"Creme caramel"...Flan!

I have always been fascinated by the idea and silky golden appearance of flan, yet I can't recall ever seriously getting a chance to try it, that is until I made it! So while I can't say how it compares, I did receive a lot of positive feedback. It's a great recipe!

Cinnamon & Vanilla Flan









The trickiest part is really just caramelizing the sugar. You have to be careful not to burn the sugar, but if you leave the heat too low it simply won't caramelize and will just become a hard, white blob. But by far the coolest thing about it was watching the sugar literally melt. I know this might be obvious to some, but I really didn't expect it to actually do that! And Tyler (the food network host who created the recipe) specifically says not to stir but instead to swirl which actually works fantastically well, and if you try to stir you'll see what happens: not only does it all stick to the spoon, but it is almost impossible to work through the thick goop.

The caramelization occurred almost instantaneously. One second it was white, then another second it turns a beautiful amber color. Be sure to let it continue to caramelize for a minute or so after it starts to change color - this deepens the final color and flavor. When we made this for the fundraiser we didn't caramelize quite enough and it came out closer to yellow. Amber is so much more alluring.

I didn't have a vanilla bean but instead tossed in a bit of vanilla extract in the cream. The cinnamon flavor and vanilla were both almost unnoticable in the final product. Since I love cinnamon, I sprinkled on some mixed with cane sugar at the end. It changes the texture but really brings out the cinnamon!

All in all, it was delicious - rich, silky, and a nice level of sweet.

Breakfast at Dinnertime

A couple weeks back I decided to have breakfast at dinnertime...but "breakfast for dinner" just doesn't quite sound right.

I'm still working on french toast - it's tough to get it perfectly balanced - crunchy and moist, not too much or too little egg...it's deceptively simple.

Essential Baking Co. Raisin Pecan Loaf Orange-Cinnamon French Toast
served with orange slices, powdered sugar, and a drizzle of decadent vanilla and dark brown sugar caramel sauce





It was pretty yummy, but by far the best part was the vanilla caramel sauce - deliciously rich. I'm not too experienced with making caramel, but I winged it based on a similar sauce from the Walnut Gateau I made just a few days prior. I caramelized the sugar in butter, then added in whipping cream until the consistency was just right. A splash of vanilla and bam! Done. Healthy? No way. Yummy? ohh yes.

It's a work in progress to be sure, but it is a great use for day old bread. This loaf thanks to my buddy Nate, who knows the ins and outs of the bread dumpster!

Baking 101 for Ali Baba

Baking 101

For Engineers Without Borders UW Chapter's famous Dessert, Wine, and Cheese fundraiser, I've been practicing baking along with a couple other culinarily inclined members. We're getting ready for the weekend before the event, where we will each take on about 10 different desserts (and probably multiple of many of these) and try to pump them out with bakery quality and speed, with a few helpers. I volunteered myself, even though I had barely ever baked in my life before the past few months. Sure I'd helped a few friends make cookies or something of the sort, but my mother rarely baked, and so by extension, neither did I.

Needless to say, it's been a quick education! But one that has given me an excuse to fill in a sad gap in my techniques. Typically I would shy away from the unhealthy and unnecessary nature of desserts, despite how delicious they are. However, now I have a good reason to fatten up my roommates and myself...and learn a thing or two in the process. ;)

The below recipe was out of my friend Nate's Seriously Simple cookbook.

Caramelized Pear and Almond Upside Down Cake
with a caramel glaze




This was absolutely fantastic! The pears were caramelized in a 9" frying pan with the butter and brown sugar, then the batter poured on top and the whole thing baked for an hour. Inverted, it looks like that! The batter had an entire cup of ground blanched almonds, which pretty much defined the flavor, but not overpoweringly. A bit of a kick comes from a quarter cup of orange mango juice thrown in! Really great, crumby texture, with a crisp, buttery crust and a moist interior, all topped with the caramelized pear slices!