caramel

Florentine Bars

November 25, 2020 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Christmas baking has began in my house, and what better way to start the season off than with these truly magical Florentine bars. Flavored with honey and orange, these caramel and almond topped shortbread bars are so delicious and so very hard to eat just one. Drizzle the bars with dark chocolate, and they rival any candy bar. These bars would make a beautiful addition to any cookie box or gift. and they ship really well too.

What are Florentines?

Florentine cookies, or lace cookies as they are sometimes called, are typically filled with nuts, dried and candied fruits. They are usually dipped in chocolate, and can be fickle to make in their traditional form. Traditional Florentines are delicate, chewy, sticky and absolutely amazing. One of my favorite cookies. To make my Florentines a bit easier to make, and ship to family, I put my Florentine mixture on a thin shortbread crust. Crisp, chewy and sticky and delicious.

How to make the shortbread crust

The shortbread crust is easily made in a food processor (yay for shortcuts!) and pressed into a lined 8×8 square pan. My trick for getting flat and even crust is to push it in with the flat side of a bench scraper. For you weirdos like me that must have a perfect looking, even crust, this method is super satisfying and makes for a super flat crust. The crust is baked until lightly golden and cooled.

How to make the caramel topping

While the crust cools, the sugar, corn syrup, and water are combined and heated until amber in color. Butter and honey are added followed by cream. orange zest, vanilla and salt. Toasted, sliced almonds and any other dried or candied druit are mixed into the caramel. Glacé cherries, dried cranberries, figs, or candied oranges are so good in these bars. You can also use any nut you like. Hazelnuts would be delicious. When the nuts and fruit are mixed in, the caramel is spread over the cooled crust. The bars are baked until bubbly.

When the bars are cooled, they are cut into servings. Whilst baking, the caramel seeps down the side and coats the sides shortbread. Sometimes I cut off the outside edges of the bars (and I eat them, obvs) so that you can see the crust and topping, especially if I’m gifting these. Drizzle the bars with melted dark chocolate. Once the chocolate sets, the bars can be wrapped in parchment and tied off with twine or a decorative. Stack the wrapped bars in cookie boxes and they make a gorgeous gift.

If you make these Florentine bars, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more holiday cookie recipes, check out these posts:

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

Brown Butter Maple Pecan Cookies

Espresso Toffee Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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Florentine Bars

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: -12 servings

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

1 ¼ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, cold

Caramel Topping

3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (76ml) water
1 tablespoon corn syrup
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (84ml) honey
1/2 cup (114ml) heavy cream
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 cups (172g) sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 cup (70g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8x8 pan with two pieces of parchment paper which extend over the sides to give you a ‘"handles" (this helps with removing the slice easily once it is set).
In the bowl of a food processor, place the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine.
Add the butter and pulse until the mixture begins to form clumps.
Press the dough into the prepared pan, then level and smooth it with a bench press or measuring cup. Chill the crust for 10 minutes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the shortbread is pale golden. Let cool completely.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Stir just to mix. Bring to a boil and heat until the mixture reaches 350F on a candy thermometer, or is amber in color.
Remove from the heat, and whisk in the butter and the honey. Be careful as it will steam and bubble.
Place back onto the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the heavy cream and the orange zest.
Cook the mixture until it reaches 250F on a candy thermometer.
Remove from the heat and add the almonds (and any other fruit or nuts you wish to add).
Immediately pour the caramel mixture over the shortbread crust, using a spatula to smooth out the mixture.
Bake the bars until the caramel begins to bubble, about 15-18 minutes.
Let the bars cool completely. Run a knife or spatula around the pan between the parchment and pan to loosen any caramel that may have escaped.
Remove the bars from the pan. Cut into bars or squares.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second increments until melted and smooth.
Transfer the chocolate to a piping bag or a zip top bag and drizzle the bars with chocolate. You can also drizzle the chocolate with a fork.
Let the chocolate firm up before serving. Serve at room temperature.

Salted Caramel Sauce

October 29, 2020 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Salted caramel is one of those sauces that can go on so, so many baked goods. Even when I’m writing recipes, I have to keep myself in check, otherwise there would probably be salted caramel on everything. This salted caramel sauce recipe should be kept on standby in your kitchen. It is quick and easy to make, doesn’t require a candy thermometer and tastes so much better than store bought. It’s rich, buttery and deep in flavor, making a perfect caramel topping for your favorite dessert.

