Caramel Popcorn

Trully scrumptious treats for kids and also for me :D! We cannot stop eating it. I made a test batch with my friends, following exactly the recipe. When you eat it while it's warm, you have a delicious chewy caramelly popcorn. Once it's cooled, you have that sweet toffee crunch.

The next day I wanted to make the caramel popcorn still chewy when it's cooled. I did a little experiment in the caramel sauce, as soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted, slowly add 3-4 tbsp of cream/liquid whipping cream to the pan, and whisk to mix it in. And yes I prefer this version of chewy and sweet popcorn.

And an important tips from me, never ever use butter to pop the corn. It will easily get burned.

Caramel Popcorn
source : Taste
Makes
14 cups

Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup popping corn
Caramel
125g butter, chopped
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Method
Line a tray with baking paper. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 pieces of popping corn. If corn slowly turns around in a circle then oil is hot enough.
Add remaining popping corn. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. When corn starts popping, shake saucepan gently. Remove from heat when corn stops popping. Transfer to a large bowl, discarding any unpopped corn.
Make caramel: Combine butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to the boil. Boil, uncovered, without stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes or until light golden.
Remove from heat. Stir in pecans. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir until popcorn is coated. Spread over prepared tray. Set aside to cool. Break into pieces. Serve.

KBB #22 : Pennylane Brownies & Spun Sugar

Woa woa woa apa ini? Apa ini? Begitu buka surat cinta Klub Berani Baking langsung stress. Apa pula ini spun sugar? Tantangan kali ini memang memadukan resep made in Indonesia dengan dekorasi spun sugar. Resep Indonesianya sih gancil, nah ini spun sugarnya? Alhasil setelah 2 minggu berlalu baru bisa ngerjain. Karena ngerjain spun sugar butuh fokus, konsentrasi dan gak keburu-buru. Sementara di awal-awal minggu bulan Maret ini lagi ada aja masalah yang agak ribet. Makanya ijin sama host ngerjainnya nanti kalo udah tenang. Dan yang pasti harus dikerjain pas weekend, saat papin libur dan bisa jagain anak-anak. Kalo anak-anak gak ada yang jaga, wahhh bisa bubrah semua deh.



Begitu semua udah tenang dan situasi dan kondisi udah mendukung, mulailah saya ngerjain tugas. Resep pertama yang saya coba adalah resep KBB yang medium use.

Gagal!!!!! terlalu moist dan akhirnya gak menghasilkan benang-benang halus. Udah dapur berantakan. Gula di mana-mana, tangan pake kecipratan gula cair panas pulak *ouch*.



Setelah gagal itu, saya browsing-browsing cari penyebabnya. Ternyata bikin spun segar ini gak boleh udara panas dan lembab. Sangat disarankan untuk kerja di tempat dingin. Terus ada juga source yang bilang, gula itu sifatnya sudah lembab, karena mangandung air, jadi sebenernya gak perlu pake banyak air waktu mau bikin karamel.

Penasaran, saya ngobrol juga sama chef Adith, temen twitter yang bermukim di Singapura. Ia menyarankan untuk mencoba membuat spun sugar dengan dry caramel. Gak pake air sama sekali. Kalopun pake air, palingan cuman 2 sendok makan aja.



Yukk mareee coba lagi. Tutup-tutupin dapur lagi dengan kertas koran, siap tempur lagi, siap messy lagi dengan kepretan-kepretan gula.



Owiyah, karena saya gak rela mengorbankan whisker saya untuk dipotong, maka saya pake garpu aja. Wuiiiii....seneng banget liat benang-benang halus waktu garpu dikepretin *ini bahasa Indonesia yang proper apa yak?* Ahuiii...jingkrak-jingkrak deh. Aman! Akhirnya selesai sudah tugas PR kali ini. Cake-nya pake Pennylane Brownies (reepnya di sini) terus didekor pake spun sugar.



Hasil spun sugarnya memang lebih coklat dan lebih kokoh dibandingkan dengan spun sugar resep KBB. Dengan menggunakan dry caramel, spun sugar saya bisa bertahan sampai 8 jam (mungkin tergantung cuaca juga ya, kebetulan saya berada di ruang ber AC dengan kelembaban udara yang rendah).



