Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

  • About
  • Gallery
  • Recipes

Mini Cap’n Crunch Chocolate Tarts

December 12, 2017

img_0605
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.
img_0601
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.
img_0620
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?
img_0091
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.
xlmtin4uto2i6dxo0eoqxg
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.

niqopz6btjazs5b%fcuq5q

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.
img_0085
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 Candy Cupcakes

January 16, 2017

fullsizeoutput_48ea

After a startling reading on the weight scale towards the end of December, I swore off sugar. Just two years prior I worked so hard to lose my baby weight. Inspired by beach body coaches in my network, I vastly cut down sweets, decreased portion sizes, drank tons more water, swapped quinoa for rice in many of my meals, and began to regularly exercise using Fitnessblender, the only exercise I’ve been able to stick to thanks to the fact that I can choose from workouts of different durations and can do it from the convenience of my home. So I lost the 9 pounds of lingering weight, and 8 pounds on top of that.

img_4672

And then I fell off the wagon. Slowly but surely I downward spiraled, picking back up my sweets habits and eating rice and curry without restraint. I kept up with the exercise more or less but it wasn’t enough with my slowing metabolism.

So I decided to stop eating foods with added sugar. It’s just one step, but surely it should help. But of course the universe has to align to make this impossible for me. Shortly after making my resolution, I attended a gingerbread house making playdate where I was SURROUNDED by candy and cake and all kinds of good stuff. Soon after that my daughter’s birthday rolled around and somebody’s gotta do QC and make sure things taste right. Amiright?

img_4685

I did a good job holding off on tasting these, but then I needed a cross section for the blog, so guess where the other half went.

Yup.

fullsizeoutput_48e9

This is a really magical combination for the chocolate lover in your life. It’s reminiscent of the creme filled hostess cupcakes, but made even better with quality cocoa in the cupcake and chocolate in the ganache, homemade salted caramel sauce and delicious candy toppings. Remember we eat with our eyes first, and kids moreso than us. So if they see m&ms, they automatically think it’s a superb cupcake.

Enjoy the quick video tutorial below!

This is an adaptation of Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate cake. Because I used Dutch-process cocoa (which is alkalized, or less acidic than natural cocoa), I upped the amount of baking powder and decreased the amount of baking soda from the original recipe. I also used boiling water instead of hot coffee as many chocolate cake recipes call for, as it made for a way too tender a crumb. Perfect in layer cakes, but for cupcakes, you need something with structure.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa (I use Rodelle)
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin/cupcake pan with paper liners. You will need 15 in total. My cupcake pan only has room for 12, so I need to make these in 2 batches.
  2. In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer add the sugar. Place a sifter over the top of the bowl and add flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda. Sift the ingredients into the sugar. Add salt. Stir to combine using the paddle attachment.
  3. In a 4 cup measuring cup or in a medium bowl, measure out the milk and vegetable oil. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well using a fork. With the mixer running on low, slowly drizzle in the wet ingredients into the dry. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn the mixer back onto low and slowly drizzle in boiling water. Stop the mixer and scrape down with a spatula to ensure the batter is homogenous.
  4. Using an ice scream scoop, scoop batter into the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way to the top. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  5. After they cool, hollow out the middle using a small circular cookie cutter. I used the smallest one from this set. I filled it with marshmallow creme using a piping bag and wide tip. I drizzled some salted caramel sauce over them. Then frosted them with chocolate ganache and garnished with chocolate candies.

