Sweet Tooth Experiments

Monthly Archives: February 2018

Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding

Posted on Posted in Pudding .

Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding

Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding recipe

I recently made an ice-cream that featured the flavor combo of caramel sauce, butterscotch and peanuts in which was a tasty explosion success.

To give this flavor combo a spin and an uncommon depth I opted to experiment with the combo via making a slice, tart, flan and pudding. The winner, by far the pudding in which I used cubed bread as the base.

Drying out the bread meant that the caramel sauce could be soaked up to really take on the flavor profile.

This recipe is simple, easy and delightfully unique as a scrumptious alternative to the traditional cinnamon and sultana bread and butter pudding.

Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding recipe

 

Ingredients:

  • 120g of crust removed and cubed bread
  • 235g brown sugar
  • 40g butter
  • 40ml cream
  • ¼ tsn salt
  • 140ml butterscotch Schnapps
  • 110g crunchy peanut butter
  • 2 eggs

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 170c degrees.
  2. Place the cubed bread into the oven and bake until golden brown, set aside to cool.
  3. To make the caramel place 160g of the sugar in a saucepan on a high heat until the sugar has melted and is bubbly and golden in colour.
  4. Add the butter and cream and stir until combine (be careful of any splash).
  5. Take the caramel off the heat, add the salt and butterscotch schnapps then use a hand whisk to combine until silky.
  6. Add the peanut butter and whisk again until well combined, leave aside to cool to room temperature.
  7. Beat the eggs and the remaining 75g of sugar with the hand whisk.
  8. Add the egg mix to the caramel mix and beat until combine.
  9. Add the bread cubes and stir to the caramel mix, leave the mix aside to soak up the liquid for 1 hour, lightly folding the mix every 15 mins.
  10. Lightly spray 4 x 1 large cup ramekins with oil spray then spoon the mix evenly into the moulds.
  11. Place the ramekins into a large slice tin and fill the slice tin with enough water to reach half way up the sides of the ramekins.
  12. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the slice tin from the oven, giving the puddings a light stir to ensure the bread is throughout the mix evenly.
  13. Following, continue baking for a further 25 minutes or until the pudding is puffed and set when you touch the top.
  14. Top with vanilla ice-cream or double cream and enjoy!

 

Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding recipe

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Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding recipe

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Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding recipe

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Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding recipe

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Caramel Butterscotch Schnapps and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding recipe

 

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Melon Lime and Prosciutto Cupcakes

Posted on Posted in Cupcakes .

Melon Lime and Prosciutto Cupcakes

Melon Lime and Prosciutto Cupcakes recipe

I noticed the other day that my local shopping plaza has a new, fruit/veg store that also has a lot of Asian and Italian imported groceries (bazaar mix I know) that you can’t get at Coles or Woolworths.

After walking around the aisles I stopped and had to suss out the massive range of normal as well as quite unusual flavours of essence/extracts. Some of them I had no idea at all what they were and some I had no idea would exist as  an essence.

So when I saw the melon flavour and the pear flavour essence I had to buy them to make up unusual recipes.

Melon was the one that I most wanted to bake with, as the usual method of melon flavour in baking tends to be very light in flavour if using the flesh of the fruit.

As my favourite melon is by far watermelon I decided to use this fruit with the essence and teamed them up with lime (in which goes quite well with majority of melon varieties).

In addition to the lime for an unusual spin I researched what else could go with the melon lime flavour, where a recipe of melon and prosciutto skewers caught my eye. I figured I’ve made chocolate bacon cake with maple frosting in the past which worked like a dream so this could also potentially be a winning combo in a cake.

Using my never fail vanilla cupcake recipe as my base I played around with the ingredients to get the texture, consistency, bake outcome and of course flavour that I was pleased with.

So if your a melon fan keep an eye out when in grocery specialty stores as you will LOVE this recipe!