Salted caramel sauce has endless uses. This sauce, while still warm, is a thinner consistency perfect for drizzling over ice cream or yogurt, cakes and pies. The sauce, when cooled is thicker in consistency, and is perfect for a cake filling, swirling into brownies, dipping apple slices and for using in frostings.

How to make salted caramel sauce

Prep the ingredients for the salted caramel before you begin because once you get started, it all comes together quickly. Butter and a small amount of water are cooked together. I recommend using a light colored saucepan so that you can see the color indictions that the caramel is done cooking. The water is added to help the sugar melt more evenly. The sugar mixture boils until it is mid-amber in color. Too light and the flavor will be bland, not having been fully caramelized. Too dark and it tastes burnt.

Once the caramel is mid-amber color, remove from the heat. Carefully add the butter. The mixture will steam and bubble so be very careful when doing this. When the butter is fully whisked in and melted, whisk in the cream, salt and vanilla. If the caramel seizes after the cream is added, put the saucepan back over low heat and whisk until melted. Remove from the heat. Pour into a jar or storage container. The caramel will thicken as it cools. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove to thin the consistency. Salted caramel sauce can be kept for up to a month in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For amazing recipes using salted caramel, check out these posts:

Caramel Apple Coffee Cake

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

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Salted Caramel Sauce

Sweet and salty salted caramel sauce

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Ingredients

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (59ml) water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or flaky salt

Instructions

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the sugar and the water. Stir just until combined.
Place the saucepan over medium heat. Let the sugar mixture cook, without stirring, until the sugar mixture turns a mid amber color. Take the mixture off the heat to stop the cooking process.
Add the butter to the saucepan and whisk to combine. Be very careful as the mixture is incredibly hot and will bubble up and steam when the butter is added.
Whisk in the heavy cream, followed by the vanilla and the salt. Whisk until smooth.
Let the caramel cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a storage container to cool completely.

Earl Grey Cake with Honey Buttercream and Blackberry Caramel

September 11, 2020 By Ashley 8 Comments

There’s a little tea shop towards downtown St. Louis that has the best Earl Grey tea. Even better, the tea and the scones there remind me of my travels in England. I’m more into coffee than tea, but I do enjoy chai regularly and in the colder months Earl Grey is one of my favorites. My Earl Grey cake with honey buttercream and blackberry caramel is perfect for tea lovers (and even non tea lovers!) in your life. Flavored with orange zest and Earl Grey tea, this cake is tender and moist. It’s filled and topped with light and silky honey Swiss meringue buttercream, and topped with blackberry caramel sauce, fresh figs, blackberries and sugar blossoms.

What is Earl Grey tea?

Earl Grey is most commonly a black tea flavored with bergamot, orange and other citrus depending on the blend. Sometimes there’s also lavender, rose petals or cornflowers found in some blends. But the bergamot is what makes Earl Grey distinctively Earl Grey. Earl Grey is used in baking often for it’s unique, delicious flavor and as it pairs well many different flavors.

Blackberry Caramel

Recently, I discovered the amazingness of fruit caramel. Essentially it is fruit purée mixed into caramel. Nearly any fruit can be used (blackberry, orange, strawberry are my personal favorites) and like traditional caramel sauce, it’s made fairly quickly and can be stored in the fridge to use on ice cream, pancakes, cocktails and more. It’s an absolutely fabulous way to add color and flavor to a drip cake, or filling, and really amp up a caramel sauce.

You don’t have to remove the seeds or pulp from the blackberries, but strained blackberry purée will give you a smooth caramel that is easiest and prettiest to use on a drip cake. Purée the blackberries in a blender. You can add a tablespoon or two of water if the berries are having a tough time fully blending. Strain the blackberries through a fine mesh sieve, getting out as much purée as possible. There should be about one-ish tablespoon of seeds and pulp left after straining. Combine the sugar and caramel in a saucepan on the stove and let it cook until amber in color. Remove the caramel from the heat and whisk in the strained purée. If the caramel clumps up a bit, place the saucepan back on the stove on low heat and whisk until smooth and melted. Cool the caramel at room temperature.

How to make Earl Grey cake

This cake. It was so good, that after doing the first recipe test for the cake, my whole family ate it warm out of the oven. Even my littles, who don’t like tea at all. It’s soft and delicate with a tender, tight crumb and fragrant of Earl Grey and orange.

