Caramel « London Foodie In New York

The problem with cooking for friends and family, whilst working in the food industry is that more is expected of you. Or, at least that is how you will undoubtedly always feel. If your dish isn’t paid a compliment or duly noted then immediately you recoil into a state of panic and melancholy that you might have chosen the wrong career path, that you are not as good a cook as you thought you were or that you will never be good at anything and so on and so forth. Alright, so perhaps it’s not ‘you’ I’m referring to but rather just myself. It’s not that I spend days panicking over what to cook for an upcoming event, or find myself with a shaky hand at the stove, it’s just that I’m hopelessly competitive and I’m always looking to out-do myself and quite frankly anybody else who chooses to wear an apron. It is perhaps this mentality of “I can do better than this or that”, which is why I keep working towards my goals. But then of course, there are those momentary setbacks, where you try to be too clever and end up out-doing even yourself.

So, here they are, the profiteroles with pumpkin caramel that appeared so strange amongst their more traditional Thanksgiving neighbours’. An attempt to be clever and unique when really I ought to have stuck with a pumpkin pie. Originally I had wanted to fill these little choux buns with pumpkin ice cream and drizzle with dark chocolate, but the demands of work left little time for churning batches of ice cream to get the right flavours. This was in all honesty a compromise, suggested by my colleague Deb, who, like me always wants her culinary endeavours to be a touch more perfect than perfection. I dread to think what might resolve from a work potluck dinner!

Continue reading ‘A RECIPE: Profiteroles with pumpkin caramel sauce’

There is no questioning the fact that shopping in New York is great. But, I visited Saks fifth avenue yesterday- which I found to be more of a museum than a place that one would go to buy a pair of jeans. I was given a gift certificate there for Christmas- a mixed blessing if you ask me as there is very little to buy there under a couple hundred bucks (not to be ungrateful). It’s definitely not my kind of store but I worked my way round hoping that maybe there was an amazing food department hidden somewhere- like Harvey Nichols, Selfridges or even Harrods where I could blow my credit on a beautiful hunk of cheese or . But, alas, no there is no food department ( or not that I could find). Just floor after floor of expensive clothes and people spraying you perfume. I’m a cook, so I spend my life stinking of garlic with flour hand prints on my backside-I definitely don’t belong in this kind of place let alone these kind of clothes. I left empty-handed with the idea that when my more glamerous sister comes to stay she might be able to guide me through the maze of luxury that is Saks. And in the meantime, I’m going to make my favourite Millionnaires shortbread- renamed ‘Fifth Avenue Shortbread’ because I think it’s good enough to be sold at Saks.

Fifth Avenue Shortbread

This is my all-time favourite treat. The chocolate you use here is very important, so buy as expensive as you can afford. I love Green & Blacks- a mix of milk and dark is beautiful.
ps. A flour print on you backside is essential to your success in making these.

For the base:
175g/6oz butter
75g/3 oz caster sugar
175g/6 oz plain flour
75g/3 oz corn flour

For the middle: ( you can double this if you like a thick caramel layer)
100g/4 oz butter
2 tbsp golden syrup or maple syrup
1/2 tin condensed milk

For the chocolate layer:
200/7 oz Green & blacks milk and/or dark chocolate

1 20cm x 30cm baking tin

1 Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/350F. Beat the butter until soft, then beat in the sugar. Add the flour and cornflour and mix until it comes together into a ball. Line the base of the tin evenly and prick all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for 20-30 mins or until lightly golden on top. Allow to cool.

2 Once cool, melt the butter in a small saucepan, then whisk in the syrup and condensed milk until combined. Stir over a gentle heat, constantly allowing to come up to a gentle boil (do not allow to burn!) and allow to gently simmer until it thickens and turns a golden colour (this will take at least 5 minutes). Pour over the cooled base and allow to set.

3 Once the caramel has set, break the chocolate into pieces in a bowl. Place a small saucepan with 2 cm of water onto boil, once boiling, place the bowl of chocolate over the water (make sure the base of the bowl isn’t touching the water) then turn the heat off and allow the chocolate to melt slowly, stirring occasionally with a spoon. Once melted, pour over the caramel layer, spread evenly and allow to set in the fridge. Cut into squares and feel better than a million dollars as you sink your teeth in.