Pistachio Dark Chocolate Toffee

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I live about a block from a Williams Sonoma store. I often pop in while walking to the grocery store or shopping at the stores nearby to see what they have that is new or sampling. I rarely buy anything there since it is very expensive and seems to be catering to those “Semi-Homemade” type homemakers (exceptions include: Fiona’s Sweet Shoppe candies & Peppermint Bark). Around the holidays they were sampling their Handcrafted Toffee which tasted absolutely amazing but at over $30 a tin, I couldn’t justify taking it home. I kept making laps around the store and sneaking more samples while my fiancé swapped our Sodastream CO2 canister.

When we got home we were determined to satisfy our toffee craving. Toffee always seemed so daunting and complicated to make, but it’s actually pretty easy if you have patience and a candy thermometer.  The best thing about making toffee yourself is that you can control what goes in it and customize it in a variety of ways. The caramel-y toffee layer only has butter, sugar, water, and a dash of salt. The top is whatever percentage chocolate you desire sprinkled with toppings of your choice. I used a darker chocolate (70% Trader Joe’s Pound Plus) because it offsets the sweetness of the toffee, but you can use a lighter, semi-sweet chocolate. I wouldn’t go lower than 54%.

This was also my handmade gift for the holidays. We made two batches and were able to customize it based on the audience. Chopped pistachios were the “traditional” recipe; for my more adventurous friends I mixed crystallized ginger, pistachios, and cashews. The toffee tastes better the next day when the moisture from the top layer has had time to soften up the sugar layer. I opted to break the pieces by hand and package them up into little bags since I liked the homemade look, but portion-ing out into a mini square pan would look more professional. Plus, with the shard style there are always little pieces left over you can sprinkle into your morning coffee.

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Pistachio Dark Chocolate Toffee Recipe

By nicole Published: January 10, 2014

  • Yield: 1 9x13 pan of toffee (8-10 Servings)
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 25 mins
  • Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins

Watch the pot! The sugar layer lingers in the 200s for a while, but can quickly become burnt. Patience & some whisking muscles are your friends.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a saucepan, combine butter, sugar, water, and salt. Whisk constantly until it reaches 300°F. Also known as the "hard-crack" stage, the color should be a medium caramel brown. Pour immediately in an ungreased 9"x13" pan (keep near the stove so that it is close when it is time to transfer the sugar mixture).
  2. While the sugar layer cools, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Once the chocolate is smooth and shiny, pour over the now-cooled sugar, using an offset spatula to distribute evenly.
  3. While the chocolate is still melted, sprinkle with 1 cup of prepared toppings. Use the bottom of a glass or bowl to gently press the toppings into the chocolate. Optional: drizzle with melted chocolate to help toppings stay adhered.
  4. Let toffee stand 2-3 hours at room temperature or chill 30 minutes until firm.
  5. Using a knife, break into bite-size pieces. Package in small bags or a tin.

Espresso Biscoff Birthday Cake

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Last week I celebrated my 27th birthday. It’s hard to believe that 10 years ago I was starting college and dating my-now-fiance Dan. We’ve started a tradition where each year Dan bakes me a cake for my birthday. Last year he baked this amazing Coffee & Donuts cake and this year we decided on an Espresso Biscoff concoction.

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This recipe, also from Sprinkle Bakes, was sure to be a winner. I love coffee and speculoos, so there was no risk. I also had a super cute dinosaur candle I had picked up a few years ago while on vacation and was waiting for just the right moment to whip out.

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Since Dan didn’t cut the cake into a heart and pipe the frosting on, he sprinkled some crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans on it.

All in all, the cake tasted good, but the cake part itself was lacking a bit of flavor. Though there was a lot of Biscoff cookie spread and espresso in the batter, it tasted plain in comparison to the filling. If I were to make this again, I would change the cake to be a deep, dark chocolate cake with brewed coffee in the batter. The bitterness would help the Biscoff filling and Biscoff-mocha frosting stand out more. I would also see if it were possible to fill the cake with pure Biscoff instead of adding the sugar and butter to it. It tasted great, but without a bold cake, the filling got too sweet for me rather quickly.

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This slice of cake was a perfect excuse to whip out my new Anthropologie plates! My best friend and I had this cake for breakfast, warm from the oven, before heading out to a local flea market and holiday popup. I do think this cake might taste better the day(s) after, when the coffee-flavor has had time to become more pronounced.