To get ample Earl Grey flavor, the tea is steeped in milk. This is way to get concentrated Earl Grey flavor without having to load the cake with tea leaves. Finely ground tea is also added to the batter as well as orange zest for ample flavor.

Butter is mixed into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Mixing the butter into the dry ingredients coats the flour, preventing too much gluten formation. Then, a small amount of the milk mixture is added, just until the dry ingredients are *just* moistened and the mixture is beaten on medium-high for two full minutes until lightened in color, and thick like soft-serve ice cream. This mixing is crucial as it helps to form the structure of your cake. The remaining wet ingredients are added in three parts. The cake batter will be a bit on the thicker side.

You will also notice, a scale is also required for this recipe. Scratch cakes can be tricky to make sometimes, and the baking science is very important in the making and baking of scratch cake. We need cakes to be consistent in taste and texture, and bake up with no problems – no sinking, no overflowing, no rubbery layers, etc. A scale is key in getting consistent results. I use this one from Amazon. This recipe will not work if you convert it to volume (cups) measurements.

I also do not recommend using this recipe for cupcakes. This recipe is designed to bake up somewhat flat, and is also more compact, particularly for layer cakes. This recipe makes 3-8″ layers or 2-8″ taller layers that can be torted.

Honey Swiss meringue buttercream

Egg whites, honey, and granulated sugar are heated in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. This process is to cook the egg whites and melt the sugar all while whisking continuously to avoid any scrambling. Once the egg white mixture reaches 160F, it is strained through a sieve into a stand mixer mixing bowl and using the whisk attachment, beaten until stiff peaks form and the bowl is room temperature to touch. At this point, softened butter is popped in piece by piece and then, and you leave it to mix on low for a bit. It’s important to mix on low as to not incorporate air. Incorporating air into your buttercream can cause and contribute to cake disasters, such as blow-outs, air bubbles and sinking.

It’s quite possible your buttercream will look curdled, or super deflated. Keep mixing and it will come together into creamy, silky and smooth Swiss meringue buttercream. Mixing the buttercream on low for a while allows it to fully incorporate, and eliminates air pockets – which is super important if you’re making a fondant covered cake. It also helps creates that super silky, creamy texture. Add in the salt and vanilla and it’s ready to be used.

Reverse creaming cakes can be delicate, so they are easiest to layer, carve, stack, etc. when they are chilled. I always chill my cakes before layering and filling. Less likely chance they’ll split or fall apart, and they’re easier to handle. Refrigerating well-wrapped cakes WILL NOT dry them out. More on that in a future post.

Once you have filled and frosted your cake, pipe on the blackberry caramel around the edges of the cake. The caramel will also act as a glue for the berries and figs that will go on top. I used fresh figs and blackberries for this cake as they go well with Earl Grey, but you can totally use any combination of fruit you would like. I also added some sugar blossoms to fill in some areas and make it a bit more tea time ready.

I hope that you enjoy this cake as much as I do! If you make it, let me know and leave a comment or tag me on Instagram.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more layer cake recipes, check out these posts:

Strawberry Rose Buttermilk Cake

Chocolate Stout Cake with Coffee Irish Cream Buttercream

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Earl Grey Cake with Honey Buttercream and Blackberry Caramel

Orange flecked Earl Grey cake filled and frosted with honey Swiss meringue buttercream with a blackberry caramel drip. Topped with fresh fruit and sugar blossoms.

Course: Dessert

Servings: - 8" cakes

Ingredients

Earl Grey Cake

16 oz (490ml) whole milk
6 tea bags Earl Grey tea or 4 tablespoons of looseleaf tea
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 oz (57g) canola oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
14 oz (397g) cake flour
14 oz (397g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons Earl Grey tea, finely ground
Zest of one large orange
8 ounces (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature

Blackberry Caramel

1 cup (170g) fresh blackberries
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water

Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream

9-10 (300 grams) egg whites
1 ¼ cups (250g) honey
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
3 ½ cups (793g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Fresh blackberries and figs
Candied oranges, optional