Nah, terus ini temen-temen KBB pada ngobrolin Croquembouche. Aduuuhhh tergoda pengen bikin. Ya sut, bikin deh kue sus-nya pake resep mbak Fatmah. Diisi filling green tea pastry cream...yummm enak banget!!



Kali ini saya bikin spun sugarnya gak pake garpu dan whisker yang dipotong, tapi pake bantuan sumpit, ternyata bisa juga. Videonya di sini dan di sini.

Resep Spun Sugar dari KBB
Spun Sugar (Angel’s Hair)
Sumber: Dessert Techniques by Le Cordon Bleu Cooking Schools

Alat: Pakailah whisk yang sudah tidak dipakai tetapi masih bagus (tidak karatan), lalu pakai wire cutter, potonglah jari-jari whisk di ujung (yang melengkung), sehingga whisk anda akan ‘gundul’. Gunakan whisk ini untuk membuat spun sugar.

Sugar Syrup

Silakan pilih:
Medium use 1 ¼ cups sugar to 1 cup water.
Heavy use 1 ¼ cups sugar to ⅞ cup water.

Step :

1. Heat the sugar syrup to 311 F then plunge into a pan of cold water to halt the cooking process.
2. Cover your work surface with parchment paper. Holding a rolling pin in one hand over the paper, dip the whisk into the sugar syrup and flick it back and forth over the rolling pin so that railing threads are formed.
3. Gently gather up the strands and fold them back over the rolling pin. Loosen and lift them or slide them off the pin gently.
4. Break the sugar in half and gently shape each half as desired in your hands.

Resep kue Sus
sumber : NCC

Adonan Dasar Kulit Sus

Bahan:
200 ml air
125 gr Margarine
1 sdm gula pasir
150 gr tepung terigu
4 btr telur

Cara membuatnya:

1. Masak air, mentega dan gula hingga mendidih.
2. Masukkan tepung terigu, aduk cepat hingga kalis, angkat, dinginkan.
3. Masukkan telur satu persatu sambil dikocok hingga rata.
4. Masukkan adonan kedalam plastic segitiga, semprotkan diatas loyang yang sudah dioles mentega dan ditabur tepung.



Resep Pastry Cream-nya dari Joy of Baking, tapi saya bikin rasa green tea. Terus setelah cream matang, saya campur dengan whipped cream.

Ihhhh seneng banget deh udah bisa bikin spun sugar *norak*. Bukan KBB namanya kalo tantangannya gak bikin orang jadi pinter.

KBB # 10 : Caramel Pots with Minted Shortbread Sticks

Sesuatu yang berhubungan dengan karamel, gue pasti suka. Makanya ngerjain tantangan kali ini juga semangat banget, walaupun dalam kondisi hamil yang sekarang, rasa kantuk yang parah sering menjajah gue. Dan lagi gue memang berniat nyelesaiin tantangan ini cepet-cepetan supaya acara liburan keluarga di tengah bulan bisa berjalan dengan lancar.



Kebetulan pula pada tantangan ke-10 ini, gue dan Lina dipercaya untuk menjadi host. Wuuiihhh....ternyata banyak banget ya bo suka dukanya. Pesan gue bagi temen-temen untuk the next challenge, please ikuti tata cara pengiriman sesuai format yang sudah ditentukan, supaya round up bisa berjalan dengan lancar. Kalo entry gak komplit-komplit, round up jadi tersendat dan host juga jadi pening :). Mohon kerjasamanya ya di lain waktu, supaya member senang, host senang, semua pun senang :). Sampe akhirnya....gue kelupaan untuk nge-publish kerjaan gue sendiri *oppsss sorry*. Over all sih seneng banget jadi host, banyak pengalaman yang didapet.

Untuk tantangan sendiri, gue gak menemukan kesulitan berarti. Bikin Shortbread sticksnya gampang banget. rasanya renyah dengan wangi vanilla dan sama-samar rasa mint. Karena gak ada vanilla batangan, gue pake esens vanila. Pada saat pembuatan caramel yang agak tricky. Tapi untung aja inget ilmu bikin karamel waktu bikin Paris Brest (bahwa saat bikin karamel gula gak boleh diaduk-aduk kalo diaduk jadinya mengkristal) jadi semuanya bisa berjalan lancar. Cuman karena bikin karamel itu lama dan harus sabar, sementara kondisi hamil gue gak memungkinkan untuk berdiri lama di depan kompor, terpaksa gue menggotong kursi untuk duduk di depan kompor. Karena takut ninggalin karamel, ngeri gosong.

