Chocolate-covered Caramel Muffins #MuffinMonday

This week’s muffin recipe called for an ingredient I had never heard of but one I am sure I would love, caramel milk chocolate drops.  I’m not much of a sweet eater but I do have a weakness for caramel, especially of the salty variety.  I was one of those children who would open a sampler box of chocolates and zero in on the little square ones because they were usually the one with caramel inside.

I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I would sometimes poke the bottom with a fingernail to make sure it was really caramel and not some horrible fruit filling before I would take a bite.  And I am completely ashamed to admit that I would put the chocolate back in the box, if it wasn't.  I know, I know.  It was terrible thing to do but please tell me I wasn’t the only one!  With all due respect to Mrs. Gump, I wanted to know what I was gonna get. 

Anyway, back to our caramel milk chocolate drop problem.  I went off the shops in search of same but had no luck.  Instead, I bought some little Galaxy candy bars, which are chocolate-covered caramel.  Those would do, right?  The caramel was oozy, which is a good thing unless you need to cut them into bits, so my very smart husband suggested that I pop them in the refrigerator overnight to harden up.  And it worked beautifully!

The original measurements are metric so I tried my best to approximate for those who use cups.  (Scales are so much easier!)  When I say Scant, just don’t fill it up quite all the way.  Almost but not quite, okay?

Ingredients

Scant 2 1/2 cups or 300g flour

Scant 1/2 cup or 100g sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder           

2 eggs

2/3 cup or 150ml milk

1/2 cup or 110g butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 1/2 oz or 155g chocolate -covered caramel candies (Chilled, if the caramel is soft.)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and either grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper muffin cups. 

In a large bowl, stir together your flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter.

Remove your candies from the refrigerator and cut them into smaller chunks.

Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ones.  Stop when there is still quite a bit of flour still unmixed.

Add in the chopped candy and stir again until the batter is just mixed. 

Divide the batter between your prepared muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.  Mine could have been a little more brown but we were headed out the door to drive to Abu Dhabi to sail again.  And picnic on the smallest island ever.  (I'll put a photo at the bottom of the post for anyone who is interested.  Muffins are good picnic food, by the way.) 

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

The tide was on its way out and our little island did grow as we set up the picnic. 

Banana Cream Napoleons

Napoleons are cream “sandwiches” made with crispy puff pastry and filled with custard and whipped cream. Banana Cream Napoleans include, of course, sweet bananas.

This week’s Sunday Supper theme is, of course, Valentines’ Day, so when I was contemplating what might be a good treat for my sweetie, it had to be something banana cream related.  Everyone knows how much he loves banana cream pie, but I thought I would pretty it up and create a banana cream Napoleon.

Napoleons are cream “sandwiches” made with crispy puff pastry and filled with custard and whipped cream. You find them in all the windows of fancy pastry shops, where, sadly, you do not find banana cream pie. More's the pity. This rendition would rectify that.

The banana cream Napoleons came out lovely, and my husband enjoyed them but, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to tell you that he did ask why I was trying to improve on perfection and said, in future, he’d still rather have his ideal, the banana cream pie. All right. All right. Duly noted!

They were fun to make and I was pleased.  (I am thinking my next Napoleon might be completely untraditional.  Savory with whipped cream cheese and vegetable fillings, perhaps.  Wouldn't that be nice for a ladies' lunch?)

Ingredients for two large Napoleons
Vanilla custard – made from this recipe here, or your own, and chilled till set
About 17.5 oz or 500g puff pastry (A little more or less won’t matter.)
Flour for rolling out pastry
3 1/2 oz or 100g powdered or icing sugar (A little more than 3/4 cup)
3 1/2 teaspoons milk (You may not use it all.  Add gradually!)
1 large banana
1 cup whipping cream

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sprinkle on a little flour and roll out your puff pastry dough till it’s about this thin as in my photo and pretty much covers your baking sheet.  I stick a piece of cling film to the countertop first because it makes lifting the puff pastry easier once it's rolled out.

Roll the pastry over your rolling pin and transfer it to the lined baking sheet.

Use a fork to dock the pastry (poke holes in it) so it doesn’t puff up too much while baking.

Cover it with another piece of parchment paper and top it with another baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes, in your preheated oven.  Remove the top baking sheet and piece of parchment and bake for a further 15-20 or until the pastry is a nice golden color.

Just after the top baking sheet and parchment were removed. 