Leave a Comment · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Carb, Dessert, Food Fun, Recipes Tagged: candy, caramel, chocolate, cupcakes, ganache, marshamallow creme, marshmallow fluff

Caramel Cupcakes

March 17, 2014

IMG_2372 My sweet friend Rabia is expecting her second baby and one of the organizers of her baby shower, another long time friend, Nargis, tapped me to supply the cookies and cupcakes for the event! It was such a treat to experiment with new cupcake recipes, challenge myself with making sugar cookies shaped like books (theme was bring a book for baby), and contribute to such a lovely tablescape (made by Nargis!).IMG_2370Instead of doing the usual chocolate/vanilla selection, I decided to try a caramel cupcake recipe that’s been sitting on my shelf for years. It’s from a magazine from Fine Cooking entitled “Celebration Cakes” (that I think I got from a Lowe’s or Home Depot). If you’ve never worked with caramel, it might be a little tricky to get it right. But a little practice with caramel is so worth it for the world of concoctions you can make. The burnt sugar added some wonderful deep notes to the cupcake. And it came out moist and perfectly tender.IMG_2380 Along with the cupcakes, I made sugar cookies in the shape of books by slightly bending my square cookie cutter to a rhombus shape. And, because everything tastes better with chocolate, I applied a chocolate glaze made out of 10 tbsp butter and 10 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips (melted). I did the outline of the book with a ziploc bag with the tip cut. I filled in the “cover” by applying a dollop of the glaze and smoothing it out with the back of a spoon. I applied the “pages” with a simple powdered sugar/milk concoction. And the lettering – traditional buttercream. IMG_2375For the frosting, I used Ina Garten’s cream cheese frosting from her Flower Cupcakes, tinted in blue and pink. Recipe for the caramel cupcakes from Fine Cooking below. Their suggested pairing is a butterscotch frosting. If you’d like for me to share that recipe, just let me know. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup plus 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F and line a standard muffin pan with liners.
  2. Put 1/3 cup sugar in a shallow skillet and heat over medium high heat. This takes several minutes so while that goes, bring 1/3 cup of water to boil in a small saucepan. Keep warm. Once the sugar starts to melt, swirl it around every once in a while to help it along. Once it becomes a deep amber color, turn off the heat and carefully pour the water into it. It will sizzle so stand back. The caramel will harden so return to a medium high heat and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the caramel.
  3. Spray a glass measuring cup with non stick spray (I don’t know if this step is necessary, but I did so for good measure). Pour enough of the liquid caramel to a 1/2 cup measure. Let cool until warm.
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. In your stand mixer, or in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 to 60 seconds. With the mixer running, slowly add the 3/4 cup sugar. Beat for about 1 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 60 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl, add vanilla and continue beating. Switch to low speed and add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Follow up with 1/2 of the liquid caramel. Add another third of the dry ingredients, second half of the caramel, and finally the last third of the dry ingredients.
  5. Divide the batter evenly. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Wait to completely cool before frosting.

4 Comments · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Dessert, Recipes Tagged: baby shower, buttercream, caramel, caramel cupcakes, cream cheese frosting, cupcakes, dessert, icing, party, party favors, party ideas, sugar cookies, tablescape

Sticky Toffee Pudding

November 4, 2013

IMG_1680This is one of the rare cakes I love as much as a chocolate one. It’s not overly sweet like many caramel cakes I’ve had. It’s a super moist bundt cake that gets most of its flavor (and moisture) from chopped, pitted dates boiled in water. I know – that in itself does not sound appetizing. But it works. It’s not heavy on the butter (there’s only half a stick in the whole cake) so the whipped cream on top adds the right amount of richness. FInally, the nuttiness in the toffee sauce just takes it over the edge.  IMG_1669Though I’m not sure why it’s called a pudding. It’s a cake, I swear. I was first asked to make this many Thanksgivings ago for dinner at a family friend’s. I’d never had it. Never known about it. I was handed a recipe, so I made it. And it. Was. Just. Divine. IMG_1670I remade it recently for a ladies’ luncheon (yeah, I live in the 1950’s). Needless to say, it was a hit. So you can imagine my surprise when I served my husband a piece of the leftovers…only to hear that he didn’t care for it! Just not a fan or caramel/toffee. Oh well. Tomato, tomahto. IMG_1673It’s perfect for post Ramadan if you have a ton of dates leftover and have run out of uses for them! I use Medjool dates. They’re nice and plump and sweet. IMG_1675I poke a few holes through the top with a toothpick to let the syrup soak through.   And let me just say how much I love bundt cakes for entertaining. They always look so beautiful and with half the effort of a layer cake. No layer breaking or leveling or aligning. Just pop it out onto a nice serving plate and drizzle with icing. The cascade over the curves and in between the ridges always makes for a show stopper.

