3in diameter cutter for my tarts that are about 2 1/2 in in diameter. Push dough down and along the side so you get the pattern on the sides.
  3. Cut out little squares of aluminum foil and place in each tart shell. Pour some rice or beans to act as weights and blind bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from oven, remove aluminum and weights, and put back in the oven for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes remove from oven and allow to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. You should have at least 24 mini shells.
  4. Make the chocolate filling: in a medium to large microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Heat at 50% power at 1 minute intervals, stirring slightly between intervals until chocolate is mostly melted. Continue stirring until chocolate is fully melted.
  5. Whisk the egg whites with the vanilla and salt. Add a little bit of the chocolate mixture to the eggs to temper them. Then add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and stir or whisk until fully combined. Pour about 1 tbsp of the chocolate mixture into each cooled tart shell, so that it fills it up but doesn’t overflow. I use my 1 3/4in diameter cookie scoop for this. Bake for about 10 minutes until sides are set and middle is still jiggly. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Can serve as is or with caramelized Rice Krispies and creme anglaise.
  6. OPTIONAL Make the caramelized Rice Krispies: combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat at medium high. Stir only until the sugar dissolves. After it dissolves, only swirl the pan, never stick a spoon in there. Allow it to boil away until it becomes a light amber color. While the sugar boils, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease with non stick cooking spray, as well as your spatula.
  7. When the sugar has reached the desired color, add the rice krispies and stir very carefully to coat the cereal in the caramel. Dump onto baking sheet and spread and thinly as possible. Sprinkle on salt. Allow to cool, then break apart with hands.
    To further break them down, pour into a large ziploc bag, and roll a rolling pin over several times. Sprinkle tarts with desired amount of cereal.
  8. OPTIONAL Make the creme anglaise: Add the cereal to the milk/cream and let it sit for 45min to 1 hour. In a small sauce pan, strain the milk/cream and discard (or eat) the cereal. Heat milk/cream over medium heat until it reaches a simmer (bubbles around the perimeter, but not a roaring boil). While that heats up, whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale yellow. Add vanilla and whisk to combine. When milk/cream is ready, add a little bit to the eggs and whisk. Slowly drizzle in the rest of the milk/cream so as not to curdle the eggs. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for about 5 minutes, until mixture is thickened. Refrigerate until cool. Serve alongside tarts so folks can poured their desired amount.

Leave a Comment · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Breakfast, Dessert Tagged: award winning, bake off, baking competition, bittersweet chocolate, cap'n crunch, caramel, cereal, chocolate, chocolate custard, creme anglaise, dessert, mini tart, rice krispies, tart, winner

Chocolate Pavlova

December 29, 2014

IMG_3292 This is for my friend Aaisha of BakingPartTime. Last time she was over for a brunch party at our place, I made two pavlovas – one classic and one chocolate. I’ve posted the classic recipe before, but this time around I’m serving up the chocolate version.   IMG_3271 By the way, can you tell we are crazy about pavlovas around here? If you haven’t had one – it’s high time to try. They hail from New Zealand, where my husband spent a good part of his teenage years. I love this man more than anything, but I love him a wee bit more for introducing me to this dessert. A welcome change of pace from cakes or cookies. Much easier to prepare than a pie. They are just the most perfect dessert to have in your arsenal. They are a winner presentation wise, as well. They just have the wow factor, but are deceptively easy to assemble, kind of like a trifle. You just whip up some egg whites with sugar. Bake it low and slow for 45 min to 1 hour. Once cooled, top with whipped cream and fruit (or chocolate). IMG_3274 The original recipe suggests topping it with strawberries and chocolate sauce. I didn’t have strawberries on hand, or the time to assemble the chocolate sauce, so I just have the bare bones version here. If you haven’t worked with whipped egg whites before, you needn’t worry. Just have patience. They take a while to whip up to the right consistency, unlike whipped cream (which I’ve turned into butter many times just by looking away for a minute).

