Ethereal buttercream frosting

This is my new favorite frosting, inspired by some cupcakes from an unknown Cary bakery.  There were piled high with frosting, but it was very airy, not too sweet, and not too rich.  Even though there was a lot of it, it was delicious and not at all overwhelming.

This recipe was derived from one by King Arthur Flour, for 7 minute frosting, a.k.a. Italian meringue.  I increased the sugar a little, added cornstarch in hopes of stabilizing the meringue, and beat in some butter.  The recipe seems fairly robust at this point, and much less fussy than the Swiss meringue buttercreams I tried.  Also, with this proportion of sugar to egg white (and the whites starting at room temperature), the whole mix gets up to 155 F (in my kitchen at least), which should be enough to fully cook the egg and alleviate any food safety concerns.  However, if you're cooking for the very young, the very old, pregnant women, or immune-compromised individuals, you might consider pasturized eggs or whites for extra safety.

This frosting works best cold, at refrigerator temperatures.  Fully chilled, it's firm but still quite spreadable / pipeable.  I've kept it that way for a week with no problem.  It probably shouldn't be left at room temperature for more than a few hours, not least because at warmer temperatures the frosting starts to get a bit runny.  (The shortening should help with that somewhat.)  It also tastes a bit too sweet and marshmallowy for my liking when warm;  the amount of sugar is calibrated for serving it cold.

To start, cut the butter into tablespoons and separate the egg whites;  allow both to come to room temperature.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, place

1. 2 egg whites (about 2.5 oz)
2. 1/4 t cream of tartar

Whisk until foamy and increased in volume.  The whites should mound in the bowl, but ideally are not yet holding a soft peak.

In a medium saucepan, while whites are whipping, whisk together and bring to a boil

1. 1 T cornstarch
2. 9 oz sugar (1 1/4 c)
3. 2 oz water (1/4 c)
4. 1/8 t salt

Cover saucepan briefly to wash any sugar crystals from sides.  Try to time it so that syrup boils just as whites reach stiff peaks.  If needed, rest syrup off heat while whites finish;  underbeaten whites will keep the frosting from reaching full volume.  When sugar is completely dissolved and whites are fully whipped, slowly pour syrup down the side of the mixer bowl with mixer running on medium speed.  (Be careful not to splatter hot syrup on yourself!)  Increase speed to high and whip until meringue is thick, fluffy, and shiny.  Reduce speed to medium and continue whisking until cooled, about 10 minutes.  Frosting can be used as-is at this point, or ...

One tablespoon at a time, beat in

1. 1 oz vegetable shortening, such as Crisco (2 T)
2. 3 oz butter (6 T)
3. 1 t vanilla extract

The frosting will be bright white at this point, but it takes gel food color very nicely.  The frosting will deflate somewhat as the fats are added, and may become quite runny, depending on how warm the ingredients are.  (Butter may be substituted for the shortening, but this will exacerbate the runniness.)  No worries, the frosting will firm up when chilled in the refrigerator.  After chilling, use for frosting cakes, cupcakes, or even Oreo cookies!

Filled chocolate truffles

I've heard "truffle" used two ways with chocolate -- either simple balls of ganache covered in cocoa / sugar / chopped nuts, or a formed chocolate shell holding some kind of filling.  The former are pretty straightforward, but the latter are generally the domain of professional chocolate shops.  So of course, that's what we wanted to make for our friends and family this Christmas!  Although it takes time, it's not that hard to produce an attractive -- and tasty -- result!  (Flawless is still for the pros, though.)

Ingredients & Equipment

• Couverture chocolate.  This is high quality chocolate containing extra cocoa butter, and is used for the chocolate shell.  The extra fat (cocoa butter) allows the chocolate to be tempered, producing a hard, shiny coat.  Although I haven't tried it myself, the lore is that trying to use grocery-store chocolate for the shell will give poor results.  (For a ganache filling, though, cheaper stuff seems fine to me.)  The best deal I found was $15 + $10 shipping for 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of Callebaut from Golda's Kitchen on Amazon.  I got about 4 dozen truffles per kilogram, but there's always a little waste at the end, so order at least 2 kg.
• Chocolate molds.  These are simple plastic trays that for molding the truffles.  Lots of different sizes are available.  The stated volumes seem to be for solid chocolates, so you'll get more for filled ones.  I bought three 6 x 1 oz molds from Amazon.  More molds make faster work, but more than about four would be hard to manage at one time.
• Instant-read digital thermometer.  Temperature (within 1 degree F) is critical for getting a good temper on the chocolate.  Don't skip this.
• Marble slab / stone counter / sheet pan.  Ideally, you'd have a smooth, hard stone surface for tempering the chocolate.  But I didn't, so I used the back of a cookie sheet.  It's not ideal, but it's certainly workable.  Make sure it's flat and clean.