But let me interject here. The popping out part has not been so smooth for me (punnnnn!). I’ve had to stick back parts of the cake that stuck to the top of the bundt pan and try to cover it with icing. I don’t know if you’re in the same boat, but I’ve actually had better luck recently! I don’t know if it’s because of the generous buttering of the pan that I do by hand (and subsequent flouring) or if it’s the fact that I’ve been letting it completely cool (overnight) before turning out. But I’d suggest you try both! IMG_1684

Recipe from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 1 1/2cups (or 6 oz) chopped, pitted dates
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted, plus more for the pan
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt (I suppose the briny flavor complements the toffee better than table or kosher salt, but use whatever you have on hand)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs

For the sauce

  • 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In a medium saucepan, bring water and dates to a boil. Turn off heat and add baking soda. Take off the heat and let cool.
  3. Butter and grease your bundt pan.
  4. Whip butter in stand mixer or using an electric mixer. Add the sugar in slowly. Then vanilla. Then add 1 egg. Mix to combine. Add half of the flour mixture and half of the date mixture. Add the second egg. Finally, add the remaining flour mixture and date mixture.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  6. For the sauce: bring the sugar, cream, and butter to boil in a small saucepan. Continue to boil while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes. Turn off heat, add vanilla, and voila.

To serve: top with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of the toffee sauce. Alternately, break off chunks with your hand in your groggy, kids-woke-me-up-too-early daze and eat to comfort yourself, as a sign that the day WILL get better.

4 Comments · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Dessert, Recipes Tagged: british, bundt cake, cake, caramel, dates, dessert, entertaining, holidays, medjool dates, sticky toffee pudding, toffee, toffee sauce, unsalted butter, whipped cream

Pecan Bars

April 10, 2012

Apologies for dropping off the face of the planet, but as my pregnancy winds down, I find it harder and harder to get through the day with a toddler, let alone baking/cooking for leisure and then blogging about it. But, thanks to my third trimester insomnia, I finally got around to this recipe sometime between my ill timed naps and my daughter’s night wakings.

The other day I re-watched Ina making her decadent pecan squares and decided it was high time I give it a try. Though there was no way I was going to expend 9 bars of butter in a single recipe. I don’t care how carefully she’s tweaked a recipe, I have a hard enough time getting rid of whole batches of baked goods without making enough for a traveling circus. The only challenge in halving the recipe are the 3 extra large eggs. Since I only have large, I settled for 2 large eggs.

I also copped out on the topping. Getting to that last step was an achievement in and of itself. I wasn’t about to scour the fridge for a lemon or run to the store for an orange…so I left the zest out. Somehow though, with all of that butter, sugar and cream, it still tasted fantastic.

Ingredients:

Crust:

  • 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/8 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • dash salt

Topping:

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup good honey
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tbsps heavy cream
  • 1 pound pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 9 by 13 baking dish (make sure the sides are at least 2inches high). Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine the butter, honey, and brown sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed  saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

I melted some chocolate chips over a double boiler and added enough heavy cream to make it drizzle-able. Slathered that over the bars and sealed. the. deal.

5 Comments · Labels: American/Mediterranean, Dessert, Recipes Tagged: bars, caramel, chocolate, cookies, cookies and bars, dessert, ina garten, nuts, pecans, shortbread

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

Most recently…

Load More...
Follow on Instagram

Social

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Tags

appetizer beef bengali breakfast butter cake caramel chicken chocolate chocolate chips cilantro clean eating coconut comfort food cookies dessert dinner entertaining fall fruit ganache gluten free halal healthy homemade honest chops honest creations iftar italian pasta pastry pistachio quick and easy dinner ramadan recipe side side dish south asian spinach vegan vegetables vegetarian weeknight dinner weeknight meal whipped cream

Theme by 17th Avenue · Powered by WordPress & Genesis