As many of you know I spent this past weekend in Philadelphia eating and drinking my way through the city with some other bloggers. Along with discovering great eats and drinks, I also discovered—crap, I’m old. Not only could I not keep up with the 2AM pub crawl, but when I got home on Sunday night I couldn’t find the energy to post.

I was down and down for the count yesterday as well, so my apologies for the few missed postings. Although stay tuned, tomorrow I’m excited to be posting a delicious and adorable mini crepe cake.

A few notes:

• Use room temperature eggs to prevent curdling.
• This dessert can be served warm or chilled.
• Variation: Add 4-6 tablespoons of bourbon to the pot de crème at the end  for a boozy dessert.
• If you can, use homemade caramel sauce as it has a deeper flavor and avoids the overly sweet  flavoring found in commercial caramel sauce.

Caramel Pumpkin Pot de Crème

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:

Pot de Creme:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 large egg yolks
• ¼ cup plus sugar
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup plus two tablespoons of pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup homemade caramel sauce (recipe follows)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon  nutmeg
• 1/8  teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Homemade Caramel Sauce:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 tablespoons of heavy cream
• ½ teaspoons of kosher salt

Directions:

Pot de Creme:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring heavy cream and sugar to a boil, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Put aside and let cool for five minutes.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks.  Add ¼ cup of heated cream mixture to egg mixture and whisk to combine. Continue adding cream mixture in ¼ cup increments to eggs until the two are fully combined. Place fully combined mixture back in to a pot and cook over moderate heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the custard coats the back of the spoon, about 4 minutes. Add in pumpkin puree, caramel sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until very smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the finished custard through a strainer.
3. Refrigerate until chilled about 2 hours.
4. To serve warm: Let the pots de crème stand at room temperature for 15-20  minutes prior to serving.

Homemade Caramel Sauce:

1.  Add sugar and water into a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Use a wet brush to remove any crystals that form on the side. Once sugar has dissolved increase heat to high. Now and then, using the handle give the pot a swirl to keep the mixture moving. Do not stir the mixture directly. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute. As the mixture darkens to a  deep amber color, approximately 5-7 minutes, add the butter and cream to saucepan. The mixture will bubble wildly. Whisk to combine (bubbles will subside upon cooling). Add salt and stir to combine.

Caramel Pot de Creme

Yes, I’m excited about Valentine’s, not because I’m waiting for something special but because it’s one of my favorite holidays to bake for. This year having a blog has amplified that as I try to work in fun Valentine’s motif and whimsy into some photographs.

If you follow me you already know photography is a challenge for me, so trying to throw in a Valentine’s spin poses an even bigger challenge. But I’m learning with each sweaty session.

That said, if the picture fails to capture you, ignore it, and move on towards the subject: the Caramel Pot de Crème. Trust me when I say, it’s hard not to love the deep caramel flavor that comes through the smooth texture of this custard dessert.

A few notes:

• For the decorative heart I used parchment paper with a heart cut out and then sifted powdered sugar on top with a small sieve used for tea. If you use a cutout design, make sure to rest it directly on top of the surface and not just on the rim of your dish.  The design should be sifted just before serving as the moisture from the pot de crème will melt the powdered sugar.
• I don’t recommend using store bought caramel as it tends to be overly sweet and lack the deep flavor that makes this dessert.
• There are two methods to making caramel: dry or wet.  I tend to like the dry method as it cooks faster. The wet method includes adding water to the sugar to dissolve it. For a step-by-step tutorial for using the wet method click here.
• The pot de crème will keep up to 3 days loosely covered in the refrigerator.
• Total aside, but any photogs out there know why the red chenille tubing glows like that rather than coming through sharp like the remaining portion of the picture.

Caramel Pot de Crème

Makes approximately eight 4 oz. ramekins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 6 large egg yolks

Instructions:

1. Place sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. As the sugar heats up, the edges and bottoms will melt first. Using the handle of the pan, swirl and tilt it to promote further melting.

1. Once the sugar has turned deep amber (385degreesF) slowly whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will violently bubble but will subside quickly as you whisk. Turn off stove and remove pan from heat. Let mixture cool for 15 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks.
3. Return caramel filled saucepan to stovetop over medium low heat.  Then gradually whisk the egg yolks into the caramel mixture. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon until the custard coats the back of the spoon, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into preferred vessels and refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours.
4. Let the pot de crème stand at room temperature for 15 minutes and then garnish to preference.

Creme Brulee Cupcakes

These babies were set to debut this week on the blog (as it is now) and at my girlfriend’s now cancelled wedding.

I was so excited when I thought of these cupcakes, thinking I was so clever and original. Then I put my Crème Brulee Cupcake to the Google test for originality, I was quickly humbled. What I thought was an original idea, is not. If you type in Crème Brulee Cupcake, you’ll see it’s everywhere.

What you will also see is, most of these recipes fill the cupcake hole with Swiss or regular buttercream and then brulee it.