Melon Lime and Prosciutto Cupcakes recipe

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 55g prosciutto
  • 120ml watermelon reduction (900g watermelon flesh required for recipe inc. icing)
  • 140g brown sugar
  • 160g cake flour
  • 1 + ¼ tsn baking powder
  • ½ tsn bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsn salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsn melon essence
  • ½ tsn lime zest
  • 120g butter

Icing:

  • 10ml watermelon reduction
  • 5ml milk
  • 160g icing sugar
  • 180g butter
  • 1  tsn lime zest
  • 1 + 1/2 tsn melon essence

 

Method:

  1. Place the prosciutto slices in a frying pan with a little oil and allow to crisp up. Turn the slices over and fry until brown and crispy, set aside to cool.
  2. Once cooled finely dice the meat into small pieces.
  3. Cut the watermelon and place 900g of the flesh into a food processor. Blitz until liquefied.
  4. Pass through a sieve and use the back of a spoon to push all the liquid out, disregard the leftover flesh.
  5. Pour the liquid into a large saucepan with 40g of the sugar and simmer, stirring occasionally, on medium until the liquid reduces down to 140ml.
  6. Once you have the required 140ml of reduction set the liquid aside to cool (the reduction process will take about 20 minutes).
  7. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 175c degrees and line a 16-space cupcake tin with patty cases.
  8. Spray the cases slightly with oil spray.
  9. In a small bowl sieve the flour, powder, soda and salt. Repeat 2 more times.
  10. In another bowl beat the eggs until light and fluffy with electric beaters.
  11. Add the remaining 100g sugar, essence, and zest to the egg mix and beat until pale and fluffy, this will take around 5 minutes.
  12. Add the butter and 40g of the chopped prosciutto, beat until combine.
  13. Pour half the watermelon reduction (60ml) into the egg cake batter and fold until just combine. Add half the flour mix and fold until just combine. Repeat with remaining reduction (60ml) and flour mix until just combine.
  14. Beat the mix on low for 30 seconds with the electric beaters to remove any flour lumps.
  15. Pour the batter into each patty cases until ¾ full and place the pan in the oven for 15 minutes of until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  16. Meanwhile, make the icing by placing all the icing ingredients in a bowl and whisk with electric beaters for 5 minutes.
  17. Once the cupcakes are cooked leave on a cooling rack until cold.
  18. When the cupcakes are cold place the icing in a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the icing as you wish.
  19. Top icing with scatters of the remaining 15g of prosciutto and enjoy!

 

Note:

  • I have deliberately ensured an extra 10ml of reduction for the ‘just in case factor’.
  • For a cheat and to cut down the recipe prep time you can use store brought melon nectar instead of the watermelon reduction.

 

Melon Lime and Prosciutto Cupcakes recipe
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Melon and Lime Cupcakes recipe
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Melon and Lime Cupcakes recipe
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Melon Lime and Prosciutto Cupcakes
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Melon and Lime Cupcakes recipe
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Melon and Lime Cupcakes recipe
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Melon and Lime Cupcakes recipe
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting

Posted on Posted in Slice .

Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting

Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting

You may have noticed that baking with cereal tends to feature on my blog every few months, where oats, rice bubbles even quinoa flakes tend to be my favourite grains/ingredients.

I decided that I wanted to branch out and challenge myself in this space by baking with cereals that I very rarely (if at all) eat myself.

Not only would I incorporate the cereal in the recipe, I would feature it as the core ingredient in the bakes foundation.

Sooo…I went shopping, pursuing the cereal isle and landed on milo cereal, nutri-grain and weet-bix. 3 very Aussie themed products.

To stay in the ‘Aussie’ territory I decided that using an Aussie flavour combo would be fitting for the experiments, so I mimicked the based flavour combo of Anzac biscuits and created 3 cereal slices.

After making the 3 slice unsurprisingly it was the weet-bix one that was best not just because the texture of crumbled weet-bix worked well in the bake but also as the flavour worked great with the golden syrup, brown sugar and coconut (let’s just say the other 2 weren’t great in either of these areas).

