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Chocolate Covered Seafoam Candy
Posted By
HelenFern
On
In
Candy,Sweet Treats |
13 Comments
I love seafoam candy. When we take a trip to the beach, I always have to stop at The Chocolate Frog to get some. It’s a real treat! But who knew it was so easy to make!
What is Seafoam Candy?
Seafoam candy is like a toffee. White and brown sugar is boiled until bubbles form, then spread out to cool. There are bubbles in the candy that gives it the name, seafoam. Topping it with chocolate just makes it even better!
Making the Candy
In a heavy saucepan, melt the sugars with the corn syrup.
Using a candy thermometer, bring the temperature up to 285 degrees.
When it reaches temperature, remove from the heat and gently stir in sifted baking soda. It’s important to sift it first to remove all the lumps and bumps. Don’t stir too hard, you’ll pop the bubbles. You want it to bubble up!
Pour it into a lightly oil pan and let it cool until it’s hard to the touch.
Using a glass dish, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on high,
taking it out every 30 seconds to stir with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to get any moisture in it. If any moisture at all gets in, the chocolate will seize and not spread smoothly.
Once it’s melted, spread it out on top and down the sides of the cooled toffee.
Allow it all to cool completely.
Once it’s all solidified, break it into pieces and store in an airtight container in a dry place.
I’m not sure how long it will last – we ate it all within a couple weeks.
Keyword:
candy, chocolate, corn syrup, lbrown sugar, toffee, white sugar
Author: HelenFern
Ingredients
1/2cuplight brown sugar
1/2cupwhite granulated sugar
1cupcorn syrup
2teaspoonsbaking soda - sifted
6ozsemi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
In a heavy saucepan, melt the sugars with the corn syrup.
Using a candy thermometer, bring the temperature up to 285 degrees.
When it reaches temperature, remove from the heat and gently stir in sifted baking soda. It's important to sift it first to remove all the lumps and bumps. Don't stir too hard, you'll pop the bubbles. You want it to bubble up!
Pour it into a lightly oiled 9X13 pan and let it cool until it's hard to the touch.
Using a glass dish, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on high, taking it out every 30 seconds to stir with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to get any moisture in it. If any moisture at all gets in, the chocolate will seize and not spread smoothly.
Once it's melted, spread it out on top and down the sides of the cooled toffee.
Allow it all to cool completely.
Once it's all solidified, break it into pieces and store in an airtight container in a dry place.
Recipe Notes
I'm not sure how long it will last - we ate it all within a couple weeks.
National Strawberry Shortcake Day!! Welcome Summer!
Posted By
HelenFern
On
In
Cake,Sweet Treats |
8 Comments
Strawberries are the first indication that summer[5] has arrived! And it’s often celebrated with strawberry shortcake – but one man’s short is another man’s cake!
Where did Strawberry Shortcake come from?
Shortcakes have been around in Britain for thousands of years. The term “short” comes from an Old English cooking term that means crisp or crumbly from adding fats to the dough. These tasty cakes came to America.
The true shortcake is neither bread, nor cake, nor pastry, though bearing what might be called a ‘differing likeness’ to each. It is a modernized form of the pandowdies of our grandmothers.
—May 1894 issue of The New England Kitchen (Boston)
With the introduction of baking soda, Mary Randolph in Virginia Housewife (Baltimore, 1824) created “soda cakes”. These new cakes became the foundation for the American shortcake. By 1862 strawberry shortcake was made with these sweet soda biscuits, strawberries, sugar and cream.
In the 1920s, some bakeries were substituting the soda biscuit with chiffon or pound cake. Hostess even sold sponge cake “fingers” to be used as the base of this dessert. So how you make it depends on your preference – cake or biscuit!
And today’s strawberry shortcake is still the same delicious dessert – biscuit or cake – covered with sweet, macerated strawberries and slathered with fresh whipped cream.
Strawberries first –
Macerate the strawberries first. Slice each berry and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar,
then gently stir to coat each berry. Let sit for at least two hours.
Making the Shortcakes –
Making the shortcakes is pretty easy.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk it all together.