IMG_3281 If you’ve had plain meringues, then you might not think this dessert would amount to anything. Meringues have a tendency to be cloyingly sweet. But with the topping of just slightly sweetened cream, and the complexity of the chocolate (or in most cases a fruit topping), the combination of textures and flavors is just divine. The outside of the meringue is crisp. The inner part melts in  your mouth, kind of like a marshmallow. The cream eases the sweetness and ties all the flavors together. IMG_3287 The original recipe calls for superfine sugar – something I never have on hand – and for the chocolate in the meringue to be grated – something for which I have no patience. So, I swapped out superfine sugar for granulated sugar and was not in the least bit disappointed. I also finely chopped instead of grated the chocolate, which I think is for the best really. If you’re grating chocolate by hand, it’s going to melt all over your hands (which is probably not the worst problem to have). IMG_3283   Don’t worry about the crackly appearance. I’ve tried every trick in the book for keeping it from cracking and nothing’s worked. Take comfort in the fact that it gets smothered and mostly concealed by the toppings. Feel free to top it with chopped strawberries, raspberries or even blackberries.

Adapted from Easy Desserts: Deliciously Indulgent Treats

Ingredients

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1 tbsp
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp white wine vinegar (or lemon juice)
  • 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • semi sweet chocolate bar, for grating

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Draw a 9 in circle on a piece of parchment paper. Place it pencil side down on a baking sheet and sprinkle on some cornstarch. Spread the cornstarch over the area of the circle.
  2. Whisk the egg whites and salt (preferably with your stand mixer or with a hand held electric mixer) until soft peaks form. Gradually add in 1 cup of the sugar. Whisk in the cornstarch, cocoa, vanilla and vinegar.
  3. Add the chopped chocolate and fold carefully. That is – take a rubber spatula, cut through the eggs whites down the middle, moving to the left, lift spatula from the bottom to the top. Rotate bowl, and repeat until chocolate is incorporated. See demonstration here.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Allow to cool.
  5. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating, just shy of firm peaks. Top cooled pavlova with whipped cream, and garnish with grated semi sweet chocolate, if desired.

Leave a Comment · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Dessert, Recipes Tagged: bittersweet chocolate, chocolate, chocolate dessert, dessert, egg whites, gluten free, light and fluffy, meringue, meringue dessert, new zealand, pavlova, whipped cream

Double Chocolate Brownies

October 22, 2014

IMG_2802 Apologies for the month of silence from Kitchen3n. The dog ate my computer. More like the Apple store took my malfunctioning iMac for a week and couldn’t reproduce the problem we are CONSISTENTLY having at home. Does anyone else’s mac do this thing where it just randomly starts producing a lot of noise (like the fans are in hyperdrive) even though there are NO CPU intensive programs running? Then just goes berserk and shuts off? Any ideas would be much appreciated. I just barely got to edit these photos before the issue started up again and am finishing up this post from my laptop.

I realize there is pretty much no more room in the food blogosphere for another brownie recipe. I don’t care. I’m sharing my favorite. Also, because, everyone loves looking at pictures of chocolate desserts.

This is the classic Ghirardelli brownie recipe remixed to my liking. The original recipe (rightly so) had chocolate chips. NECESSARY in any brownie recipe. I added a teaspoon of instant coffee to the melted butter/chocolate mixture. A key ingredient in any luscious chocolate dessert. I also use bittersweet chocolate instead of semi-sweet, for a richer, less sweet brownie. IMG_2808I baked these three different ways:

  1. In a parchment paper lined glass baking dish (square). Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. PERFECTLY FUDGEY CENTERS, SLIGHTLY CAKEY OUTSIDES.
  2. In a parchment paper lined glass baking dish (square). Baked at 350 for 25 minutes. TOO FUDGEY.
  3. In a greased glass baking dish (square). Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. TOO DRY.

There is one more option: unlined baking dish for 25 minutes. I’ll save that for the next rainy day experiment. Serve these babies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and live your life with no regrets.

Adapted from Ghirardelli.

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate (you can use semi sweet if you prefer)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp instant coffee granules
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Heat water in a medium saucepan over low heat. Keep to a simmer. Place a large bowl over the simmering water and melt the chocolate and butter. When it’s just about fully melted, take off the heat and stir until completely melted. Add the coffee granules. Let cool for 10 minutes.
  2. While the chocolate mixture cools, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8×8 glass baking dish with parchment paper.
  3. Next, add the brown sugar to the chocolate mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. Add vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time. Next, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. Finally, add the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes (the top should look dry). I know I said 30 minutes was good for me, but every oven is calibrated differently, so definitely check at 25 min. The toothpick shouldn’t come out clean, but there should be some crumbs (but not too wet).

2 Comments · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Dessert, Recipes Tagged: bittersweet chocolate, brownies, chocolate, chocolate chips, dessert, fudge, fudgey, ghirardelli, semi sweet chocolate

American, Bangladeshi. Savory, sweet. I don't discriminate and neither should you.

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