Caramel Pots with Minted Shortbread Sticks
Source: Chef Fred Wiesehutter, Heritage Christchurch, posted at Foodtown Magazine.



Minted Shortbread Sticks

Ingredients :
100g icing sugar
200g flour
100g cornflour
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla pod, seeds removed and reserved
1 sprig mint, chopped



Directions :
Preheat the oven to 150C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Combine the icing sugar, flours, butter, vanilla seeds and mint in a bowl and mix well. Roll out to about 1cm thick. Cut into 2 x 8cm fingers. Place on the prepared tray and bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool and store in an airtight container until required. Makes about 30.

Caramel Pots

Ingredients :
125g caster sugar
2 Tbs water
125ml milk
250ml cream
3 egg yolks



Directions :
Whisk the sugar into the water in a saucepan. Heat carefully and cook to a golden caramel. Combine milk and cream in a separate saucepan and warm-do not boil. Whisk the milk into the caramel. Cool slightly.

Beat the egg yolks, until creamy. Gradually pour the hot caramel onto the egg yolks, mixing well.

Pour into four ramekins. Bake in a water bath at 160C for 30 minutes or until set. Remove the ramekin, cool then chill. Serves 4.

[Indonesian Traditional Food] Gemblong - Deep Fried Sticky Rice Coated with Caramel

Ooooohhh my oo my....this is my all time favorite!!!



PS : I recommend this recipe, because on the next day gemblong still soft and chewy (gak alot loh!)

GEMBLONG - Deep Fried Sticky Rice coated with Caramel



Ingredients :
250 glutinous (sticky) rice flour
150 gr young coconut, grated (I used desiccated coconut)
25 gr butter/margarine
40 gr caster sugar
100 ml hot coconut milk
1 tbsp water + 2 tsp salt
oil for frying

Directions :
Combine the flours, grated coconut, butter, caster sugar, water and salt, mix well. Add in the hot coconut milk gradually, mix well until the mixture resembles a dough. Roll into balls, then deep fry until golden brown. Remove and drain well. When all finished, coat them with the caramel.



Lapisan gula/Caramel
Ingredients :
150g palm sugar/coconut sugar/gula jawa
75g white sugar
50ml water
1 tbsp butter

Directions :
Put all ingredients in a saucepan or a frying pan (big enough to put all the fried cakes) on a medium heat until bubbly and thickens. Lower the heat, add in the fried cakes. Mix well to coat the cakes evenly. Remove and cool.

Butterscotch Pudding with Coffee-Caramelized Bananas

I feel so relieved, finally Leia's condition increasingly improves after beforehand affected by roseola (a viral illness in young children, most commonly affecting those between the ages of 6 months and 2 years. It is typically marked by several days of high fever, followed by a distinctive rash just as the fever breaks).



She is much much better now and the rashes is already gone. Thank you for the support, my dearest friends. And I'm so sorry I couldn't visit your blogs one by one on the past few days, because she needed extra attention.

Now, I'm back to the kitchen and along with this post, I would like to bring my virtul potluck for MFM # 19 : Pudding hosted by Uci IbuTio. More about MFM # 19, here.



Butterscotch Pudding with Coffee-Caramelized Bananas
adapted from Ripe for Dessert by David Lebovitz
for 6 servings



Ingredients :
The Pudding
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 tsp salt (dita- this is too much for me, too salty)
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 large eggs
2 tsp whiskey (dita-skipped, you can use rhum instead)
1 tsp vanilla extract

The Coffee-Caramelized Bananas
1 tbsp butter
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tbsp dark brown sugar
3 bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
6 tbsp strong coffee

Directions :
To make Pudding
1. Melt the butter in a medium size heavy-duty saucepan. Mix in the brown sugar and cook until the mixture bubbles vigorously. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream, adding it 1 tbsp at a time. Stir in the milk and salt.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and eggs until the cornstarch is dissolved. Whisk the egg mixture into the butterscotch pudding mixture.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the pudding comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, continue to stir, and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Pour the pudding into a container and stir in the whiskey and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.