In another bowl, whisk the egg with the half and half and vanilla. Stir in 3/4 cup of the slightly cooled and melted butter and mix well.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry to form a loose dough, sort of like drop biscuits.
Drop large spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes – they will be golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. Cool on a wire rack.
Building the Strawberry Shortcake –
Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Cut each shortcake in half lengthwise.
Top each half with about 1/4 cup strawberries –
spoon some of the juice at the bottom over the shortcakes.
Slather the strawberries with whipped cream and garnish with torn pieces of fresh mint.
Made with sweet biscuits, sweet strawberries and loads of whipped cream - the same as the original shortcakes.
Course:
Dessert
Cuisine:
American, summer
Keyword:
shortcake, soda cake, strawberries, sweet biscuit, whipped cream
Servings: 8shortcakes
Author: HelenFern
Ingredients
Strawberries
4cupsfresh strawberries
3Tablespoons granulated sugar
Shortcakes
4cupsAll-purpose flour
1Tablespoonbaking powder
1Tablespoonbaking soda
2teaspoonssea salt
3/4cupgranulated sugar
1cupmelted and slightly cooled sweet, unsalted butter(use less salt if you use salted butter)
1-1/2cuphalf and half
2large eggs
1/2teaspoonvanilla extract
Whipped Cream
1-1/2cupsheavy whipping cream
1/4 to 1/2cuppowdered sugar (we like it less sweet)
Fresh Mint for Garnish
Instructions
Strawberries
Macerate the strawberries first. Slice each berry and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar, then gently stir to coat each berry. Let sit for at least two hours.
Shortcakes
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk it all together.
In another bowl, whisk the egg with the half and half and vanilla. Stir in the slightly cooled and 3/4 cup of the melted butter and mix well.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry to form a loose dough, sort of like drop biscuits.
Drop large spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes - they will be golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. Cool on a wire rack.
Building the cakes
Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Cut each shortcake in half lengthwise.
Top each half with about 1/4 cup strawberries - spoon some of the juice at the bottom over the shortcakes.
Slather the strawberries with whipped cream and garnish with torn pieces of fresh mint.
Posted By
HelenFern
On
In
Sweet Treats,Technique |
3 Comments
I love cooking with lavender. You can make a latte, hot chocolate, cook your clams in the lavender broth[10], make scones, and all kinds of other wonderful things that lavender can flavor. With the holiday season coming and all the baking ahead of us, here’s an easy way to add a little touch of lavender to your cookies or cakes. Make lavender sugar. But get it started now.
I have several types of culinary lavender[11] growing. They are doing absolutely fabulous this year. You can use it fresh or dried.
Just make sure you’re using culinary grade lavender. Do not use lavender from the craft store.
Here’s how you do it:
Put 15 to 20 dried flower heads into a quart sized jar. You’ll need the dried flowers so no moisture is introduced to the sugar.
Fill the jar with sugar, screw the lid on tight and give it a good shake.
Label the jar, including the date that you put the lavender in. Let it sit for 4 to 5 weeks.
When you open the jar you should smell the lavender. If you don’t, you need to let it sit a little bit longer.
This sugar is fantastic for making cookies topping cookies, making other kinds of sweets and treats, lavender hot cocoa, and a whole variety of other things.
This sugar is fantastic for making cookies topping cookies, making other kinds of sweets and treats, lavender hot cocoa, and a whole variety of other things.
Course:
baking
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
lavender, sugar
Servings: 1Quart
Author: HelenFern
Ingredients
15-20flower headsdried culinary lavender (about 4 tablespoons)Do not use craft store lavender
4cupsfine white sugar
Instructions
Put 15 to 20 dried flower heads into a quart sized jar. You'll need the dried flowers so no moisture is introduced to the sugar.
Fill the jar with sugar, screw the lid on tight and give it a good shake.
Label the jar, including the date that you put the lavender in. Let it sit for 4 to 5 weeks.
When you open the jar you should smell the lavender. If you don't, you need to let it sit a little bit longer.
The sugar is fantastic for making cookies topping cookies, making other kinds of sweets and treats, lavender hot cocoa, and a whole variety of other things.