The slice did desperately need an icing though, as it was quite dense and although tasty was missing that wow factor, thus a delicious icing would offset and complement the slice perfectly. A few experimental icings later and I had the perfect icing that perked up the slice and gave it a bit more bunch.

What I decided on? Initially I experimented with peanut butter and then banana as they worked well with the slice flavours so I made up an icing for each, in which I like both and felt they both worked so I combine them together and walla the Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut and Banana Frosting was born.

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 250g butter
  • 300g brown sugar
  • 100ml golden syrup
  • 140g plain flour
  • 160g self raising flour
  • 70g desiccated coconut, toasted
  • 8 Weet-Bix (140g)
  • 2 eggs

Icing:

  • 150g butter
  • 35g icing sugar
  • 40g peanut butter
  • 45g banana flesh

 

Method:

  1. Pre heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 20cm x 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Place the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a saucepan and stir on a medium heat until the mix is well combine and boils. Leave aside for 5 minutes to cool.
  3. Add the coconut into a bowl as well as the sifted flours.
  4. Using your hands crush the Weet-Bix into small pieces and stir into the flour mix.
  5. Pour the cooled butter mix into the flour mix and stir until combine.
  6. Beat the eggs in a small bowl with a fork and pour egg mix into the flour mix.
  7. Stir the mix until the egg is well combine then pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.
  8. Flatten the top of the slice with the back of a spoon and place the cake tin in the oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center just comes out only just clean.
  9. Place the slice on a cooling rack until cold.
  10. Meanwhile make the icing by whisking the butter and icing sugar for 5 minutes or until fluffy and pale.
  11. Place the banana in a food processor and blitz until pureed.
  12. Add the pureed banana and peanut butter to the butter mix and whisk with electric beaters until well combine.
  13. Top the slice with the icing and cut into pieces. Enjoy!

 

Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice recipe
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting
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Weet-Bix Anzac Slice with Peanut Banana Frosting

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Boozy Mocha Yoghurt Ice-Cream

Posted on Posted in Ice-cream & Sorbet .

Boozy Mocha Yoghurt Ice-Cream

You may have noticed that I am a big fan of using healthier alternative ingredients vs. traditional recipe ingredients (as long as taste is not hindered).

I commonly use apple puree to replace butter, cocoa to replace chocolate, and avocado instead of cream etc etc…and the list could go on for a while… So after recently eating a mocha flavoured ice-cream I didn’t surprise myself when I decided to take the coffee and chocolate flavours and reinvent the ice-cream with a more healthier substitute – low fat yoghurt.

And yes I do bake with yoghurt quite a bit but it’s usually via means of cake batter, not as the base of an ice-cream. To continue the substitute trend I used cocoa powder with some brown sugar as a low fat alternative to milk chocolate.

Lastly to make this ice-cream a little cheeky and further its decadence, I added a solid pouring of Baileys to strengthen the coffee flavour and increase the creaminess.

This Mocha Yoghurt Ice-Cream is moreish and additive without it hurting my hips too much!

 

Ingredients:

  • 160ml espresso coffee
  • 160ml Baileys
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 400ml vanilla yoghurt
  • 60ml cocoa powder

 

Method:

  1. Place the boiling coffee into a bowl with the sugar.
  2. Stir the coffee until the sugar is dissolved, leave aside until cooled.
  3. Add the Baileys to the sugared coffee mix and stir until combine.
  4. Pour the mix into a food processor, add the cocoa powder and the yoghurt.
  5. Blitz mix until creamy and well combine.
  6. Place the mix into a bowl then into the freezer for 2 hours.
  7. After 2 hours spoon the mix back into the food processor and blitz for 2 minutes, place bowl back in the freezer for 1 hour.
  8. After the 1 hour place the mix into the food processor 1 last time for 1 minute.
  9. Pour the mix into the bowl, freeze for 1 hour or until ice-cream is completely set.
  10. Scoop into a bowl and enjoy!

 

Espresso Martini Truffles recipes
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Boozy Mocha Yoghurt Ice-Cream recipe
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Boozy Mocha Yoghurt Ice-Cream recipe
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Step 10

 

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