The only thing that could have made this birthday better was if it were warmer outside (I hate the cold)!

Espresso Biscoff Cake

By nicole Published: December 9, 2013

  • Yield: 1 9 (8-10 Servings)
  • Prep: 30 mins
  • Cook: 30 mins
  • Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins

This recipe is from Sprinke Bakes.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment circles. Grease paper, set aside.
  2. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. Combine water and espresso powder. Let cool slightly.
  4. Whisk together the granulated sugar and brown sugar in a small bowl. Place 1/4 cup of this mixture along with the shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until well incorporated.
  5. Add the rest of the sugar 1/4 cup at a time, beating well with each addition. Add the espresso mixture; blend well. Add eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.
  6. Divide batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool for 5 minutes in the pans then turn out onto wire racks for further cooling.
  7. Biscoff filling: Place all ingredients except heavy cream or milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until well incorporated. If mixture is dry add milk or heavy cream 1 tbsp at a time until a smooth consistency is achieved. Mixture should be thick but spreadable.
  8. Mocha-Biscoff buttercream: Combine softened butter, Biscoff and confectioners sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until well combined. Add espresso powder and cocoa powder. Mix again; scrape down sides of bowl and beat at high speed until light and fluffy.

    Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes with Cranberry Orange Relish

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    This week marks many things –

    Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Leopold’s gotch-ya day, and my 27th birthday.

    1075249_10101068567898176_1121074856_n These recipes came out of a conversation I was having a few weeks back at my in-laws dinner table. My father-in-law (it’s almost official, right?) whipped out some pumpkin bread he had recently picked up at Wegman’s thinking “why not?” We all agreed the bread was good, but just not the same as “Beth’s Pumpkin stuff”. What was this pumpkin bread-muffin-cupcake and why had I not heard of it? More likely I had heard of them, possibly eaten them, and just forgot about them and their reputation. I made my mother-in-law promise to send me the recipe and later that night it arrived in my inbox.

    There aren’t many recipes that I don’t make modifications to. I kept the cake recipe the same, even leaving in the pecans. There are two camps in the “nut” baked good battle; some like the textural contrast of the nuts and some find it offensive and disharmonious. I added the pecans because: 1) I love pecans and 2) I had them in the apartment. My mother-in-law leaves them out and they taste just as good.

    In this case, I took my mother-in-law’s recommendation and switched the original recipe’s frosting out for her tried-and-true and award-winning cream cheese frosting. I added in a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree leftover from the cake into the frosting and topped these with some cranberry orange relish, which I had already added a few tablespoons of to the batter.

    You might think topping a cupcake with relish is crazy, but pumpkin and cranberry are both flavors that can go savory or sweet. This relish is more like a coulis and the tartness and brightness of the topping really do a great job to keep this treat from getting too heavy. You can even argue that this has fruit and vegetables in it–with cream cheese, it’s great for breakfast! Plus you know there’s going to be leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving.

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    Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes with Cranberry Orange Relish Recipe

    By nicole Published: November 28, 2013

    • Yield: 18 cupcakes (18 Servings)
    • Prep: 20 mins
    • Cook: 23 mins
    • Ready In: 53 mins

    The cake recipe is adapted from Glorious Treats

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 375 ℉. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
    2. In another large bowl whisk pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.
    3. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until completely combined. Optional: Stir in chopped pecans.
    4. Scoop batter into cupcake pan, lined with paper liners. Fill cups about 3/4 full.
    5. Place in oven and immediately change temperature to 350 ℉. Bake for 22-24 minutes.
    6. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then transfer cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely.
    7. For the frosting: Combine cream cheese, softened butter, and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until light and creamy.
    8. Frost cupcakes and top with cranberry-orange relish.

      Salad with Pickled Beets & Feta

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      For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I was paired up with Turnips 2 Tangerines. After trying out some apple cider garam masala pickled beets at my local farmer’s market, I decided to tweak Lynn’s recipe for pickled beets. Thankfully I was able to find pre-cooked and peeled beets, so this recipe was even easier!