Instructions

Make the Earl Grey Cake

Heat the oven to 350F. Prepare your cake pans. Brush the bottoms and sides of your cake pans with melted butter. Line the bottoms and sides with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to simmer until bubbles just start to form around the outside. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
Place the 6 tea bags into the hot milk and push them down with a spatula to submerge them.
Let the tea bags steep in the milk for 30 minutes.
Remove the tea bags, wrapping each around the end of a wooden spoon to get as much milk out as possible.
Measure out 12 oz/355ml of the tea milk into a measuring cup. If you don't have exactly 12oz, use regular milk to top it off.
To the tea milk mixture, add the eggs, oil and vanilla and whisk to combine.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, tea and orange zest. On low speed, mix for 1 minute.
With the mixer still running, add in the softened butter pieces, a few pieces at a time. Mix until the mixture resembles cornmeal. You should be able to gather a bit in your hand, squeeze and you have a solid piece. This means the butter is evenly distributed.
With the mixer still on low, slowly pour some of the milk/egg mixture into the bowl JUST to moisten the ingredients, about 4 oz or 1/2 cup of liquid.
Turn the mixer speed to medium (4 or 6) and whip for *two full* minutes. The mixture should be whipped up, thick, and lighter in color. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is properly mixed.
With the mixer speed on low, add the remaining wet ingredients in three parts, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Once all the wet ingredients have been added, give the bowl a final scrape and mix with a spatula. Evenly divide the batter among the prepared pans.
Bake the layers for 35-45 minutes. Check the cake at 30-35 minutes to test for doneness. If a toothpick comes out clean, and the top of the cake feels springy and set when touched, take the cakes out.
Tap the cake once, firmly against the counter to remove excess steam. If your cakes dome at all, use a clean kitchen towel to gently push the domes down. Cool the cakes for 15 minutes in the pans.
Run a palette or butter knife around the cakes in their pans before turning them out to cool completely on cooling racks.
Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator a couple hours to firm up.

Make the blackberry caramel

Place blackberries in the bowl of a food processor and process until pureed. Strain through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl, getting as much from the pulp as you can. Discard the solids.
In a medium sized saucepan, combine the sugar and the water. Stir just until combined.
Place the saucepan over medium heat. Let the sugar mixture cook, without stirring, until the sugar mixture turns a rich amber color. Take the mixture off the heat to stop the cooking process.
Whisk in the blackberry purée. If the caramel seizes, put in back on the stove on low heat, and whisk until smooth.
Let the caramel cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a glass jar to cool completely.

Make the honey Swiss meringue buttercream

Weigh out egg whites, honey, and granulated sugar together in a non-reactive bowl, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the bowl and place over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water, whisking constantly and gently until temperature reaches 160F.
Using a sieve, strain the egg white/sugar mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Mix on medium speed with the whisk attachment until the mixture is glossy, reaches stiff peaks and the outside of the bowl is no longer warm. You cannot add butter to the bowl if it is warm or the butter will just melt when added.
Once the mixture reaches stiff peaks, switch out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment and begin mixing on low speed.
Add the softened butter cubes, a couple at a time, until incorporated. Now, just let it mix. It might curdle or look lumpy but that’s ok. Keep mixing. This could take some time.
The buttercream is ready when it is smooth, satiny and creamy. Keep mixing on low and add the salt and flavorings. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.

Salty Bourbon Millionaire Bars

July 6, 2020 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Salty, sweet, smoky, and rich, these salty bourbon millionaire bars are super decadent and so, so delicious. These bars consist of a pretzel shortbread crust, topped with a thick bourbon caramel, topped with bittersweet chocolate and sprinkled with applewood smoked flaky salt. These bars are like a cookie and candy bar in one, and are a total crowd pleaser. Think of these like a Twix candy bar, but a bit more fancier, and soooo much better.

About the ingredients

My salty bourbon millionaire bars have a few ingredients that really make these next level amazing. Typically, millionaire bars have a shortbread crust. In this version, I’ve added salty, crunchy pretzels to the crust. The pretzel flavor really gives these bars more depth of flavor that plays well with the smoky bourbon and salt.

The caramel layer is made with sweetened condensed milk, sugar, unsalted butter, salt, golden syrup and bourbon. Golden syrup is one of my absolute favorite baking ingredients. Similar to corn syrup, golden syrup is made from cane sugar, has an amber color and a delicious caramel flavor. It’s thicker and more stable than corn syrup and provides much more flavor. Though it is a staple in the UK, sometimes golden syrup can be a challenge to find in the US. You can find it in many stores and on Amazon, but if you can’t find it, light corn syrup will work in its place.