To Caramelize the banana
1. Melt the butter in a large skillet with the vanilla bean. Stir in the brown sugar, add the banana slices, and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the bananas begin to sizzle.
2. Add the coffee and continue to cook until the juices thicken to the consistency of maple syrup. Avoid stirring the bananas. Instead, tilt the pan and spoon the sauce over the bananas as they cook.

Serving : Dish up the pudding in individual custard cups or in tall glasses with the banana slices heaped over it.

Sticky Walnut Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

When I saw the recipe at Rani's, I was stunned and I could almost smell the rolls. Then I couldn't resist to be curious. Because according to Rani, it's pretty similar with Cinnabon. She got the recipe from Jaden of Steamy Kitchen and Jaden said that was an orgasm on a plate *LOL*. And I said, "that was absolutely true!!!!" :D



This recipe is truly a no-knead. And Jaden even said no brainer! :D. It tasted so delicious and the rolls had a moist and densed texture, it was because they were soaked on caramel. Cinnamon Rolls and Caramel is really a perfect match! They are soulmates for a sweet tooth like me ;).

Master Dough
from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, at Jaden's

The book contains several master dough recipes, and this is an enriched, sweet dough, perfect for a loaf of Challah (the braided dough) and the Sticky Rolls. You start by mixing the master dough first, Let that rest overnight in the refrigerator, then the next day, pinch off a cantaloupe sized hunk-o-dough to make your Sticky Pecan Caramel Cinnamon Rolls! Return the rest to the refrigerator to use for another day.

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbl instant yeast
1 1/2 tbl kosher salt (or 1 1/2 tsp table salt)
4 lg eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, water, honey, melted butter, yeast and salt. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Add in the flour. Stir until you don’t see any more dry bits of flour (about a minute). Cover (not airtight) and stick it in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 4 days. The longer you let it fart around in the refrigerator (literally!), the better tasting the dough will be.

If you want, you can let it rise for 2 hours on the counter, pinch off the dough that you need to make your rolls. Still good, but definitely not as good as if you had let it sit 1-4 days in the refrigerator.

NOTE: When you let the dough hang out in the refrigerator, it’s not going to “rise” like a normal dough



The Gooey Sticky Caramel Topping
6 tbl unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
30 pecan halves

The Heavenly Sweet Cinnamon Butter Filling
4 tbl unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped and toasted pecans
pinch of freshly ground black pepper

9″ square or round cake pan

The first thing you need to do is take that master dough out of the refrigerator, grab a small cantalope sized chunk of dough. Return the rest of it to the refrigerator to use another time. Generously flour your hands and the dough. Shape the dough into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough and tucking it to the bottom all around, rotating hte ball a quarter-turn as you go. This creates a taut, smooth surface. Let the dough rest, covered with a towel to take the chill off while you prepare rest of ingredients.

While the dough is unchilling, mix the topping and the filling.

FOR THE TOPPING: Cream together the butter, salt and sugar. Spread this topping evenly on the bottom of the cake pan. Scatter with pecan halves (Dita-I used chooped walnut).



OR THE FILLING: Cream together all ingredients except the pecans. Set aside.

Dust your counter with flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin to 1/8″ thick rectangle. Try to get it 13″ x 17". Spread the sweet butter filling evenly on the surface. Scatter chopped pecans all over.

Roll it up, starting with the long side.

Flour your serrated knife and cut roll into 9 even pieces (square pan) or 8 pieces (round pan).

Set it in the pan on top of the caramel, cover with towel and rest for 1 hour.



Preheat your oven to 350F. The book says to bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and well set in the center. But take a peek at the rolls around the 35 minute mark.

While still hot, run a knife round the edge of pan and invert immediately onto a plate. If you wait until it cools, the caramel will harden and it will be difficult to turn out.

Yum Yum!! Soft, pillowy dough. Sweet cinnamon and nutmeg butter dribbling down your chin. Sticky, gooey caramel. Crunchy walnuts.




To all my moslem friends, wishing you a blessed Ramadan.

Breads and Rolls :
1. Butterhorn Garlic Knots
2. Yoghurt Rolls
3. Chocolate Yeast Loaf