Well my friends, allow me to be a picky foodie for a moment, but that’s not my traditional understanding of crème brulee. I wanted the Real McCoy not burnt sugar on frosting.

With that came the test runs.

The first  run yielded a baked soggy mess. I tried to short cut the process by combining the cake batter and the custard mixture. Now before you shake your head at me and say, “Duh”. Let me preface by saying, I thought the water bath would slow the bake time of the cake batter to the same rate as the custard-wrong!

The second time around, I baked the cupcake half way through and then added the custard and then placed the cupcake pan in a water bath to finish the process. Can you say “ hot sunken mess”. That was way too much time for the cupcakes to be out of the oven then back in the oven.

The third time really does always work out to be a charm for me. Based on the previous failures I decided the best way, like most stuffed cupcakes, was to make the components separately.

With that, everything came together and these Crème Brulee Cupcakes moved from test to pass. It’s just too bad the wedding has been cancelled.  I was really hoping to try these out on a larger audience.

If anyone gives these Crème Brulee Cupcakes a go, please let me know what you think.

A few notes:
1. If you have vanilla beans, use them by scraping 1 vanilla bean pod clean. I didn’t have any so I used vanilla bean paste which I find to be much more flavorful than vanilla extract. If you don’t have either bean or paste, vanilla extract will work just fine.
2. When removing the ramekins from the water bath, make sure to tie  rubber bands around the end of the tongs for better gripping.
3. The custard can be made four days in advance or you can assemble and refrigerate the custard filled cupcakes one evening before and brulee the top 1 hour prior to serving.
4. Sprinkle your demera sugar on one cupcake at a time, otherwise the sugar starts to melt from the condensation of the cold custard and you won’t be able to brulee it. You need the sugar to stay solid for it to burn.

Crème Brulee Cupcakes
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Heat oven to 300 degrees and prepare water bath. Place kitchen towel on bottom of a roasting pan or cake pan.  Place one ramekin in the pan to determine the water level. The water needs to be two thirds the height of the ramekin. Bring determined water amount to boil while assembling the custard.

Ingredients:

Custard:
1  teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
½ cups sugar
5 large egg yolk (room temperature)
8-10 teaspoons Demera sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Custard:

1. Combine and bring vanilla paste, 1 cup of the cream, granulated sugar, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Stir every now and then to prevent the cream from forming a skin.  Once boiled, remove the pan from heat and let steep for 15 minutess.
2. After the mixture has steeped, stir in the remaining cup cream to cool down the mixture.
3. Whisk the egg yolks together in a large bowl until uniform. While whisking eggs with one hand use your other hand to slowly pour in the cream mixture. Make sure your cream has cooled enough so that your eggs will not curdle. Push final mixture through a fine mesh strainer, discarding any solids. Pour into the ramekins.
4. Place custard filled ramekins into pan.
5. Pour boiling water into pan, being careful not to splash water into ramekins.
6. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until custard either reads 170 degrees and/or until custards gives a gentle wiggle when moved.
7. Transfer baked ramekins to cooling rack. Cool to room temperature for approximately 2 hours.
8. To store, place plastic wrap directly on custard surface to prevent skinning.

Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozens

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 12 cup muffin pans.
Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (*see  note)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before filling with custard.

Assembly:
1. Using a paring knife cut a shallow cone from the top of the cupcake.
2. Fill hole with custard.
3  Generously sprinkle  Demera sugar on top of custard.
4. Keep torch six inches from sugar to brulee.

Baileys Chocolate Pot De Creme

Baileys Chocolate Pot de Crème: Smooth, silky chocolate wrapped in some Baileys Irish Cream-I’ll take it!

A triple threat of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and Bailey’s, will have you melodically licking your spoon with every bite.

Aside from the taste and having a prep time clocked at a mere 20 minutes, this is a make-ahead, no bake recipe that can proudly wear a “worthy” status at any 5-star restaurant.

A few quick notes:

• Chocolate is the star of this dessert, so make sure you use a high quality chocolate. My preference is for Valrhona or Scharffenberger.  For this recipe I use Scharffenberger’s milk chocolate and Valrhona’s dark chocolate (61% cacao).
• Try not to multi-task when cooking the cream and sugar or you will very quickly go from thick and smooth to thick and chunky. This step will determine the texture of your pot de crème. If by chance you get a bit of curdling, a chinois or fine mesh strainer may save your dessert.
• This recipe is heavily adapted from pastry chef Frank Urso.

Baileys Chocolate Pot De Creme:

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Ingredients:

6 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup of Baileys Irish Cream

1 ½ cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

5 large egg yolks

Crème fraîche and chocolate shavings, for garnish (Optional)

Directions:

1. In a large heatproof bowl, melt the chocolates .
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the Baileys, heavy cream and sugar to a boil, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Put aside and let cool for five minutes.
3. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Then gradually whisk the egg-and-cream mixture in a saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the custard coats the back of the spoon, about 4 minutes. Pour the custard over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.
4. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until very smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into eight 4-ounce ramekins and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours.
5. Let the pots de crème stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Garnish with crème fraîche and chocolate shavings.