Bourbon gives the caramel a smoky, boozy kick. You can use bourbon, whiskey or scotch here – each will lend just a bit of a different flavor to the caramel. You can also omit it, if you don’t want to use alcohol. If you omit the whiskey, replace it with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Really though, this caramel is so good, you’ll want to eat it out of the saucepan with a spoon.

Bittersweet chocolate tops the bars, followed by smoked flaky salt. This salt is a gem, guys. I stumbled upon this applewood smoked flaky salt in my local spice shop, and purchased it, having no idea what I was going to use it for. Until, I developed this recipe. Adding finishing salt to baked goods really makes the individual flavors pop. Adding smoky, almost bacon-like flavor, takes these bars over the top. You can find a variety of smoked salts in supermarkets and online. Maldon makes a great smoked salt that can be found here.

How to make Salty Bourbon Millionaire Bars

The shortbread crust comes together easily and quickly in a food processor. Combine the dry ingredients, and cut in the butter. Pulse in pretzels, taking care to not pulverize them too much. You want them to remain in small chunks for crunch and texture. The crust is pressed into a 13×9 pan. Use an offset spatula to press the dough into the pan evenly. The crust needs to be chilled for 20-30 minutes before baking. Bake the crust until light golden brown, and allow to cool completely.

While the crust is cooling, make the bourbon caramel by combining the sugar, golden syrup, butter and sweetened condensed milk into a large saucepan and simmer until thick, fudge-y and a deep caramel color. Add the salt and the bourbon. I usually use 2 tablespoons of bourbon, but you can add an additional tablespoon or two if you prefer a stronger, boozier flavor. Pour the caramel over the cooled pretzel shortbread crust and allow to cool completely before adding the chocolate.

Once the caramel is cool, melt the chocolate and the syrup for the topping. Choose a good quality chocolate that you enjoy eating. I like using bittersweet chocolate for flavor and to cut through some of the sweetness of the caramel filling. Spread the chocolate over the caramel layer and allow to set. Sprinkle the bars with smoked flaky salt. The chocolate topping will set firm.

Sometimes I like to rush the cooling process by popping these in the fridge for a few minutes. It’s totally fine, but the chocolate will likely crack on top. To avoid this, score the chocolate into squares, when the chocolate is just set, and then pop in the fridge to firm up a bit more. Then cut the bars into squares using the pre-scored lines. It’s best to store and serve the bars at room temperature.

For more decadent, and chocolatey sweets, check out these recipes:

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Brownies

Chocolate Stout Cake with Coffee Irish Cream Buttercream

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Salty Bourbon Millionaire Bars

Salty, sweet, smoky, and decadent, these bars consist of a pretzel shortbread crust, topped with a thick bourbon caramel, topped with dark chocolate and sprinkled with applewood smoked flaky salt.

Prep Time35 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Chill and Cool1 hr 30 mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: servings

Ingredients

Pretzel Shortbread Crust

1 cup (150g) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (50g) salted pretzels
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Bourbon Caramel

1 can (396g) sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup (140g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (75g) golden syrup, or light corn syrup
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2-3 tablespoons bourbon
1 cup (150g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon golden syrup
applewood smoked salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

Make the pretzel shortbread crust:

Heat the oven to 350F. Line a 8x8 or 9x9 pan with parchment paper.
Combine the flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
Add the cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture starts to resemble coarse meal, with pea-sized butter pieces throughout.
Add the pretzels and pulse until the mixture starts to form large clumps.
Turn the dough out into the prepared pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan using the bottom of a measuring cup or an offset spatula.
Chill the crust for 20-30 minutes.
Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown. Let the crust cool completely.

Make the caramel:

In a large saucepan, combine the sweetened condensed milk, sugar, golden syrup and butter and mix over low heat until the butter has melted.
Turn the heat up to medium so that the mixture starts to simmer. Stir the mixture over a simmer (slow bubbles) until it turns a deep golden brown and looks like thick caramel fudge, about 10-15 minutes. The mixture will start to pull away from the sides of the pan when stirring.
Remove the mixture from the heat. Add the salt and the bourbon and whisk to combine.
Pour the caramel over the shortbread crust and allow it to cool completely.
Melt the chocolate and the golden syrup in a small saucepan over low heat. Pour the melted chocolate over the caramel layer. Sprinkle the smoked salt over the bars.
Cool until the chocolate is set, then cut into squares. Serve at room temperature.