Tempering the Chocolate


Tempering chocolate consists of melting it completely and then cooling it in a controlled way.  The even cooling causes the fats to solidify in the uniform structure that produces a smooth, hard, shiny surface when the chocolate sets.

If you didn't buy callets (chips), chop the chocolate.  You'll want at least enough to fill all your molds once.  More won't hurt, you can re-use any leftovers.  Melt them in a double boiler with 140 F water, top vessel not touching the water.  Stir gently but continuously -- getting the chocolate over 140 F will scorch it, but you don't want to whip in any air.  Also watch out for water -- even a small amount of water in the chocolate will ruin it.  Keep stirring until the chocolate gets to 115 - 120 F.  (Temperatures here are for dark chocolate;  they vary somewhat for white or milk chocolate.)

Pour most (~3/4) of the chocolate out on your work surface, set the rest aside, off the heat.  Spread it thin to help it cool, and keep folding it back on itself to mix it.  I used an offset spatula in one hand and a metal bench scraper in the other.  When the chocolate gets cool enough, it will abruptly set up into a thick paste.  Scoop this back into your double boiler and stir until smooth.  If the combined chocolate is now down to 82 - 83 F, you're done.  Otherwise, pour some out and repeat -- you'll need less (maybe half) and it will set up faster (since it started off cooler).

The chocolate is now tempered.  (You can test this by dipping a corner of parchment in the paper, folding it back on itself, and freezing for a minute or two.  When set, it should break with a crisp crack.)  But to work with it, you'll want to re-warm it over the double boiler to 87 - 90 F.  Above ~93 F, the chocolate will start to lose its temper, so keep a thermometer in it while you're doing this.  You'll probably need to re-warm the chocolate before each of the following steps.

Pour the warm chocolate into the prepared molds, filling them completely.  It works best if you stop just shy of the rim -- too full and the truffles will have a little rim around the bottom.  Let the molds sit at room temperature for 4 - 5 minutes (no more), then turn them upside down and give a gentle shake over your work surface.  The molten centers should fall out, leaving chocolate shells in the molds.  Freeze the molds for 5 minutes to fully set the shells.  Scoop the chocolate on the work surface back into your double boiler to reuse.

Fill the shells with whatever you like (see below for suggestions).  Fillings should be cool (no more than 80 F) so they don't melt the shells.  If the filling seems thin, freeze for a another 5 minutes before capping.  (Otherwise, the cap chocolate may sink into it!)  To cap, pour a little more tempered couverture chocolate over the filling.  I find shaking the mold gently after pouring each one helps the cap spread out smoothly.  Work as quickly as you can;  the chocolate will want to set up almost immediately.  Freeze the truffles for 15 minutes to fully set them, then gently turn them out of the molds.  They should come out very easily -- I think the freezing makes them pull away from the mold slightly.

We decorated them with edible glitter dust.  We brushed the truffles with a little water to make it stick -- water doesn't seem to hurt them once they're solid.  We also tried colored icing on a later batch, which worked OK, but didn't look quite as good.

Whisky Ganache Filling

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine

1. 8 oz chocolate chips
2. 4 oz (1/2 c) heavy cream

Microwave about 30 seconds, until chocolate is soft.  Stir gently until smooth.  Stir in

1. 2 oz (4 T) Scotch whiskey

Let sit to cool to 80 F or less.

Any sort of liquor can be substituted:  kirsch, Chambord, creme de menthe, triple sec, etc. are all good.  We even considered tequila with candied lime peel and sea salt, but never got around to it.

Cabernet Reduction Filling

This is basically a wine jelly, a filling we invented for my father-in-law.  It's derived from this recipe.  In a small bowl, place

1. 1 packet (0.25 oz) unflavored gelatin, such as Knox
2. 3 T red wine

The wine will hydrate the gelatin.  I found it best to pour the wine over top of it.  In a medium saucepan, combine

1. 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine (3 T reserved above)
2. 6 T sugar

Boil the mix until reduced to 3/4 c (6 fl oz).  Pour it into a Pyrex measuring cup to make sure;  this needs to be pretty accurate, within about a quarter ounce.  Stir in the hydrated gelatin until melted.  This filling will probably still be liquid when you fill the truffles, it takes hours or days to set, but it does eventually set.

Dulce de Leche Filling

This is a wonderful, easy caramel sauce that I love.  Simply submerse an unopened 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan of water, and simmer for 90 minutes.  Do not, under any circumstances, allow the pan to run dry, or you may get an exploding can of hot caramel.  If you keep it at a simmer and keep the pan covered you should have no problem.  The label will probably fall off, but the canned caramel can be stored in the pantry for months.  Just pop the top and fill the chocolate shells when you're finally ready.  Do two or three cans at once so you'll have extra for pound cake, cheesecake, ice cream, etc.