While your pastry is baking, whip your cream into firm peaks.  Pop it in the refrigerator until you need it.

Remove the pastry from the oven and transfer it to a large cutting board.  Trim off the sides so you have a nice straight rectangle.

Use a measuring tape to figure out how to cut your pastry into eight even rectangles.  The size of each doesn’t really matter, as long as they are equal.  Pick the two flattest and possibly least attractive of your rectangles and set aside to be the tops.  You are going to cover these with glaze any way.

I think traditional Napoleons have only three layers of puff pastry.  But then I've always been an over-achiever. 

In a small bowl, mix your powdered or icing sugar and the first teaspoon of milk.  Stir well.

Add another teaspoon of milk and stir well again.

You are looking for a consistency that will pour but then stay put without running completely off of the puff pastry.  Add just a little more milk until you reach that.  I ended up adding 3 1/2 teaspoons altogether, the last 1/2 teaspoon a 1/4 teaspoon at a time.

Place the two puff pastry rectangles you chose as your tops on a low wire rack with a piece of parchment paper underneath it to catch the glaze run off.  (I reused the one that baked on top of the pastry.)  Spoon the glaze over the two pieces of pastry, using the spoon to gently push the glaze over the sides.

Using a small decorating tip, pipe small lines of custard across the glaze.  Run a toothpick back and forth to create the traditional Napoleon zebra design.

Since I used custard instead of chocolate, the zebra stripe wasn’t exactly traditional or as pretty, but chocolate just wouldn’t fly in banana cream pie. One can only take so many liberties with a beloved recipe. Set the tops aside.

Start your “sandwich” building with one puff pastry rectangle as the base and pipe or spread on vanilla custard first.   I decided piping was much easier since spreading seemed to lift bits of the puff pastry.

Peel one side of your banana and slice it into thin slices with a sharp knife.

Line up about eight (or however many comfortably fit on your rectangle) slices on top of the custard.

Pipe or spread on the whipped cream.  Once again, I opted for piping, using one of the flattish tips meant for leaf-making.

Top with another crispy piece of puff pastry and continue the process – custard, banana, cream, puff pastry - until you are ready to add the top.  Hold the top piece by the edges, so you don’t mess up the zebra pattern and press gently onto the layer of whipped cream.

Repeat with the second Napoleon so you will have two, one for you and one for your sweetie. Eat the balance of the vanilla custard, if any, with a spoon. Same for the whipped cream. Pretend it all came out even. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

If you are looking for Valentines’ Day inspiration, you have come to the right place!  Have a look at all the fabulous dishes and sweet treats the #SundaySupper bloggers are featuring this week!

#SundaySupper Valentine’s Day Breakfasts, Apps & Main Dishes:

• Asparagus, Clam & Bay Shrimp Pasta from Galactopdx
• Bacon Double Cheese Burger Bites from In the Kitchen with KP
• Cheese Stuffed Cannelloni from Curious Cuisiniere
• Fried Heart Pizza from Mooshu Jenne
• Garlic Shrimp Bruschetta from MarocMama
• Green Olive, Goat Cheese & Basil Crostini from Hip Foodie Mom
• Indian Shrimp Pulao from Soni’s Food
• Individual Beef “Phyll-ingtons” from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Ranch, Bacon and Cheese Crisps from Daily Dish Recipes
• Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Frosting from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Rissóis de Camarão | Portuguese Shrimp Dumplings from Family Foodie
• Spicy Red Cabbage Quiche | Veggie Quiche Recipe from Masala Herb

#SundaySupper Valentine’s Day Sweet Eats:

• Banana Bourbon Blondies from The Messy Baker
• Banana Cream Napoleon from Food Lust People Love
• Brown Butter M&M Cookies from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
• Brown Butter Rolo Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies from Damn Delicious
• Cherry Pie Hearts from Home Cooking Memories
• Chocolate Baumkuchen from Webicurean
• Chocolate Bread Pudding from La Cocina de Leslie
• Chocolate Chip Banana Cake with Banana Cream from The Lovely Pantry
• Chocolate Covered Bacon from I Run For Wine
• Chocolate Covered Stuffed Strawberries from Country Girl in the Village
• Chocolate Mousse from Mom, What’s For Dinner?
• Chocolate Roll filled with Nutella Cream from Basic N Delicious
• Chocolate Truffles from The Wimpy Vetegarian
• Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream with Cherry Sauce from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas with Chocolate Sauce from The Roxx Box
• Coconut Sweetheart Cookies from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Coeur a la Creme from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cream Cheese Mints from Simply Gourmet
• Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Mousse with Coconut Cream from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Torte from Kelly Bakes
• Deliciously Baked & Festively Glazed Mini-Donuts from Mangoes and Chutney
• #GlutenFree Chocolate Almond Cloudless Cake from Cooking Underwriter
• Heart Shaped White Chocolate Cakes with Raspberry Cream from Noshing with the Nolands
• Homemade Cherry Mash Candies from Juanita’s Cocina
• Maple-Date Bars from Diabetic Foodie
• Meyer Lemon Marmalade from Shockingly Delicious
• Mini Samoa Bundt Cakes from Ruffles & Truffles
• Molten Chocolate Lava Cake from Gotta Get Baked
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes from The Meltaways
• Pistachio and Chocolate Souffle from Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Raspberry Custard Tart from Kudos Kitchen
• Raw Fudge Love from Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Red Velvet French Macarons with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Red Velvet Fudge from What Smells So Good?
• Red Velvet Ice Cream Sandwiches from Cravings of a Lunatic
• Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies from Magnolia Days
• Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars from Chocolate Moosey
• Red Wine Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting from The Urban Mrs.
• Strawberry Shortcake! from The Foodie Army Wife
• Strawberry Valentine Cake Hearts from Ninja Baking
• Tres Leches Tea Cakes with Honey Riesling Soaked Fruit from Neighborfood
• Valentine’s Bakewell Tarts from Happy Baking Days
• Valentines Chocolate Apples from Big Bear’s Wife

#SundaySupper Valentine’s Day Drinks:

• Blood Orange Vodka Martinis from The Catholic Foodie
• Bloody Raspberry Cocktail from My Cute Bride
• Strawberry Gin Fizz from girlichef

Pin these Banana Cream Napoleans!

Homemade Vanilla Custard

So easy to make and much more delicious than the box, homemade vanilla custard is a great dessert itself, or heap it in a baked pie crust with bananas and top with whipped cream for something really special.

Last March I shared a story with you about a lovely man and his love of banana cream pie. But it occurred to me that the vanilla custard itself deserved its own post so folks can find it with a quick search. It's simple to make and you can use it in a trifle or as filling between layers in a special cake or even just eat it with a spoon.

Sure you can use custard powders but they have negligible nutritional value and some odd sounding ingredients, as well as sugar. This custard, on the other hand, has fresh egg yolks, so it would helpful if you are trying to boost the protein in someone's diet. But MOST importantly, it tastes delicious!

The following amounts make a little more than 1 3/4 cups or 425ml of custard. Just so you know.

Homemade Vanilla Custard

The eggs you use make all the difference to the color of the custard. For the photo at the top of this post, I made the custard with the wonderful, almost orange yolked eggs I could buy in Dubai. If your egg yolks aren't so spectacular, and color matters to you (It doesn't to me!) you can always add a little yellow food coloring.

Ingredients
1⁄2 cup or 110g sugar
1⁄3 cup or 42g all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
2 1⁄4 cups or 530ml milk
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon or 15g butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method
In 2-quart saucepan (no heat!) mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk until smooth.





Make sure you get ALL the lumps out before turning on the heat.

Over medium heat, cook mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to boil (about 10 minutes). Boil one minute. Remove immediately from heat and set aside.





See the tiny bubbles? It's gently boiling.

Separate your egg yolks from your whites, by gently transferring the yolk from one half of the shell to the other, putting the whites directly into a sealable plastic container for the refrigerator. (Later, you can make something lovely with these!) Put the yolks in a bowl with enough room to whisk.





Beat egg yolks quickly with a whisk, while drizzling in about a 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture. Quick beating and slow drizzling are essential so that you don’t end up with cooked eggs.

Slowly pour egg mixture into the saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.

I know it doesn't look like I was quickly stirring but that is just because I fake poured for the camera and then really poured and stirred like crazy after. 

Occasionally, scrape the saucepan with a rubber spatula. 

Over low heat, cook, stirring constantly, until very thick (do not boil) and mixture mounds when dropped from spoon.

Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. 

Congratulations, you have made homemade vanilla custard. Once the butter has melted, pour the custard into a metal bowl. Cover its surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming. Refrigerate until set, about four hours. This delicious homemade custard can be used in a variety of desserts when fully set or simply eaten with a spoon when soft set, after it cools.

Enjoy!