      I simply subbed out the vinegar for apple cider vinegar and the spices for garam masala. I used the pickling liquid to make a simple vinaigrette (1 tablespoon pickling liquid, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or to taste, dash salt and pepper, 1/4 teaspoon mustard).

      The bitterness of the greens, saltiness of the cheese, and tang of the beets all go well together. The cider vinegar and spices keep the beets from tasting too “dirty”, but they still keep their earthiness.

      I’ll have to go back to Turnips 2 Tangerines and look at the other recipes I was having trouble choosing from, including: Spicy Refrigerator Pickles, Surprise carrot cake, pear nut cake, and chocolate pecan coffee cake!

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      Secret Recipe Club

      Salad with Pickled Beets & Feta Recipe

      By nicole Published: November 25, 2013

      • Yield: 1 small jar (4-6 Servings)
      • Prep: 5 mins
      • Cook: 5 mins
      • Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins

      Recipe adapted from Turnips 2 Tangerines & inspired by local vendor Number 1 Sons

      Ingredients

      Instructions

      1. Steam & peel beets (I used pre-packaged beets from Trader Joe's). Slice beets and place into clean jar.
      2. In a saucepan combine vinegar, sugar, garam masala, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes.
      3. Pour mixture over beets. Allow to cool then place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
      4. Note: You can adjust the acidity to taste. I added 1/4 cup water to the jar to make it less acidic. I also decreased the amount of sugar from the original since apple cider vinegar is sweeter.

      Marmalade & Pistachio Tea Cake

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      For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I was paired up with K&K Test Kitchen. One of my favorite things about the site is the design since the colors are so well coordinated and it is appealing to the eye. I am a web designer by day, so thats one of the first things I noticed.

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      This was another month where it was hard to choose just what recipe to make. I changed up my tactic this time and asked my fiancé to pick a recipe after I whittled it down to Healthy Spinach Dip, Artichoke Dip, Pistachio Marmalade Cake, or Cashew Chicken. Even though he picked spinach dip, I ended up making the cake. Next time I swear I’ll let him really choose!

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      I figured this would be a great opportunity to use some of my various jams in the refrigerator, as well as my cute gingham mini bundt cake liners from World Market.  I did adapt this recipe to use what I had on hand, and it turned out no worse for it.

      I had a lovely Japanese Quince jam gifted to me by my friend Stephanie that was just itching to be used in this. I have a problem when I get things that tast good. I actually don’t eat them. They’re so precious to me I always save them for later, but then they end up getting thrown away! I wasn’t going to let that happen to this jam, so I whipped 2 mini cakes up and sent her one as part of a care package.

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      You can substitute the cider for any juice (orange juice is the original). I also substituted the cornmeal with almond meal, and replaced the orange marmalade with quince jam. I also mixed the pistachios with some chai sugar I picked up at Mitsuwa on a recent trip to New York to echo the cardamom in the mix.

      The texture of the cake was a bit crumbly and the bottom was a little overdone (the middle wouldn’t cook all the way). I don’t think this is due to the substitutions since this same issue was noted on K&K Test Kitchen. In the future, I would recommend bumping the cooking temperature to 325 so that none of it overcooks.

      Since the cake itself that was not adjacent to the topping was a bit bland, I would definitely add more jam next time so that the flavor is more pronounced.

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      Secret Recipe Club

      Marmalade & Pistachio Tea Cake Recipe

      By nicole Published: October 28, 2013

      • Yield: 2 mini cakes or 1 8x8 cake (8-10 Servings)
      • Prep: 10 mins
      • Cook: 35 mins
      • Ready In: 45 mins

      This cake, adapted from K&K Test Kitchen is great along a cup of tea at any time of the day, including breakfast. It is further adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen on the Kitchn. It is a mixture of French, American, and Indian flavors.

      Ingredients

      Instructions

      1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment and grease it lightly.
      2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt.
      3. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, marmalade, and sugar until combined and thickened. Gently whisk in the juice.
      4. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients, and fold to combine–it’s fine to leave a few lumps. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle chopped pistachios on top. (Note: mix flavored sugar with chopped pistachios prior to sprinkling, if you want)
      5. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the cake is dark gold and risen, and springs back when you put slight pressure on the top. Test with a toothpick in the center of the loaf; if it comes out dry, it’s done.
      6. Serve warm if possible, or within a few hours of baking.