Bacon caramels with smoked salt

The holidays always make me want to bake.  And for some reason, they particularly make me want to try something new or more elaborate than I've done before.  So this year, I've been making a lot of candy for Christmas.  Even as a kid, I was at least as partial to caramel flavors as to chocolate.  I also have my mother's love of salt, so salted caramel is a near-perfect candy already.

Which brings me to bacon caramel.  This variation was inspired by my brother-in-law Tommy, who is (tragically!) allergic to chocolate, and who generally prefers meat to candy.  When I tell people about this flavor combo, I usually get raised eyebrows at a minimum.  I, too, was skeptical.  But then the folks who dip their bacon in the leftover pancake syrup start to reconsider.  And after testing on a dozen friends and co-workers, there's been a unanimous thumbs up.

I wish I could claim to have thought of it first, but a quick Google proves I didn't.  Still, I think my version packs in more bacon deliciousness than any of the other contenders!  What follows is a basic recipe for caramels from the Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, followed by the bacon version and two other sweet variations.

Basic Caramels

If using a candy thermometer, put it in a pot of boiling water to see how far off 212 F it is.  Match the depth of the water to the expected depth of the caramel mixture.  If you're inclined to skip this step, don't use a thermometer at all -- it will likely do you more harm than good.

In a large, deep pot, combine

1. 2 sticks (1 c) butter
2. 2 c (14 oz) granulated sugar
3. 2 c (16 oz) light corn syrup
4. 1 c heavy whipping cream

Stainless steel is preferable because it makes it easier to judge the color of the caramel, but anything will work.  Use a big pot, much bigger than you think you need;  this stuff expands a lot.  Cook over medium to around 224 F, stirring occasionally.  Adjust the target temperature based on how far off your thermometer is.  If it read e.g. 206 in the boiling water (6 degrees off), you'll want to target 224 - 6 = 218 F.  While it's bubbling, cover it with a lid for a few minutes -- the steam should wash down in stray sugar crystals stuck to the sides.  (With so much corn syrup, I don't think there's much danger of crystallization, but it can't hurt.)  Now stir in

1. 1 c heavy whipping cream

I'm not sure why recipes have you add the cream in two additions.  I'd guess only the final temperature matters, but I keep doing it this way out of superstition.  Now the precise part:  cook to exactly 246 - 248 F (again adjusted for your thermometer).  The mixture will take on that signature caramel color and a thick, stringy texture when stirred (reminiscent of a starter sponge for yeast dough).  A degree more or less at this stage makes a noticeable difference in the texture of the candy:  too low, and the caramel will ooze;  too high, and the caramel will be brittle.  I like to reduce the heat to low at this point so the caramel cooks a little more slowly, and I have more wiggle room.

About 5 degrees before done, start dropping spoonfuls of caramel into a little bowl of ice water.  Squeeze it flat with your fingers to help it chill.  When it's room temperature, pull it out and chew to check the texture.  When it's done, the super thin and spindly edges will probably crack (because they got colder) and the body of it will have a pleasantly firm chew.  It doesn't hurt to pull the pot off the heat while you're checking, so it doesn't get away from you.

Finally, stir in

1. 2 t vanilla extract

and any other last-minute additions.  Pour into a well-greased 9 x 13 baking pan.  I like to line mine with foil first (nonstick, if you've got it) to make things easier.  Sprinkle with

1. Fleur de sel or other coarse salt

if you like.  Let cool to room temperature, then cut into squares.

Bacon Caramels (original)

Before starting, thoroughly cook

1. 1/2 lb bacon, chopped

Stir often and lower the heat as it approaches done, to avoid burning.  Continue cooking until all fat is rendered and all bacon is very crisp.  Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate.  Chop bacon finely.  Pour hot bacon grease through a coffee filter set in a strainer, into a heatproof measuring cup.  (This is to remove any bits that might burn or spoil later.)  Use bacon grease to replace an equal amount of butter in the basic recipe (about 1/4 cup, half a stick).  Fold bacon in at the end, with the vanilla.  I like to use

1. applewood-smoked sea salt

from the Spice & Tea Exchange to top the caramels and really up that smokey bacon flavor.

Pecan Praline Caramels (original)

Replace 1 c of granulated sugar with 1 c brown sugar, and fold in 8 oz chopped toasted pecans with the vanilla.  Top with salt.

Ginger Fleur-de-sel Caramels (original)

Before starting, place ~2 oz peeled, thin-sliced ginger in a saucepan with the cream, and bring to a gentle simmer.  Turn off the heat and leave the ginger to steep for at least 15 minutes.  This imparts a subtle ginger note to the caramels without being too obvious.