Posted By
HelenFern
On
In
Breads and Rolls |
12 Comments
I’ve been craving some cinnamon bread, but I’m not fond of raisins and the loaves in the store, well, all have raisins. And I just happened to have some frozen white bread dough[16] in the freezer – This bread is so easy you’ll make it again and again.
Here’s How to Do it:
Start by thawing out the dough. Don’t worry about a rise, you’re going to punch it down and roll it out.
Once it’s thawed, mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl.
Roll the loaf out flat,
then spread the cinnamon sugar mixture
evenly over the top.
Carefully roll it out and put it into a buttered loaf pan.
Cover with a damp dish towel and place in a warm place to rise. Let it double.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
When the dough has risen, place it in the center of the oven and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Use a meat thermometer in the center to make sure it’s done – it should be at 190°. The top of mine got pretty brown (I need a new oven), but it wasn’t burned.
Rub the top with some butter and allow it to cool before you cut it.
Serve it warm with melted butter – but you better make two. They go fast!!
Start with frozen bread dough and end with a delicious loaf of sweet bread.
Course:
bread, Breads
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
bread dough, cinnamon, sugar, walnuts
Servings: 1loaf
Author: HelenFern
Ingredients
1loaffrozen white bread dough
1/3cupwhite granulated sugar
1/8cupcinnamon
1/4cupchopped walnuts
1/3stickbutter to grease pan and top baked bread
Instructions
Start by thawing out the dough. Don't worry about a rise, you're going to punch it down and roll it out.
Once it's thawed, mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl.
Roll the loaf out flat, then spread the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the top.
Carefully roll it out and put it into a buttered loaf pan.
Cover with a damp dish towel and place in a warm place to rise. Let it double.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
When the dough has risen, place it in the center of the oven and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Use a meat thermometer in the center to make sure it's done - it should be at 190°. The top of mine got pretty brown (I need a new oven), but it wasn't burned.
Rub the top with some butter and allow it to cool before you cut it.
Serve it warm with melted butter - but you better make two. They go fast!!
Here are some things that are perfect to use for this recipe!
Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links through Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Posted By
HelenFern
On
In
Apples,Fruits and Vegetables,Sweet Treats |
2 Comments
Our local apple[21] farm put all their apples on sale for $1 a pound!! I bought a lot!! And with some of them I made dessert. Well, we ate it all in one sitting so I guess it was more like a meal – In any case, it was so good!!
Here’s How to Bake some Apples:
Make the whipped cream first. Hand whisk (or shake) the cream and sugar until it’s thickened but still a little loose. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Preheat the oven to 350° –
Quarter and core the apples, no need to peel the skin, it adds to the flavor of the finished dish.
Lay them in a single layer, skin side down, in a heavy casserole dish.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and top evenly with the remaining ingredients.
Bake and additional 20 to 30 minutes. The apples and the skin will be soft and the brown sugar will be caramelized into a thick syrup.
Give it a quick stir –
Scoop out a serving and
spoon some of the syrup over the top.
Put a big dollop of whipped cream on the top and serve warm.
Fresh apples baked to sweet perfection!! Serve hot or cold.
Servings: 4servings
Author: HelenFern
Ingredients
1cupheavy whipping cream
1/8 cupgranulated sugar (super fine works best)
3mediumapples (I used pink lady)
1/2cupbrown sugar (light or dark)
1/4cupwhole pecan halves
2tablespoonsminced candied ginger
Instructions
Make the whipped cream first. Hand whisk (or shake) the cream and sugar until it's thickened but still a little loose. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Preheat the oven to 350° -
Quarter and core the apples, no need to peel the skin, it adds to the flavor of the finished dish.
Lay them in a single layer, skin side down, in a heavy casserole dish.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and top evenly with the remaining ingredients.
Bake and additional 20 to 30 minutes. The apples and the skin will be soft and the brown sugar will be caramelized into a thick syrup.
Give it a quick stir -
Scoop out a serving and spoon some of the syrup over the top.
Put a big dollop of whipped cream on the top and serve warm.
Here are some things that are perfect to use for this recipe!
Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links through Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!