The x-ray structure of ginger

Or maybe not. But it's crystalized, at least, and that's as close as I've gotten to structural biology lately. Crystallized (a.k.a. candied) ginger is yummy stuff, but my local Harris Teeter informs me that they only carry it during the holidays. Hmpf. So now I make my own, and it's not too hard, and even the by-products are useful. I love food like that, where nothing is wasted.

I went down this road because of Molly Wizenberg's book, where she describes banana bread with chocolate chips and crystallized ginger. She has another version of the recipe on her blog, but it's not the same as the book. But really, you can use any banana bread: just add in 3/4 c of chocolate chips (Ghirardelli 60%, if you have them) and 1/3 c crystallized ginger.

This recipe is the average, approximately, of what I turned up in a Google search. All the recipes were wildly different. So whatever you do, it will probably turn out just fine.

Start with

1. 1 pound ginger, peeled and sliced thin

How thin is a matter of debate: too thin and they become insubstantial wisps after cooking, too thick and you get a rude jolt of ginger. I think 1/8" is about right (i.e., stack 8 slices and they should measure 1 inch). A vegetable peeler is good for peeling the ginger. Place the ginger in a medium-large saucepan with

1. water to barely cover

Simmer for 20 or 30 minutes. You can also steam the ginger and maybe retain a little more flavor, if you prefer.

Pour off almost all of the ginger water, leaving about 1/2 c behind. (You can save it if you want, mix it with the syrup, and pour over ice for a ginger-beer-like beverage, minus the bubbles.) Add

1. a large quantity of sugar

until you have a saturated sugar solution, more or less. You'll be boiling off excess water, so it doesn't matter too much -- it just takes longer if you skimp on the sugar. I think it's about 2 cups of sugar per 1/2 cup of water in the pot. Simmer until the ginger is translucent and the syrup forms tall, sticky mounds of small bubbles that cover the ginger and threaten to climb out of the pot. (Don't skimp on pot size, either.) You want to stop before the sugar takes on any caramel color at all.

Remove the ginger from the pot with a fork or slotted spoon and place it on a Silpat. (If you don't have one, get one; but in the meantime I'd try a greased cookie sheet.) Try to leave as much syrup behind as you can. Let the ginger dry for 8 - 16 hours, then toss with generous additional sugar while still slightly sticky and chop to desired size. Add more sugar as necessary to keep ginger pieces separated. Store in a plastic container at room temperature.

I'd save the ginger syrup if I were you. It could be good on vanilla ice cream, or drizzled over the aforementioned banana bread. I'm also thinking it would be good with pancakes topped with banana slices. Or perhaps with berries and whipped cream? Or go savory and make a gingery sweet and sour sauce for stir-fry. So many possibilities. Let me know what works out for you!

Marshmallows!

Until recently, I had never considered that marshmallows were something you could make at home. Judging by the responses my first batch got, a lot of other people hadn't considered it either. But in fact, it's not that hard to do; they're one of the easiest candies I've ever tried.

To make indoor S'mores, set marshmallows in a nonstick skillet and broil on low power until lightly toasted. (Watch 'em -- they burn within seconds!) Add graham crackers, chocolate, and enjoy.

This recipe is Molly Wizenberg's, from the July 2008 Bon Appetit. (Yes, it sat in my to-make pile for a year. Anymore, that's not too bad.)

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, combine

1. 1/2 c cold water
2. 3 (1/4 oz) packets unflavored gelatin, such as Knox

Let stand until gelatin softens, at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a heavy medium saucepan, combine

1. 2 c sugar
2. 2/3 c light corn syrup
3. 1/4 salt
4. 1/2 c cold water

Heat and stir until dissolved, then boil without stirring until syrup reaches 240 F. (Use a candy thermometer, please.)

With the mixer's whisk running slowly, pour sugar syrup into gelatin in a thin stream. To direct the stream into the bowl and away from the whisk, I like to pour down the handle of a wooden spoon. Gradually increase speed to high and whisk until mixture is very thick and stiff, 10-15 minutes. Add

1. 2 t vanilla extract

and whisk to combine.

Scrape marshmallow mix into 13" x 9" pan lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick spray. Smooth top with a wet spatula. Allow to cool completely, about 4 hours.

Sift together

1. 1/2 c potato starch (a.k.a. potato flour)*
2. 1/2 c powdered sugar

Generously dust counter with starch-sugar mix, and invert pan of marshmallows. Generously dust top of slab. Cut into 2" squares (good luck!) and toss with starch-sugar mix to coat. If you're a domestically-inclined ninja, cut them into fun shapes instead. Set on a wire rack to dry for bit before storing in a sealed plastic container.

* I couldn't find potato starch at my grocery store, so I took plain instant mashed potato flakes and ground them to dust in my food processor. It seems to have worked, and remarkably enough, the marshmallows had no hint of potato flavor.